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Same here moonbeam, I told my boss I was having girly stuff done, and same as one other chick at work. Our company are BIG Drinkers and very social, so I am going to have a tough time, especially since my alcohol tolerance will be RUBBISH after this! I think we can get away with "smaller portions" or ordering the Soup so we can at least eat most of it!! if we do it under the guise of "being healthy, trying to eat 6 portions a day, and I am saying I have a personal trainer who works me to the core every morning before work - they'll never know!! muhuhuhahahahha!!:smile2:

Oprah did a show on bypass and trading food for other addictions - gambling, sex, and alcohol. Now any of the 3 I could do. It just goes to show that all of this is a head game. If you are an emotional eater than that high has to be fed. I've heard of many drug addicts that turned to exercise to get high. I guess its the endorphines that are released during exercise. I buy in to all of this to an extent. It all comes down to we have to heal the total self, not just the food intake. I hate quoting Dr. Phil but you know "it's not what you are eating, but what's eating you". I like getting support from others who are where I am and understand. I also am going to explore finding us a nutrionist that maybe can come help us. I'm sure there would be a fee, but it would be worth it if we had a long term plan. Many doctors have relationships with nutrionists. We just have to find lapband knowledgeble ones that can relate to our unique food requirements. What did we decide on our meetings? Are we back to 1st and 3rd Monday at LaVilla?

I don't understand the name calling. What is wrong with someone posting about responsibility...that's how I understood @tauruslady post. How easy is it to say, "Oh well, live a little!" This type of rationalization is what got most of us in trouble in the first place. Does "Living" have to equal food & alcohol? I Respect everyone's opinions but highly appreciate people who hold one another accountable for their actions. This is a public board...you cannot filter which responses you'd rather have and censure the rest.

I'm August 20th...and I have just one question....Has anyone cheated a lil on there per op diet???? Well I have not really had any problems with hunger and today is day six, but on Friday we were at a small get together at families house last night the get together was here both nights I was in charge of making a pound cake....and both nights I tried to avoid it and both nights it call out to me...Lol.... although I didn't eat a slice I did have a few bites..but other then that I have not had any problems...the diet has been well for me but because I backslid both nights I feel so guilty..... Well nine more days to go and no more get togethers....as long as I'm home I'm good...and forgot to mention that both nights its was a crap load of food and some alcohol and aside from my cake situation I think I did very good...but still beating myself up non the less

Me too!! I do not get a full to bursting/can't eat another bite like everybody else. When at a restaurant I am using all my restraint to only eat half, because I do NOT feel full or anything! About 3-4 hours AFTER the meal, I will feel like a bowling ball is in my gut. So, I end up skipping the next meal. My weight loss is slow and steady. I am 7 weeks in and have lost 15 pounds. I didn't lose any weight the first 2 weeks. I guess my body was trying to figure out what the heck just was going on. 7 weeks in...I am gradually getting used to this week. But I have to be honest, I haven't had one day where I feel good. I have stomach aches, really bad gas while I am sleeping, some reflux (although I am getting that under control now), and some mornings I am nauseas for hours with spit up always at the back of my throat. As far as food goes...I am simply making healthy choices. Like Oprah, I LOVE bread, but I limit to whole grain and once a day. I gave up alcohol. I limit Pasta or rice to once a week. I eat Protein at every meal. I allow myself one small dessert a week, like ice cream. I am sure if I was as strict as other people on this site, I would not be having some of the adverse side effects. Cutting way back on how much I eat at dinner really helps with the night time reflux. ...15 pounds gone. SO, I am still thinking this was worth it. I started working out about 3 weeks ago (boot camp, walking, swimming), but there are some mornings when all I want to do is lay on the couch and hold my stomach! If I could lose another 20 in my next 4 months, I will be ecstatic and this will all be worthwhile.

No worry there annie as I dont 'think' I drink too much on the alcohol compartment. My greatest vice is 'desertsssssss' Im already planning to aim for soup and the 'desert' table and not bother with main meal cos it would just block me up. But you are right, there's only so much we can eat these days, cos that is why we have the band put in in the first place to stop us overeating. Yet sometimes, I see food and I think oh.....if only I could eat as before again...... Stop it! I got to snap myself out of that self-pity feeling. Not long now to my Dom Rep trip, I'll let u all know how I fare. Gd news. Lose another 3pounds. Total lost - 24lbs now.

