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Ummmm no sarcasm intended, seriously! I truly wanted to clarify! Everyone's plans are different. Everyone is here seeking and sharing information. You came on to a thread where someone offered info and said no thanks it didn't fit your plan. I wanted to clarify to make sure I didn't miss anything before suggesting for people who didn't mind the sugar alcohols might want to try these. Believe me, if I disagree I will disagree, read my other posts! I don't use sarcasm on the net much because without tone of voice it tends to be ineffective.

On my plan sugar alcohols do NOT count. The way it was explained to me is that they're from artificial sweeteners and therefore do not spike blood sugar as much.

The mini bar has 15g of Protein so not so mini there ???? Got it, sugar alcohols don't count the same on my plan so thought I'd clarify for others whose plan might be like mine! Thanks for sharing! Ordered some this morning.

0. What type of weight loss surgery have you had? Gastric Sleeve 1. How long have you been in maintenance mode? 7 months 2. What's your current height and weight? 5’ 3”, 106 lbs. 3. How many calories do you eat daily (on average) to maintain your weight? 1200 4. What kind of focus do you put on Protein -- number of grams or anything else you want to say? I don’t have a maximum, but my minimum is 70 grams 5. What kind of focus do you put on carbs - number of grams or anything else you want to say? As a rule I avoid starches and sweets and limit legumes, sweet vegetables (i.e. carrots), and fruit. I try to stay in the range of 40-60 net carbs per day. 6. What other nutritional tips / tricks are working for you that help you maintain? I’m working on looking at my diet overall on a weekly basis and trying to make sure that my weekly averages are within my desired ranges. I also weigh myself every day so that I can spot trends early. 7. Which foods, if any, do you avoid altogether? Bread, rice, potatoes, corn, fruit juices, pastries, cakes, etc. I also don’t drink alcoholic beverages as a rule. These foods (and alcohol) are indulged in only on holidays and infrequent celebrations. 8. What exercise regimen (exercise types and frequency) do you follow? Bicycling several times a week, walking every day 9. What role, if any, has counseling or therapy played in your WLS success? None 10. What advice would you offer WLS patients to help them be successful? It did not come easy to me, but I had to really look at my previous behavior and previous weight loss attempts and acknowledge that they didn’t work for me. Once I admitted that, I was able to begin to take the advice of the vets on this site.

For those of you now fully in maintenance mode and doing well at maintaining your weight, would you please answer these questions? 0. What type of weight loss surgery have you had? Sleeve 1. How long have you been in maintenance mode? 3 months 2. What's your current height and weight? 5'6" and 145 lbs 3. How many calories do you eat daily (on average) to maintain your weight? Don't count them at the moment. 4. What kind of focus do you put on Protein -- number of grams or anything else you want to say? Same as during weight loss phase, only with the occasional healthy carb like quinoa, barley, or brown rice. Not as careful to avoid corn as before, but still no "white stuff" or sugary sweets. 5. What kind of focus do you put on carbs - number of grams or anything else you want to say? Very limited! 6. What other nutritional tips / tricks are working for you that help you maintain? Still eating lots of nuts, cheese and Jerky. Probably too many nuts. 7. Which foods, if any, do you avoid altogether? White stuff, sugars, alcohol. 8. What exercise regimen (exercise types and frequency) do you follow? Walking 3-4 times a week and gym once a week. 9. What role, if any, has counseling or therapy played in your WLS success? Active on Bariatric Pal and my local monthly surgery support group. Use sharing my experience with others as my "therapy". 10. What advice would you offer WLS patients to help them be successful? See my story for lots of advice and tips.

I was a band to bypass. So glad I did it. I had problems the first year, mostly just learning experiences. If I had eaten exactly as I was told, I wouldn't have had any problems. But most of us have some addiction problems with food and we push the boundaries. Now I feel like an alcoholic who takes anabuse. It's a drug that makes an alcoholic really sick if they drink. I get really sick when I eat sugar period. Sugar was my weakness. And now that I am over 2 years out, I sometimes eat too much and then in 20 minutes I feel it. So I keep trying to remember to eat only one cup of food at any meal. Eat 3 meals per day and eat Protein first, then veggies and fruits. I do sometimes feel an emptiness inside where the sugar used to go...not in the stomach...I am learning that for me, being creative is a must. I have to have creativity in my life regularly. Some find a love of exercise and that takes the place of the food. Most of this journey is in our heads not our stomachs. And it's a wonderful journey of self awareness and learning to love ourselves from the inside out.

