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So I had a weekend of being BAD in New Orleans. ???? I have lost 51 pounds since pre-op and ahead of goal. Last Wed. I flew into NO with hubs and OMG. I didn't eat as bad as I would pre-surgery by no means. BUT I didn't make the best choices either. Bloody Mary's, butter laden crab claws, and a 1/2 a beignet. I know, I'm going to hell right?? Lol No, would just love to hear from some of the vets that might have had the same lapse and was able to get right back on goal. Oh and for the pre-ops that want to know about eating post-op. Yes, for some you'll be able to eat what you want without getting sick. But no where near as much and alcohol doesn't have any different effect on me than before. I skipped the sugary mixes and drank straight liquor.

I'm on the "Liver Shrinking Diet" and am 8 lbs down in 10 days so if you're on something similar, then yeah that sounds about right. A lot of patients lose a good chunk of weight pre-op. My diet is 3 meals with Protein (any amount) and up to 2 cups of veggies (non starch) only. I am to avoid fruit ( ), dairy, nuts/nut milks, grains, starches, sugars, carbonated drinks, coffee, black or green tea, and alcohol. I'm supplementing my diet with Isopure Protein Drinks. No snacking, 64 oz Water minimum a day. It's hard because I work in an office setting and there are always donuts and bagels around but I am determined to do what I'm supposed to do to get to the next step. If my liver is still too large at my next appt I'll have to keep up this diet until it's small enough. I don't want to do anything that will delay me getting my surgery scheduled.

Oh I'm so glad I didn't watch the biggest loser. I would have been fuming based on what you all are saying about the put down once again of folks who've had WLS. There needs to be a concerted effort to show that those with WLS are able to keep the weight off better than those who have not had WLS. Then maybe it won't be seen as the easy way out but the more permanent solution. I bet if there was a surgery to help alcoholics stay away from the booze, there would be lots of those surgeries and it would be called a medical miracle. Why oh why are we put down for being fat, and then put down for being successful in losing/maintaining a healthy weight. You can't win for losing I guess. F**K 'em all.

I have not yet had surgery either but the journey thus far has taught me a lot about myself. Despite my issues with the psych doc I chose to do the evaluation, he said a lot that opened my eyes to my habits and tendencies. Knowing more about me has made my prayers different. Having friends and family who are supportive prayer warriors who don't care what I think and will tell me what I need to hear and not what I want to hear is a huge plus for me on this journey. I have also been introduced to food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous and though I've only been to one meeting so far, it was an extremely eye opening experience. I try to live by the serinity prayer and the Lord's prayer. It's funny, I started putting g those prayers together 20 some years ago as a child when u went to support a family member in alcoholics anonymous. I didn't fully understand their power until recently and they are a great comfort for me.

My thoughts: its viewed as the wrong way because people who are overweight brought it on themselves and should have to tackle it themselves. Well thats crap. If there were a surgical option for people with drug or alcohol addictions/problems no one would second guess the genius of it. There's a huge prejudice against fat and the media and ignorance fuel that fire. I struggle with telling people I've had WLS because in one way its none of their business but am I making it worse by acting ashamed by my choice? A real conundrum for me.

Natrol makes a strawberry chewable/dissolving Biotin. I'm like a 5 year old when it comes to Vitamins and pills. I want fruit flavors and dinosaur shapes if at all possible, lol. I go out to eat all the time. It's not a problem. I have a stomach the size of toddler. Does that stop toddlers from going out to eat? Nooooooo. They are everywhere you look. Are they all worked up because they can't eat a mountain of food? Nooooooo. None of them are feeling deprived. They're happy. You will be too. I get 3 full meals from an entree, a little less if I share with my pets when I get home. No one gives a damn if you clean your plate or not. It's all about the fun, going to a nice place and having good food. You can make good food choices from any menu. I very rarely drank before surgery and I found my alcohol tolerance has lessened, but every once in a while I will order a drink before dinner and have a few sips because I want to. Four or five sips of wine or a Cosmo while waiting for the food doesn't affect the food volume for me. I don't make an issue over what or how much or what I am eating and no one really notices. Of course my weight loss is really noticeable, but I have been talking about things like "the gym" and "watching what I eat" in general so the comments I do get are encouraging and playful in nature.