This is a good thread with a lot of good advice. I hit 4 months recently and felt the tick-tock of that honeymoon clock. @@CowgirlJane is right, I have to stay focused on this first year. Great advice. But I clearly did not get surgery on my brain because my brain is still very messed up. It still wants carbs and junk. @@VSGAnn2014 said something about consistency and I'm hoping with time and consistency that my brain will start to change. But I do stumble (sometimes into a piece of chocolate) and I get up, brush myself off and keep at it. I am stumbling a little less than before so that's positive. To the OP, you came back from vacation and posted on here for advice. That clearly shows you are ready to get back on track so good for you for brushing yourself off and getting back at it. I have a vacation planned in September (right around my 1 year mark) and am going to an all-inclusive resort (unlimited food and alcohol) so the advice provided in this post is very helpful for me. I don't love alcohol unless it's sugary so I need to plan on not drinking. I need to stick with my meals and not graze.

I am bringing a fairly large check in bag. I hope that is okay. It is the only luggage I have, so I bought big, to cover everything. Stupid question, are be buying alcohol to drink at the bars or at the grocery?

Katierichie, don't be disappointed with yourself over a few cocktails since you only have your girls weekend once a year. We have a sleeve, but we are still human and we give in to temptation on occasion. Tell your friends you NEED to go shopping and walk as much as you can to offset the alcohol and a little extra food. Alcohol is not an issue for me as I have never really been one to drink. I think when traveling I do tend to eat more than what I need because I have no way to refrigerate the remainder.

Would you like to be a part of research by sharing your experience after gastric bypass surgery? The survey is completely anonymous and asks questions about your body image perceptions and alcohol usage one year after having bariatric surgery. Just click on this link or copy into your browzer to complete the survey. http://nnu.us.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_aXzZzHDDZiajdC4 Thank you in advance for contributing to this all important research. Feel free to pass this survey opportunity along to anyone who has had the surgery. Warm Regards, Gina Baiamonte Northwest Nazarene University

Thanks to all who replied - update post vacation: Lost 3 pounds last week on the all-inclusive vacation! That is more than I usually lose per week at this stage. I ate what I wanted, but no rice, Pasta or fried foods - I did have a few bites of bread 2 or 3 times. I completely skipped all the free alcohol, but I had 1-2 bites of desert with dinner each day and my husband ate the rest. I took Protein powder packets with me and the staff was willing to blend them for me with a little juice or milk. I had them add a little fruit and ice. I also took some ready to drink chocolate shakes and kept them in the refrigerator in the room. I was also very careful to stay hydrated since it was about 85 degrees each day. I forgot to try Mio with crushed ice, which I was looking forward to. I took all my Vitamins and Calcium chews for the week in a zip lock bag in my checked luggage, but they disappeared. I forgot to take them the first day, and when I looked for the bag on the second day, it was gone. I can only assume that either someone working at the airport in Punta Cana or the maid took them, perhaps thinking they might be drugs? I hope going one week without them won't do me any lasting harm. One big change was the amount of exercise. My work is sedentary and it is a good day if my Fitbit records 3,500-4,000 steps. However, the resort we went to (Hard Rock hotel Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic) is so large that they run a golf cart shuttle to help you get around. I walked everywhere instead, so I was over 10,000 steps every day and went as high as 13,000! I have not exercised hardly at all since my surgery and now I see why others weight loss is much faster than mine. I know what I need to do...

Hey Mooncat! I also will be traveling soon with my little sleeve. By the time we go 'wheels up' for out scuba vacation I will be about nine weeks out from surgery. Since my first month is an all-liquid diet, I will be well into smooshies and soft foods by the time I leave. My sister did ask if I would consider hold off the surgery until after our vacation. My reply was - NEVER. I may not be able to eat everything my dive buddies eat, but I can participate in everything and enjoy a glass of Water while they have their cheeseburgers in paradise. I plan to take dry Protein power to mix with purchased bottled water for use on the plane and in my room. The Protein powder will be my fall-back when good meal choices are slim. We will have menu options such as Soups and and lots of fresh-caught ocean fish that I am really looking forward to eating. I will miss eating the cibatta bread, but that isn't on my list of edibles any more. Staying very hydrated will be my primary goal, so I will be bringing several of my favorite water bottles. Where we are going has the best-tasting pure water right out of the tap, so filling a bottle and keeping it handy will be easy. Then my next goal is to to maintain the right amount of protein. My dive buddies and I usually end up dropping a few pounds over the vacation, even with eating as much as we normally do - its an active vacation with lots of lifting, moving and swimming. I suppose I will miss the alcohol part of our vacation, but I don't often drink at home, so it shouldn't be too tough to bypass. I really don't feel 'deprived' any more like I did pre-surgery when I choose to not eat/drink something that isn't going to work for me. I guess I've turned a page on that, and it makes me happy. I anybody has some special tips that helped them during travel, please chime in!

