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It's definitely not a fact. Some people get that, some not. Me ... yeah, usually. Man... on Canada Day (night), I ate a hotdog for the first time in a year and a half! Alcohol was definitely a factor. In restaurants, it depends how I'm feeling. Some times I can't tell. I'm so hungry, but I'm just not sure I'm going to be able to handle eating something... but I order it, planning to try it out and eat what I can, and it all goes down fine. The other day, I went out for lunch, not 'feelin' it' at all and planning to order just a soup, but the one they had was gross, so I ordered an omelet, and ate it no problem. I don't bother with things I'm sure are pointless, like a burger, cause with the speed I have to eat, it would get yucky, fast. I'll usually get what I want, and deal with the sympathetic looks or questions if I can't eat much of it. Annoying :phanvan how are you doing now, Wheezy? Do you not weigh yourself? I wish I didn't!

Anyone see the Oprah show today? It was about gastric bypass and how once someone can no longer overeat, they substitute the addiction with another, like alcohol or sex or some other addiction. The point being that you must deal with why you have a weight problem before you should ever consider weight loss surgery because you may get a "transference addiction". Carny Wilson was a guest. She talked about her alcohol addiction after her surgery and how she overcame that. Has anyone experienced anything like this after lap band surgery? PS I've posted the same thing on the General discussion panel. I thought it would be interesting to see the replies.

I've known a few reformed alcoholics who have told me that everyone at the AA meetings chainsmokes and guzzles tons of coffee. These people were all heavy coffee drinkers and smokers.

I've struggled with every addiction in my life except, alcohol and drugs. But had every other one out there!! A couple months ago, I relapsed a bit with the gambling thing, but got back out of it after a couple of days, Whew!! Before I got the band, probably around my 40th birthday I decided I was not going to lie to myself anymore. I was going to face the facts, take an account of what was up, and face the truth! Since my birthday, just over a year ago, I......put myself on anti-depressents, quit gambling, allowed myself to lower my wall to the world (I am who I am), got my lap-band. It's not been easy every day, but WOW, my life is tenfold compared to a year ago. Im happy because I face the truth!! That being said, I believe thats why I only relapse at the casino a couple of days, I actually couldnt stomache it anymore. Walked out!! My point is.....I somewhat believe the transfer is true. It's probably easier to get it together before, but if not, the band will open your eyes to the next battle! My advice to the world.....Believe in yourself, Listen to yourself, accept yourself and love yourself!! Okay, how's that for therapy? lol...that'll be $55.00 from each of ya!!

FIRST meal? That? And alcohol? Yikes. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I was a major food addict and I'm sure I still am. I think of it like being a recovering alcoholic, I stay away from triggers because I know I'm just one bite from falling off the wagon if I don't. It can be managed but the key is realizing the problem is in your head, not your stomach, so the band can't and won't fix it.

Try this http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f22466/december-delights-2009-a-106299/index23.html#post1388171 or search December Delights 2009 On the drinking thing my lap-band book says that "alcohol has a high number of calories and breaks down Vitamins but an occasional glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage is not considered harmful to weight loss". I would think a beer would be like a coke with the carbonation and all but they do sell some low carb lite beer. Good going all!!

I'm planning on drinking coffee after I have my sleeve (on Tuesday...eeep!). My surgeon said decaf is ok right away, and try to wait 3 months on the caffeinated stuff, along with alcohol and carbonated beverages. I can't wait to have my beloved nonfat cappuccino with breakfast again...got hooked on them in Rome two years back. Being in the Seattle area, I think there would be an uproar if a surgeon suggested we ban coffee from our diet entirely...he'd/she'd probably go out of business! That being said, if it were essential to maintain your sleeve health, I don't think they would hesitate to make coffee restriction mandatory. I think the key is everything moderation, take it easy and listen to your sleeve!

God give me patience and give it to me NOW. Up 0.8. This, after a week of decent food choices, no alcohol, no food at the movies, some (not enough) walking, and clean fasting days. My clothes are falling off and I had to replace several items this week. Well, I will just keep on plugging along. I'll have a good day of outdoor exercise with some friends today and we have great weather for it. I will just keep the food clean and keep tracking faithfully. Oh, just noticed this. I just reread my MyFitnessPal diary for the last seven days. My week of so-called decent food choices averaged out to 1,770 calories for a non-fasting day. I'm supposed to be aiming for 1,000. Maybe a little less hummus this week as a meal, and a little more solid Protein. And in my food diary I just noticed also that five different days this week I either went to a restaurant or ate restaurant takeout food. My old nemesis fried food is back. Thai food twice, once being last night. Hmm. My daughter was in town for a couple of those days, but that "special" eating sure explains a lot. Ok. Well, clean up the food choices, eat more solid protein and less hummus, cook more, eat out less, and get more walking in. I gotta WORK for my pass through the Onederland gates, huh? Mission accepted.

