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I think one of the best things you can do is prepare yourself as much as possible NOW--before surgery. Stop drinking soda and understand that for best results you won't ever have it again. Stop drinking alcohol - you shouldn't have it for 6 months after surgery and even then the amount is very limited Stop drinking during meals. This explains why http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xR0VM3mnsgM (this was the hardest for me) Start exercising - even if it is walking down the street...create new habits. It worked for me to do all these things before. I would also recommend not having food funerals - the more you put on now the more you have to take off. i admit - i did indulge in one item pre-surgery but I didn't go crazy (one sleeve of little chocolate donuts and yes it was heaven) If you plan right you may still be able to have some to the foods you love now--it is all a work in progress and how you want to live. This is all for you - no one else. Figure out what works for you. I have been overweight since I was 11. I tried every diet and nothing worked - I didn't lose the weight. I would do a good job of maintaining the weight while I was dieting but never lost. My sleeve has now helped me lose 27 pounds in 3 weeks. I have no hunger, no cravings, no appetite. My hips thank me, my knees thank me. I am learning to eat all over again-- What my stomach can handle what it can't and how it feels to be truly be full. (after 3-4 bites). I will continue to learn along the way on what works - I can't wait to start really exercising again and seeing where this takes me months / years down the road GOOD LUCK!!!

I have to agree with most of the post on here... NEVER.. well that is up to you... I feel like the Doctors give us the "road map" and its up to us if we want to be successful and follow it... I am 4 mos post op - i have not had any alcohol or carbonation since a month before my surgery. Once in a while i miss it, but i dont give in because i look at how far i have come & what it took to get here, that sip or drink isnt worth it. Now maybe in a few months when i hit my goal weight i might feel differently... but that will be up to me and not my doctor... I think you just have to think about what is important to you and do what you think is right... it might not be what everyone else is doing but its up to you... this new tummy is only a tool and its up to us to use it good luck to you!!!

I was a band patient before my revision to the sleeve for 3 1/2 yrs so I got kinda used to the no soda rule a long time ago. I confess that when we go out to eat, my hubby orders a diet Coke and I will have a sip. Maybe one a week I have a sip. This is probly the only rule I don't usually break. I guess I'm a little scared of what could happen. My dr said the bubbles can stretch my tummy. Not sure if thats true but I picture my tummy exploding from the carbonation so that usually keeps me on the straight and narrow. Before wls, I enjoyed a diet soda about 4-5x a week, so not a huge drinker but I like soda with burgers and pizza. Occasionally I miss it but the 1 sip a week is fine with me. About the alcohol: I'm 9 mths out and drink a glass of wine almost everynite. I do miss my Corona Lite but the wine is fine. I calculate the 110 calories into my daily intake. My dr said a limited amt of alcohol (as long as it's not carbonated) is fine after 8 weeks (when I could start a regular diet). Good luck! It's really not that bad!

pretty much my NUT and surgeon say no carbonated beverages-I gave them up 4 months before surgery because I loved my diet dr pepper. I drink with a straw-I have some mild facial paralysis from a prior brain surgery and it keeps me from dribbling liquid out of that side of my mouth. I drank coffee my first week but stopped, not because of the coffee but because the milk and 1/2 and 1/2 made me nauseated-now I drink a cup or two a day...everything in moderation for me except carbonation...and alcohol-just don't want to go there yet

I don't have a problem with diet soda for the most part. My doctor said just to make sure it's poured over ice and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. I mainly drink Water and unsweet tea but when I have a craving for a diet coke I will have one. Sometimes I do get gas pains but it's totally worth it to me I also haven't had issues with alcohol but I very rarely drink it now because it's full of empty calories.

