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Hot liquids and alcohol relax my sleeve. It worked with the band too, and I know some RNY'ers that use the same trick. Cold liquids definitely restrict my volume. I drink most everything at home at room temperature, and if I'm out I typically get easy or no ice.

mine smells too. i noticed that as i lose weight my tummy is looking frumped over. like the top is now falling down and it covers up my belly button. what i typically do is after a bath/shower i wipe it dry with a towel and sometime a little bit of rubbing alcohol on a q-tip. or if i am going to be home i sometimes just stick a cotton ball in there (i have a deep button). it soaks up the moisture. i just leave it in for alittle bit. usually helps. while it was healing i would put a cotton ball in there for a while. just made it feel better. that's where my only incision is. not sure if these will help but good luck!

I've made it through an entire weekend on liquid only! This is an accomplishment that I must celebrate, as it struck during a very busy time. Yesterday, being that it was the 10th anniversary of 9-11, I had been booked to sing at 3 different events throughout the day. The first one was not as hard because there was not a meal or food involved. But the second event was a Banquet WITH LUNCH!!! The biggest issue I had was that I didn't want to draw attention to what I was doing. Not only that, the meal was served FAMILY STYLE. So for those that might not know what that is, they put enough food on the table for everyone and then we have to pass the plates. So every item had to be passed in front of me, through me, and across me! I had to explain why I couldn't even eat green beans, which of course are healthy in most aspects! BUT....I planned ahead. I stopped and bought a can of chicken broth and brought it with me. Then, very quietly, I asked the server if she wouldn't mind warming it up, to which they were so accommodating to do and thankfully it was rather satisfying! The hardest part of the meal for me was when they served cake and ice cream. Homemade cake, with buttercream frosting! I LOVE that kind! But....I made it through. I didn't even have one bite! Then the last event was for an Honor Flight celebration and they had alcohol! My mom had a wine cooler and she knew I couldn't have one. I ended up leaving rather quickly after I sang the National Anthem and God Bless America. There were thousands of Harley riders there celebrating our great nation. The main event was the Grand Funk Band, so I stayed just long enough to mingle and then went home to relax. I am half way there, but I feel as though it is an eternity today for some reason? My surgery is Wednesday next week and Tuesday is an all-day fast/cleanse. But maybe at this half way mark is when it gets tough! I have learned some things though that I would like to share. I've learned to listen to my tummy. It growled today. That was in a way a good sign, because I knew it was time to get my broth for lunch. I've also been paying attention to the 'full' feeling in my tummy, which I have to admit I am not good at noticing. I know I will need to understand that for after surgery. Thank you for your comments on my last post, please keep sending them, it is encouraging to know that what I write or feel is seen by someone else. Hope your days are going well and you are pressing through whatever phase you are in! Let me know if anyone is out there who has surgery next week as well? It might be fun for us to keep each other up to date on our healing and growth! Weight: 206 (down 7 lbs!)

Well I hope everyone is surviving through this virus situation. i felt like updating everybody I'm pretty much 6 months post op give or take a few days! This has been an incredible journey to say the least. Had the RNY BYPASS surgery and I believe it completely changed my metabolism; I've lost so much weight and it's like I can't gain weight. i actually started my own pre-op diet roughly 8 months ago way before surgery and my highest weight was 322lbs. I was weighed in for surgery day at 257lbs. Over the past few weeks I've pretty much hit maintenance I believe and I'm weighing in between my lowest day of 168 and my normal days of 170/171 obviously weight can fluctuate from day to day. I am gobsmacked how well I've done and how good I look but I know I really need to start to tone up and build muscle. My main focus from Day 1 was to just shed the weight off lose the LBS and I've done that. Never thought I'd get this far. In the past few weeks I've really tested my metabolism over Easter I had some chocolate and some crisps and a few alcoholic beverages but it appears not to make much difference at all to my weight but obviously I'm back on track still logging my food intake most days and some days still using protein shakes when I'm busy or not that hungry literally 6 months post op some days I'm still not hungry..... So in summary I've lost max 154lbs since day 1; 8 months ago and in the 6 months since surgery day I've lost 87-88lbs and I'm feeling great and it's weird people now telling me I've got to stop losing weight LoL. I'm finally the slimmest one in my group of friends. People treat me differently in general. I've included a photo it's not the best angle as it's hard to take photos of myself but you get the general idea considering the amount of weight I've lost there's not a huge amount of excess skin the main area is my lower belly abdominal area!!! I really truly believe my metabolism and the way my body processes food has completely changed and it's an amazing feeling!! MIKEY xxx Feeling great 35 years young

