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At 2 weeks post op, the first thing I see is the Baked potato. A lot of drs are different. We were given specific instructions on how to eat and what to eat. first 2 weeks clear and full liquids, weeks 3 &4, High protein foods Puree'd, nothin gstringly, plenty of fluids, 80 oz.plus Protein shakes, protein up around 60-90. EVERy DAY. No white carbs, no pizza, not even WW bread It took me about 7 months before I was brave enough to eat Pzza topping. Tried WW bread at 6 months, paid dearly for that. 6 hrs stuck. Contact your nutritionist, get suggestions. You are still in the healing stages. You now have a band around the stomach. heal and let the stitches set, walk and learn how to make menus during this time. Not to mention the 5 glasses of wine. I bet that blew you away , not having any solids to soak up that alcohol. Dont get me wrong, I like to splurge as well. I had to fight to get this band and I think that nothing taste as good as thin feels. I am 14 months out, down to a size 6/8 and I did not get here by eating like a normal person. l have had lots of temptations. and some I have given into. You need to get things in order if you are going to make this band help you lose any weight at a steady rate. Take this time slowly, make menus , learn how to eat slowly, lean how to eat good healthy foods. It's a tool, not a miracle. I am at the gym 5x week, walk 4 miles 7 x week , muscle is the name of the game. If you are not moving, you're not losing. Use that energy. Good luck.

Mine was about a ten page quiz with weird questions. Then the Physch. came in and we talked a bit about a few things. The only thing that he was concerned about was when I told him I was very surprised that I didn't miss diet coke (after drinking tons of for years), he likened me to an alcoholic. (I've never drank alcohol, ever!) Whatever. I passed with no problem, though I don't know the criteria needed to pass.

I was basically a functional alcoholic before my WLS. I drank every day for years. I used both food and alcohol as coping mechanisms. I drank with friends. I drank alone. Part of the problem was my tolerance. I could out drink a football team and barely felt drunk. I stopped drinking alcohol cold turkey the day I started my preop diet. It was simply part of what was required to be mentally committed to WLS. Postop I had my first drink of wine at a birthday party about 4 months out. Once In maintenance I've had a few cocktails 2-3 times/month. I was looking forward to being a cheap drunk, but alas, alcohol does not affect me any differently. At this point the thousands of calories in alcohol I used to drink just aren't worth the mini buzz I get. Having a drink now is more or less the same as the occasional desert or carby meal that I indulge in. So despite some horrible losses and the emotional trainwreck that is my life at this point, I am still choosing not to use food or alcohol for comfort. For me these choices are just part of the lifelong commitment that I made when I decided to have WLS.

I was wondering about the alcohol as well I had two sips of a wine cooler and no problems just got full so I guess moderation is the key and everybody differnt.

I drink a bit once in a while. Besides the calories, they advise us not to drink because of stomach irritation and the idea that alcohol MIGHT lead to band erosion. I think quite a few people drink sometimes, tho, without any problems. I'm not a wine drinker but have had beers and drinks at times. I'd probably wait more than 30 mins after eating, tho...right?

I breastfed all my kids into toddlerhood and served mainly whole foods - always vegetables with the main course and homemade treats - oatmeal cookies, homemade pizza too. I was a poor military wife and on food stamps - but I learned better nutrition from La Leche League, I made all my own bread for years and years. My kids were not fat, thought yogurt was an amazing 'treat'. They all like most vegetables and eat nearly anything to this day. I used portion control with treats. I was devastated when the 2 middle kids of the 4 developed type 1 diabetes, I was totally devastated. Of course it was no one's fault - and there are no family members that have type 1 other than these two. Anyway....at least adapting to eating like diabetics was not difficult for the family. My bio sisters/brothers are/were not obese, my bio mother was not obese, nor my bio father. I was not raised by them. My paternal aunt and husband raised me from infancy and produced mega self-esteem issues in me. I used food for major comfort, was only slightly chubby all through school, weighed 135 in high school. Fast forward - I continued to eat for comfort in my alcoholic marriage for 18 years...piled on the pounds. And so on......but I still celebrate with food, food is meant to be enjoyed within reason. I think food at family functions is an important aspect that I am not going to give up. (But there are no chips in my house unless a non-resident brings them over) We eat too much processed food and took home-ec out of schools, need to require nutrition, how to shop for food, and cooking classes with those SNAP benefits. They actually did that for people on food stamps in Hawaii through the home extension programs. We also need to move more, some states don't require gym class either..we need balance.

If your doctor doesn't have you on a pre-op diet that excludes it, then go ahead and enjoy! My doctor did not have any rules regarding cutting out alcohol before surgery.

My surgeon and nutritionist told my to wait a year before having an alcoholic drink. I am not a drinker. I only have a drink at my birthday or Christmas Eve. I just had my sleeve on December 5th so I am too scared to try a drink at Christmas Eve this year. Has anybody had a drink three or four weeks after surgery?

I told NO ONE except my husband, brother, and my kids. My parents, friends and co-workers do not know I had surgery. When asked, I have two responses: 1) "Over 90% of people who lose weight gain it all back. Please ask me in a year and if I am successful in this process, I will share with you then." 2) "I am working very hard to lose and maintain permanent weight loss. You are welcome to do what I am doing: NO wheat, no sugar, no alcohol, no soda, no juice, no caffeine (by this time I have already lost them), no processed food, no refined grains, no artificial sweeteners/colors/flavors, low carb, high protein, lots of veggies, intermittent fasting, and a 1-2 hours of exercise a day." I would consider a heart-to-heart with an obese person who seems to be at rock bottom and willing to do whatever it takes. BUT... interestingly, no morbidly obese people have asked - only overweight people who need to lose 20 or 30 pounds. Surgery is not for them, but healthy lifestyle is what they need to focus on, so that is what I share. Some have appeared genuinely interested, but a couple of days later I see them eating cupcakes and junk, so it seems there are more curiosity seekers than those who are really ready to make changes.

