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Thanks. Definately better. Applied for a few jobs. I will wait and see what happens. No biggie! Nothing a nice alcoholic drink couldn't fix. LOL! Hilarious story Laurend. Makes you want to tell him, "Sure sir. I would be happy to do that. Would you also like me to permanently stop the rain and cease all annoying bird chatter since I am obviously Mary freakin' Poppins?"

I went all out lol. I got absolutely wasted and ordered a BBQ bacon cheeseburger and loaded cheese fries. Alcohol alone must have been at least 1000 calories. I know a lot of people say not to do food funerals but it was worth it lol.

My last meal before the 2 week liver shrinking diet was hot Buffalo wings, fries, and tuna steak. Actually shared with someone else so I didn't eat a large amount of food. So yummy!! Also had an frozen umbrella drink. Now I am at goal I still eat this stuff on rare occasions... But it ends up being one wing, 1 fry and a couple bites of tuna steak. I totally gave up real high calorie alcoholic drinks.

Ok so lets start with stats Heighest 270 Surgery: 238.1 Current 223.2 * I actually gained 4 lbs in 3 days* Height 5'7" So let me start off my saying... BLAH!!!!!!!! OK so here goes.. I thought I was doing really well.. I was going to the gym 5 days a week, staying motivated, drinking all my fluids, and trying my best to stay on the program.. Don't get me wrong im not perfect and I did cheat.. normally I don't regret it because I really work my butt off at the gym, but recently I think because I've been justifying my cheat with a "well ill just work extra hard at the gym" im actually seriously sabatoging my progress. Let me say though funny part is im not cheating my eating foods im not supposed to eat.. but because i work in a bar im having a drink instead.. SO NOT A GOOD THING as im only 3 weeks out of surgery. Why am I telling you this... BECAUSE I AM GOING TO HOLD MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE! Now here is the kicker... TODAY I WENT TO THE HOSPITAL FOR SEVERE ABDOMINAL PAIN ON THE LEFT SIDE... I was in the ER for 11 hours, and they still have absolutely no idea why i have this pain .. i don't honestly think its because of the alcohol, but it scared me enough to realize that even a small cheat can be DETRIMENTAL to my health. As of now i am still in a considerable amount of pain, docs did an iodine test to see if i have any leaks and a CT Scan, all which came back normal.. SO why the pain? If anyone has the answer to that... PLEASE LET ME KNOW. From now on though.. im stickin to the plan cuz one thing i do know.. even though the alcohol may not be causing my ab pain... It sure as hell is contributing to my WEIGHT GAIN! And it is wayyyyyyyyyyyyy to early to be gaining weight! I mean ive heard of the the 3 weeks stall... but the 3 week weight gain.. GET REAL! So here is my pledge.... I will abide by the rules, i will still hit the gym, and i will hold myself accountable!

@Bluesky1 - I have been pretty adept now at eyeballing what the size/weight would be - but still weigh food when i am at home and it is a new recipe or food or when i feel i am getting off track a bit - I will make my chicken, for example, think what i think the weight is and then measure it - if i am more than .5 ounces off then i weigh everything for a week to re-adjust myself. I log everything in myfitnesspal (the good, the bad and the ugly) and mostly just pay attention to my protein/carb/fat ratio. I hate to say i have struggled a bit getting my calorie count back up so i can fluctuate between 800-1200 Calories a day. I can eat normal amounts for a vsg person I guess - Probably can get down between 4-6 ounces at a time depending on the bulk of it. Typically I will have as a meal: pre-breakfast: coffee, splenda, fat free half and half (or regular half and half if I am out of my house) Breakfast on days where I am hungry: 0% Fage greek plain yogurt with lemon juice, splenda, 1/4 banana and a handful of raisin bran for crunch Mid morning: premier Protein chocolate drink lunch: 2.5 oz tuna pack with light mayo and dill relish Snacks if i snack: beef jerkey, a few Peanut Butter pretzels (which i am trying to cut out as they are wasted carbs and i wish they wouldnt have at the office). If i am hungry i will maybe have the yogurt or cottage cheese if the jerkey isnt in stock at the office Dinner: I mixed it up between home cooked grilled fish or chicken (in a variety of preparations...could be with mexican seasoning or asian or gravy, etc.) with a squash or green vegetable, zoodles with turkey meat sauce, turkey or chicken "burger" with blue cheese crumbles in a low carb tortilla with avocado or just on a plate, turkey mexican salad, eggplant Parmesan with turkey and cottage cheese to up the protein. When i create meals, i will normally weigh them out and make recipes to store in myfitnesspal so i dont have to type it all in each time. I typically do sashimi 2x a week after my trainer or get beef carpaccio as a treat. Other snacks: cheese stick, boars head turkey pepperoni, light babybel, cucumbers with bolthouse avocado greek salad dressing and lemon juice, Sweet Craving satisfiers: grapes, dole dippers 60 calorie strawberry packs, a few tablespoons of halo top or similar ice cream, skinnygirl Milk Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt Toffee Alcohol(Don't judge): 1.5 ounces of citrus vodka in a 44 ounce tumbler with Water, big ice cubes, a squirt powder packet (I love these) and ginger powder - I also mix msm powder for my joints into it. I also cheat on my diet. I have a pizza slice at the office every once in a blue moon, each spinach dip or nachos when we are out, sour patch kids, etc. but I log it all and keep myself accountable and acknowledge when i put it in my mouth that I am consciously eating something that i gain no benefit from- and i am ok with that, I guess. I decided awhile ago that I am not going to deprive myself of the joys of food - but i am NOT going to ever again 1) reward myself with food, 2) self medicate myself with food when i am feeling sad or down, 3) eat out of boredom. As long as what I am eating is not for one of these reasons, them I am ok with it in small amounts. I have been fluctuating for many months and cannot get to below 140 - i go 140.2 - 145 - today i was 143.7 - go figure. Probably because i have been busy at work and haven't worked out since getting back from a trip on monday.