I had my sleeve done on 4/29. When he went in to do surgery, he found that a portion of my stomach was in my esophagus because my hiatal hernia was so big. Also, my liver was extremely large so he did a biopsy. My starting weight was 205, I don't drink alcohol so therefore I'm worried as to why my liver was so big. I have to say that the only protein drinks I like are the premier protein from Walmart. To me, the vanilla is the best. It's only been 3 days & I have to say this is the hardest thing I've ever done! I am trying to have a positive attitude about this but it's so hard, especially when people are bringing over dinner to my family & I'm over here chugging on a protein drink! Any suggestions?

A Post-Op & A Doc (Cari De La Cruz and Connie Stapleton, Ph.D.) have officially designated 2015 as the Year of Recovery. There are just six, basic ingredients, which, if added to your life, can help you reach and manage your goals to lose weight and keep it off. The good news is: 1) You already have everything you need to begin following the recipe. 2) It doesn’t involve shellfish, peanuts or milk, so you can’t possibly be allergic to it, 3) There is no baking, cooking, sautéing or mixing required, because the Recipe for Recovery doesn’t involve food, but does involve eating. We like to say that obesity is “all about the food, but it isn’t about the food” (which makes you wonder why we’re talking about a recipe and ingredients). Well, let’s start here: Do you eat when you’re upset, stressed or worried? What are you eating to avoid? Are you eating to avoid a person? a situation? a feeling? By following the Recipe for Recovery, you can learn to deal directly with any upset, stress or worry related to any “what” or “who” so you don’t need to turn to food for a short-term “high” or “fix.” Here’s another one: Do you eat when you’re bored? What do you need when you’re bored? Are you in need of a hobby? Companionship? What are you doing to find a healthy hobby or seek healthy companionship so you don’t automatically turn to food? These are some of the important questions you’ll begin to ask yourself as you learn follow the Recipe for Recovery. We know these are tough things to think about – especially when we’re busy plotting our next snack or obsessing about the box of donuts in the break room at work – fortunately, you don’t need to answer these questions BEFORE you can begin choosing to live in Recovery From Obesity. In other words, you don’t have to know what, where, or why in order to stop the destructive eating behaviors. Basically, food is often a SYMPTOM of a problem – not THE PROBLEM. For example, you might have a problem with interpersonal relationships or issues at work, or perhaps a battle within yourself – like an “emotional storm” -- where you say really mean, negative, unpleasant things TO yourself ABOUT yourself. Rather than addressing the problem, you turn to food, so food becomes the focus rather than the actual problem! Unfortunately, food is a temporary (very temporary) reprieve from unpleasant feelings, memories, or thoughts and though it provides a chemically induced euphoria…it’s short-lived. What is true for the alcoholic is also true for people who abuse themselves with food, which means the problem will still be there when the food is gone…. and then you have the hangover to deal with -- usually in the form of self-brutality by way of horrendously abusive self-talk. Yikes! We created the Recipe for Recovery from Obesity to help you learn to deal with the real issues (stress, worry, boredom, frustration, fear) in healthy ways (and to hopefully avoid the self-destructive eating and subsequent emotional hangovers). Here are the six ingredients that make up the Recipe for Recovery: 1. AWARENESS: Awareness is always the first step in change, which is why we refer to it as the essential ingredient to weight loss and weight-management. It’s pretty hard to change something you’re not aware of. You might know that you’re obese, but are you aware of how you are contributing to the problem? Maybe you’re stuck in your weight loss journey, or you’re regaining, or you never made it to your “goal” – you’re aware that there’s a problem – but you don’t know what to do next. Becoming AWARE of your issues is the place to start. 2. ACCEPTANCE: This is often an overlooked ingredient in weight loss/management. If you don’t accept that weight and the associated issues are ongoing problems in your life, then it’ll be pretty difficult to make the necessary changes to lose that weight and keep it off! The truth is, there are many things we need to accept in our journeys of weight loss/management that you may not have ever considered, such as the fact that you’ll have to eat right and exercise regularly, and will probably have to forego (or greatly limit) some of the foods you really love. The process of acceptance may include having some anger, fear and even mourning. Accept it – and get on with the process! 3. ATTITUDE: We call this the flavorful ingredient (and for some of us, this one is pretty spicy!) We all have different “tastes” when it comes to food… and life, which means that we don’t all like the same things or do the same things in exactly the same ways! Variety is the spice of life? Well, we think attitude is the FLAVOR of recovery! Focusing on attitude and having a positive one can make all the difference in your Recovery results! 4. COMMITMENT: You’ll use this staple ingredient at least once (and sometimes several times) each day in your Recovery journey, especially when you inevitably develop a case of the “I-don’t-wannas” – you know, those moments when you just “don’t wanna…” workout…log your food…manage your portions, pass on the cookies, etc. Adding a dash or a splash of commitment to your life helps you make the next wise choice. Every wise choice moves you toward your desired goals – a healthier self and a better quality of life. 5. ACCOUNTABILITY: Often quite underused, Accountability is an ingredient to help ensure the recipe is prepared as directed. We know it can be tempting to try to do things your own way, and we also know how that’s worked in the past! That’s where accountability really brings the Recipe for Recovery to life! Use accountability to do what you said you’d do when you began your weight loss journey. Whether you chose surgery, medically supervised weight loss, or another structured program, you agreed to do certain things, so this ingredient really matters. Hold yourself accountable for following through with doing the things you said you would do to get the weight off and keep the weight off. 6. EFFORT: The sixth (and key) ingredient in the Recipe for Recovery is Effort. Without ongoing, consistent, “use-it-whether-you-feel-like-it-or-not” – continual effort, the recipe will NOT turn out the way you want. Let us repeat: Your Recovery will NOT be successful if you do NOT use this key ingredient. When you put forth effort, you see results in the direction you are working toward. When you withhold efforts, you also see results – but not the ones you want! And, guess what? You can’t overuse this ingredient, so add it liberally and realize the fullness of a life in Recovery! It may sound like a lot of work, but if you want what you say you want (a healthy life in Recovery From Obesity) -- these ingredients really add up to a winning result!