Am I missing something? I read the facts and it says 6g sugar. Are you adding in the sugar alcohols?

Like @@jss1988 said, I had a pretest to take before meeting with the psychologist (basic psychological stuff, self-worth, family history). Then when I met with him, he warned me about some of the issues that can arise as we start to lose weight, i.e., you'll be getting more attention, how to deal with that,, also he warned that victims of sexual abuse may struggle with certain weights if the abuse occurred when you weighed a certain amount, there may be memories that you have to deal with along the way. He asked about my support network, warned that some WLS patients will look to replace food addiction with alcohol, answered my questions, and sent me on my way. It was pretty painless: mostly an informative meeting.

0. Type of Surgery? RNY 1. How long have you been in maintenance mode? 20 months 2. What's your current height and weight? 5' 7", 150 lbs 3. How many calories do you eat daily (on average) to maintain your weight? around 1500 4. What kind of focus do you put on Protein -- number of grams or anything else you want to say? around 65 grams of protein per day derived from meals. 5. What kind of focus do you put on carbs - number of grams or anything else you want to say? I avoid like a plague processed sugar (including sugars with calories, such as honey. The exception being sugars found in fruits and milk.) Instead I use artificial sweeteners (Splenda), artificial sweeteners (Stevia and sugar alcohol) and the sugars found in fruits and milk. I try and limit my complex carbs (bread, Pasta etc.) to about one meal a day. 6. What other nutritional tips / tricks are working for you that help you maintain? I rely on fats to avoid hunger. As a result I eat real butter, whole milk and cream, meat other than lean meat. [in the weight loss phase my stomach was cut away and fats caused immediate dumping but after the first year my intestines took up the function of processing fats and I was able to incorporate it into my diet again.] 7. Which foods, if any, do you avoid altogether? Milk shakes, ice cream, any foods with more than 5 grams of processed sugar per serving. 8. What exercise regimen (exercise types and frequency) do you follow? I rely on normal physical activity (manual labor). For example last year I moved 100,000 pounds of gravel by hand and 50,000 pounds of concrete landscaping blocks. 9. What role, if any, has counseling or therapy played in your WLS success? None 10. What advice would you offer WLS patients to help them be successful? The approach to succeed in the weight loss phase is different than the maintenance phase. They need to adapt to the transition or if they follow the same rules, they may begin to put the weight back on.

After the first 6 months there really wasn't anything I couldn't tolerate. Rice was probably the last hold out. but I'm fine with it now. After the first couple of months I ate bread in small quantities, Pasta, desert, whatever I wanted really, just only a little bit. I do tend to stick to the separate food and liquid rules. I'm just more comfortable when I do. For me hunger returned at about 5 months, but the pull was not the same. Many mistake acid for hunger early on. I took 40mg of omeprazole 2x day from the beginning and never had that problem. I still like (and eat) everything I liked before. I just can't binge anymore. Today, my lifestyle is different, but maintenance is very doable. I start my day with a 45 minute bike ride, some strength training and Protein latte. The rest of the day I eat what I like in small quantities, typically protein first. I have a drink with my friends a couple times per week. I record weight weekly and if my weight creeps up I log food and give up most treats\alcohol until it comes back down. I live withing the same 5 pound zone most of the time. This feels very "normal" now. I don't know anything about sleeve inversion. Did fine with my standard sleeve with hernia repair. It'll be 2 years in October. Feeling great!

