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If you were to heat them in the microwave for a few seconds, they would be soft enough to cut with a fork. I wouldn't go for the ones with dark chocolate or brownie flavors.... those bars were much much thicker and chewier. Of the 12 flavors I've tried, the fruit flavors were the softest. In particular, berry Bliss, strawberry Cheesecake, and Apple Pie. But be careful of the sugar alcohols. The Erythritol sugar alcohol used to sweeten SOME of the bars, it's not used in all of them, caused Frankensleeve a bit of stomach upset... but he's 2 years old now and is a bit more tolerant of new foods. I would wait till I was allowed full foods before eating any Protein bars. Or call your Doc or NUT and see what they advise, they are in the best position to advise you. But if you are going to try them, use my tried and true Frankensleeve new foods taste test: Take a small bite... about the size of a teaspoon. Wait 5 minutes Take another teaspoon sized bite Wait 5 minutes If Frankensleeve hadn't grumbled by then, I knew the food was safe for me to eat. If you would care to hear my review of the 12 bars I tried, here is the link to my Youtube Quest Bar playlist http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYoG14FX5FCXliAUJ1C9EZbn_Ls95ZrUr

Like Sharpie says, it's about volume for me. I used to eat soooo much food and now I don't. There are times I wish I could just go to town but so far, I stop before I get uncomfortable and I am so grateful to be mobile and in small sizes and that helps to keep me focused. I think I'll have to look at this like an alcoholic....one day at a time.

I do not think you are boastful or bragging. You know you have to always be mindful of your eating. It's like a reformed alcoholic or drug addict, You will always have the tendency to eat, but with the band you can be in control. I have been banded for 2 years, Most everyone who knows me has seen me at my current weight and I have stopped getting compliments as much which is okay cause it does get uncomfortable at times. I still have to catch myself especially at night after my husband goes to bed , from eating while watching tv, it was a lifetime habit that had to be changed.

I had my 2 year Surgiversay this past Sunday (2/22/13). My starting weight was 336 lbs. I now weigh 223 lbs. I avoid fast food, anything fried, refined sugar, alcohol and carbonated drinks. I know I would have lost more weight sooner If I would engage in some form of exercise, which I refuse to do. No excuses, not lazy but I feel I have sacrificed plenty. Enjoying my new lifestyle. I remember the days of struggling to tie my shoes like it was yesterday. Never going back!

Efierke, I did not address your statement on alcohol. Less than 20% of alcohol is absorbed in the stomach, the remaining 80%+ is absorbed in the small intestine. I can provide numerous references supporting this if you would like me to.

Not true actually - B12 is absorbed almost exclusively by the stomach, as is alcohol. My understanding of calcium citrate vs carbonate is that there isn't enough acid production to break down the carbonate enough for your body to absorb it properly. Calcium citrate is a much more bioavailable form that doesn't require as much acid to break down.

Special medical conditions aside, you do NOT learn anything new by weighing daily except the false indicators coming from Water gain/losses. Never forget, that in the short run, the scale lies. On the long run, it tells the truth, but think if it more as an indicator, not an exact measure of your progress. Let me give a specific example. If you go out drinking alcohol and consume many extra empty calories you might very well show a loss the following morning as alcohol TENDS to dehydrate you. So, I think we can all agree that partying on the town everynight is counterproductive to your weight loss (not to mention general health and welfare!) and yet it might look like "you got away with it". I also think it is not mentally healthy to obsess on the numbers. In my work we talk alot about leading, versus lagging indicators. A leading indicator of success is how you are managing your food, activity and healhty lifestyle (example, hitting Protein and hydration targets). Pretty good evidence that if you do those things, even if you never step on a scale, you will get slimmer, healthier and lose weight. Lagging indicator is what the scale says. For whatever its worth - yes I care about the scale, but don't let it make you crazy.