The regrets I have are in my head and related to food addiction... period. I miss being able to pig out on oh-so-yummy but horrible-for-me food that I used to love... for example this weekend is the Superbowl and our team is going to WIN.. GO HAWKS! My hubby will be making his famous nachos and I would love to chow down on some of those with everyone, along with all the other things that will be available but it can't happen because I will eat a tiny taste of a couple of things and feel completely full. Not to mention, no alcohol... so it kind of leaves me feeling left out sometimes I guess. But this feeling feels WAY BETTER than the feeling of being the fat girl in the room and self conscious and embarrassed and sick and tired and in pain and all of the medical conditions I dealt with so... that is what I remind that food addict when she creeps into my consciousness because I am going to look so cute in my new smaller size Seahawks Jersey and feel great while I watch my team take the Superbowl 2 years in a row! The regrets I do have are much smaller than the joys I have every day. I feel so blessed to have had this surgery and would do it again in a heartbeat!

I smoked for over 25 years, with a ~2 year quit in there but went right back to smoking during a stressful time period... that being said, I quit completely a bit over 2 months before my surgery. I haven't gone back either, and I miss smoking and still think about it almost daily even tho I'm more than 110 days clean. And I can't promise that I'm forever quit since I do miss it so much. But here's the thing: I know that I'm an addict. I don't really miss it; that's the addiction talking. It's just like being an alcoholic. I can't have just one smoke or do it for a little while and quit again. I will always struggle with staying off cigarettes and I recognize that, and will do my very best to make sure I don't pick it back up again because it will hurt my health and likely kill me if I do. So yeah, totally conflicted but hanging on as hard as I can to my quit because I deserve to be healthy - despite that stupid addiction. There are no benefits from smoking - zero, zilch, nada. I had weight loss surgery because I also had issues with food and eating and I want to be healthy and live an active and enjoyable life with my husband. Being morbidly obese wasn't conducive to that idea, and neither is smoking. There is no good reason to smoke, and I've witnessed two family members die a slow, agonizing smoking related death... I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. And yet I still have that insane little voice inside that just wants a damned cigarette. Irrational and stupid, but that's what an addiction is. You can't get any more blatant than that. So that is just one more reason to not smoke - because I am not going to be thought of (in my own mind anyway) as a stupid person. And using an e-cig is just as bad if not worse. All you're doing is changing the method of delivery and still putting poison into your body while fooling yourself into believing that it is healthy. They're still in the early days of studying the health effects and the news coming out now is NOT good. Saying they're safer than cigarettes (even using the no nicotine cartridges) is like saying that playing with one poisonous snake is safer than playing with 10 of them... they are still dangerous. http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/California-Declares-E-Cigs-Are-Health-Threats-290104881.html https://www.sciencenews.org/article/health-risks-e-cigarettes-emerge I quit using the Allen Carr method (the vids are available up on youtube) and a phone app (Butt Out only available on iphones unfortunately, but there are plenty of quit apps) and told myself that the quit was temporary until I got healed from surgery. But I'm sticking with it as long as I can, because I know I feel better now than when I was smoking, and frankly it's nice to not be coughing and wheezing, have warm fingers and toes, and not smell nasty (and yes, you do smell nasty ALL OF THE TIME to non-smokers - that sh!t is in your hair, your clothes, embedded in your skin... I can smell smokers a mile away now, and had friends tell me the same thing). Look, I'm not telling anyone to quit smoking. You have to be an adult to smoke anyway, so I'm assuming that you know enough to know that it's got no benefits, is harmful to your health and you're wasting money and throwing away years of your life to do something that is in essence a nasty habit that will cripple and then kill you in the end. Only you can decide if you're worth quitting for - no one can do it for you. But if you just went through something as extreme as weight loss surgery, you have to care a little about getting your health and well-being back on track!

