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I know I should be proud of what I accomplished, but I'm SO tired of all of the comments!! I'm not a fan of being the center of attention. I even had one of our facilities guys comment today (his daughter is one of my employees)... Though, he also asked if me losing weight was a good thing. First person to take that angle. I'm down about 78 lbs, so it's definitely noticeable (to everyone else). I'm also now less than 20 lbs from my surgeon's goal. We have a company party on Friday and there are a large number of people who work in a different building and they probably haven't seen me since about 50-60 lbs ago... I'm sure there will be LOTS of comments... And there will be alcohol involved, so I'm sure they'll be more free flowing. I kind of wish people would just ignore it....

Hi all So here we go About to start my 2 week optifast diet (I think is a bit silly as it's quite high in carbs) my Nut are all about the money and the up sell....but I think the 'detox' from carbs and eating bit meals will be helpful post op. Plus stopping drinking! I am actually looking forward to the 'detox' I have one night in the middle which is a good friends 40th...I do plan on eating dinner that day (not just shakes) but I am going to eat low carb and minimise alcohol...then back on the shakes for the week before surgery....I am worried it will be hard but am trying to convince myself it may be the last 'diet' I have to go on and focus on good food choices post op My BMI is 32 but I have prediebetes As most people are fairly judgmental at my lower BMI I have told everyone I am having my hiatus hernia repaired...a half truth that also explains the pre and post op diets I can not WAIT to loose some weight and am actually looking forward to 2 nights in hospital without the kids in my bed! Would love to hear from some recently sleeves people about recovery? As I am pretty nervous about that!

My surgeon asks that you not consume alcohol for the first year. I think some of it is that it is high in calories/sugar, and metabolizes differently with a smaller stomach. Also, there is research that is showing an increase in alcohol dependence after gastric surgery (cross addiction and liquids go through really easy :-). Not to say this would happen to you but something to certainly be aware of. I am actually an alcohol and drug counselor and have seen a number of clients recently who never had a problem with alcohol pre- surgery and now find themselves having problems. I know for me, genetics and now sleeved I'm not sure I want to take the chance anymore. So if you decide to have a glass....have one for me :-)

I was recommended to wait until 6 months to drink alcohol so idk every surgeon is different but be cautious as alcohol causes ulcer in plp with a regular stomach let alone us with our tiny pouches

To find out how to compare products to better understand added sugars, click on Natural vs. Added Sugars. Use the chart on the second page as a guide to compare products.The chart compares applesauce and Greek style yogurt. You will see the products with only naturally occurring sugars, products with added sugars and “light” versions of the product. You will also see that the product with the most amount of sugar has the most calories.The front part of the food label usually doesn’t have any clues that the product can have a lot of added sugars. You must be a detective and investigate the Nutrition Facts Label and the ingredients list. Start your sugar hunt by using foods and beverages in your pantry or fridge to discover where added sugars are lurking in your food choices. Like any hunting expedition, it will take some time and practice to find the healthiest products to use on your journey towards health. Sugar Comparison Chart We are born with a preference for sweet tastes. However, sugar carries calories without any fiber, vitamins or minerals. Sugar is basically empty calories. For bariatric patients, too much sugar can lead to dumping. Natural Sugars vs Added Sugars Naturally occurring sugars are in fruits (fructose) and milk and dairy (lactose). The current Nutrition Facts label doesn’t tell us the difference. A teaspoon of sugar = 4 grams of sugar. If you drink a 12 oz. can of regular pop or 12 ounces regular fruit juice, that means you’ve consumed 40 grams of sugar. This translates to 10 teaspoons of sugar. That’s almost 1/4 cup of sugar! Other names for sugar When you read the ingredient list, look for words like syrup (corn, high fructose, maple, pancake, maltose), corn syrup solids, agave, molasses, beet sugar, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, invert sugar, cane juice, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, nectar (peach, apricot, pear), powdered or confectioner’s sugar, raw sugar, maple sugar, date sugar, malted barley, honey and anything ending in “–ose” (maltose, dextrose, glucose, fructose). These are all types of sugar. When you see these words in the ingredient list, look for foods that have sugar listed after the 3rd or 4th ingredient. When you see several sugar ingredients, look at the total amount sugar. Decide if it’s worth it to eat that food. Sugar alcohols These have less impact on your blood sugars. They are more slowly digested than sugar. Sugar alcohols have anywhere from 2 to 4 calories per gram. If your weight loss stalls, check to see if your “sugar free” foods have high amounts of sugar alcohols. You may be getting more calories than you think. Caution…eating too many sugar alcohols can laxative effect! Alternative Sweeteners Artificial sweeteners include Splenda (sucralose), Sweet ‘N Low (saccharin), NutraSweet (aspartame), Sweet One (acesulfame potassium) and Neotame. Stevia is extracted from the stevia plant and is considered a natural sweetener. Monkfruit is extracted from the monkfruit and is considered a natural sweetener. Natural vs. Added Sugars: Comparison Chart How do I find the amount of added sugars in a food? One way to find out what the added sugars are is to compare similar products. Comparisons of applesauce and Greek yogurt are detailed below. The order of appearance is the unsweetened, sweetened and light or low sugar version. Use this chart to compare other products you might choose. Remember that natural sugars are in milk/dairy and fruit. Is all that sugar worth it?