I had a classy but inexpensive reception. Actually I had 2! LOL We got married in a very fancy mansion turned into a restuarant. They had a good size Ballroom, that we got married in and had a reception. The wedding was on a Friday night and we had only a few intimate people there. (30) b/c it was $30 a head. So the next day we had a big bash for everyone where we rented a hall, DJ and buffet style. We just really looked around and went to wedding shows alot. It saved us alot of money to investigate things. I got my wedding cake from a grocery store bakery, it was beautiful, very fancy and tasted better than any of the other cake makers that we sampled. It fed 200 plus the topper cake to freeze for only like 125.00. I also made my own flowers and centerpieces and the groomsmans corsages. I got a dress at a going out a business sale. I found an expensive caterer that included all the tableware too. If you really want to save, I say ask a family member to caterer it, and keep it simple. Meat and cheese plates, veggies, mini sandwiches etc. Cake for dessert. And dont serve alcohol. (too many calories and too expensive, plus if you have alcohol most places make you hire a security guard) you have a lot of great ideas on here and congrats to you!

Don't be nervous. I was sleeved two weeks ago and I have lost 18 pounds. The surgery is not bad at all. If you get nauseated after surgery ask the nurse to bring you some alcohol wipes and fan them in front of your nose...it takes away being nauseated. Crunch and suck on ice chips! The third day of surgery you will think....what in the hell was I thinking! You will feel tired and want to sleep on the third day. Each day gets better! And when you jump on that scale and your down.......it will kick in. Your brain will no longer think about food like you use to. It is amazing. Be sure and get that 65 grams of protien in with your protien shakes. Be sure and sip, sip and get up and walk around. You can have sugar free popcyles, sugar free pudding, sugar free jello. Tomatoe soup, creamy or classic. They have a new Campbell's Tomatoe soup parmesan creamy bisque...YUM!!!! Also, after a week, get some Idahoan potatoe mix (find with micaroni mixes) add water and make a semi thick potatoe soup....eventually you will not have to add so much water and can make them a little thicker. You will do just fine. You will enjoy your new life and all this will behind you in less than a week. - Addison

I was having trouble with the idea of having surgery. I then started to think about food as an addiction. I asked myself whether or not a drug addict or an alcoholic who had the option to have surgery would do it, and whether or not their choice to do so would be frowned upon. This helped me with my decision to get the sleeve. This is a GREAT post. Thanks!