My post was not to condemn those who drink. To each their own. I am sure that at some point in time I will indulge in a cocktail or two or three. This was an issue that irritated me last week. As I have stated in previous posts, I attempt to reflect on things to see if this was truly about the "alcohol" or something deeper. I realize now that it was both and neither. As I'm nearing the anniversary of my father's death, who battled addiction the majority of his life, I know what alcohol can personally do to a family. I also read those statements thinking, "Will this turn into a hate the vets post" after one responds. My other thoughts came from wanting everyone to be fully successful on this journey. I also drink from a straw and have since day 1. It was becuase of this site and another one that I belong to where vets said it was ok. Clearly last week was an emotional one, here's hoping for a less emotional week! LOL

I'm kind of glad to hear that other people were disappointed that they hadn't experienced dumping. I was actually kind of hoping to because it would be a really effective deterrent - I'm a glutton, not a masochist. But I've tried really hard to stay away from anything over about 10 grams of sugar. The only exception is my Protein shake which I put a whole banana in, which, depending on the size of the banana can have as much as 20 grams of sugar in it. Like @@Djmohr, I also can't do artificial sweetener, or at least, I can tolerate only a very small amount. The only time I've experienced anything close top dumping was when I tried a sugar free maple syrup from Whole Foods that was made with Maltitol (a sugar alcohol). I was in the bathroom for an hour! I use about a teaspoon of SweetLeaf stevia in my tea in the morning and I've discovered I really enjoy the Enlightened ice cream bars which have Eryithritol in them, but that's really it. I do sometimes put dark chocolate chunks in my plain greek yogurt but the total never exceeds 10g of sugar. I also made a really good pumpkin zucchini bread with unflavored Protein powder and I used dark chocolate and honey in it. A slice had 10.9 grams of sugar in it.

I have heard wls compared to Antabuse for alcoholics. It stops the Problem initially but the hard work takes place after that but at least the person is dry. I think that's probably a good comparison for me. I'll update you all after I visit with my psych later this week. Thank you so much for all the words of wisdom!

I've also been giving this a lot of thought so you are not alone I liked having a beer and beer is the drink I have when I go out with friends. But what to do.. Beer is the most inexpensive drink I think so it was easy to buy some I also love all carbonated alcoholic drinks, but no more ugh:( I think I will go for Smirnoff Ice. I like that drink. It's more expensive but it's refreshing

All things considered I am doing okay. I don't want to jinx anything but things seem to be going good. I haven't had a BM yet, but I figure that will fix itself soon, and I haven't felt sick at all. My left side hurts pretty badly, but because of the scar tissue in my abdomen they had to go in on that side and did most of the work there, the pain medicine is working really well though. I stopped drinking alcohol about 20 years ago, but I told my wife that when I am drinking stuff now I tell myself it is 20 year old scotch that must be savored, not chugged, it seems to make it easier to sip then, lol. My first follow-up appointment is next Monday, they have to take the stiches out, I had to have normal stiches put in one of the incisions. How are you doing?

You bet! We are in this together! Woo woo! Tonight when I have my alcohol-free glass of Water after dinner (ye GODS) I will toast you!

Well said, @WLWarrior and congrats to you on your honking weight loss! Yes, it ultimately comes down to the new lifestyle we build after WLS and the choices we make. Right now, I'm happy to be finding my way during early maintenance. Continuing to plan my meals and track all my food / drink intake is part of my new lifestyle that works very well for me. Thus far, I'm fortunate to be able to eat some sugar, alcohol, Pasta, and bread. I don't eat them every day, and so far they haven't turned into trigger foods. But if they were to start causing me problems, I hope I'd have the fortitude to hold myself accountable and avoid them altogether. I no longer wish to choose foods and drink only on the basis of its temporary taste appeal. I want to eat and drink MOSTLY those things that nourish my body. I had this surgery to become healthier and stronger and to improve my life. Those here who are further out post-op than me say maintenance requirements can continue to change, so I'm not blind to the fact that our WLS challenges will continue for the rest of our lives. I know that I will probably always need to adapt what I'm doing to remain healthy. For now, I say, "Bring it on!"