Sara - there was a question I wonder if you would answer - were you taking only what you are supposed to of the Alli? Have you developed any eating disorders? Dorrie had a wonderful answer for you. I would say a concern for you from me is def the cheating - because that will set you up to fail. Another serious issue. Crossover replacements for your foodstyle...they are known as addictions. Alcohol, smoking, weed, cutting, and replacement "feeling" (I forget that one - help me out Dorryie!). Going to a counselor is OK - but what then - do you actively work on what you have talked about? Do you read on your own? If you were not taking a diet aid, could you maintain your loss? The esophogeal stretch may be a way to get some of it covered by insurance, even if they will not approve the sleeve. Replace the mochas with a coffee, or warm up and froth a glass of hoodia soy milk in chocolate or a spash of coffee. Popscicles are good, Jello too! If you cantr get away from alcohol, make a jello shooters, freeze them, and blend them in a blender with some crystal light you have poured into ice cubes. Get onto My Fit Pal, get to know the site well, it will help you alot. If you find yourself off the band, still go to therapy, and prepare yourself to do this old-style until your esophagus and tummy can heal - get the original "eat this, not that" book, and feel free to stick around the forum. There is alot discussed here, not all VGS related, and you can build up a healthy bit of knowledge. Notice I did not say yay or nay about whether you should get the sleeve...I cant make that decision. Whatever you go, I hope you work through everything and are well. I talk like I am telling you what to do - it is just my nature, I only intend them as suggestions...

Ugggh!! I can relate to that. I think... I know, the only reason my wife's okay with the surgery is because I won't be able to drink alcohol for several months. She is excellent at sabotaging my weight loss efforts.

I haven't been on here in a while, so I'm kinda glad to be back. In July, I had a Lap-Band, which I lost 125 pounds on, changed to a gastric sleeve. I had lost 125 pounds, and then gained it all back plus some. Since I got my sleeve, I've lost 31 pounds since July. That's it. I'm way behind. I know for a fact that I have stretched my sleeve, and I feel that I don't have the control over the amount of food that goes into my stomach that I did with the Band, and I really need to shrink my sleeve again. It is WAY too easy to keep food down that I don't have room for when compared to the Band. Then there comes the problem that I live in a dorm on a college campus, so my food options are VERY limited. I get my apartment next year where I can cook my own meals, but for now, I'm kind of limited to what I can keep in my dorm. I live in a world full of junk food, alcohol, and bad habits, and it's SO HARD to get out of it. Is there any way I can shrink the sleeve back down? Any suggestions for a college student? I'm so disappointed in myself and I just pray that I haven't done irreversible damage to my sleeve. That guilt is really crushing, and I am scared to death I'm going to remain fat.

I was just wondering if you are newly banded and if you have good restriction. The reason I ask is because I used to drink almost every night and once I got filled and finally had restriction (6 fills) I am not able to drink. The alcohol burns my stomach and I always throw up from it. I am probably too tight but since I am losing weight and had to give up drinking I am sticking it out!