I'm allowed alcohol but alcohol is too high in calories sadly.

I am three months out and have not had any carbonation.....doesn't bother me at all to not have it. I have had alcohol a few times....wine, cosmo, margarita. My tolerance is much lower but when I have to enter the calories into "myfitnesspal.com" it is not worth it.

I joined eharmony at the weekend and have already found a guy I think I really like. We've been talking lots and he has asked if I would like to go for a drink. Obviously I have said yes but I'm so scared! I'm only a week and a half post op so I won't be able to drink alcohol and I don't feel like I've lost anywhere near enough weight for him to be attracted to me when we meet. I don't know whether to tell him about my surgery. What would you guys do? And if you would tell him, would you do it before you met him or not? Argh this is so bloody difficult!

Did your surgeon give you anything for nausea? Thankfully mine did and it has been a life saver. I had to take it regularly the first week but I don't seem to have to take it as much this week (WK 2). I take it at the first sign on nausea and it has allowed me to eat some cream of mushroom soup strained which helped a lot in terms of energy. I just learned about sugar alcohols too and plan today to severely reduce my intake of them because apparently, they can cause gassy and bloaty gut, nausea and diarrhea! I had a horrible first week because of that so I'm hoping that reducing them will help reduce some of those symptoms! That gas pain was the WORST part of the entire surgery process for me. It was worse than any pain I've experienced in my life but thankfully, my surgeon was available on my first full day home and suggested something that worked to start moving the gas around and within 24 hrs I was starting to feel better! I hadn't felt the gas move at all from the minute I got out of surgery, including no burping or flatulence to help get it out so his recommendation was a blessing!

I was looking at the nutrition info on Breyer's no sugar added ice cream (not sure what brand you were thinking of) and for no sugar added, they pack a lot of carbs in per serving! 13g. Most are sugar alcohols, specifically Maltitol, which can spike your blood sugar if you're diabetic because your body processes it similarly to sugar. Other sugar alcohols like Sorbitol can give you digestive distress, which I'm sure you don't want right now. So this might be one of those label reading learning experiences that sometimes they say sugar free, when it's a near fib and that it takes a lot of laboratory machinations to make fake food taste real. Maybe some ice chips for the cold you crave and something else you know is on your list would be better? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Still no intelligent conversation? Any one of you losers has the balls to challenge me to some reality? Put your money where you bong is and brings some facts to the table, if you dare. Go drag through the garbage and find the threads that cause people to attack and defend. I dare you. What, no takers? I wish I could have as much fun as you folks that keep using the same material from last week as your soul source of entertainment. That’s simple country folk for ya! Newsflash from the big city, your moronic emotions and alcoholic ramblings have been beaten to the ground; the teenage skater boys in my neighborhood have more clever comebacks. Don't any of you have a Myspace account you can borrow some fresh material from? Or perhaps Heathergurl and Susan can show you how they retread old threads that I invented! That could be fun! Still harping about multiple accounts? Dare I start my list of innocent members with multiple accounts so you can all remain in denial and continue to attack personalities instead of evidence? Does anyone know you can change your name any time you want? Does anyone realize we were given the option of selecting just one of many names? Ignorance must be bliss because you're all so happy in here. Ding dong. At least you’re all happy fools, I’ll give you that. And Vick, my deepest apologies for offending you in a Rant and Rave thread.

