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I will certainly try that...it's so hard for me at times. During the evenings I crave carbs so badly I just feel like the craving takes over me... I hope I can break this cycle the 2nd time around with the balloon. I wish I could get the 2nd balloon tomorrow but the doc says I have to wait a good amount of time so that it'll shock my stomach again. Hence why we're waiting until July... I just hate this battle. For some people it's gambling, alcohol, drugs, coffee, for me it's effing food... I hate this. One great thing was I stopped smoking completely from others, I was only socially smoking but I will not do it ever again, I have absolutely no desire.

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.

I haven’t really had any shakes for many years; the exception being this summer when I had to have a few. Then I went back to what I used my first 2 years which was chocolate Muscle Milk. I liked it bc it was premade and came in small bottles. I don’t think it had sugar alcohols but I’m not 100% sure.

I just joined a 6 week body transformation - it is a food program plus high intensity workouts. It's a different approach, and I am only a week into it, so I am not sure I can recommend it yet. Bottom line, a lot more food - the idea is to prevent the hunger/binge on the wrong food cycle. It is heavy on very lean protein, green veggies, healthy carbs (small portions) and small amount of healthy fats. No cheese, no wine - ha. For 6 weeks it is an abstinence approach to sugar, alcohol and most fats. Anyway, I had to have them cut my portions because it was too much food, but I have stuck with it beautifully, because it is very satiating. I know that is way different approach that many of us have taken in the past. Week 1 I lost 4 pounds with zero hunger, but my bodyfat % did not change which was a little disappointing, but lets give it more time.... I will keep you posted.

what are your thoughts on alcohol with the band? My husband wants to take me out this weekend after some hoilday shopping for a a drink and a movie. Can I drink wine or cranberry vodka? I imagine 1 will be my limit. We arent going to party or anything but I dont want to be embarrsed or regretting the glass of wine later. How did you all feel after a cocktail since the band?

Happy Friday Everyone!:eek: ok so I didn't hit my goal and i'm disappointed in myself but I'm not gonna let that stop me... My measurements are going down.. especially in my BOOBS AREA:sad: but the weight is still the same!!!:w00t: Ok, so what am I gonna do diffrent = no alcohol for me on the weekends anymore. and I REALLY HAVE TO STOP SNACKING.. ok I admit it.. I've been snacking and its a big NO no:bored: but I can't help it sometimes:unsure:.. and I KNOW THIS is all just a mental thing cuz My tummy isnt really hungry:huh2:... so I gotta set that in my head now.. NO SNACKING.. even if it isn't carbs.. it all adds up.. (SIGH):scared2: Anyways.. I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!:wink2:

hah! Your friend is probably an awesome friend. My life long best friend is a recovering alcohol and I bought her the same bracelet. 😉🤣

Funny to say that as my DH is a recovering alcoholic and has been sober for 6 years :clap2: . Wonderful guy. Anyway, on Christmas Eve I was feeling really down about the not eating thing, and he said "it is just like not drinking for me at first, it sucks, but you get over it." He said it so simply and it kind of hit me in the head...duh, of course. He has done this amazing thing and never looked back, never complained to me how hard it was, still goes to events, parties etc where people are drinking up a storm and sips his diet pepsi's, get in ont he fun, makes jokes-in essence "parties" and never touches a drink, and here I am whining about not being able to eat some roast beef. It was a good perspective for me, and I appreciate that you somehow reminded me of that. It honestly helps.

Today I start my 7 day of living hell 1000 calorie diet... I'm dreading carb n sugar withdrawal! My plan is to take lots of sleeping pills this week so I'm not in my way or others way! Surgery is next Wednesday at 1345, WTF.... I have to wait u til mid day! Torture! And this doc makes u stay over night.. This doubly sucks! Hospitals are for sick people, I'm not sick I'm fat! I'm angry that I got this big again that I failed again! I'm angry that I have to redefine my relationship with food! I'm 39 no kids in a LTR we eat out a lot I go out with my girls a lot how do I be social? I loce wine, enjoy all elements of wine culture, hw do maintain that? fYI not an alcoholic I go weeks without wine but but I occasionly enjoy a robust glass of red! Grrrr so many things going through my mind can't sleep my anxiety is at 10+ can't wait til next Thursday when I'm home recovering so I can go back to work on Monday. Do you think it's ok to refuse morphine and other pain meds. I found out that I will leave the ER with morphine drip, but what I hear all of u say the pain is not that bad! I hatebeing180lbs! Can't wait to get my life back!