Hi All, I rarely come on the forums anymore. It seems that, once I got past the really tough times with my band to sleeve revision I just drifted away. Anyway, I realized that I will be 2 years post-revision in a couple of weeks and I should probably report in and let the newbies know about my experience. If you want to know specifics about my surgery, you can look through my profile posts - it is hard for me to remember all the details now. I had a lap band for 4 years and it sucked. I got my lap band at 215 pounds and ended up at about 195 pounds and was gaining slowly on top of that. I couldn't eat chicken (did I mention the band SUCKED?). I wanted the band out, but I was afraid I would baloon up higher than ever. For me, the sleeve was an insurance policy. I did not expect it to work because I had already been through weight loss surgery that did not work. Why would I expect anything different the second time around? I was 100% afraid to dream that it might be successful. And, of course, I was wrong The sleeve was everything the band promised and more. On surgery day I was somewhere between 195 and 200. I went to Dr Aceves and would recommend him without hesitation. Band out and sleeve in, took less than 90 minutes. No complications. Good pain management. That's when the tough stuff really started. I couldn't drink the Protein drinks because I couldn't handle the smell or taste. Because of this I barely ate or drank anything for weeks. Everything tasted so weird / bad. I was significantly fatigued for 3 months because could barely get any food in. I chewed my Vitamins and took my omeprazole like a good girl. The apex of my weight loss occured after about 9 months. I got down to about 127 pounds. Mind you, at no time was I ever "trying" to lose weight. In fact, I was "trying" to get enough quality calories in my body. Since I ate so little, I couldn't mess around with junk food - I only ate food with good nutritional value. I also found that Certain foods were just harder to eat. I craved chicken, but I had a hard time eating carrots (they stick!). I would say I didn't feel completely normal until about a year had passed. At this point I have levelled out in the 135-140 range and I am thrilled about it. It is easy for me to get down to 135 (and lower if I wanted to) by just cutting out one snack a day or quitting drinking alcohol altogether. I weigh myself maybe once a month and if I see myself creep towards 138-139, I start cutting out a couple of things and get back to my comfort zone. It has been hard in the last 6 months because my father committed suicide leaving me with a contentious legal battle with his wife. I started drinking a couple of drinks every day because of the stress. That has kept me in the upper end of my range, but it is still easy to maintain. I find as time goes by, I stopped drinking every day and only a couple of times a week - it made me less puffy :-) So, my lifestyle now: I don't exercise. Yes, I know - that's bad. I do have tons more energy and I walk more in my daily life than I ever did before, but I do not engage in regular exercise. I try. I do my best. I'm just being honest. I still have a hard time getting even 30 ounces of Fluid every day. The taste of Water changed for me the day I had surgery and I have had a terrible time replacing it. Sometimes I have fizzy water. Strangely, beer goes down very easily. I developed a Starbucks mocha habit after the first year, but I limit it to one a day and get nonfat most of the time. I also started drinking iced coffee. I eat 5-6 times a day (I limit it to 5 if I am actively trying to manage my weight). I eat protein and veggies. I just started liking sandwiches again, but find bread and rice both expand in my stomach and make me very uncomfortable after I eat them. Even now, I eat too fast sometimes and can be in terrible pain from fullness. I still can't drink after I eat. I drink as much as possible up to the point where I put food in my mouth and then no liquids for an hour or more - PAINFUL!! I could never have done this without the sleeve. I am completely happy with the result. My life isn't "normal" because I still have to think about carrying Snacks with me so I can have good choices while I am out of the house. I still have to eat slowly. I still have people in restaurants badgering me about why I didn't finish my food. The difference is that I wear size 8 jeans and size 4/6 dress. I can walk / run around Disneyland for 10 hours with my daughter without major breaks to sit down. I rode a bike with my kid just this week and it was awesome. I finally feel like I fit in with my world. The outside reflects the inside. I feel much happier now, also, because people are used to me being this size now. Before people were always making a big deal out of the wieght loss. I don't like talking about it. I hated the attention during the loss because I was very guarded about the surgery. Now I have been the same for a year and a half or so, people don't comment about it as much and I love it. My future: well, the biggest surprise for me is that my husband and I are thinking about having another baby. My daughter is 8 and I had my tubes tied 6 years ago. I scheduled my tubal reversal with a specialist in Beverly Hills at the end of March. I will be 39 in a couple of weeks, but the doc says my FSH level is that of a 25 year old and my husbands sperm count and motility is off the charts! I used to be super-fertile before my tubal (just look at me sideways, and I was knocked up!) so we will see if that is still the case in a couple of months. Also, I finally finished my Bachelors degree 21 years after I started :-) I graduate in June. My life rocks! I was already lucky to have a good man, a great child, good job, and overall good health. The sleeve and weight loss are the icing on the cake for me. I'm a lucky lady. With gratitude, Lara

Their regular protein bars are amazing...like 5 net carbs/20g protein. They are endorsed by Eggface and hungrygirl. Good ingredient list and some have no sugar alcohols at all, for people that have issues with that. Lots of great flavors too...chocolate chip cookie dough is awesome as well as apple pie and others. I got these peanut butter cups but haven't tried them yet either. Hopefully this product means they are branching out into the snack bar world similar to the Atkins snack bars that are more of a sub for candy bars. Anything that helps satisfy our cravings for the bad stuff is great!