I am no expert. I used to be big into atkins though and as far as I understand it sugar alcohol does not have the same effect on blood sugar that regular sugar does. I did however find that if I ate too much of it like in the sugar free candies I felt sick to my stomach and didn't lose as much weight as I did without consuming them. It was probably the calories though. On my pre-op diet I was required to buy shakes and bars from my program. The bars has sugar alcohol. They tasted good, helped me lose weight and didn't make me sick.

Bellabloom, It sounds like a struggle for you. The others have had some great points and ideas. Focusing on some calorie-dense foods might help. What about nuts? cheese? Going back to the Protein shakes, as you may have used in the first stages post-op, could also help. Can you blend in, say, avocado and/or Peanut Butter to shakes to increase the calories? Could you cook foods with sneaky fats, like baking your protein with olive oil, or tossing Pasta with olive oil? Finding some slider foods seems like a great idea! Wheat Thins or other crackers, Cereal, macaroni and cheese (make it whole grain and real cheese, if you’re worried about junk food), or whatever may work for you. I understand you don’t want to eat junk food, but if you’ve honestly tried every healthy food on the planet and you can’t get enough calories, junk food may be your best (and only) bet to make up the calories you need to stop losing weight. Maybe in a while, you’ll be able to eat more “healthy” foods and reduce the calories from “unhealthy” foods I agree with some of the other members who suggest simply making it a priority – the same way after surgery when it’s really, really tough to get down those Protein Shakes to make 65 grams a day, and to get down that Water to make 64 ounces a day. Maybe eating will feel like a full-time job, but maybe it needs to be if the alternative is getting thinner than you want to be. Experimenting until you find your own “slider” foods seems like a possibly great idea! If you’re really and truly at a point where you cannot eat enough to subsist, that’s a serious problem! I hope you can find a nutritionist who addresses your particular problems and doesn’t just label you before listening to your story. @@jenn1, I don’t have a ton of personal experience with eating disorders of the non-overeating type, but I know it’s definitely a big deal in our WLS community! There’s a nice article here from the Obesity Action Coalition discussing obesity, eating disorders (binge eating disorder or BED, anorexia, and bulimia), and cross addictions. I’ve also heard them referred to as replacement addictions: after WLS, the addiction to food can be “replaced” by an addiction to something else. The article makes a very interesting point that after WLS, the person may not realize they are developing a replacement addiction. They think they can handle the alcohol, or whatever it is they are turning to, and don’t realize when they get to a point that’s dangerous. Anyway, it is definitely very common to have eating disorders (especially if you’ve struggled in the past) or other cross addictions post-op. Thanks for that info, @@jenn1. @@bellabloom, I would say to be super honest with yourself – can you physically eat more and do you want to? – and if the answer is that you’re in physical pain and you cannot get enough nutrients, then you need serious medical help. You’ve posted about this for several weeks (if not longer), and that’s way too long to live with bad pain. You have worked so hard to get to where you are now, and you’re worth a trip to the doctor.

HUGE disappointment. First ingredient is Maltitol. Last ingredient is Stevia. So mostly sugar alcohol with one drop of Stevia. Didn't buy. Always read label. So they put Stevia in big letters on package but barely any. Mostly sugar alcohol. Instead I bought 85% Cacao Dark chocolate Bar. 3 squares is one serving. 170 calories, 5g Dietary Fiber, 4g added sugar, 3g Protein and 15g fat. So one square just 1/3 of that. So about 53 calories, 1.3g sugar. I can live with that.