For me there are several shades of green -- it's definitely more of a range or a zone then whatever pinnacle I sought to achieve at the start of this adventure. Like others, some days I am not hungry at all. I am never hungry before mid-day, and because my "rule" is to eat when I'm hungry and not eat if I'm not hungry, I just skip breakfast and enjoy my tea. I am always able to drink well and am even something of a glugger. Lately coffee (new to me) and sometimes tea can make my band noisy -- a throat gurgling that I find embarrassing. I still really enjoy food but part of that is my identity as a cook. I love food preparation and presentation. Often I will make something that I end up not wanting to eat but that is fine with me. I enjoy the process anyway. For example I made polenta the other day for the snowstorm. It's beautifully done with homemade stock, onions and garlic from our own garden, but one bite and I could see that, like rice, it's not band-friendly for me. I don't eat rice and don't miss it. Once in a blue moon I will have a taste of gluten-free Pasta but otherwise I don't eat pasta either. I have no cravings for foods I used to want before. I wouldn't try eating pizza because, to me, it's just not something I want and it's likely it would get stuck anyway. I haven't been officially stuck for quite a while but in my early months I had to learn a lot of behavioral modification. I eat with a very small shrimp fork and I have a long baby spoon I like for my yogurt, etc. When I eat yogurt, I mix in a little GF Cereal and some nuts, usually chia as well for digestion, and this makes it not be a slider for me. I know that chewing is the key to my satiety. I have a few weaknesses and do not restrict myself as that was a mentality that did nothing to serve me in the past. I often have to remind myself that I AM NOT ON A DIET. It's a mental thing with me. If there's something I want, I go ahead and have a bite. A friend brought a homemade carrot cake to a dinner the other night and I had my one bite just to be able to comment on it -- I really had no desire for even that bite, much less more. And I didn't even think of trying the frosting. The sugar may have set me off and there is no reason to set myself up for anything like that when I'm ambivalent in the first place. My weaknesses include cheese, which can be a slider for me, olives -- but I can have only a couple and take a long time to savor them. I do drink alcohol. Mostly I guess for me the green zone is about being able to really listen to my body because there is no distraction of my brain harping away about food.....that dialogue in my head has been eliminated and I am free to just live. I love that! I do not obsess about Protein, though I do love protein. Salmon is something I often order out in the world. I love beef, I cook with chicken thighs rather than breasts for the most part -- I make a lot of chilis and stews. If there's anything I miss it might be the giant salad lifestyle. You know, the HUGE bowl of salad (plenty of olive oil, of course) and really tearing into it. Well, if missing being a salad pig is my crisis, I guess I'm doing pretty well! Back to the unpredictability of my green zone -- there are times when I plan something, like going out to lunch, and have no appetite -- and other times when I am suddenly hungry. I eat then and I have to have it fast. My husband often fries me an egg for these occasions. It's as though when that urge comes on it needs to be immediate. Love it that my body tells me what it needs and all I have to do is follow.

I think number three is a biggie and number 5 strongly correlates. Just show some willpower, just move more, just cut out the sugar or cheese or alcohol or whatever. Ugh. That said, I see a difference from when I was banded in 2008 to my revision this month. Whether its due to the AMA classification of obesity as a disease or the recognition by the medical community that for many people the only route to long term success is surgery or the numbers of people undergoing surgery and seeing success or insurance realizing lower expenses from healthier people following WLS, I think there's been a perceptual change.