I love me some white wine!! Wine has the lowest calories (i think) and will be a good alcohol beverage for this lifestyle. I mean, as long as it is not all the time...

Good job Georgia! Brown OMG I could not be that strong! Chocolate anything would drive me over the edge. Ok she's gone!!!! OMG I took her to a two hour doctors appt today. It was very stressful and the doctor and I confronted her on her alcohol use (not what any of us expected especially her) She's an alcoholic but became clean and sober after my brothers death. But she's back to drinking every night and is pissed and says lots of normal people drink wine every night. Yeah... I tried to talk to her about my food addiction and that even though I'm smaller now I'm still an addict. I told her for instance I'm so stressed out I could eat a package of Oreos today and that after she left I will be fighting a secret binge. Even though "normal" weighted people can eat Oreos, I can't. She wanted to know why I was stressed Ok no binges today and I'm at 426 so far.. I might MIGHT make it...

It's good if your levels aren't up isn't it? Well after a try on 5:2 last week I'm down 2lb, not an enormous amount but still down. The fast days were fine it's the weekend (wine and snacks!). One of my fast days will be Wed this week as it is Ash Wed and a natural fast day for me (I'm RC). Hubby has suggested no alcohol for lent and I think I agree with him. It is certainly our weak spot. Kim where are you? Out travelling on that bike of yours. Check in and make us jealous of your trips.

Best of luck Denise - I hope things are going well and you are on the mend already! I dont mind sharing what meds I take - not at all. I currently take Wellbutrin SR - the Sr stands for slow release I believe, I am supposed to take one in the am and another later in the day but oneseems just fine. I was prescribed this medicine when I wanted to stop smoking (which I did on November 1, 2010 after 28 years of a pack and a half a day habit.) My doc prescribed Wellbutrin because I have anxiety issues - mentioning that the other popular smoking cessation drug Chantix, could send folks with anxiety into a tail spin ( meaning it can really ramp you up). I asked my GP how it works and she said with a chuckle that they really aren't sure why it works so well to help quit smoking. It is not an SSRI, I have a long and diverse history with those as well. The nice thing about the Wellbutrin is that it does not have the heinous side effect of killing the libido or making it so that one cannot reach climax - which I hear is common. My docs at the WL surgery office have kept me on the Wellbutrin, as it also has a positive effect for folks trying to lose and maintain their weight, I don't notice a huge difference in how I feel with it - I do know that I seem to be on a much more even keel than in the past. I'll take it. I also take a lot of anti-histamines for allergy and dermatological issues - I worked with accelerated solvents and oxidizing chemicals for decades and I am hyper sensitive to my environment. My skin, eyes, and mucous membranes are super easy to irritate - so it is a continual battle to keep inflammation at bay. Interestingly enough - anti-histamines are also considered useful in the treatment of generalized anxiety symptoms - which I have along with PTSD/acute anxiety (i.e. panic disorder) in a nutshell, a brutally abusive childhood spent with a raging alcoholic stepdad and a horrifying car crash in my early 20's that put me out of commission for a year are big elements of where this all came from - 'hi, nothing, nowhere is a safe place to be.' and welcome to using food as a substance to soothe and disappear. I take Klonopin when life is just too edgy, and when I know I will be in the passenger seat of the car for a long trip. I used to take this one daily just to get through the day in the late 90's when I finally found my way to the therapists couch. The potent cocktail of drugs I used to take daily were Zoloft, Trazadone at bedtime, and Ativan and then Klonopin(Clonazepam) on a daily basis. I was in rough shape back then, confronting issues for the first time. I went to therapy 3 times a week and then was in an eating disorder group as well - which was challenging as most of the other members were anorectics and bulimics, which while very similar to bingers/compulsive overeaters (meaning that one can turn into the other pretty easily they say.) those folks can be very hard on those they few as inferior. So now I just use Wellbutrin and the clonazepam as needed, and a lot of anti-histamines - hubby and I take the Safeway brand sleepy medicine - which is just Benadryl but a whole lot cheaper - if you look at the price on Zeequil, its the same stuff and they just charge an arm and a leg. Diphenhydramine is the anti-histamine. I have heard good things about L-methyfolate and ​Sam-e. I recently went off of melatonin because once its built up to a therapeutic level in my system I get serious nosebleeds - which seems to have happened to a lot of folks. Sheryl I have also taken the 5HTTP, seemed like good stuff but I was using my other regular meds so I am not sure if it makes a lot of difference. What is interesting - when I was in bad shape all that medication make me feel normal, My normal from waking until sleep was like being on fire without meds - I wanted to die - just dart out into traffic and have the pain just stop. Now - one Clonopin knocks me on my ass - I really feel it - whereas before I was in such a state that it just made the day tolerable enough to get through - so I could do the work needed in therapy to get a little better. I know that I am permanently imprinted by the bad things that happened in my life, that I will always be afraid of things - but it is better than it used to be. I have considered trying that flashing light therapy to help with the PTSD - I have heard good things about it.