No judgement here I love my wine and vodka!! From my experience I started drinking around 6-8months. Just be careful cause you don't want to dump. I had a vodka cooler once before my 1 year was up and it was embarrassing cause was at a social event. Bent over with cramps and running to bathroom. See if wine okay for you but that first year dumping can happen and it's like wth caused that?!! I went on a girls trip 4 months post op and didn't drink - it was hell!! But it's only a few months. Also you'll feel the alcohol very quickly I always have to eat and drink or I'll be under the table. And if I remember correctly we're supposed to be holding off on drinking with meals for the first few months....as that can also lead to dumping. Good luck it does get easier with time and as your body heals!

Cheezits were one of the junk foods that i used to become a morbidly obese mofo. I shelled out a large chunk of $$$$ to self fund surgery to help me with weight loss. Why in the hell would I ever consider adding back such a food when I'm just beginning the weight loss stages. I'm sorry....but this concept is no different than the recovering alcoholic who says he's gonna just limit himself to "one shot a day". Bad idea. Opening the door to all sorts of evil to rush in........

I would like to respond about the carbination. Everyone's recovery might be different. However I would recommend now having carbination yet. I know that air in the stomach right now isn't good for it because it expands it. I know ppl who had bypass a while ago who will drink soda and another one who admits it bothers them when they drink it. I think it takes time and then you can try it and see what works for you. I will want to have a beer in the future. I am 5 weeks post op. When I can have alcohol according to my surgeon I will have non carbinated for a while. Then when I am ready I will try carbination again and see how I tolerate it. Essentiall the idea is that medically we will be able to eat and drink anything and everything again, but in smaller amounts. In the meanwhile... You could make some sort of uncafinated tea and make it iced if you want. Starbucks/Tazo Passion tea is non cafinated and has great flavors. I also love the water flavorers- mio or whatever you can find. There's different flavors. I like the fruit punch and iced tea. Also protien waters taste good. Atkins has a water with 20g per bottle! My surgeon said it can't count as water because I was not getting enough water. But it's something you can drink and helps with your protein goals. Hope this helps a bit -Joe M.

Just to say one last thing, the point of my post, and I should have been more clear, is that there are a lot of newly sleeved people ( think a few days, a few weeks out of surgery) asking when they can drink alcohol, eat ice cream, and eat pizza. To me it seems that I'd be more concerned about the healthier side of having this tool. To me that ideology makes sense. Am I glad they ask? Sure. Knowledge is power and it's safer for people to ask than not. But what makes it hard to swallow are the few who actually admit to eating the unhealthy stuff a month out and then tell others, "sure go ahead, no problem, eat it." We are all different and how our tastes and appetites react will be different from one another, our bodies respond different. But that's not the point, the point is how "healthy", not just in terms of weight loss, but nutritional value is drinking, ice cream, tacos and pizza. You know? I've actually read a post recently where some someone speaks casually about eating three whole tacos, and another four bananas in a sitting. One post here, the other FB. Is that cool? Does anyone want to encourage it? Would I want that example? I'm sorry my initial post wasn't as clear as it should have been but hopefully people understand more where I'm coming from.

If you only have one stick at a time it's not an issue because you'd only get 1 g of sugar alcohol. You'll get dumping when there are 6 or more grams of sugar and sugar alcohols in a serving. HW 283. SW265. SD 3/22/13! CW 244.

The hard part is there is going to be LOTS of alcohol flowing but I have to make sure it doesn't flow my way 0_o

Hi! I'm a food addict and trying to control that. Before, if I hadn't eaten, I probably would have been an alcoholic.....Chose food over booze. Now I'm trying to deal with that as I've added back more foods, but....have to be really careful. Luckily, I can't eat alot. Good luck everyone!!!

I am in the same boat. I started March 1st - have to have 6 months of monthly NUT visits, sleep study, psych eval. Plus the program I am in requires attendance of 6 modules. I've finished everything except still have 2 more NUT visits. On Aug 19th I'll be officially done with what I need to do before they can submit to the insurance co. At first I was REALLY bummed. Now I am actually happy because I realize that I needed all this time to prepare. I have done so much research that I am now positive that the sleeve is the right decision for me (but the lap band or bypass might be the right decision for someone else) I also immediately gave up soda, caffeine, and alcohol....urhh...that was hard but I haven't had any since March 1st! The best think yet is that I have dropped over 38 pounds. Each pound will get me quicker to my goal and make my surgery a little safer. We are all so lucky to have this format to support each other. This will seem like such a short time when we look back on it. Good luck!