Sugar Blues Part 1 highlighted the poor health consequences that can result from consuming too much sugar. A list of words that also mean “sugar” was provided. Remember that naturally occurring sugars are in fruit and milk/dairy foods. When you read the Nutrition Facts Label, the sugars will be listed under the carbohydrates. To find out how to compare products to better understand added sugars, click on Natural vs. Added Sugars. Use the chart on the second page as a guide to compare products.The chart compares applesauce and Greek style yogurt. You will see the products with only naturally occurring sugars, products with added sugars and “light” versions of the product. You will also see that the product with the most amount of sugar has the most calories.The front part of the food label usually doesn’t have any clues that the product can have a lot of added sugars. You must be a detective and investigate the Nutrition Facts Label and the ingredients list. Start your sugar hunt by using foods and beverages in your pantry or fridge to discover where added sugars are lurking in your food choices. Like any hunting expedition, it will take some time and practice to find the healthiest products to use on your journey towards health. Sugar Comparison Chart We are born with a preference for sweet tastes. However, sugar carries calories without any fiber, vitamins or minerals. Sugar is basically empty calories. For bariatric patients, too much sugar can lead to dumping. Natural Sugars vs Added Sugars Naturally occurring sugars are in fruits (fructose) and milk and dairy (lactose). The current Nutrition Facts label doesn’t tell us the difference. A teaspoon of sugar = 4 grams of sugar. If you drink a 12 oz. can of regular pop or 12 ounces regular fruit juice, that means you’ve consumed 40 grams of sugar. This translates to 10 teaspoons of sugar. That’s almost 1/4 cup of sugar! Other names for sugar When you read the ingredient list, look for words like syrup (corn, high fructose, maple, pancake, maltose), corn syrup solids, agave, molasses, beet sugar, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, invert sugar, cane juice, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, nectar (peach, apricot, pear), powdered or confectioner’s sugar, raw sugar, maple sugar, date sugar, malted barley, honey and anything ending in “–ose” (maltose, dextrose, glucose, fructose). These are all types of sugar. When you see these words in the ingredient list, look for foods that have sugar listed after the 3rd or 4th ingredient. When you see several sugar ingredients, look at the total amount sugar. Decide if it’s worth it to eat that food. Sugar alcohols These have less impact on your blood sugars. They are more slowly digested than sugar. Sugar alcohols have anywhere from 2 to 4 calories per gram. If your weight loss stalls, check to see if your “sugar free” foods have high amounts of sugar alcohols. You may be getting more calories than you think. Caution…eating too many sugar alcohols can laxative effect! Alternative Sweeteners Artificial sweeteners include Splenda (sucralose), Sweet ‘N Low (saccharin), NutraSweet (aspartame), Sweet One (acesulfame potassium) and Neotame. Stevia is extracted from the stevia plant and is considered a natural sweetener. Monkfruit is extracted from the monkfruit and is considered a natural sweetener. Natural vs. Added Sugars: Comparison Chart How do I find the amount of added sugars in a food? One way to find out what the added sugars are is to compare similar products. Comparisons of applesauce and Greek yogurt are detailed below. The order of appearance is the unsweetened, sweetened and light or low sugar version. Use this chart to compare other products you might choose. Remember that natural sugars are in milk/dairy and fruit. Is all that sugar worth it?