Good morning everyone..... Kelly so happy your back, sorry your having hair issues....I hate it when I have issues with my hair, I hate going to my hair stylist and having to sit in the chair for a few hours..... I love her dearly, she has been fantastic with my hair though. Don't know what I'd do without her. I have some weird things happen to me. I had a Mai Tai 2 nights ago and got a little buzzed. The next day my stomach was like an empty leg. So hungry, ate a lot, drank a lot, and my bladder has had a spasm here and there. Geesh I'm falling apart.... I was so confused through out the day and frustrated I gave in an ate 3/4ths a bag of Flamin hot Cheetos.....My stomach was already feeling dry and the spices on the Cheetos was burnin my stomach.....I still felt hungry. So confused by all this.. Driving home from my friends house, it dawned on me. I was having acid in my stomach. Nothing like wanting to smack myself in my frontal lobe to wake myself up. LOL I got home and took an omeprazole and then was still hungry and ate a tamale with salsa..... The kicker here is that I'm down a couple of lbs. I will take this. Now I just need to figure out my bladder situation and I will be good.....today I will take it easy on my stomach. I do have a question for all of you.....Do you have any difficulties with your stomachs after drinking alcoholic beverages? I sure hate to give it up, I don't really drink that often anyways. Today needs to be a clean eating day to get rid the last few lbs.

Ahh, why am I fat... 2 reasons in my opinion. 1. I am an emotional eater 2. It takes alot of food to get me full All my life, my family has revolved around food, and that's how I was rewarded by my mom, and my aunts, and my grandma. And so when I ventured into adult life, and I was stressed, or lonely, or whatever, I would turn to food because it brought me back to a comfotable, safe place when I was with my family. Food has become an addiction... but of all addictions I COULD HAVE picked up- I'm glad it was food. My dad died from alcohol abuse, and 90% of the men in my family, on both sides, are alcoholics. I AM READY TO TAKE BACK MY LIFE!!! CAN I HEAR AN AMEN?!?!?

BrandyII, <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p> I have managed, with the help of therapy to work through a lot of the anger I felt toward my father, and some of the effects of his alcoholism as well. Yes, there are siblings I’m very close to, especially the sister I lived with. It seems that the older we’ve gotten, the closer we become. I think in our case, it has a lot to do with the fact that there is a lot of illness in my family, mostly cancer, and that has brought us close. <o:p> </o:p> I admire you for being able to forgive your father. I was never able to do that.

Wow maybe your dad and my dad talked! LOL!!! I started the same - my weight I remember is 155lbs I thought I was such a pig - I cant wait to be 155 again. I wish someone told me and my dad that I will NEVER look like my friends who weighed 100lbs and had no boobs or hips - I was curvy - boobs before anyone so of course I would be bigger. I hid my food - I still do - Ive been in outpatient and In patient for Eating disorders - bulimia until I became pregnant with my 1st child - then binge eating without the purging after - I havnt seen the 100's since 1999. I used to say I wish I was addicted to alcohol or drugs - that way If I just didnt have any or keep it in the house I could have a real chance of stopping. I cannot get away from food - I NEED it to live but I seem to always NEED it to get though tough times too. I put too much importance on it and now its like air sometimes. I thank you all for sharing and am so happy to have found this website. I feel like I can tell you all anything and not be judged - I cant wait to be banded on March 7th and start a very new life with food and myself. I wish you all the best too!!!!

Your dinner sounds so delicious! Isn't it great to love food and really get to taste it and appreciate it and not overdo it? It;s such a different relationship to it than before! I have thought about how many times I would have binged or drank too much wine because I was upset about something but its great not to be able to and then it makes you realize that you food and alcohol never helped with the problems anyway. But it took this surgery to find that out I'm glad your big butt was sticking out in the garden and you just didnt care! Because all kinds of things are opening up for us and we are becoming more free! I can walk without terrible pain so now I feel able to go places instead of stay home and cry all the time. /GO GIRL YOU GO GIRL YOU GO SLEEVE QUEEN OF 04/24!!