While the arguments regarding 'replacement addiction' does address 'sport eating' with 'sport drinking', and the notions of 'addictive personalities' etc all have elements of truth, I reject their conclusions as being necessarily 'the Truth'. Granted we are all weak & seek maximum pleasure by virtue of birth, as a 'behavior' school of interpreting our actions, other theories seem just as likely in my own situation. Boredom, habit, cluelessness, maladaptive spirit of adventure, inattentiveness, and a wide range of other factors influence my own eating behavior. When I gave up alcohol literally overnight circa 1988, there was no sudden surge of increased replacement consumption. Overeating had been present for decades preceding that event, and continued apace without the influences of Demon Rum. Sport Eating is a behavior I better manage by direct means of confrontation and observation WHEN it is occurring.

For me personally, sugar LOVES me and loves to attach itself to me when I consume too much of it. Sure, the carbonation may not upset your pouch, but the sugar/sugar alcohols in the "diet" soda will slow down your progress.

I wonder if some people were on the verge before surgery. Or maybe had a problem already. I like a glass of wine now and then but have always gotten tipsy on one glass so I think that I would have to stay completely away from alcohol altogether.

Easy answer. Transfer addiction. Basically exchanging one addiction (food) to another (alcohol). You being aware you may be at risk is a good start.

Not sure why but I have read countless studies about alcoholism being a direct correlation of weight loss surgery patients.. I know of two people that have had surgeries (one had the sleeve and one had bypass) that are struggling with the use of alcohol and I fear that I could potentially be on the verge.. Has anyone else struggled with this? I also wonder why there is even a connection???

I'm not so much a chocolate fan, but... You can try Carob. Taste is similar to Chocolate. There are also sugar-free Chocolate candies from Russell Stover's, although they have sugar alcohol which can give you gas and diarhea if you eat too much at once. You can also buy Premier Protein Chocolate drinks and Protein Bars.

Just don't forget that alcohol turns to sugar!

I began making lifestyle changes pre-surgery. Six months is a wonderful amount of time to start incorporating healthy changes: Begin eating lower calories. Begin eating lower carbs. Begin eating lower fats. Quit drinking sodas. Quit drinking alcohol. Quit drinking caffeine. Try different Protein shakes to see which ones you like. Watch LOTS of youtube videos from people who've had the surgery. Begin walking. Begin going to the gym. Learn how to cook healthier meals. There is SO much you can do in this time to prepare yourself for a successful post-op healthy lifestyle. The more changes you make pre-op, the easier your post-op transition will be.