Keep in mind, “sugar free” doesn’t mean “carbohydrate free”. If the label says “sugar free,” that means that the product has less than ½ gram of sugar per serving. The product can still be high in carbohydrates. Sugar alcohols are often used as a sweetener because they don’t usually raise blood sugars. However, sugar alcohols can have 1.5 to 3 calories per gram. Evaluate you habits before adding in treat foods. Is your overall nutrition in the healthy range? Are you disciplined with your eating and supplements? Are you getting regular exercise? An occasional small treat might be reasonable based on evaluating your overall eating and exercise habits. Consider working with your bariatric program’s dietitian to see how these foods might be worked into your food plan.

<<I was trying to give everyone a full picture of what I'm going through, in my eyes/mind. My struggle is solely that its getting harder and harder for me to support this and be supportive to him, when he is quickly becoming cold and callous towards me. Like I said, this is not solely about his WLS as some started when he moved in and that I will deal with 1:1 with a therapist. I'm simply here to TRY to further understand what I can do, if anything, and how to do it.>> I think everyone here has given you a lot of good advice and you don't seem to want the answers. 1) this is HIS journey and you have no business trying to advise him what to do or what to eat. If he asks your advice on something, you can offer your opinion; otherwise, stay out of it. 2) Your weight loss and his have nothing to do with each other, except that you both possibly eat for emotional reasons and since you are not getting the emotional support from each other that you want, you may use food to blunt those feelings. You both probably need to be seeing a therapist to deal with that, alone. 3) Neither of you seem to be getting your emotional needs met; why would you want to marry and make this permanent? You do seem to want to control things. I'm not criticizing you; I have been through this for the last 24 years of a bad marriage. I ignored all the problems in my rush to get married. Now I'm getting divorced but it took gaining 100 lbs and 2 years of my own therapy to get to this point. I have many things from my childhood that impacted my relationships with others and I did not realize for a long time that I had subconsciously chosen a clone of my cold, distant alcoholic father. yeah, psychobabble but it's true. I tried to control so many things in my life b/c I could not control whether my husband (or my father before that) loved me. Food was my control item and also my anesthesia to numb those feelings. I think couples therapy is great, but only after both of you work on yourselves alone. My husband and I did some therapy together and it was great at first but it was a bandaid. As soon as we delved below the surface, he bailed and wouldn't work on anything serious. Now is the time to love yourself, before loving anyone else. Have him move out and get his own finances in order and his weight loss, work on yourself and then see if there is anything there besides food holding you together.

Yes absolutely they do I think people feel that food isn't really an addiction and there's always the why don't u just stop comments but once upon a time drugs and alcohol were viewed the same way that ppl could just stop if only they tried or tried harder etc etc if only it were that simple we would have no use for rehab clinics 12 step programs weight loss programs diet pills etc etc I don't think anyone can understand unless they live it's much the same with those of us that don't have drug or alcohol issues if u don't struggle with it it's hard to understand what it feels like plus it's so acceptable to shame ppl who are overwieght it's a thing that shows on the outside so the judgemental ppl can point and talk about others

My surgeon told me to stay away from "diet foods." No low fat or fat free. If I am to eat salad, he said to use regular dressing. His reasoning for this is that most low fat and fat free foods replace the fat with sugars or sugar alcohols and we are supposed to stay away from sugar. Makes sense to me.