Protein h2o is my favorite coconut one tastes just like piña colada without alcohol & has 20g protein

Early on I would have NIGHTMARES that I was doing something contrary to my plan like eating and drinking at the same time, alcohol, etc. I stop giving these (subconscious) fears real estate in my life by being moreproactive and vigilant. I don't dream like that anymore. I started thinking about my life on a whole beyond my weight. I was entirely too fixated on one aspect in life. There are sooooo many more. I put this diet/lifestyle on automation so i can focus on other things.

Hi All! Lately, I have been receiving attention for my weight loss, mostly positive. People have been asking me how I lost the weight. I prefer to keep my surgery private and only a select few know about it because I do not want to hear negative comments. When people ask how I did it, I say, "Thank you! I have been following a low carb diet, walking every day, and not drinking alcohol." Recently, someone commented on how quickly I lost the weight on this diet, and for a moment, I worried that they might be thinking I was using drugs. LOL Does anyone use different excuse?

Wow. All I hear is excuse after excuse from you. There have been so many really greasy suggestions for you and you shoot down every single one of them. Going to a support group meeting designed for bariatric patients is not putting a label on anyone. It is what it is. Believe it or not, most of us do have a disease if we've gotten to the point of needing bariatric surgery. It's called loving food too much. It's called co-dependency. It's called having a problem with food. Besides being "normal" is highly overrated. I, personally, don't want to date anyone "normal". For me, "normal" is boring and dull. If you don't want to take the advice of anyone, why bother asking for advice? Like someone else said, if you don't want to change your way of thinking about things, then you're not going to get very far. I'd be happy to date another bariatric patient. I know they want to better themselves and actually like themselves enough to help themselves. You may not like the label, but for whatever the reason, you ARE a bariatric patient and whatever problem you had with food to get to this point IS a disease, just like alcoholism. Deal with that fact first. Then try finding someone to be with. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using BariatricPal mobile app

Clearly it's a difficult decision. As a vet, three years out and here on this forum for four years, I can say that I've seen maybe FIVE people come back a couple years out and say they're still easily maintaining with no regains and no issues. Will the sleeve help your daughter lose weight? Indubitably. But as many of us determine after life at goal, being thin does not equate with being happy, even if we convince ourselves it's the one thing keeping us from loving ourselves. We're talking about a number of issues here. I say this as a mom/stepmom of six daughters - there is absolutely no right or easy answer here. Things to consider: 1) Has she done other methods to lose weight? There are a few reasons I ask. Did they work for me? NO. But they built a foundation and forced me to exercise willpower. Few people succeed with traditional dieting but WLS should not be the first time she actually tries to lose weight. Instant gratification in this can lead to issues everywhere else in her life. 2) Why is she obese? Is it solely genetics? There is more here than just food. Being skinny and all of a sudden being accepted by her peers will be just as damaging as being rejected by them, and will reinforce the idea that beauty/thinness equates with love/happiness/popularity. 3) Teens are the most impulsive and irresponsible creatures. Truly. Consider transfer addictions like drugs and alcohol. Experimenting with these things is now the norm, not the exception. I am not saying whether or not it's "right" to do this. I think no matter what you decide that counseling is imperative, and lots of it. I think that at fourteen as a morbidly obese teen myself I would have wanted this surgery. As the mother of an obese little girl (age five) who has four older, attractive and yes, svelte sisters, I can absolutely understand and relate to your concerns. I posted about it at length in the "VSG as a preventative" in the Vet forum. If being obese as a teen is damaging, so is having the idea that your entire worth and likeabilty as a person is tied up in your appearance. Adult women post here all the time about being treated differently and the trust and confidence issues it causes once you shed the weight. I say wait at least until she's sixteen and reevaluate then, but that is what I would do with my own daughter. And I would keep her in counseling until that age, too, because there are underlying issues here if she has social anxiety. I would be sure she really understands - not just the challenges and the diet - but that this is FOREVER. That's not a very easy to comprehend thing for some of the grown ups here, and many of them struggle in maintenance as a result. And what if it DOESN'T resolve her obesity? There's a vet here sleeved the same time as me who still has sixty pounds to lose and is still (I think) considered obese by the BMI chart. She's having big troubles reconciling that and trying to figure out a way to shed the weight. There are other vets here that are still trying to lose the last thirty pounds or so to goal, too. We're talking THREE YEARS out. If your gal thinks this is an easy fix, it's really not. Best of luck to you. I'd wait but I know that it will be a challenge if she's excited and wants it right now. Sometimes we have to do what's best - and this really isn't the easy solution I'm pretty sure she thinks it will be. Just follow a diet and eat less and be skinny - I wish it were that easy! ~Cheri