I feel that I need to share a statement that was written by someone who is a friend of my coworker. I wish I knew who it was so I can give proper credits. But this statement will really explain how it is to people who dare to say that "surgery is the way out". There is absolutely NOTHING easy about weight loss surgery. Enjoy. Why surgery is the "easy way out" for weight loss! Yep, you heard that right. I've decided that I agree with the myriad non-surgical, gym-loving, overwhelming weight loss successes that feel strongly (and vocally) that surgery is the easy way out. They really are correct. We all should be ashamed of ourselves for taking the shortcut approach and racking up an "un-earned win". Just think about it. To successfully lose weight without surgery, all you have to do is two things: eat less exercise often With surgery, you only have to do one thing: pay a surgeon to make you lose weight Well, perhaps that's a minor oversimplification. There are a few other steps, but they are tiny and insignificant. Not everyone has to do them either! But, just for the sake of objectivity I’ll list most of them that I can think of. (I might miss a couple, but since surgery is the easy way out who cares really.) Let’s see, there is: Convince yourself that you want to do this. This is much more complicated than it seems, so take your time. Don’t get sick before you make a decision. Convince your doctor that this is medically necessary. Convince him/her that you really do want this and you aren’t just someone unwilling to sweat a little. Convince them that you won’t die on the table. Convince them that you aren’t doing this so you can keep eating cake for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. Because that’s the only reason big people are big people. Spend anywhere between 3 months and a year working with your PCP to make a preliminary run at losing weight. This should include: A special diet Exercise Constant office visits to measure progress Significant expense to participate in the diet (Nutrisystem, Medifast, and Jenny Craig, I’m looking at you!) Lots of documentation Likely (if not anticipated) painful, humiliating failure (PS, this is a requirement!) [*] Spend hours to days or more working with your insurance company website, phone reps, and via letter to determine if weight loss surgery is covered at all, assuming they will admit to it. [*] Once you find out it is covered, find out what exactly is covered. Type of surgery, location, type of doctors required, pre-op programs necessary, pre-op medical requirements, pre-op diet requirements, and documentation. Make sure you understand it all clearly because… [*] Meet with your PCP to go over all of the above. Explain to them what most of it means, because they don’t understand. Make sure your work so far will meet the needs of the insurance company. Convince him/her to do the work to get the approval. If not, return to step 1 and try again. (Note: make sure you do all of this quickly- most of these rules are subject to change on January 1, even if you have a 12 month diet requirement. You’ll need to find a way to violate the laws of space and time on your own.) [*] Get a psych evaluation. People who want this surgery are invariably crazy, so we need to confirm that. Don’t use a doc you know. Go somewhere you’ve never been so that they can get that first-blush, cover of the book impression of your particular brand of crazy in the 45 minutes you get with them. Let them write their report confirming your “crazy flavor” to your docs and insurance. They will approve you anyway. [*] Take an online class that confirms the crazy diagnosis. [*] Take another online class that basically tells you if you have the surgery you will likely die horribly on the table, if you’re lucky. You might just become a vegetable and be a possibly fabulous looking skinny burden on everyone you know and love! [*] Find a surgeon that can both perform the surgery (practically, legally, and allowable by the insurance) as well as doing so without causing Errors Infections Hernias Leaks Death [*] Make sure that doc can take your insurance. Not just yoru insurance, but your exact insurance. This may require