I've posted this thread in 2 other topics just to vent and hopefully help others not make my mistakes so if you see it more than once I'm sorry, getting this off my chest to more people just makes me feel better. Before you have gastric bypass they warn you of a few things. 1. You can gain the weight back 2. Alcoholism is a possible side effect after surgery 3. food that used to fill you up or make you sick won't do that as much after awhile 4. Smoking cigarettes causes ulcers post-op My mom always says no matter how much I'm warned - I've always had to learn every lesson the hard way. Gastric bypass was that way too. My story is just a warning for all you guys out there - it's true, I'm the prime example of all the stuff they warn you about. Hey, I'm Kaylee and I had my surgery when I was 20 years old on June 11, 2012. I was 280lbs. In less than 8 months I got down to 150 lbs, 130lbs lost. For the first 9 months I was insanely strict. If it wasn't a lean Protein or a non-starchy vegetable I wouldn't eat it. Couldn't pay me to eat a carb. While this is good health wise and I'm sure made my surgical team sing - it was the start of my inevitable failure. I was so strict that after awhile all the foods I had denied myself even a nibble of became so enticing I felt ravenous. My first screw up was picking up smoking again almost a year after I quit. Pure stupidity, I was just bored and thought I could do it socially, wrong. Got ulcers and have had them for over a year and a half. Without acid reducer pills I'm in a lot of pain. Breaking that golden rule led me to break other rules because hey, I already screwed up right? I started having those forbidden foods I had not allowed myself to even look at for such a long time. Bites turned into mouth fulls turned into plate fulls. Then came introducing wine back into my life. I suffer from depression and when you don't have to put effort into getting drunk anymore it is so appealing. I fought depression with wine and started drinking every single night - going through a box of wine every 3 days or so. I then moved from sunny south Florida, away from all my friends, to cold Missouri in the middle of January 2014. I fell into a deep depression and my drinking got worse, and since I was waiting for all my stuff to arrive in the moving truck I lived off hot pockets, bagels, pretty much anything I could toss in a microwave or toaster. I ate crap, drank daily and smoked like a chimney for pretty much the entire year of 2014, all the while pretending my scale didn't exist and convincing myself my clothes were shrinking and I wasn't getting bigger. I was too ashamed and terrified to look at the scale. I finally got up the courage to face what I had done to myself the start of January 2015 and got on the scale. 204lbs. In the span of one year I had gained 54lbs. I felt disgusted with myself and cried for days and days and beat myself up emotionally. I failed everyone, especially myself. But nothing good comes from beating yourself up over what you cannot take back. I can't take back living on bagels and wine for an entire year. What I can do is fight to get back to 150lbs though. So on January 12 I quit smoking, quit drinking every day and have reduced it to just Saturday's with my boyfriend at home versus my downtown-bad-habit-factory, and have gotten close to back to basics but allow myself some freedom - for example for lunch on days I work out I let myself have my chicken and veggies inside a wrap [carbs are my crack] instead of depriving myself of anything I want. I want very badly to get back down to 150lbs... I'm terrified I never will and have somehow ruined this "one and only chance" I've made up in my head. Like I had this wonderful gift of being thin and now that I messed it up I'll never get it back, but I know that type of thinking won't help me. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully someday get back to it. If you've actually made it this far, thank you, I really needed to get this horrible guilt off my chest. I feel like an absolute failure but getting it out helps. So if I can give you guys any advice: 1. Yes you can gain it back, I'm an example. 2. Becoming an alcoholic is a real risk you need to watch out for post op. 3. You will be surprised how much food you can get into your body if you really try 4. If you quit smoking never pick it up again, I didn't even have a desire to smoke and managed to become a pack a day smoker again within a month. Not even one after you quit. And most of all - NEVER EVER stop using your scale. I ignored what I was doing for so long and that's how I ended up gaining the amount I did. If I had just looked a couple months before and saw 175lbs I would've done what I'm doing now back then. I would have never let it get this bad if I had just swallowed my pride and looked. I'm lucky that I caught myself when I did because I was headed towards being morbidly obese again. Good luck to you all - try not to make all the mistakes I did. Here's to hoping I can look like this again