I'm certainly benefitting from all the suggestions & timely reminders of what I already knew but haven't been applying. For me, lack of motivation is due to LIFE- thumping me down- hard, over & over. Hard life-stuff, like yesterday, just as I opened my car door upon arrival at work, a huge black truck flying by fast & close, drove way inside the parking line & smashed / folded/ shoved up the driver door into the front end, & nearly took off my leg. I'd just started to maneuver my leg out of the car. Thankfully, I wasnt hurt. I'm trying to keep my focus on that! Not easy. He must've been texting or cell-talking to go that far over the parking line to hit my door- which wouldn't open nor close after that. This, just a couple/few wks after someone at work put rubbing alcohol in my Water bottle while I was on break at work- which made me vomit blood for several days, then sporadically, now occasionally. Still trying to manage the inflammation from that. Life's a real BITCH sometimes! It's like I've been in a black-hole, a never-ending looong cycle of BS-pummeling- keeps putting me down- on the couch. I get my energy back- then BAM! Something else. Big stuff. I really need to go do a hyawaska negative energy-cleansing to finally disperse this black cloud that's been following me around for way too long. Next band appt, I get to consult with my actual surgeon for the 1st time since my survey 5yrs ago. (they use PA's for fills, unfills etc after surgery), I'll get some tests to see what the damage was/is. Hopefully the doc can help me fix this. I'm going to ask her about hyawaska. It's common for most people to purge repeatedly following consumption Sometimes, ok frequently, it's all I can do to get my chit together and go to work- an extremely toxic work environment filled with unbelievably toxic people. Getting up to do the "happy-happy-joy-joy" dance to tunes is the last thing i feel like doing right now. BUT I know once I do, I'll feel 'lighter', my spirits & mental energy will lift UP! Way up. Sometimes what I know, is hard to apply. Real hard. I'm working on it. Thanks to everyone for posting so many fabulous ideas & methodologies that are truly helping me pick myself up again. <3 I'm following this thread closely

That's true @@LipstickLady and I know it's silly. Really it is. I have indulged in the past with a few of the couples at various times so I guess it just seemed odd that I wasn't drinking and I didnt want to have to explain so I just pretended to drink. We were supposed to hang out until all the alcohol was gone. Every couple had a bottle... next time I'll probably just say no. It's really silly to go through all that.

Poking around on the net (one of my favorite ways to fill a few minutes of down time), I'm seeing information about bariatric surgery patients and what they call addiction transfer. Carnie Wilson (of the group Wilson Phillips) became an alcoholic two years after her gastric bypass surgery. Since she no longer used binge eating as a coping mechanism, she turned to martinis (up to 10/day). There's arguments between professionals as to whether the dramatic weight loss following surgery essentially 'starts' the other addiction or whether it is only folks with predilection toward addiction that are affected. Anyone have any experience or knowledge of this? My nutritionist mentioned it almost as an aside during one of our pre-op classes, but I don't know how 'real' a phenomenon it is... Here's some links: InteliHealth: The new Addiction while some of the data focuses on alcoholism, others talk about gambling and 'over shopping' as substitute addictions. (edited by DBAGuy to add links and line of text after links) (edited again by DBAGuy to get rid of a bunch of odd character combinations that appeared after the first edit...)

Month 7 and I seem to be stuck at 164-165. It's been about 4 weeks now. I also seem to be eating more than I could before month 6. I also seem to be drinking more alcohol. Yeah. I know what I'm doing wrong. It's not so much a matter of being stuck as it a matter of I haven't followed the plan for a month. Time to get it back together. I have 25 pounds to reach my goal and I really want it badly.

Just checking in with a little positivity. I have been extremely lucky so far and am down 105 lbs since January. My only struggle was until just recently getting enough water intake. Kept waking up at night or in the morning with dry mouth. I have been walking 2-3 miles a day 5-6 times per week and lifting a few weights. There have been a couple periods where I don't lose for a week and then it comes off quickly. My doctor said 2 lbs a week should be a goal on average. I am back to eating normal foods(no bread, no rice and only the occasional wrap for a subway sandwich. My diet consists mostly of oatmeal for breakfast, protein shake at lunch, then a normal meal for dinner(meat & veggies). Have zero regrets on having the surgery. I didn't have any health problems prior to, just wanted to lose the weight. I did notice my blood pressure went down 30%, almost too low now(:)). But that was mostly because of my lifetime of tobacco use that no longer happens. I just got back from vacation, doctor told me I could have a little alcohol, and I did. I didn't experience getting tipsy like a lot of people mentioned you would. I did notice that my weight stays the same every time I have a few drinks, so I am going to have to keep my cocktails to a minimum to hit my goal. Keep up your faith and discipline. The weight loss will happen.