them to check at least a dozen contracts. [*] Do the same for the hospital. [*] Make sure that hospital you’ll have the surgery in isn’t a festering wound itself. The surgeon can only do so much if when you get to the floor you’re placed in the same bed last used by an Ebola patient with a cold and cleaned by “Blind Larry”. Fortunately there are many websites sponsored by government agencies to help you with this. They will all disagree with each other. [*] Get insurance authorization to have the surgery. Fortunately this process starts the weight loss, as one arm and one leg weigh a surprising amount when removed and given to them. This should take no more than a day or two, tops. [*] Have a discussion with your employer. Let them know that you’ll need a full week off from work in the near future. You know, when you aren’t busy and won’t be missed. Again, if you’re lucky you’ll have vacation and can use that. If not, think of how much extra weight you’ll lose when you can’t afford to eat for lack of a paycheck! OH, you may need more than a week. If you come out healthy. If not, it’ll be more. A lot more. [*] Have a discussion with your family, if you haven’t yet. If you haven’t yet, shame on you for your discretion, personal space, and recognition of the gravity of this decision. Make sure that you convince them that you won’t die, runaway with David Beckham or Eva Longoria (or both if you’re flexible), or otherwise ruin the home. [*] Get answers to all of the questions you have. Fortunately ObesityHelp is a great place for that. You will get no less than 10 answers to every question. Some may actually agree. ☺ [*] Make sure that this is really what you want. This isn’t like buying a car or getting married. This is permanent and there is no going back. Still confident this is the right choice? Now you know your flavor of crazy from item 7. [*] Go on a liquid diet. You may not have anything that you cannot “read a newspaper through”, is solid, has calories, has carbs, has protein, has flavor, or is made of a natural substance. This will last anywhere from two days to a month. Your surgeon will tell you how long. [*] While on the clear liquid diet, please try not to cheat on the diet. More importantly, please try not to defecate on yourself. Here’s a mantra for you: “Never trust a fart!” [*] Have the surgery. This will include: Large, but not quite large enough gowns with special butt exposing panels Freezing rooms Needle fears Vein scavenger hunts Panic attacks Several other fun moments no one will spoil for you to discover [*] Recover from the surgery. This will include: Amazing drugs that will make you fear for the poor 110lb nurse that will help you walk at first. Please don’t fall during this time or you will crush her. You’ll fear this, but only briefly (great drugs remember). Just don’t fall. Walking. Yes, you’ve just had your entire insides rearranged and have more stitching in you than a rented tuxedo, but hey, let’s go for a walk. Every hour. Eating. This is really a game. You have a 3ish ounce container that replaces your stomach. It is swollen, but you don’t really know how much. If you over fill it, you will be in serious pain, and may hurt yourself severely. Here’s the fun part- you’ll be given a selection of hald a dozen clear liquids to choose from. Some will make you retch. Some will taste like heaven. All are more than 3 oz. You- the person who’s complained that Mickey D’s quarter pounders have never once been a quarter pound – now get to determine what 3 oz looks like. Don’t forget two very important things. [*] Going to a bathroom. The author of this article is a male, so with that perspective in mind, consider the male stereotype of urinating. Now imagine that sharpshooter in the hands of someone who cannot see straight, or single vision, is falling asleep on their feet, whose prostate is not yet awake from surgery but whose bladder most definitely is, and who is currently on their 4th IV bag of saline with lactated ringers running wide open. Don’t forget to measure your output! [*] Go home! This is the easy part. Stuff your swollen and now anesthesia free self into a car and try to avoid potholes, cough, sneeze, or