@@Hope41 Question: "How do we not drink alcohol?" Answer: You stop drinking alcohol. Honestly Hope41 I was in the same boat as you. Alcohol was my weakness, too. I loved (nay, FROLICKED) in red wine every single day after work. I had for over a decade. After stalling for 3 months at only 45 pounds lost, I was frustrated and needed to take a good long look at what the hell I was doing wrong. It was a tough wake-up call, but I realized it was my alcohol consumption. For you it's cocktails, for me, Merlot. I figured out that 3 glasses a night 6-7 nights a week equalled an extra 5000-7000 per week (HOLY CRAP) of empty, useless weight-fueling calories. I was eating right but de-railing my weight loss through my love of wine. I spent $16K on this surgery, and here I was self-sabotaging just because of drinking. Silly me. So I got hard with myself and said THIS STOPS NOW. And so 2 days before my 46th birthday (this past July 19th, 2015), I had my last delicious glass of red wine and polished off the last bottle of wine in our cellar. I have not bought any since. (Not having it in the house helps enormously). After a 3-month stall, the weight started coming off within 48 hours. After a massive stall where the needle on the scale had not moved, suddenly I was losing again. The needle went from 213 pounds... to 211 pounds... to 208 pounds... to 206 pounds.... In the past 8 alcohol-free days I have lost 7 pounds. I have kick-started my weight loss again and I feel terrific. For me, the only way to stop drinking those empty calories was to stop drinking. Period. If I can do it, I think just about anyone can, the exception being someone with alcohol addiction, in which case professional intervention is required!

If I could avoid my cocktails I would start losing weight again, my meals do last me 3-4 hours but they are still a good size meals smaller than regular but definitely not as small as they should be. Alcohol is my weakness as after a long day at work I do enjoy my drink How do we not drink alcohol?

Starting out at 198 (kinda) **** Hi folks. I don't have as much to lose as somebody who is, let's say, 302 pounds. I weigh 198 and have been at this weight for quite a while. I go to the gym once a week (it used to be more) and I eat an average of probably 1900 calories a day. My diet is currently free of most processed sugars and all soda, focusing on high Protein, low carb, and frequent salads with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I do have several cocktails each weekend. I have the band and want to get to my goal weight of 145. ***** Hi folks. That person above is me - today. I was actually banded 16 months ago. I started out at 302. I lost weight like crazy and dropped 100 pounds in 7 months. I got moving on a treadmill one day post op. I was super compliant with post op eating and dropped 50 pounds before my first fill. WLS saved my life. I got to my green zone. Fill level is optimal. Then I stopped losing. What changed? A lot, now that I think about it. Here is some of it. Some of you know that I filed for divorce four months post-op and left an emotionally and financially abusive husband. Moved out of my home. Took my college age daughters with me. Long story, but smartest thing I ever did. I got WLS precisely so that I would have the courage to leave. It worked. We moved in with my mom. Nuff said. I've been in this state for a year now. One year. NSETBEx (not-soon-enough-to-be-ex) is blocking every step of the divorce and financially cleaning me out. Won't pay bills, college, etc, without court intervention, and continues to emotionally abuse my kids from afar. Nuff said about him. He doesn't deserve another paragraph. Me. What's changed with me? I became more social. For all of my adult obese life I was hiding in my house with my food. Now I go out with my bestie on weekends and listen to bands and go to summer festivals and make new friends. I've joined Codependents Anonymous and go to two meetings a week there. I go to therapy every two weeks -- she started out as a divorce coach but we switched to regular therapy. I go to Overeaters Anonymous about once a week. I joined a gym a couple of months ago and just ended 12 sessions with a personal trainer. The divorce is stressful as hell. It is killing me to think I will still be married at the end of 2015. We haven't even started negotiating the house and assets yet. My kids are home for the summer and busy busy busy. One is working a good intern job and one is taking four college classes since she changed her major and needs to stay on time for graduation. We three share my car in the evenings. Nuff said. I can't buy a house until the divorce is final because except for my decent salary, I am now flat broke. He's draining me dry, and all joint assets are tied up in the divorce. I'm in "waiting" hell. Where does that leave my weight loss? I have been down on myself for not losing weight these last 7 months. Then today I had an epiphany. We all start out every day from exactly where we are. Not where we were. Not where we think we should be. Where we ARE. So where am I today? Today I am a 198 pound 5'5" 54 year old woman who goes to the gym once a week and walks a 5k on the treadmill and works out on some strength machines. I eat high protein and low carb. I don't eat between meals. I don't eat foods with sugar. I drink alcohol on weekends which messes up my sugar and calories. I eat buttered popcorn in large quantities at the movies at least once a week which blows my calories to hell. I eat too many fried foods. What would happen if I stopped treating myself as a failure who hasn't gotten to goal after 16 months, and treated myself instead as starting out at 198 with a LapBand to help me? The circumstances of my life today are in some ways very different and in some ways very much the same as they were a year ago when I left NSETBEx. Same: stressful with constant divorce crap. Different: just about everything else. *** Hi folks. I'm starting out at 198 and have a little over 50 pounds to lose. I have a LapBand and I'm looking for encouragement and support to improve my eating and exercise more. Can anyone relate?