Before you have gastric bypass they warn you of a few things. 1. You can gain the weight back 2. Alcoholism is a possible side effect after surgery 3. food that used to fill you up or make you sick won't do that as much after awhile 4. Smoking cigarettes causes ulcers post-op My mom always says no matter how much I'm warned - I've always had to learn every lesson the hard way. Gastric bypass was that way too. My story is just a warning for all you newbies out there - all the stuff they warn you about is real. Hey, I'm Kaylee and I had my surgery when I was 20 years old on June 11, 2012. I was 280lbs. In less than 8 months I got down to 150 lbs, 130lbs lost. For the first 9 months I was insanely strict. If it wasn't a lean Protein or a non-starchy vegetable I wouldn't eat it. Couldn't pay me to eat a carb. While this is good health wise and I'm sure made my surgical team sing - it was the start of my inevitable failure. I was so strict that after awhile all the foods I had denied myself even a nibble of became so enticing I felt ravenous. My first screw up was picking up smoking again almost a year after I quit. Pure stupidity, I was just bored and thought I could do it socially, wrong. Got ulcers and have had them for over a year and a half. Without acid reducer pills I'm in a lot of pain. Breaking that golden rule led me to break other rules because hey, I already screwed up right? I started having those forbidden foods I had not allowed myself to even look at for such a long time. Bites turned into mouth fulls turned into plate fulls. Then came introducing wine back into my life. I suffer from depression and when you don't have to put effort into getting drunk anymore it is so appealing. I fought depression with wine and started drinking every single night - going through a box of wine every 3 days or so. I then moved from sunny south Florida, away from all my friends, to cold Missouri in the middle of January 2014. I fell into a deep depression and my drinking got worse, and since I was waiting for all my stuff to arrive in the moving truck I lived off hot pockets, bagels, pretty much anything I could toss in a microwave or toaster. I ate crap, drank daily and smoked like a chimney for pretty much the entire year of 2014, all the while pretending my scale didn't exist and convincing myself my clothes were shrinking and I wasn't getting bigger. I was too ashamed and terrified to look at the scale. I finally got up the courage to face what I had done to myself the start of January 2015 and got on the scale. 204lbs. In the span of one year I had gained 54lbs. I felt disgusted with myself and cried for days and days and beat myself up emotionally. I failed everyone, especially myself. But nothing good comes from beating yourself up over what you cannot take back. I can't take back living on bagels and wine for an entire year. What I can do is fight to get back to 150lbs though. So on January 12 I quit smoking, quit drinking every day and have reduced it to just Saturday's with my boyfriend at home versus my downtown-bad-habit-factory, and have gotten close to back to basics but allow myself some freedom - for example for lunch on days I work out I let myself have my chicken and veggies inside a wrap [carbs are my crack] instead of depriving myself of anything I want. I want very badly to get back down to 150lbs... I'm terrified I never will and have somehow ruined this "one and only chance" I've made up in my head. Like I had this wonderful gift of being thin and now that I messed it up I'll never get it back, but I know that type of thinking won't help me. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully someday get back to it. If you've actually made it this far, thank you, I really needed to get this horrible guilt off my chest. I feel like an absolute failure but getting it out helps. So advice to all you n00bs: 1. Yes you can gain it back, I'm an example. 2. Becoming an alcoholic is a real risk you need to watch out for post op. 3. You will be surprised how much food you can get into your body if you really try 4. If you quit smoking never pick it up again, I didn't even have a desire to smoke and managed to become a pack a day smoker again within a month. Not even one after you quit. And most of all - NEVER EVER stop using your scale. I ignored what I was doing for so long and that's how I ended up gaining the amount I did. If I had just looked a couple months before and saw 175lbs I would've done what I'm doing now back then. I would have never let it get this bad if I had just swallowed my pride and looked. I'm lucky that I caught myself when I did because I was headed towards being morbidly obese again. Good luck to you all - try not to make all the mistakes I did. If my story can prevent one person from making one of my many mistakes I'd be happy.