breathe too hard. [*] Continue the clear liquid diet for a few more days [*] Progress to protein drinks. These are a joy. There are few if any samples, so make sure you get the 5lb bottle to be sure you love it. [*] Progress to pureed or baby food [*] Progress to cat food or tuna [*] Progress to gourmet cat food or flavored tuna / canned chicken [*] Progress to dog food or chunky soups / heavily cooked soft and unflavored chicken [*] Progress to human food. During this time you will need to learn a few things. These will include: How to eat. Remember you’ve been doing it wrong all your life so this should be easy. You may only have dense protein. You must take in no more than 3-4 oz. You must take an entire 30 minutes in which to do so. You may not drink before, during, or after the meal. You may not have anything spicy. You may not have anything with carbs. No alcohol for at least 6 months, or maybe forever. Nothing liquid. Carbonated anything is permanently off the menu for the rest of your life. Nothing with caffeine. Nothing with less than a 10:1 ratio of protein to carbs Keep calories as low as possible. Learn to keep something that meets all of your dietary needs handy. If you need to eat, not every place can meet your “special needs”. Make sure that you understand that you need to do this for the rest of your life. You can’t change this. Non Surgical people can indulge once and awhile. They can cheat. We rupture. [*] Please remember to keep your intake to levels that would make Ethiopians send you food. This is generally 800 calories, less than 40 carbs, and more than 80 grams of protein per day. You must do all of this in 3 meals with no snacks. [*] Take your supplements: Calcium. Note that it isn’t the same calcium that you can get for a dime on any gas station shelf (Calcium Carbonate). This is a highly refined form of easily absorbable calcium (Calcium Citrate). It will come in three forms: A disgusting snot textured liquid found at Wal-Mart for $11 per week, a myriad of chewable pills that all taste like flavored drywall and cost about $20 per month, and delicious chewable candies that cost $40 per month. Multivitamin. You’ll be doing double doses. Get the adult gummy ones. Find the ones with no carbs. Fiber. Get the adult gummy ones. Find the ones with no carbs. Iron. Some people will take iron. Get chewables. B12. You can do pills under your tongue that taste like yesterday’s fish for $10/month, injections at the doc’s office every 3 weeks, or a nasal spray that costs $350/month. Do all of the above for the rest of your life. Don’t stop or you’ll die. [*] Start to exercise! What, you thought that you didn’t have to exercise? Yep, here’s the trick. You are going to lose weight even if you don’t. Here’s the other trick. It’s easier to take that weight from your bones and muscles if you don’t exercise, so if you don’t work out, all that’s left will be fat! [*] No really, you have to exercise. [*] Yes, that means sweating. [*] Make sure that while you’re going through this easy time in which every hormone you have is at full tilt, every part of your body looks and feels funny, nothing fits, and you generally are proud that you’re losing while also being weirded out by how different everything feels you also take into account everyone else. Remember, this is about them and how they perceive you. You can’t be the popular kid. The healthy person without diabetes, hypertension, edema, or apnea. The more confident employee. The more confident lover. The physically stronger person. The person who wants attention. The person with self-esteem. You need to apologize frequently for these failures and must work hard to gently help these people along to where they can think of you as a lesser person for altogether different reasons than they did before, to preserve their psyche. Stop making your weight loss about you. See? Even with these minor things, it’s obvious. Surgery is the easy way out. Don’t be a sucker. Be strong, and just eat less, and exercise more. It’s that simple! You are stoned on anesthesia. Your judgment aint what it should be. So is your stomach. It’s not going to help you by saying “I’m full” for about 2 weeks to a month.