Enlighten me @@Loristi Sounds like you are pre-op??? saying on the board - "one thing we have in common is that we're all different" docs and NUTS have different rules about things some of "them" say no coffee - "never, ever" others say after a certain time period you can have alittle coffee some say no alcohol for 6 months others say............. wait 6 months, 6 weeks, 6 days, 6 minutes etc - .. soda - some/many say NO, NO, NO others say ................. no straws, others say its ok sex - some might say wait til you feel ok, then take it slowly, easy for awhile (no crazy acrobats!) other docs might say NO NO NO to sex forever!!!! gotcha!!!! so..........the answer to your question (oh no, what was your question again LOL) alcohol - soda - never say never!!!! unless doc says so i drink coffee,no alcohol, straws or soda/carbonation for this grammy listen to your NUT and surgeon ALWAYS like they were amongst the highest power!!! good luck with surgery kathy

My surgeon said to wait one year for all of those things. I have no urges for anything carbonated since surgery. In fact the thought of carbonated beverages is a real turn off. I dont think that anything is off the table for ever. They do prefer you not use alcohol or sodas due to empty calories and the damages they can do to your stomach.

So, Im just starting my journey but I am already trying to wrap my brain around what my new life will be like. I currently have a love/hate relationship with Diet Dr Pepper (or regular, even) and while Im totally on board with giving it up (been wanting to for a while).. the word NEVER doesnt sit well with me. What exactly does that mean? Like, not EVER in my life may I taste a carbonated drink again because it will cause my to explode? lol or what? I totally get the "its not good for you" or "it'll make you feel too full so you wont want to eat" .. I get all that. But like I said, I hate the word "never." And Alcohol... thats another one I've been told to stay away from. Is that forever, too? I dont drink much at all... literally one or two drink a month at a social gathering.. but is that gone now too? Enlighten me, please

Good luck. Just relax. You'll go in the o.r looking around next min you'll b waking up in recovery room. I was sleeved last wed and so happy. The next day was rough for me with nausea but they gave me zofran thru my iv and it helped instantly. Hardly any pain. If u get nauseous after ask for some alcohol wipes. They had me sniff it and it helps with the nausea. Good luck .post when your able

I was sleeved in July of 2013, and I still get the slight hiccup and sniffly nose as "slow down, you're getting full" signals. They're pretty reliable for me. I've found that if I don't listen to them, I'll be sorry, LOL. If what I'm eating has a high level of sugar or sugar alcohols, queasiness is a strong "STOP EATING THIS NOW" signal for me. In the early post-op days, I almost never felt hungry at all, so knowing when I was full was tricky--I always felt kind of the same, whether I had sipped or not! Once the swelling in your new sleeve goes down a little more, you'll get a really good sense of your own personal signals.

Soooo, I'm almost three weeks out. I weaned down my two cups à day habit and have not had any since surgery. Has anyone had just a little? Like just a half a cup? Not drinking alcohol hasn't been too hard yet but I am missing the coffee

Hi Leepers, way to go on your weight loss -- you're doing great! Reading your post (we were writing at the same time so I didn't see it), we have a similar thing going on -- the not eating the exercise points back and heavier caloric intake days being due to alcohol. If we have a highly social couple of days I really take it easy for a couple of days after and it seems to be working. I'm very happy with my loss so far and look forward to getting to Onederland soon (please, please, please!). You're so close to Onederland! I'm totally jealous! Yes, I had four days of going out then got right back on track last week. I needed the break from wine. Lol!

Hi Leepers, way to go on your weight loss -- you're doing great! Reading your post (we were writing at the same time so I didn't see it), we have a similar thing going on -- the not eating the exercise points back and heavier caloric intake days being due to alcohol. If we have a highly social couple of days I really take it easy for a couple of days after and it seems to be working. I'm very happy with my loss so far and look forward to getting to Onederland soon (please, please, please!).

I wouldn't eat the SF pudding cups but do make SF pudding from the box with milk!!! The pre-made SF cups are full of sugar alcohols...