Okay, so I was babysitting for a neighbor of mine. She called to see how the kids were doing. They were sleeping but I asked her if she had anything for a stuffed up nose. I was thinking she might have some sort of decongestant but I didn't see any in the medicine cabinet. She told me next to her bed, on the night stand, there was a bottle of nose spray and I could use that. ( I washed the tip of the bottle with alcohol) Also on the night stand, was a tube of lube that said it was for anal sex. It got me wondering why women do this. I could see why a guy would want to do it. I would suppose it's tighter and feels good for him. But does it feel good for her? I can't see it feeling any different than being horribly constipated. I wish I had never seen that tube of lube!

The entire process was relatively 20 1/2 weeks, but only 10 1/2 weeks from my first consultation: February 13- started required 3 month supervised weight loss program April 24-consultation May7- psych eval, met with Nutritionist, lab work, swallowing study May 22- finished month 3 of program and submitted all required documents to Surgeon's office *this was a Thursday and Monday was a Holiday May 27-insurance company requests something from Primary Care Physician stating I had not been treated for substance or alcohol abuse within the past year (one of the requirements) June 3-Doctor's office finally has letter prepared and I faxed it in June 4-Insurance Approval!! Today(June 10)- waiting for the hospital to contact me bc they have to confirm that you dont have an outstanding balance, and they require you to pay a deposit. I spoke with the Bariatric Coordinator at my surgeon's office, and as of today the next available date for surgery is July7(they only perform the procedures on Mondays and Tuesdays, and you have to have time to do the pre op diet.

I've noticed the effects of alcohol, too. I try not to drink too much these days, mostly because I don't want all the calories, but it's hard to live on Miami Beach and never have a frozen margarita (which is pure sugar, lol). But it's true that one or two is my limit, whereas I used to be able to down at least 5 or 6. Of course, that was also back in the day when I could eat a full plate of calamari and a huge bowl of chips and salsa to soak up all the alcohol! Danbo, I sometimes get bored with cardio, too. I've started taking my workout outside -- walking around my neighborhood instead of on the treadmill at the gym. Sometimes I use that time to call friends and catch up with them. The time definitely passes faster that way. I know you are sometimes on a boat for a while, so that kind-of kills the whole walking around the neighborhood thing, but maybe it would help to find someone you can workout with? You can encourage each other and hold a conversation while you are working out. In a macho manly way, of course

What ball??? Like a JP drain? Why do you have that?!? I just took my pre-op ("before") pics yesterday - they are AWFUL!!! Ack!! It'll be at least a year before I share those with anyone! Hahaa! I am sooooo worried about the not drinking with meals thing. I'd venture to say that is the only real worry I have!! I've always been a big drinker with meals (not alcohol!). Typically at resturants I gauge how much I tip the waitstaff based on how many refills I get! Lol. How sad...

I know I posted this on another thread but wanted to make sure you guys saw it. Please be careful with alcohol as we are dropping weight and getting fills. I'm not sure what happened to me yesterday, if it was the first time drinking at this fill level or a combination of a couple other things. Yesterday I was in a controlled drinking environment for training and had four normal sized rum and cokes. I blew a .14. Now I know in the past I have drank waaay more than this and not had a severe problem. Well, I ended up with a ride in an ambulance and six hours in the ER with no memory really prior to the ER and very little memory of the first couple hours there. Violent throwing up was also involved and apparently I smelled as though I drank a hell of a lot more than what I did. I've read that alcohol will be absorbed quicker now that we are banded but I never would have figured it to be like this. Sooo please be careful. Side note: They x'rayed everything and my band is still in place and where it needs to be. I'm doing better but still a little shaky today and my throat and chest hurt from all the throwing up. Back on liquids (non-alcoholic, lol) for a few days just to be on the safe side.

Christmas eve party with the neighbours, sausage rolls (x2) peanuts (protein!) sour cream and chives pretzels and quite a bit of alcohol. To be fair though, I ate very little beforehand and its only the second time I have had alcohol since my sleeve 7 months ago

Here I am thinking that I need to get back to basics. We celebrated our Wedding Anniv. on Friday so I gave myself a pass for supper and we were at a comedy club so we ate fried food. I'm not mad at myself. Not the healthiest, but a special occassion. Yesterday my cousin got married and I ate cake and drank alcohol and after I was tipsy (okay...more than tipsy) I ate a sandwich. My first piece of bread in 6 months. :smile: Today I haven't done much better. Covered dish at church on the first Sunday of the month. Some things you can't control, but I haven't stressed about it. All of these things put together makes a bad several days. So back to basics. I've got to get these carbs out of my system to start the losing again.