@@Cervidae I got a dog. It has helped me so much with my stress and isolation from living and working alone. The dog is the best comfort available. I realize everyone can't afford or wants to take care of a dog. I comfort myself right now by shopping. It isn't always about purchasing items, it is more about trying on clothes, seeing what I can wear and also seeing myself in a different environment. Even though there are mirrors and full length mirrors all over my house, I find that I can see my changes better outside the house and trying on entirely new clothes. That helps me stick to plan and also validates my struggles with head hunger. Doing your nails, deep conditioning your hair. Okay on to food. Comforting myself with food, is something I worked through before surgery, before I even considered surgery. I gave up sugar, I gave up alcohol. I learned to work through my problems and I always removed a lot of stress from my life. Now to be real, I Keto. That is more comforting than most diets. Fats satisfy a lot of needs. Low carb and low fat is just fail to me, and it doesn't seem to satisfy anything. So I have healthy fats, very few carbs and meet my Protein goals. That is satisfying and comforting to me every day. My food is high quality and delicious. I had filet mignon for almost a week straight, at 4 oz at a time, it is affordable yet still decadent.Totally on plan, totally delicious. I am savory kind of person. I would rather have fried chicken or fried fish than chocolate or any kind of sweet. That being said, it is kind of easier to get "treat" like foods that are sweets since most people are sugar fiends. I think that if sweets are your trigger then you should be really careful. I can eat these items and not care about them. They are mainly convenience more than comfort. Protein Brownies. Looking they are protein brownies and they taste like protein brownies, but they do taste good. They also aren't cheap, so you might not want one every day. Found on instagram, a real life saver, added bonus, they are moderately filling. http://www.eatmeguiltfree.com/ Protein Peanut Butter The chocolate is delicious. https://wildfriendsfoods.com/protein_plus/ Quest Bars Low carb cheesecake (just google a recipe. I get these at Trader Joes for $1.99 or 2.99 a bar, I forget the price. cheaper than Lily's I have one square at a time as a snack http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Lite-Chocolate-Cacao-3-Ounce/dp/B0049UDYHI These from trader joe's, fi you are going to buy them, weigh/measure out all the servings and put them in individual baggies as soon as you get it home. Only take one serving at a time. The calories are high per serving for those of us on 1000 calories or so a day so plan accordingly. I stopped buying them because they aren't worth the calories to me, but they aren't a terrible option. http://i.imgur.com/jWCaYT1.jpg Again I am going to state I can eat this things because sweets are not a trigger for me. If they are for you, don't do it. Food though is fuel, not a comfort device. We all need to work past seeing food as a comfort. It doesn't even work post surgery at least for me. Being full is super uncomfortable, it isn't soothing, it doesn't make me numb or sleepy, just miserable. Cooking a complicated keto or paleo recipe is soothing to me. It takes me out of my own thoughts and I have to focus on what I am doing. I find that relaxing. Recipe sites.. http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/ http://www.ruled.me/ http://cavemanketo.com/ https://ketodietapp.com/Blog I am not familiar with what RNY people can eat so if all of these are things you can't tolerate. I'm sorry.

I drank coffee pre-op, I drunk coffee straight post op, drink a big jug every day, and never had any issues with it. My surgeon advised me not to give up coffee. My first drink in the hospital was with a straw, again no issues with straws. I chew gum at times, and this has been fine also. I gave up all alcohol 9 years ago, and I will not give up my enjoyment of coffee. So, for me no issues with the "controversial" drinks, straws etc. The only thing I haven't tried are carbonated drinks post op. I was never a big soda drinker, so I don't need it and I don't miss it.

Mr. Doctor warned me that the effects of drinking alcohol would be much more pronounced after the lap band surgery... apparently the alcohol gets into the system faster for some reason? He also said empty calories, avoid it... but we are all human and I think everyone cheats on occasion.

It's the obvious answer and one that your inner voice doesn't want to hear.. BUT... here it is... STOP DRINKING! I know... easier said than done... but you OWE it to yourself to do so through whatever means necessary. As other posters have said, there is AA. If you're not a big fan of AA, I recommend seeking a therapist who specializes in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and ONLY CBT. This type of therapy focuses on your self-talk and the ways that distorted thinking affects our lives. It is EXTREMLY effective and insurance companies love it because significant results are often shown in 10 sessions or less. Congratulations for recongizing that alcohol is an issue that is affecting your weight loss and wanting to do something about it. After all, admitting that you have a progem is 9/10ths of the journey towards overcoming it! Remember to tell yourself daily that you WILL be successful and that NOTHING will stand in your way!

For a long time, I avoided all complex carbs and sugar, which included alcohol. I am not a big drinker, so it was not a big deal for me not to have any. Technically you can have anything you want :-). Being mindful of the calories is important though, especially if you like to snack while drinking or like to drink a bottle of wine instead of a glass. I may have been overly cautious, but during my pre-surgery seminars, one of the nurses made a big deal about the fact that many people don't lose weight because they drink their calories. She told a story about a patient who was upset that she was not losing weight, but she refused to give up her multiple sugary coffees. I found little ways to reward myself, but I am now way more conscious about ingredients, Protein levels and carb levels than I ever was.