My surgeon said if I want to follow calories that my intake should be around 900 to 1200 calories a day. I average 1000 to 1100. Sometimes I have days when I eat 1600 or more. (Usually due to alcohol intake). I do not eat my exercise points back. I am losing pretty fast. 62 pounds since December. Not everyone wants to lose that fast or be as strict with what they eat. Fast is not necessarily better. With the amount of exercise I'm doing, sometimes I feel I may not be eating enough. Find what works for you.

Thank you all for your responses. PdxMan and LindafromFlorida you are right she is not done with me. She texted and called me all day. I ignored her. True to form she even asked me to try again and that was very painful for me. It was a difficult day. I did start the morning by clearing out my refrigerator of all leftovers and sweet drinks. I don't buy snack or junk food and keep it in my house so that part was easy. Fortunately for the first day in awhile I didn't feel like eating and I guess that is the emotional part. I had been on an emotional roller coaster and eating every feeling that I had: happiness, sadness, pain, you name it, I ate it. Fortunately I do have someone to talk to but I spent a lot of time focusing on her and I need to shift the focus back on me and what I need. I had my gastric sleeve on December 2, 2013 and lost a lot of weight because I was afraid to eat anything. I had a lot of problems with keeping food down, especially Protein so the food I was eating were those soft slider foods and by February 14, 2014 I went from 368 lbs to 281 lbs. I was tremendously excited and perhaps overly confident about my success. My surgeon was happy albeit concerned that I really wasn't eating and losing 8-10 lbs per week. We talked about developing an eating disorder because of my food aversion but I didn't care. I thought the sleeve had solved my problem - eating - and I would deal with the fallout later. So when I met my ex and began to eat small amounts of food, I was relieved not to be throwing up any more after about 2 weeks. I was on several nausea meds that made my throat dry and I couldn't seem to quench my thirst. That's when I started drinking sweet drinks like lemonade, it helped. No excuse. Eventually I could eat anything including small amounts of steak. Of course, I have to take Miralax everyday to digest what I eat so that is stupid but technically I could eat. Before I could barely eat chicken breast. We were going to different restaurants 3-4 times per week and each week the pounds started to slowly climb back on. I remember when I first tried alcohol, my stomach couldn't handle it. Then I tried again and it wasn't so bad. I have never been a drinker really 1-2 drinks socially maybe once or twice a month, but I was drinking a couple of times per week which also contributed to the weight. I stopped drinking two weeks ago on my birthday. Things were strained between me and my ex because I decided not to be around her at all when she was drinking and took all alcohol out of my house. I took some time reading other posts yesterday where people talked about the sleeve being a tool in the weight loss journey. I realize I need to find a happy medium with eating and develop a healthy relationship with food. I know I can't go back to not eating at all or eating everything there is so just figuring out where that place is will help. I will try listening to my body and trying to see when I am actually hungry or just filling a need. Also making sure I am not eating too much. I will go back to my small plates and see how that works.

Yes, congrats on recognizing this and starting to move on. Just know, while you may be done with her, she is not done with you. She will be calling, so remain strong. As far as getting back on track, I would suggest you ensure you have no crap in your kitchen. No alcohol, no sweets and no sweet drinks. Continue with this resolution to get back on track and dump them all. I remember I would tell myself, "Once this tub of ice cream is gone, I just won't buy another." No ... I just needed to dump the ice cream whether it was full or not. Stock your shelves with proper foods. meats, Jerky, yogurts ... you know the drill. At least for awhile, eat exclusively at home. Don't be tempted by fast food or restaurants. This is just to get yourself back on track and disassociate yourself with the poor habits you developed with this woman. Get back to the basics of eating Protein first, then veggies and/or starches. Don't drink right before, during or right after eating. Chew very well setting your utensil down in between bites. Evaluate how you feel after that bite and try to stop eating AS SOON as you BEGIN to feel restriction. There should be some time between the swallow and next bite. Try not to eat to the point of where you are stuffed. That is what we used to do. Bottom line is things only change when we make a change. If we go back to doing things the way we used to, then we will get the same results. Praying 2 + 2 won't equal 4 leads only to resentments.