WORKING OUT: I am looking forward to working out after my sleeve, in order to tone and get my body to the image I have in my head. How long after the surgery will I be able to work out? Will i have energy to do cardio classes and weight training? Yes, you will be fine to workout fairly soon after surgery. I was jogging and doing kickboxing classes at 3-4 weeks out, and I am now about 16 months out and I just ran a 15K the other day. The important thing for me has been taking the B12 and Iron suppements, otherwise I really notice a drop in energy. HOW MUCH Water CAN I DRINK? I am in Dubai, it's hot as hell here in the summer... so if im super thirsty... i wont be able to quench my thirst? It kind of scares me!!! How does the thirst / quench thing work? I always drink with a straw because it was the only way after surgery I could get enough Fluid. You can't gulp water anymore, but you should be more than able to keep yourself hydrated. I'm in the southern part of the US and regularly workout outside and have never had an issue. Will I be able to drink alcohol again? I don't care much about food, but sometimes i like to go out for drinks with my friends. Will i get drunk faster? After how long can I drink again? and since i heard no carbonated beverages.. how about beer? Because i love beer. You can drink again and you can drink carbonated beverages. They tell you no soda and no beer so you don't drink all your calories in Coke. I drink Diet Pepsi every single day. I'm not a big alcohol drinker so I'm a lightweight as it is. You do probably get drunk faster. It's fine to go out and have a drink or two with friends, but the idea behind the surgery is to not be consuming the fattening stuff (like beer) that got us to the weight we were at to need surgery. Can someone list out the foods that I cannot ever eat again? I tried to make a list from people's stories, so it includes stuff like spicy food, asparagus, carbonated beverages. I believe these things will be bad for the sleeve. This list is different for everyone. There is nothing that medically prevents you from eating or drinking anything you want six weeks after surgery. Your sleeve on the other hand may not agree. I can't eat anything with fat or sugar or I barf, but it seems like I am really in the minority of people that have that issue. How long after the surgery shall I stay in Syria to ensure that all is well? The doctor is saying 4 days. Is this realistic? Syria is in a civil war now, so it's not super safe to stay unnecessarily for a long time, so for those who had it done in Mexico... when is the best time to leave, ensuring that the sleeve didnt leak or anything? I was in a US hospital for three days and entirely on my own at home after that. I would personally not get a surgery like this done in Syria, but four days is realistic. This is a personal question - I am currently uprooting my life, getting a new apartment, new car, starting a new job, is it a good idea (emotionally) to get this surgery now? Or shall i wait until I am more 'settled'. I just want to get it out of the way so I can start seeing changes soon, and incorporate my new body with my new life, and also because just incase I want to get pregnant in the future, I can distance the surgery as far away as possible. I am generally a very strong person so I just want to get some insight if people think this is a very emotionally exhausting experience, or if it could enhance my new life. You are as strong as you let yourself be. Only you can answer that question. I had surgery during a very emotionally difficult time in my life and then I quit my job to work for myself a month later. If you want something, you get it done, if not, you make excuses. For example, I should go running right now, but it's hot, so I'm going to take a nap instead, lol. Excuses.

I had to sign a waiver that I would not drink alcohol for a year if not longer. The way it was explained to me, it has nothing to do with hurting you stomach, but it has everything to do with how your body will handle alcohol. The smaller stomach has fewer enzymes to break down the alcohol and you have teh potential to become inebriated much more quickly. 21 is a special year, but like everyone else said, you should wait. It doesn't matter that there may be alcohol in your Loratab. When you are on Loratab, you are not allowed to drive or handle large equipment/machines because of impaired judgement.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe lortab has 7% alcohol. However, the 500mg acetaminophen is super harsh on your liver as it is. Combining that with the 7% alcohol content is really putting a lot of pressure on your liver. Given that a lot of people are drink lortab multiple times a day, you don't want to add anything extra that would stress your liver out even more

Seriously!! The mean, judgmental, sarcastic people need to calm their ass down! Geesh!! I bet ya'll wouldnt run your mouth like that face to face.. smh! Anyways happy bday to you.. as previously posted by the nice and caring people, i would stay away from alcohol. Take care! Enjoy your bday!