Before you have gastric bypass they warn you of a few things. 1. You can gain the weight back 2. Alcoholism is a possible side effect after surgery 3. food that used to fill you up or make you sick won't do that as much after awhile 4. Smoking cigarettes causes ulcers post-op My mom always says no matter how much I'm warned - I've always had to learn every lesson the hard way. Gastric bypass was that way too. My story is just a warning for all you newbies out there - all the stuff they warn you about is real. Hey, I'm Kaylee and I had my surgery when I was 20 years old on June 11, 2012. I was 280lbs. In less than 8 months I got down to 150 lbs, 130lbs lost. For the first 9 months I was insanely strict. If it wasn't a lean Protein or a non-starchy vegetable I wouldn't eat it. Couldn't pay me to eat a carb. While this is good health wise and I'm sure made my surgical team sing - it was the start of my inevitable failure. I was so strict that after awhile all the foods I had denied myself even a nibble of became so enticing I felt ravenous. My first screw up was picking up smoking again almost a year after I quit. Pure stupidity, I was just bored and thought I could do it socially, wrong. Got ulcers and have had them for over a year and a half. Without acid reducer pills I'm in a lot of pain. Breaking that golden rule led me to break other rules because hey, I already screwed up right? I started having those forbidden foods I had not allowed myself to even look at for such a long time. Bites turned into mouth fulls turned into plate fulls. Then came introducing wine back into my life. I suffer from depression and when you don't have to put effort into getting drunk anymore it is so appealing. I fought depression with wine and started drinking every single night - going through a box of wine every 3 days or so. I then moved from sunny south Florida, away from all my friends, to cold Missouri in the middle of January 2014. I fell into a deep depression and my drinking got worse, and since I was waiting for all my stuff to arrive in the moving truck I lived off hot pockets, bagels, pretty much anything I could toss in a microwave or toaster. I ate crap, drank daily and smoked like a chimney for pretty much the entire year of 2014, all the while pretending my scale didn't exist and convincing myself my clothes were shrinking and I wasn't getting bigger. I was too ashamed and terrified to look at the scale. I finally got up the courage to face what I had done to myself the start of January 2015 and got on the scale. 204lbs. In the span of one year I had gained 54lbs. I felt disgusted with myself and cried for days and days and beat myself up emotionally. I failed everyone, especially myself. But nothing good comes from beating yourself up over what you cannot take back. I can't take back living on bagels and wine for an entire year. What I can do is fight to get back to 150lbs though. So on January 12 I quit smoking, quit drinking every day and have reduced it to just Saturday's with my boyfriend at home versus my downtown-bad-habit-factory, and have gotten close to back to basics but allow myself some freedom - for example for lunch on days I work out I let myself have my chicken and veggies inside a wrap [carbs are my crack] instead of depriving myself of anything I want. I want very badly to get back down to 150lbs... I'm terrified I never will and have somehow ruined this "one and only chance" I've made up in my head. Like I had this wonderful gift of being thin and now that I messed it up I'll never get it back, but I know that type of thinking won't help me. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully someday get back to it. If you've actually made it this far, thank you, I really needed to get this horrible guilt off my chest. I feel like an absolute failure but getting it out helps. So advice to all you n00bs: 1. Yes you can gain it back, I'm an example. 2. Becoming an alcoholic is a real risk you need to watch out for post op. 3. You will be surprised how much food you can get into your body if you really try 4. If you quit smoking never pick it up again, I didn't even have a desire to smoke and managed to become a pack a day smoker again within a month. Not even one after you quit. And most of all - NEVER EVER stop using your scale. I ignored what I was doing for so long and that's how I ended up gaining the amount I did. If I had just looked a couple months before and saw 175lbs I would've done what I'm doing now back then. I would have never let it get this bad if I had just swallowed my pride and looked. I'm lucky that I caught myself when I did because I was headed towards being morbidly obese again. Good luck to you all - try not to make all the mistakes I did. Here's to hoping I can look like this again

I already had my husband do the freak out only he lost his temper lol.Did it a couple of weeks ago where he was a pissed off man at everything lol. I fussed at him over not fixing something before it broke and he just lost it completely. He yelled about everything being wrong, tried to pull the pity card, etc, so while he was in his tantrum I left to run errands for a few hrs to give him time to cool off, came home and he started again....over jello. He had told me he wanted some lime jello to eat when I snacked on my sugar free stuff. Well the store didn't have lime so I grabbed cherry, oh boy that started the yelling anew lol. He stormed out and left, he needed to cool off and took a drive. Also stopped at a different store and got his lime jello! Took a few days but he finally admitted he's scared of losing me. Says he knows he shouldn't worry, but can't help it. Also not liking it that he has to leave me at the preop door because he's allergic to alcohol.

Check out the Jan. 26 issue of PEOPLE magazine, pgs 80-86. Deborah Voight once lost her gig due to her weight. Had GBS, lost 100 pounds, had skin removal, slipped into alcoholism but is now doing well. Just an FYI.