One of the outcomes of RNY surgery is that some patients experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) after surgery. This even affects individual who are not diabetic prior to the operation. I was diabetic prior to the operation and it went into remission by the time I left the hospital. I avoid sugar and several other sweeteners. But I have a sweet tooth and use a variety of other sweeteners. The sugar in milk and fruits are natural sugars that do not affect my blood sugar levels. There are many different types of sugars. Some are bad and some are O.K. Because I underwent training in preparation for my Weight Loss Surgery, I have a better understanding of the difference. So if you are diabetic, it is important to know the difference. The sugars to avoid are: sucrose (table sugar), fructose (honey), Dextrose (glucose), Maltose (malt sugar), Xylose, Corn Syrup, Corn Solids, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Cane juice, Molasses, Caramel, Corn Sweeteners, Evaporated Cane, Brown Sugar, Barley Malt, and Beet Sugar. I think a few more types of sugar also fall in this category but I don't know for sure. These are Agave, Pure Maple Sugar and Date Sugar. Sugar is integrated into so much of our food today, its hard to know what is an acceptable level. Generally if one of these sugars are listed in the first five ingredients on the food label of a product it should be avoided. Take for example Campbell's Tomato Soup - It contains 12 grams of sugar and the second ingredient on the food label is High Fructose Corn Syrup. So even innocent items can become a problem. I try to limit my intake to no more than 2 grams sugar for a product. So generally I don't eat Campbell's tomato soup anymore but I do use it when I make chili because it is cut to a minor portion. On the other side is sweeteners that a diabetic can probably consume safely. They include artificial sweeteners and some natural sweeteners. Generally the artificial sweeteners have zero calories, so they are easy to spot. These sweeteners include Acesulfame Potassium (Sunett and Sweet One), Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), Neotame, Rebiana (Truvia, Pure Via), Saccharin (Sweet N' Low), Sucralose (Splenda) and then natural sweeteners such as Stevia, Monk Fruit, whey Low, Coconut Sugar and Sugar Alcohol (Sorbitol, Xylitol, Mannitol, Erythritol). Many of these acceptable sweeteners are beginning to show up in more and more products in the grocery counter. In many cases if the product is listed as No Sugar Added it might be acceptable. But you need to analyze the food labeling. For example Nesquick makes a No Sugar Added Cocoa. It uses Sucralose (Splenda) as a sweetener. No sugar added ice creams are starting to show up in the store. Some brands of ice cream are using Aspartame (Nutrasweet) and Glycerine (sugar alcohol) as sweeteners. Another product it candy. Adkins makes a variety of candies that use sugar alcohol as their sweeteners. There are two other types of natural sugars that are O.K. These are the natural sugars found in fruits and milks. But some products are deceptive. You may have to read the food ingredient label because for example some fruit juice adds sugar to the juice and the product is primarily sugar.

You are also used to eating for energy at the time of surgery, and your body is trying to burn fat and muscle right after surgery to get that energy. Your head is definitely telling you to eat more. I remember eating cream of chicken soup and having more than I thought I would be able to, and even now I can chug (reasonably) water and other fluids. But when they ok'd cream of wheat and oatmeal, I noticed that I could only finish about 1/3 of a packet. 3 months out, I still can't finish a whole packet of oatmeal. You will feel the limitations more when you get into fuller foods. The important thing during the full liquid phase is to eat slow because you don't want to put pressure on the staples and cause a leak. I also tried sugar free sucky candy during that time, to keep my mouth busy so I wasn't always thinking about food, but even the sugar alcohols they use in those can give some sleevers tummy aches so be careful.

Wow...you got in real quick, my insurance is making me run the gauntlet, which is both good and bad. Good because you can't claim you didn't know, I'm inundated with info, bad because where does one start in a six month process? I'm not going to diet for 6 months, If I stick to a April or May surgery date, February will be the time I start trying to switch to liquid diets and cut back or cut out alcohol consumption. Read more about the diet. I don't want it to be all consuming every day of my life. I want to live normally, but with a lot less food. Lose weight, get healthy, exercise more because I've lost some weight and my feet and knees don't hurt so much. But all that comes in time, not at the snap of a finger. Robin

Hi Maggie, I just read your stats, you're at 117 lbs and your goal is to get to 140, is 117 the lowest you've been or was it lower? How do you look and feel? My cousin Deb lives in Western Mass, Becket I believe and she had the surgery Oct 1st, so far, last I heard she lost 50lbs. That was a lot and so fast. Maybe you know her? Do you feel that your life orbits around what you can and cannot eat now? Can you drink alcohol at all? What is the feedback from people you know....do they say you lost too much weight? Are you experiencing any problems? What size did you start with and drop to? That's a lot of weight loss...amazing. Robin

Oh! One more thing, sorry~~ of course how he relates to you is different. He's not just shrinking in size, after WLS he is changing emotionally as well. I know for a fact that I am becoming a new person~ the person that was buried under mounds of fat and obsessive unhealthy behaviors. Be aware that there will be changes, some will be major. It's akin to an alcoholic getting sobriety. I don't know if he is working on the inner issues that got him to his highest weight or not, and there's no way to know, not even for you. It's a highly personal journey and not really your business....sorry. But be prepared for changes. Whether or not the relationship will survive the changes has yet to be determined. Meanwhile, like I said above, I highly suggest you return the focus to yourself and keep it there.

This actually came up in group last night. One gentleman was 2 months post op. Doc did explain that he could drink...occasionally. ..but NOT beer...due to the carbonation. He also explained that persons with by-pass are the people who have elevated alcohol blood levels over someone who did not have surgery or someone who was sleeved. Although you are sleeved you are still going through digestion. Good luck!