I marked the date of my last post January 21, 2014 4:31 am "400 lbs of Pain." I posted a couple of follow-up responses after that and then it happened. By mid-February I dropped down to 281. I still remember seeing the scale and thinking 'Wow, I never thought I'd be under 300 lbs again.' Nearly 100 lbs lighter something happened to me...I met and began dating someone on January 24, 2014. Having lost weight and now receiving attention, I was way out of my comfort zone and I guess I just went for the first person who smiled at me. She wined and dined me for sure and I started eating, not large amounts but bad for me, off the diet food and alcohol which is a complete no-no. I started drinking sweet beverages. I had drank NOTHING but Water for months and here I was with sweets. I didn't stop with alcohol, I ate Desserts too. My food monster was back and the more time that passed the bigger that monster raged his head. The problem for me was and I say WAS because I ended the relationship last night, she IS an alcoholic and food addict. Deep down inside I knew it from the beginning but I think I was drawn to her addiction. She was normal sized and ate much much more food than I could and I loved watching her eat. She even ate the food I couldn't eat. My appetite grew bigger as time went on and I found myself getting hungry more often and requiring more food. The problem with being in a relationship with this particular alcoholic is she was increasingly verbally and emotionally abusive. For the past 5 weeks, she broke up with me every Saturday after getting drunk Friday night and then begged me to take her back the next day. Then she would take me out to eat. This weekend was no different, except I was different. Something, somewhere deep inside me had changed and I decided no more. She started her drunken rampage early and by nightfall I ended the relationship and stopped taking her calls. During the past 2 weeks I started throwing up again. I eat too much and it immediately comes back up. I am now 295 lbs and I need to get my eating under control and back on my diet immediately! The idea of being 300 lbs again scares the hell out of me. I don't know how to start over or what my diet was. All of this rich food I have been eating made me forget I even had surgery and am not supposed to eat like everyone else. I need to remember why I started all of this in the first place so I went back and read my post from January 21st. Food was just a chore then and I was losing weight really fast but then I was side tracked and lost my way. I am afraid I stretched my stomach to an extent. My next appointment is not until June. I don't know what to do. Has anyone stopped their diet and had to start again? For how long? Any help or suggestions anyone can provide will be greatly appreciated.

I don't miss soda. I don't miss bread (shocker). I do miss alcohol (surprisingly) - just having social drinks with friends. I was a Margarita, 7n7, Jack n Coke kind of girl. I was out with friends last night to see Wicked. First time "out" since surgery. Everyone was drinking. I ordered a glass of red wine (which tasted good) but only had half a glass. I really wanted more, just couldn't do it. I don't really miss sugar. I miss being able to eat something in addition to protein. I'm usually too full to eat the veggies. But not complaining about any of it! Down almost 50 and feel too good to focus on the "can'ts" (although sometimes they sneak up on you)!

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...

HW 243 SW 228 12/3/13 CW 186 Total loss 57 pounds Lost 3 pounds last week even though I was on vacation at an all-inclusive resort! 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 tiny bit of bread 2 or 3 times. I completely skipped all the free alcohol, but I had 1-2 bites of desert with dinner. 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 was also very careful to stay hydrated since it was about 85 degrees each day. 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, this resort 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...

@@MichiganChic your a stunner! but I know where you are coming from. I have driven my husband and daughter to extremes because of the same question. They now don't answer. They just walk away...They are tired of it... The thing is we may quite possibly see ourselves as fat for the rest of our lives. My nut calls it a fat head...Our brains may never get to the point where we say..I made it..Why would we. food was and is an addiction that we have to be aware of the rest of our lives like alcoholism. We can't take it for granted that we have it whipped.. That said we don't want to go the other way and end up in treatment for Anorexia or Bulimia. My daughter works with a couple of patients that have had WLS and have gone the other way. They traded one addiction for another. Once we get to goal the point is to retrain ourselves to maintenance. The thrill of losing is over. It is so hard to handle the changes. And that is why we need to change the way we think... I am working on it..You need to work on it too!!!!!!