I can say I do not miss alcohol at all

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery 26 months ago. I lost 115 pounds and maintained the weight loss. Before surgery hunger was constantly gnawing at my bones. While I was eating a meal, I was thinking about what I would eat for my next meal. After surgery my hunger was gone. It was not easy to lose weight when you are not hungry. This is very much different than a diet experience. There was no willpower involved. Not everyone who has a RNY loses appetite but many do. This may not be the case for those that undergo Sleeve. By consuming more food you can stretch you stomach and thereby eat more and regain the weight back. I asked my nutritionist why some people lose weight after surgery only to gain most of it back afterwards. She said grazing which I interpret as another way of saying snacking. I do graze but I have not gained weight. I think the secret is what you graze on. I graze on Protein and fats. Fats take away hunger. So essentially I am never hungry. I strictly stay away from all processed sugars. I satisfy my sweet tooth with artificial sweeteners (such as Splenda, sugar alcohol), non-nutritive natural sweeteners (such as stevia), natural sugars (found in fruits and milk). At 26 months out, I have a cup of coffee each morning with a large scoop of whip cream. I make the whip cream myself using Splenda so it has no sugar. I have around 3 Adkin's treats a day. I consume whole milk, real butter and real non-lean meat. I was diabetic before surgery. That went away right after surgery. I periodically check my blood sugar levels and they are normal. The weight is off and all my prior medical conditions are in remission: high blood pressure, diabetes, GERD, sleep apnea, frequent urination. I think why some people gain the weight after RNY is that they are confused. After surgery you body (stomach) can no longer process fats and sugars. If you take too much it causes dumping. But as the months go by your body adapts and your intestines change and begin to take up the role of the stomach and start to absorb fats and sugars. There are 2 phases to weight loss surgery. These are the losing phase and the maintenance phase. The same rules do not apply for the two different phases. I personally wouldn't pay $20K for the operation because I do not have that amount of disposable income. The 12 months would better be spent by preparation. Attend Bariatric Surgery Support Group meetings. Do exercises. Walking each day is very important. Cut out all carbonated beverages and caffeine. Prepare yourself for this important step in your life.

I think the drinkers are worried and those that don't indulge very much think it's dumb to be concerned about alcohol with such a serious and extreme surgery. I think you should be concerned about everything and ask but alcohol concerns are just as dumb as I can't give up my straw comments.

interesting post, and I applaud StephenHud forhis answer. It comes down to calories for me. I have never been a big drinker, occasional glass of scoth in a month, but thats about it. When I get maintenance mode, then I 'll consider reintroducing alcohol, but right now, its not part of the plan, so fizzy Water makes me look cool....

Yes my wine consumption led to me eating after dinner as well, and those calories ADD UP big-time! Since stopping drinking wine (the only type of alcohol I consumed on a regular basis) I've noticed no desire or temptation to snack in the evenings. ADDED BONUS: I've also lost an annoying and persistent eye twitch that started back in October 2014. 9 months its been driving me crazy. One week after stopping wine? GONE. Coincidence? I do't think so!