I don't think of carbs as "the enemy" the way some people seem to. My nutritionist never advised me to limit carbs to any specific number and carbs are the only form of fuel your brain can use, so you need some! I just focus on getting all of my Protein in and that usually means I don't get many carbs and I'm fine with that. If my protein source happens to have some carbs attached to it, then so be it. My calories are only coming from three macro-nutrients: protein, fat, and carbs. If I get the 100 gram upper range of my protein target every day, that's 400 calories from protein. That means to get 1000 calories a day, I'm getting 600 calories from fat or carbs. Why are would calories from carbs be any worse than calories from fat? That being said, the bulk of those other 600 calories are coming from fat for me, because most meat-based protein sources also include fat and fat has 9 calories per gram, versus only 4 calories per gram from carbs. In any case, even if I were overly concerned about carbs, QuestBars would still be a decent choice, because while they have 21 grams of carbs per bar, 17 of those are from "fiber". And most anyone who counts carbs actually counts "net carbs", which means subtracting out the Fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carb count. So the "net carbs" in a QuestBar are only 3 grams. Plus they only have 1 gram of sugar. Now you could make a whole case about Isomalto-Oligosaccharides not being real "fiber" in the way we tend to think about fiber. But the same could be said about the Polydextrose, Maltodextrin, Inulin, and Chicory Root Extract you see in all of the so-called "high fiber" foods on the market these days. Everything from yogurt, to cereal, to Breakfast bars, to ice cream is claiming to be "high fiber" now with those ingredients. If you are opposed to processed/packaged foods, then most Protein Bars probably aren't for you. But I don't think that has anything to do with the carb count, especially when the main carb you should be worried about (sugar) is barely even present in QuestBars at least.

at first I tried alcohol pads, which only moistened the glue and made it stickier. but baby oil def got it off!

Well it has been almost a month since my last update. I just had my 6 month surgiversary on this past Saturday, and I am still almost 75 lbs down. I weighed in this morning at 200.4, I weighed 201.8 yesterday. So I am paying for some bad choices I made, lol. I have been drinking my calories a bit too much these days in the form of full fat coffee/tea drinks or as my guys kid calls them...dessert coffee, and alcohol. The holidays set me off track with the parties that I was going to (even though I still lost almost 10 lbs over the holidays), and even just this past weekend I drank a lot. But I do have to remind myself that I had this surgery so that I could live my life happier and healthier, not like a prisoner to my weight and diet. Less drinking my calories and back to more strictly adhering to my better choices. I'm definitely not the best example of what to do post op, but I'm okay with that, and I am human, with limited self-discipline. Learn from me. My goal for January is still to enter Onederland, and I will. I am 0.4 lbs from 199 and I have 5-6 days to get there (My ultimate life goal is to be in the 165-175 range, though I would like to see what I look and feel like at 150). I will do it. I also wanted to update my pictures, I feel like I lose track of my progress a lot, because the scale doesn't move as fast as I'd like it to and I still have to fix that image in my head that I have of myself as the super obese young woman. So many years wasted being fat and unhappy. So here is my first side by side in months and it really has helped lift my spirits and put my choices into line better. Also, is anyone else finding that they get crazy hungry quicker this far out? I feel hungry just about every other hour! Sometimes I'm ravenous and can eat what feels like a lot, and other times a couple bites and I'm good.

The main reason the alcohol is limited in some fashion post-op is because there is an alarmingly high rate of alcoholism in post-bariatric patients. This is likely caused by something known as addiction transfer, where one addiction (food) gets swapped for another (alcohol). The first 2 months post-op are the most dangerous window, so it is common for surgeons to forbid alcohol during that time period, though some ban it for much longer. I had my first drink at 8 weeks post op (this evening actually), and it was a glass of Riesling. I am not likely to experience addiction transfer, because I did not have food addiction prior to my surgery, but my father experienced addiction transfer after his lap-band 12 years ago, becoming a functional alcoholic for ~5 years (fortunately substance addiction does not run in my family). I advise waiting at least 8 weeks after surgery before drinking, just in case. And my dietician stressed that you have your first drink at home, because you will metabolize alcohol differently with your new stomach - she has had more than one patient embarrass themselves because they got drunk unexpectedly after three sips of wine. (I didn't get drunk, but that glass of Riesling hit me harder than usual!).

food has been an integral part of my life for so long. A lot of my social life revolves around food (and a bit of alcohol to some extent). I am mentally trying to prepare myself to change that aspect of life, and there's a part of me that does not like it. However, I cannot continue down this path I'm on, so I definitely need to change my mindset. I'm also afraid of not making it through that pre and post op liquid diet when it's time...but I'll have to cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, the food = celebration part is the most important piece that I have to change.