Here is a statement that was passed on to me regarding the "easy way out" reference. So, it is my turn to pass this on. Enjoy. Why surgery is the "easy way out" for weight loss! Yep, you heard that right. I've decided that I agree with the myriad non-surgical, gym-loving, overwhelming weight loss successes that feel strongly (and vocally) that surgery is the easy way out. They really are correct. We all should be ashamed of ourselves for taking the shortcut approach and racking up an "un-earned win". Just think about it. To successfully lose weight without surgery, all you have to do is two things: eat less exercise often With surgery, you only have to do one thing: pay a surgeon to make you lose weight Well, perhaps that's a minor oversimplification. There are a few other steps, but they are tiny and insignificant. Not everyone has to do them either! But, just for the sake of objectivity I’ll list most of them that I can think of. (I might miss a couple, but since surgery is the easy way out who cares really.) Let’s see, there is: Convince yourself that you want to do this. This is much more complicated than it seems, so take your time. Don’t get sick before you make a decision. Convince your doctor that this is medically necessary. Convince him/her that you really do want this and you aren’t just someone unwilling to sweat a little. Convince them that you won’t die on the table. Convince them that you aren’t doing this so you can keep eating cake for Breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. Because that’s the only reason big people are big people. Spend anywhere between 3 months and a year working with your PCP to make a preliminary run at losing weight. This should include: A special diet Exercise Constant office visits to measure progress Significant expense to participate in the diet (Nutrisystem, Medifast, and Jenny Craig, I’m looking at you!) Lots of documentation Likely (if not anticipated) painful, humiliating failure (PS, this is a requirement!) Spend hours to days or more working with your insurance company website, phone reps, and via letter to determine if weight loss surgery is covered at all, assuming they will admit to it. Once you find out it is covered, find out what exactly is covered. Type of surgery, location, type of doctors required, pre-op programs necessary, pre-op medical requirements, pre-op diet requirements, and documentation. Make sure you understand it all clearly because… Meet with your PCP to go over all of the above. Explain to them what most of it means, because they don’t understand. Make sure your work so far will meet the needs of the insurance company. Convince him/her to do the work to get the approval. If not, return to step 1 and try again. (Note: make sure you do all of this quickly- most of these rules are subject to change on January 1, even if you have a 12 month diet requirement. You’ll need to find a way to violate the laws of space and time on your own.) Get a psych evaluation. People who want this surgery are invariably crazy, so we need to confirm that. Don’t use a doc you know. Go somewhere you’ve never been so that they can get that first-blush, cover of the book impression of your particular brand of crazy in the 45 minutes you get with them. Let them write their report confirming your “crazy flavor” to your docs and insurance. They will approve you anyway. Take an online class that confirms the crazy diagnosis. Take another online class that basically tells you if you have the surgery you will likely die horribly on the table, if you’re lucky. You might just become a vegetable and be a possibly fabulous looking skinny burden on everyone you know and love! Find a surgeon that can both perform the surgery (practically, legally, and allowable by the insurance) as well as doing so without causing Errors Infections Hernias Leaks Death Make sure that doc can take your insurance. Not just yoru insurance, but your exact insurance. This may require them to check at least a dozen contracts. Do the same for the hospital. Make sure that hospital you’ll have the surgery in isn’t a festering wound itself. The surgeon can only do so much if when you get to the floor you’re placed in the same bed last used by an Ebola patient with a cold and cleaned by “Blind Larry”. Fortunately there are many websites sponsored by government agencies to help you with this. They will all disagree with each other. Get insurance authorization to have the surgery. Fortunately this process starts the weight loss, as one arm and one leg weigh a surprising amount when removed and given to them. This should take no more than a day or two, tops. Have a discussion with your employer. Let them know that you’ll need a full week off from work in the near future. You know, when you aren’t busy and won’t be missed. Again, if you’re lucky you’ll have vacation and can use that. If not, think of how much extra weight you’ll lose when you can’t afford to eat for lack of a paycheck! OH, you may need more than a week. If you come out healthy. If not, it’ll be more. A lot more. Have a discussion with your family, if you haven’t yet. If you haven’t yet, shame on you for your discretion, personal space, and recognition of the gravity of this decision. Make sure that you convince them that you won’t die, runaway with David Beckham or Eva Longoria (or both if you’re flexible), or otherwise ruin the home. Get answers to all of the questions you have. Fortunately ObesityHelp is a great place for that. You will get no less than 10 answers to every question. Some may actually agree. ☺ Make sure that this is really what you want. This isn’t like buying a car or getting married. This is permanent and there is no going back. Still confident this is the right choice? Now you know your flavor of crazy from item 7. Go on a liquid diet. You may not have anything that you cannot “read a newspaper through”, is solid, has calories, has carbs, has Protein, has flavor, or is made of a natural substance. This will last anywhere from two days to a month. Your surgeon will tell you how long. While on the clear liquid diet, please try not to cheat