Hi Robin, I decided 7 months out from when I wanted the surgery and then everything I did after that was going to that goal. I quiet smoking at month one, and started every step my insurance needed me to do to get the surgery. I remember fondly, going out to different places to eat foods I expected to never to eat again. And I remember the last drink of alcohol I had at my parents house. That said, if you're not ready for this procedure then don't, it's ok? Only you can decide that and no one here will look at you different. I think your 10% complications is a little high by even so for some of us it's a worthy risk. As for getting to skinny, it's rare but it does happen. It's not something to stress about. Best of luck to you and please keep us in mind what ever you do.

CGJane - Yes, 20 lbs with the nasal tube but unfortunately I cannot continue with it; I am simply too delicate internally, my nasal passages, my esophagus, couldn't handle the trauma. So, that 's 20 pounds off which is great, but I am still 50 lbs over my target weight, the target weight that I never got to, even though I got to surgeon's (prior to regain). I always want to eat, I eat to soothe anxiety, even anxiety about becoming anxious. Like an alcoholic, I don't need a reason to want to eat. v_v I am most likely the third category of Cathy's test, wherein I require physical restriction that makes me incapable of overeating.

I misspoke in my first post about it. It's not brain damage, it's neurological damage. Other than what my doctor told me, I typed in a few different things in Google and came up with articles related to many different variations of it. A lot of it had to do with your body being in ketosis and various enzymes that are needed to break down the alcohol and sugar. The main danger I think, if I understood correctly, had to do with the things your body needs to break down alcohol that your liver doesn't get to. This had to do with a lot of factors like glucose levels, muscle mass, ketosis, your own hormone levels, etc. So for people like us, in the very early stages of weight loss where we are losing extreme amounts of weight quickly, we are at a higher risk. My doc told me I was an even higher risk than most because by my 6 week checkup, I had lost around 35 pounds already. Above average I think. So the further you get from surgery, or the slower you lose, the less risk you're taking. Of course this is all unrelated to whether alcohol actually affects your weight loss. From what I've heard from others that have drank after surgery, it definitely slows the loss. On top of the worries my doc put in me about alcohol, I gave up smoking to have my surgery. I'm almost 6 months nicotine free. I wouldn't go back for the world. Not to overeating and not to smoking. So I'm a little worried about drinking again. I don't want to give up both of those bad habits to take on another one. OH! That's another thing! When searching around for different things related to alcohol and weight loss surgery, those that have had the surgery are like 40% or some crazy high number at a higher risk of becoming an alcoholic. I didn't look into the whys of that one but i bet it has a lot to do with psychological factors, like trading one habit for another. So, I really don't think there is some super high risk of everyone that has had weight loss surgery developing issues from alcohol. Probably the same risk we all have from second hand smoke, or drinking sodas, or smog. They're all unhealthy, but something's going to kill us any way, might as well keep living till it does.

I am curious about the research on how alcohol during weight loss causes brain damage. That is a new one for me - never seen or heard of that. I have been at goal for awhile and like i mentioned I chose to not drink during the losing phase, but I am curious.

Interesting article, and I'm glad research is continuing. But "I thought I was cured" brought me up short. Cured? That's not what we're dealing with here. You have to say goodbye to the days of eating as much of anything as you wanted, trading that for the fact that you will have more of your life left to you and feel better during the time you have left. I have friends who have been successful with the bypass. I'm doing great with it myself so far. But I have one friend who has gained most of his weight back, because he couldn't give up alcoholic drinks. That's not a failure of the surgery. It's not a cure, it's a tool. We have to learn to use tools.

@@aclinton16 I completely agree we should follow our doctor's orders. I for one would certainly hold my doctor's opinion above that of others. However, perhaps next time you might consider including more information than an example about two alcoholic friends when calling someone wrong. I don't think I'm right or wrong. I merely gave the info my doctor provided. I really enjoy this forum and I highly value the insight and opinions of everyone here. I don't think it's acceptable to single someone out and say they are wrong solely based on what you think because you have friends that drink too much. Perhaps that's not what you meant to say, perhaps it is.

The biggest issue with alcohol is cross-addiction. Work with you doctor and learn about your own habits.

I know my surgeons recommends waiting at least a year post-op before drinking alcohol, but every surgeon would have different ideas. One thing I have heard if you choose to drink after WLS is that it takes very little alcohol to have an effect.

After surgery can you ever drink hard alcoholic drinks again? Or does it have to be completely cut out of your life?