I drink the occasional glass of white wine. Can't handle any alcohol with carbonation.

@@csg WLS does not operate on our brains. None of them do. Head hunger is real and doesn't go away. Binge eating disorder, whether diagnosed or not (as in my case, but let's face it, I binged daily for decades) is about using food to comfort/entertain/numb/get high/all of the above. Until we find a different, healthy REPLACEMENT for food to do those things for us, you bet your sweet bippy we will return to the food. Don't take my word for it. These boards are filled with WLS unhappy endings from LapBand, sleeve and RNY patients who found a way around the physical limitations of their WLS and gained their weight back. I'm not accusing. I've read the confessionals here. And for every "help me I want to start again" confessional, there are probably twice as many who just dropped off the boards, never to be heard from again. I go to OA and CODA to work on the issues that led me to overeat in the first place. Because not only do I not want to fail at WLS and return to overeating, I don't want to replace my food addiction with alcohol or pain pills. And without working on my head, guess where I'd be next?

I'm 13 months out and have never regretted it for a minute. I had a pain free recovery and although it took 3-4 months before I felt "normal", I was OK with that. After all, I was recovering from major surgery. Initially I had some lactose intolerance and plain Water and artificial sweeteners hurt my sleeve. But I figured out how to deal with it and after the 4 month mark, those issues disappeared. I found an answer to my constipation (insoluble fiber), I get in all my Protein and fluids, take 3 Vitamin supplements (multi, Vitamin D and B12) and get regular bloodwork to keep ahead of any deficiencies. Fortunately I have had no long term intolerance issues. I can eat anything, including all meats, veggies, fruit, sugar, carbs, and alcohol. I just can't overeat or drink anything carbonated. I don't have GERD but I do get a little gastritis if I eat too many sweets or alcohol, but I guess that's a good thing. And nothing a couple Rolaids or some Zantac can't fix. Seriously, the only difference between my pre and postop life is that I drink less alcohol, I eat less and I eat healthier. It's been very easy to get over the psychological barriers of my food addiction. Being thin and feeling great far outweighs the emotional bond I had with overeating and eating crap. I can eat anything ( in moderation), so there's nothing to miss. I am one of the many lucky ones, but there are a lot of people on here that have had serious complications. Despite their struggles, they continue to maintain a good attitude and don't regret their surgery. Everyone's journey is going to be different and only you can make this a good experience or a bad one.

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

Everyone's journey is different. I know it is hard to find information out there about MGB. All I can do is share from my experience. I had a one night stay at the hospital. I followed surgeon's orders to the max. First two weeks I only had liquids (tomato juice, Gatorade, chicken broth,, yogurt). I was allowed some saltine crackers and watermelon with salt on it. The next two weeks, I was allowed mash food only. I tried potato, mashed tilapia, baked beans, mashed veggies. Everything I tried, I tested first by itself to see what kind of reaction I got to it. There are people who can not tolerate sugar, other dairy, etc...after surgery. I did not have heavy reactions to food. There were some I tried and did not go down well at the begining but weeks later, I tried again and it worked. An example of that were eggs. I could not get them down the first month to maybe two months after MGB. Now I have one for bfast daily. After , the first moth I started trying foods. Making sure I would have small bites and chew well. Testing like before, an item at a time to watch for reactions. Up to this day ( 7 mo out) I stay away from rice, pasta and most bread. I dont eat fried food anymore. I stay away from junk food/fast foods. I did try a bake potato from Wendys the other day and it settled well. I follow my Surgeons advise so I dont drink coffee, tea, alcohol and I dont smoke. I dont drink sodas or anything with gas in it. I dont use a straw. I dont drink while I eat. I dont take Ibuprofen or Naproxen anymore. I am following his directions to take care of my new stomach. So far, it is working well. Good luck with yours and let me know if you have any questions I can answer. You will be on this side of the journey before you know it.