That is something which sounds so foul to me but then again I am a wine drinker.........are you asking about drinking alcohol in general? Or just that particular drink Kind regards Fiona:D

I'll be four weeks out from surgery but I was wondering about alcohol intake.... The academy is holding a DWI Detection Course and are asking for volunteers to be drinkers. It's a controlled environment and will steadily increase drinks (no shots). Would I be able to handle it for one day? Anyone's thoughts?

Mine never mentioned alcohol. I am young, so I could be different. I drink hard alcohol when I do drink. i make a low calorie mixed drink and it keeps me chillin all night. Just one, your stomach will be so small and your food intake so much less. I saw no beer because of carbination. I didn't drink until about 4 months post op though. and i heal even faster. I'd wait at least 6. I have had absolutely no trouble with it either. No irritation or throwing up. Nothing. But everybody is differnt. You should contact the surgeon you will have and they should let you know.

No alcohol for the first year. Never any carbonated alcoholic beverages. Also, the doctor said alcohol should really be avoided due to the possibility of addiction transfer.

It is true it is hard. But it's going to be hard after the surgery too. And then you will have a band in place that can make you feel not too well if you eat too much. 1. After about 3 days of true compliance your cravings for sweets and carbs WILL go away. No lie. That crazy drug addict feeling does pass. 2. Those feelings of needing to eat the PB&J or pizza (that's mine) or whatever -- will pass also. They are just feelings and you need to say to yourself "Can I handle this for the next 2 minutes.", "Can I handle this for the next 5 minutes" and so on and so on. Sounds rediculous but I have a friend who is a recovering alcoholic and this is similar to what they have to do. Trust me some days you'll be able to say "Can I handle this for the whole day" and that seems 100% doable. There are other days where "3 minutes" seems way too long. Do NOT take this on as a week long or 9 day long or 6 month long or 100 pound losing long task. You need to break it up into teeny tiny pieces. 3. Keep in mind that it's just food, it's not going anywhere and it never tastes as good as we thing it does. I know we all have unhealthy relationships with food -- but you can make the choice. And you can do it. I know you can. 4. Find something to keep your mind busy. I bought a dumb mindless craft project at a store. I didn't even care what it was I just wanted something to do with my hands. I'm sure it's harder when you have 4 kids -- but maybe that's the perfect time to start a very messy project like finger paiting. 5. Make sure you are having shakes w/enough protein (based first on what your doc says). 6. Drink a lot of water or crystal light 7. Plan out your food/liquid consumption hour by hour. I found this was very helpful -- I mean I made myself little charts while on LD like "6am coffee" "7am protein shake" "8am crystal light" --- and then I checked it off. It was easier, made me feel in control and didn't feel like I was awash in a big abyss of liquids. Ok, those are my words of advice. I'm am a horrible dieter and I've managed to stay true to my pre-op LD (13 lbs down!) so if I can do it you can do it. Good luck and stay strong.

In my case, just a select few. Such surgery here (in Australia) is still widely regarded as some form of cheating ... AND I can well do without the 5h1t of pointless debates/arguments with opinionated ignoramuses who have not lived my last quarter of a century of yo-yo dieting and weight-loss fails. My wife knows. My siblings know. My daughter and son-in-law know. In fact, my son-in-law is my inspiration and catalyst for gastric sleeving. He was done in 2015 ... a man of 185cm (6feet, 2inches) who "fell" from 208kg to 99kg after his own gastric-sleeve. (460 pounds to 219 pounds). Yes ... I have had the opportunity to eat better SMALLER quantities and make purposeful progress. I was in a union job that required a lot of "socialising" ... I averaged about 35 alcoholic drinks per week in summer and about 26-28 per week in winter for 18 years. I now confine myself to one beer and three wines per week. Even today, I went for my usual St Patrick's day lunch and ordered a half-pint of Guinness (as opposed to nearly thirty years of one or two pints with lunch). I made it just past half-way down my half-pint before I just put the glass down and walked away ... I had no room after my grilled fish piece and salad to fit any more Guinness.