My daughter had a partner who ditched her the same week her cat of 14 years died. She was really down in the dumps until a friend suggested that she join up with the roller derby crowd. What a great way to get out agression and get exercise at the same time. Yeah, being abandonned hurts...badly....but at least there is a new way to keep her mind occupied and her feelings in check. If not now, this may have happened sooner or later. Whatever the dynamic of a partnership is, weight loss surgery changes relationships as well as bodies. This surgery still needs to be about you and improving your health. One thing that happens unexpectedly is that when we go through the physical changes, we find the "real" us that has been hiding behind years of fear, shame, and loss. I hope that you still will have at least one person (parent, sibling, friend) that can be your support through the medical process. Then you can hope that on the other side you will find a new life that enhances who you really are. Please do not give alcohol any power over your health and happiness. Here is a quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Hopefully it will give you the courage you need to follow through with your surgery and begin your new life. "Whatever you can do, or dream you can.............BEGIN IT! For boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

Isnt it funny how insight can strike when you least expect it - I was cleaning the cat boxes and realizations, or words I guess started to flood. I wont go into gory detail - but I had a horrific childhood, filled with terrifying violence and sexual abuse from my alcoholic step-dad (he died from cirrhosis long ago.) I have done a lot of time on the couch, and on meds and am good. I usually keep it to myself, but it is also not a secret with those closest to me. I guess I feel like I am starting to wake up - 50 this year. Feels like I am just opening my eyes - I too must be getting into some of the serious stuff. This just poured out in the last 30 minutes - I apologize if this feels triggering to anyone. "Always living with a vague expectation that enlightenment and a healing of the old, old wounds would strike one day like a bolt of lightening - or maybe gently like awaking from some bad dream. The longer I am alive I am coming to understand that this probably isn't going to happen. That everyday we fight, some days we gain ground - some days we lose it - a little on some days, some days a lot. It is little victories over time - each adding up. All the years of therapy, self-help, support groups...its one moment at a time - over time. Years of hiding in pain, burying yourself under blankets, under hundreds of lbs of unburned calories, behind the walls and doors of your home - seeking solace in your surroundings- being made fun of for being different by the people you trust the most. again, and again, and again. Just be numb Just don't look maybe then it wont be true what is real and what happened will cease to be so Learning to not turn away - not to hide is hard work. Bravery is not for sissies. What is courage? Why so much fear of what happened lifetimes ago? What you put up with from others How poorly you treated yourself for so long. This is like learning to see to speak to walk to feel for the first time maybe. Is that old me true? Is that still me? What am I? Who am I? I looked at a snapshot of the August 2009 Goddard residency and I can finally see how malignant my despair and mistreatment of myself is - in my weight - the symptom that becomes the focus and the problem. A heavy horse collar of shame - its like being imprisoned in the stocks - immobile, every step pain, every glance from others cruel - like being flayed alive every moment of every day. Maybe if I am lucky this fire of shame will burn me right to ash. Deep, deep sadness and hopelessness Try so hard to change - and it never seems to stick - I cant win. I could never win. I am doing the same thing to myself now with my belief in my abilities as a teacher and an artist - hardly a day passes that I am not wracked with fear, doubt, and the battle against my own weaknesses. Here you are again, more exposed even now. No matter how hard you wish you had that magic lamp that would take away the anxiety, the panic, the terror you feel everyday at just breathing - there is no such thing. It is part of you it IS you Where is my strength? Do I even have any? The only respite will come from within yourself - for yourself. How the f**k do I fix the broken stuff I weep now at even being able to access these feelings. Fraught Frightening Breathe Dig the knives out of the back and stand up straight. Look it right in the f**king eye step forward step up Let go"

also, it seems like in my research the biggest risk of ulcers comes from post op patients who take aspirin products, ibuprofen, smoke, or drink a lot of alcohol... my surgeon said to always just use Tylenol and it wouldn't be a problem