on the diet. More importantly, please try not to defecate on yourself. Here’s a mantra for you: “Never trust a fart!” Have the surgery. This will include: Large, but not quite large enough gowns with special butt exposing panels Freezing rooms Needle fears Vein scavenger hunts Panic attacks Several other fun moments no one will spoil for you to discover Recover from the surgery. This will include: Amazing drugs that will make you fear for the poor 110lb nurse that will help you walk at first. Please don’t fall during this time or you will crush her. You’ll fear this, but only briefly (great drugs remember). Just don’t fall. Walking. Yes, you’ve just had your entire insides rearranged and have more stitching in you than a rented tuxedo, but hey, let’s go for a walk. Every hour. Eating. This is really a game. You have a 3ish ounce container that replaces your stomach. It is swollen, but you don’t really know how much. If you over fill it, you will be in serious pain, and may hurt yourself severely. Here’s the fun part- you’ll be given a selection of hald a dozen Clear liquids to choose from. Some will make you retch. Some will taste like heaven. All are more than 3 oz. You- the person who’s complained that Mickey D’s quarter pounders have never once been a quarter pound – now get to determine what 3 oz looks like. Don’t forget two very important things. You are stoned on anesthesia. Your judgment aint what it should be. So is your stomach. It’s not going to help you by saying “I’m full” for about 2 weeks to a month. Going to a bathroom. The author of this article is a male, so with that perspective in mind, consider the male stereotype of urinating. Now imagine that sharpshooter in the hands of someone who cannot see straight, or single vision, is falling asleep on their feet, whose prostate is not yet awake from surgery but whose bladder most definitely is, and who is currently on their 4th IV bag of saline with lactated ringers running wide open. Don’t forget to measure your output! Go home! This is the easy part. Stuff your swollen and now anesthesia free self into a car and try to avoid potholes, cough, sneeze, or breathe too hard. Continue the clear liquid diet for a few more days Progress to Protein drinks. These are a joy. There are few if any samples, so make sure you get the 5lb bottle to be sure you love it. Progress to pureed or baby food Progress to cat food or tuna Progress to gourmet cat food or flavored tuna / canned chicken Progress to dog food or chunky Soups / heavily cooked soft and unflavored chicken Progress to human food. During this time you will need to learn a few things. These will include: How to eat. Remember you’ve been doing it wrong all your life so this should be easy. You may only have dense protein. You must take in no more than 3-4 oz. You must take an entire 30 minutes in which to do so. You may not drink before, during, or after the meal. You may not have anything spicy. You may not have anything with carbs. No alcohol for at least 6 months, or maybe forever. Nothing liquid. Carbonated anything is permanently off the menu for the rest of your life. Nothing with caffeine. Nothing with less than a 10:1 ratio of protein to carbs Keep calories as low as possible. Learn to keep something that meets all of your dietary needs handy. If you need to eat, not every place can meet your “special needs”. Make sure that you understand that you need to do this for the rest of your life. You can’t change this. Non Surgical people can indulge once and awhile. They can cheat. We rupture. Please remember to keep your intake to levels that would make Ethiopians send you food. This is generally 800 calories, less than 40 carbs, and more than 80 grams of protein per day. You must do all of this in 3 meals with no Snacks. Take your supplements: Calcium. Note that it isn’t the same calcium that you can get for a dime on any gas station shelf (Calcium Carbonate). This is a highly refined form of easily absorbable calcium (Calcium Citrate). It will come in three forms: A disgusting snot textured liquid found at Wal-Mart for $11 per week, a myriad of chewable pills that all taste like flavored drywall and cost about $20 per month, and delicious chewable candies that cost $40 per month. Multivitamin. You’ll be doing double doses. Get the adult gummy ones. Find the ones with no carbs. Fiber. Get the adult gummy ones. Find the ones with no carbs. Iron. Some people will take iron. Get chewables. B12. You can do pills under your tongue that taste like yesterday’s fish for $10/month, injections at the doc’s office every 3 weeks, or a nasal spray that costs $350/month. Do all of the above for the rest of your life. Don’t stop or you’ll die. Start to exercise! What, you thought that you didn’t have to exercise? Yep, here’s the trick. You are going to lose weight even if you don’t. Here’s the other trick. It’s easier to take that weight from your bones and muscles if you don’t exercise, so if you don’t work out, all that’s left will be fat! No really, you have to exercise. Yes, that means sweating. Make sure that while you’re going through this easy time in which every hormone you have is at full tilt, every part of your body looks and feels funny, nothing fits, and you generally are proud that you’re losing while also being weirded out by how different everything feels you also take into account everyone else. Remember, this is about them and how they perceive you. You can’t be the popular kid. The healthy person without diabetes, hypertension, edema, or apnea. The more confident employee. The more confident lover. The physically stronger person. The person who wants attention. The person with self-esteem. You need to apologize frequently for these failures and must work hard to gently help these people along to where they can think of you as a lesser person for altogether different reasons than they did before, to preserve their psyche. Stop making your weight loss about you. See? Even with these minor things, it’s obvious. Surgery is the easy way out. Don’t be a sucker. Be strong, and just eat less, and exercise more. It’s that simple!