I am 3 years post-op RNY gastric bypass. Sleeve patients lose weight slower than RNY patients. I transitioned into the maintenance phase at 7 months but many sleeve patients can go a couple years before they level off. I lost a lot of weight quickly and my stalls lasted for only days whereas sleeve patients can lose the same weight that I did but they encounter many week long stalls along the way. Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. I began at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet my Protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as Protein shakes. At 4 months I was allowed 4 ounces per meal. According to the internet: The average weight for one boneless, skinless chicken breast lobe is 5.25 ounces. Therefore, a full breast, or double lobe, weighs 10.50 ounces. So if you are eating 1/2 of a chicken breast lobe, it sounds like you are eating a comparable amount of food that I ate. In looking over your typical menu, it looks like you are getting high protein meals. One thing to do now at this stage is to assess your protein intake. Your protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein from your meals combined with the protein from your supplements (protein shakes, protein bars). Since your meal volume is beginning to increase, that also means that the amount of protein from meals is increasing, especially if you concentrate on consuming high protein meals. Therefore you could be able to reduce your reliance on supplements and the calories they contain. I went from 3 protein shakes a day, down to 2, then 1 and finally zero when my meal volume increased to 1 cup per meal at a year and a half. That was the technique that I used to break the few stalls that I encountered. Sugar was one of the main reasons why I gained so much weight prior to surgery. It is imperative to stay away from products that have sugar after surgery. Artificial sweeteners (such as Splenda, and sugar alcohols) and very low calorie natural sweeteners (stevia) are fine and many are incorporated into a variety of products in the supermarket shelves today. But avoid sugar like a plague. I can't really offer any advice about psychological issues. If you are not already attending monthly bariatric surgery support group meeting, by all means attend them. They should be free to attend and at least it is a place where you can vent and ask for advice.

It definitely is empty calorie/carb intake, but hey, it happens! It's probably unrealistic to think that most of us will go through life without ever having another drink socially. What I try to do is limit it to the least amount of damage, First, I'm a lightweight with alcohol since surgery, so I limit to 1 drink and sip sip sip. :-) Second, I limit to the lowest possible caloric option, which is usually a vodka & club soda or something. I know, soda is bad, and you probably can't do the bubbles since you're pretty early on. My usual go-to is a boring (but fabulous) glass of wine. Not great, but not the worst calorie wise. You may see that you stay the same instead of losing the next morning, but I just would not make it a habit and save it for those social occasions. :-)

I'm glad that you've made the effort to get your alcohol controlled and very interested in vitamins helping with that. When you searched for alcoholism, did you also search for "transfer addiction"? That's what I've seen on these boards a few times. They were discussing how common the problem was to transfer a food addiction to other addictive behaviors. Good luck!

Hey guys, This may be a tough subject, but if it can't be discussed on an anonymous forum where we regularly discuss our bowel movements and farts, were else can it be discussed? I've kind of hinted at this in a couple of my previous posts, but four weeks ago, my issues with alcohol had gotten to the point that I finally had no choice but to start attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, as well as various addiction treatment options provided through my health plan. For background on what I'm talking about, see: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/popular-weight-loss-surgery-roux-en-y-gastric-bypass-linked-to-alcohol-problems/ According to some studies, the odds of a post-bariatric patient having alcohol struggles goes up 28%. Wow. I've done a couple of searches on this board for alcoholism, and come up with basically zilch. Given the increased odds, how can that be? I can't possibly be the only one on here who can directly correlate my increased drinking to the date of my surgery. I bring this up, mostly because it's what I'm living right now, and I have a lot of information to share and well as unanswered questions. NOTE: I'm 13 days sober since making a few key changes in my vitamin intake, which has me very excited. Would love to start a discussion and share with anyone out there who is struggling. PM is fine as well. -ds

Funny. At my center all they said was, "You're going to be much more sensitive to alcohol. One drink and you'll be flying! Your friends and relatives will love that you're such a cheap date!" They sold it as a bonus!

Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories Alcohol: 1 gram = 7 calories ​I was thinking the same thing as well since I know they give the same printed sheets to individuals who have also had RNY. This is my concern with those numbers: 120-150 grams of protein=480-600 calories 100-200 grams of fat=900-1800 calories 50 carbohydrates=200 calories That would be 1580 calories on the low end and 2600 calories on the high end. I don't see how I could lose any weight eating that many calories. I also don't even know if I could eat that much food. I am going to present this to my nutritionist on February 6th at my next appointment. Thanks for all the advice! I am going to look at the Facebook groups right now