And to some others. I am not taking any medicine what so ever. I also didn't know there was a way to look things up. I am on my phone. Thanks for giving me advice and my doctor never said no alcohol. Thats why i am asking. I do not drink only havr maybe 2 times in my life. Thanks for the info though

I'm curious to know if veterans still follow the "rules". Like a certain amount of Protein per day, no soda, no alcohol, no rice/pasta or heavy carbs in general, etc.... ? I spent last weekend with a cousin who had the surgery a year ago. I was shocked when I saw him eat a burger and had a sprite, later on, he had a rich haggendaz milkshake, then at dinner, a cheese and bacon sandwich with the thickest bread there was in the house, and he ate it all. He does exercise. But it seem to be the only rule he still follows. I couldn't believe everything he ate. So how about everyone else? Veterans? What's life like now?

I never went strictly by the rules and did fine. I exercise pretty consistently. I eat 1800-2000 calories a day. I try to hit 100 carbs every day but that merely by eyeballing as I don't track my food anymore. I am 145 pounds, size. 4.. 5'7.5". I have stayed within. 3 pounds of 145 for months. I drink alcohol & have sweets though when I sense I'm overdoing it I scale back. I drink over a gallon of water every day

Not all of us had the same "rules" anyway. If I ate like your friend I would weigh 300 again. If I eat anything even approaching a "normal" diet I gain pounds. It is just how it is, I need to be a small eater of dense Protein and veggies FOREVER. I do have "treats" like alcohol sometimes but not a daily thing. My daily habits generally follow the "sleever" rules.

I still somewhat follow the rules as well. I exercise some, I don't eat heavy carbs often, junk food is a no no, and I've always drank alcohol since 5-8 weeks out so I still drink. I'm maintaining just fine, but I would never test the waters and push the envelope with a whole milkshake and bread and burgers. I'm not that daring.

I think if there were laws in place, then I'd never have been allowed to have my daughter. I was young, stupid, out of work, and a recent alcoholic and drug addict. Hey! Sign me up for motherhood! When I found out I was pregnant, I stopped all that stuff. I was also born into an abusive family - sexually abusive towards young girls, so I don't think I'd have been allowed to be born to my mother.... God knows what conditions my grandmother was born into! So, a whole line of us up-standing (and IMO WONDERFUL) people wouldn't have been born if there were "good parent" laws. Now, as for removing kids that are in an abusive situation - I'm all for it. But, look what happened in TX this past summer...the state took all kids (required to take all if ANY sexual abuse is suspect) and people got up in arms over it. So, even the laws that we have in place aren't perfect, or widely accepted. Let's get those cleared up before we make new ones.

Hi Mamakatken, I'm glad to hear your weight loss is progressing again. I had my first fill on May 5. It was a little tough at first because I did not realize I'd be back on liquids and mushies for a week. I had business travel scheduled for the next day and was on the road all week. The only time I have problems eating a particular thing is when I'm not paying attention and don't take the time to thoroughly chew whatever I'm eating. I finally had a PB/sliming experience 2 days after my first fill when I ate a roasted chicken leg too fast. It really scared me and it hurt! I don't think I'll let that happen agian....My weight loss has been slow but I knew that would probably be the case. I'm not getting any excercise and I'm drinking alcohol in moderation. I've got to start getting in some walking. I think I may go in for a second fill next week - I'm still eating more than a cup and a half too often. I'm going to Italy on June 1 and I'd like to be settled with my next fill before then. Thanks for sharing your progress on this board - it really helps discussing this with people on the same surgery/fill schedule. Cheers!

Actually the only way to stop an addiction is to quit it and never touch it again. I was a true addict too. I drank about 6 cans a day and quitting seriously sucked. Just like a drug addict or alcoholic can't have their addiction in moderation and remain in control of it, neither can we.

When it comes to food I'm not fussy I will eat whatever. The reason I had the band done is because I simply ate too much even though it's not take away or bbq meals. I never really had a problem with junk food only had it on occasion. drinks on the other hand are my weakness (not alcohol) I love my soft drinks and energy drinks. Is it possible to lose weight while still having drinks? I can cut to the sugar free range but I must have drinks. Of course I still do drink Water but I can't do without my drinks. I asked the doctor and he says diet soda is ok but just gotta watch out as it's still calories. Can't be too much calories though right?

The Big Train Chai Frappe mix is delicious, but it also has sugar alcohol in it - a real bummer on the digestive system....

My surgeon and dietician have both told me I need to stay away from alcohol. You have too remember the carbonation will expand your stomache.