Margaritas are extremely high in calories. If they offer a skinny or low calorie version that would be better. I drink prosecco. Yes it is somewhat bubbly but I let the bubbles die down some. You can get a whole glass for 50 calories. I ran this by my surgeon last week and he said I'm good to go with that as my alcohol choice.

Agree with other posters.... beer bubbles will make you feel uncomfortable. Keep in mind too that your alcohol tolerance will change now with your sleeve. I can get a slight buzz on 1/2 glass of wine now. I stick with heavily watered down margaritas, fruity martinis. And..... I make sure I'm not driving. You might want to just kinda experiment at home. Will also vary on if you have eaten or if you are empty.

@@binleyvelz I too struggled for years with alcohol and am lucky enough to say 14 months sober. You sound like your questioning your judgment in your drinking habits. We aren't professionals here so please seek out someone that can help you decide what is right for you. I send to you the best of luck and health in your weight lose endeavors.

Easy?? S'cuse me? There is nothing Easy about the lap band, it's a tool to work with to help me lose weight and become healthy but it's not easy! Surgery of ANY kind is dangerous , there is the risk of dying, especially when one is obese and having surgery. There are also MANY post op complications that can occur incld the risk ones body may reject foreign objects in it.... I know that "skinny" people think fat people are lazy, over eat, ect., food is an addiction just like drugs, gambling, alcohol, smoking ect., just it SHOWS ...IF we brought fat on ourselves then SO did every druggie alcoholic, gambler, sex ect ect addict out there!! Plus one can NOT STOP eating, one can STOP all other addictions and Never have to have them ever again, but you can't stop eating food. For that reason I consider a Food Addiction worse than any other. Also some obese people have truly legit medical issues. I, for instance, have PCOS which makes it VERY HARD to lose weight..even WITH the lap band, I have to eat less, and work harder than the average person to lose weight because of it, & I may never be as thin as I want to be simply because my body fights me on it. There is NO cure for PCOS and it wreaks havoc on my body. I am NOT using PCOS as an excuse by any means I am simply stating it makes it That much harder to lose weight I quit smoking cold turkey over a year ago...never looked back..I will never smoke again, yet food...I can't not eat...Oh how I wish I could...one has to eat to survive, so one has to Re-learn what to eat, portion control....it's hard ...everything in our society promotes Over eating and Huge portions...Yet...it also promotes Thinness...an oxymoron if you ask me! I agree Mountaingirl, if there were a surgery for those things it would be hailed as genius! Fat is the last frontier that can be abused...Overweight ppl are discriminated against, abused, made fun of..looked down on...you name it and fat people have had to endure it!! Do NOT be ashamed about getting WLS! Stand tall & proud! It is NOT an easy way out! Be PROUD of who you are and what you have accomplished with WLS! it is a tool that you used to help become a healthy person! Never be ashamed of that! If someone puts you down for having WLS...tell them to kiss your newly skinny butt! HA! Holy crap I just saw how much you lost in 5 months! OMG you go girl!!! I think I will think I'm in heaven if I lose that much!!! I am the same height as you and only 5 lbs more than you! course I just started this 2 weeks ago...but a girl can dream! So...Yup I had WLS...Look at ME....I stand proud and tall and anyone who wants to put me down for it can kiss my butt!!!

I'm 6 months post-op, and I now drink wine. But never more than 3-4 ounces, and I drink it very slowly -- usually over a couple of hours. The alcohol seems to hit me a little harder and faster than it used to (or it certainly would if I drank 4 ounces during an hour's time as I did pre-op). I've not had beer yet, due to the carbonation warnings. And probably won't for a long time. Besides, beer's just not my thing. However, I've read of many WLS patients online who do have the occasional beer and don't overdo it. 11 weeks out is about 2-1/2 months. If I were you, I'd hold out until 3 months. And then try a quarter or half a beer at home -- not in public, so you know how your new tummy will react to it. And yes, I've read about the dangers post-op of carbonation, transfer addictions, etc.

I understand about enjoying a beverage every once in awhile -- my surgeon Dr. Steven Boyce of Knoxville, TN says NO alcohol for one year. Sorry! He said the alcohol is processed differently after surgery. So -- no single malt for me for awhile. And I wanted this procedure for so long, I'm following his advice.

Now that I'm 20 mths post op, nothing but sorbitol (read:sugar alcohols) messes with my stomach. In the beginning, I found more than 2 bites of ice cream (and yes, I'm hard headed. Took a few tests to come to that conclusion) and I was writhing in pain. Now, unfortunately, I can eat a small scoop. But the low calorie/low carb coffee frappe at my fav coffee shop has me in the bathroom, feeling like I want to die. I KNOW it must have sorbitol. Same with Atkins bars. I'm not an Atkins fan but hubby is and there's always bars hanging around. Occasionally I'll eat 1. Just 1 and I'm ok. If i try more than 1 bite of 1, I pay for it for about 4 hrs. I guess it keeps the constipation away! Haven't found anything else that hurts my stomach. I do know what my sliders are: popcorn, chips, crackers, yogurt, and sometimes, Cookies. Depends what kind they r. Can't eat more than 1 homemade cookie but I can eat 5 Girl Scout Samoas. And popcorn; I can eat my weight in. Hope ur feeling better and take my advice: Don't push ur tummy. U will regret it eventually if u learn that ice cream doesnt hurt! Wish I still thought it hurt me! Instead I pushed the envelope till it no longer hurt. Now i regret it! Take care!

Yeah, niacin shortage doesn't make much sense to me. BTW, VSG patients aren't instructed to take niacin separately, although 100% of a day's niacin needs are in the Multivitamin I take. People do die of niacin deficiencies. They tend to be people who live in poverty, are alcoholics, and are generally malnourished. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niacin