Crod; A few things come to mind. First, congrats on your success. MANY Band Patients do not make it to those last 15. You have done very, very well. First, you said you exercise, but you did not specify what KIND of exercise you do. In a later post you agreed that you should start doing cardio. If you have not been doing much or any cardio up to this point, then you really have not been working out. Cardio is KEY to losing weight. You should spend most of the hour you dedicate to exercise on cardio, with your pulse in the correct range. That might be all you need to shed those pounds. Also, you said that you ate correctly %99 percent of the time, but you did not specify what exactly that means. To many people on this forum, "eating correctly" means having only ONE Snickers instead of 3. I have stated many times on this forum that it is the constant, small decisions we make in what we eat that will determine whether or not we are totally successful. I seem to continually get into arguments here with people on the subject of alcohol. I won't open that debate here, but in fact those couple of glasses of wine that many people have at dinner or bedtime might be inhibiting their weight loss. I saw a post recently where one member (LeighaMason, I believe) had difficulty losing her last 10 or 15 pounds. When she cut out her glass of wine, the weight came off. It is NOT always a matter of Calories in/calories burned…..different types of food have different effects on your METABOLISM. Alcohol is one of them. I am not suggesting that this is your problem, but I would encourage you to take a serious look at what you are consuming. Culturally, we are very conditioned to think that certain things are "good" for us, when in fact they are ONLY good for the people who SELL them. Milk, for instance, is one of those foods. We are the only creatures on earth who continue to consume milk after we have been weaned from our Mothers, and with all of the hormones and drugs that the dairy animals are given to promote growth (and profits), there is a good possibility the Milk we consume can be, in fact be having a detrimental effect on us. Most of the positive nutrients in Milk are destroyed during the homogenization process, so you're not getting much nutrition from your Milk, but you ARE getting some fat, calories, and other things that are NOT desirable. You can get all the Calcium you need from a small serving of vegetables. So, I would encourage to you take a close look at what you are eating. There might be some things that you can change that will make a difference. You have done very well, so you must be eating fairly well. I suspect, though, that adding in as much cardio as possible in the exercise program will be of great benefit, in a number of ways. Cardio is tough to get going on, but after you have done it for a while, you will begin to look forward to it. Best of luck; keep us posted! S.

I eat because i am a food addict. I LOVE FOOD. Food for me is the same as alcohol or drugs or cigarettes are for some. The reason the band has worked amazingly well for me is that it physically stops me in my tracks from being able to over indulge in my addiction. Does it stop me from wanting to eat (aka head hunger) HELL NO. Does it stop true hunger, not for me, what the band does is allow me to eat a small portion that is just enough to satisfy the real hunger and be done.

There is nothing off my diet either, the doc said I have no restrictions, even alcohol. But that my diet needs to be protein focused and water heavy. lol! So I have a bite of stuff now and then but in general I'm pretty full and satisfied with my homemade low carb high protein meals.

I just had my first alcohol drink 6 weeks after surgery because of the Purim holiday. I'm not an alcoholic, never touch alcohol usually.

It's the food addiction many of us suffer. If you changed the above references from food items to alcohol, you would have a recovering alcoholic that is starting to fall off the wagon again, right? Tell dear husband he needs help. Be that in the form of going to a local bariatric surgery group monthly, or seeing a psychologist, or self help in the form of a book. Coincidentally, there is a good book on amazon called Never Binge Again which happens to be free in kindle version for a limited time. I would pick it up and see if it can help him with his situation.

Hello, I am desperately in need of some help. My husband had the sleeve gastrectomy in October. He's lost 115 pounds and looks amazing! In the beginning he was very strict and followed his diet. Now in the past month I've noticed him cheating more. He will take 1 bite of everything he's not supposed to eat, and sometimes more. I mentioned it to the nutritionist and she said it's okay as long as it's only 1 bite to satisfy his craving. It's starting to be more than one bite, and if I say something or give him a look it starts a huge fight! The other night I came home and saw a dirty ice cream bowl in the sink. I told him how worried I am bc my old boss regained ALL her weight from alcohol and ice cream. He fixed his body but not his brain. I'm 100% sure he's going to regain the weight if he's already cheating 5 months out. We have a baby now and I want him to be alive to see it grow up! He refuses to go to counseling. Please give me some advice on how to be supportive!

I have been thinking about LAP-BAND®® since 2007, yet I still havent made any moves towards having it done. I was about 240lbs then,and 3 years later I am now 270 lbs. so, I need to do something asap....What's your advice for someone contemplating surgery ..... -pros and cons? -what was your diet like in the begining and what is it like now? -how often do you exercise? -did you have anyd difficulties? -can you drink alcoholic beverages (not a big drinker, just curious)? -did your insurance cover surgery, and if so what did you have to do for them to agree to cover the surgery? -what has been the hardest part with having LapBAND? Any extra info you would like to offer would be great! THANKS!

Here's a thought.... why don't we start our own support group for addiction. Addiction is addiction, whether it's to food, drugs, working, shopping, watching TV, exercise (and yes this is the one I'm hoping to go to).... anything that a person does in excess to avoid feeling their emotions. My pastor does a support group for dealing with co-dependency and addictions. He says the average addict has 6-7 addictions that they can alternate between. He also says that most often when people decide to quit their addiction of choice without dealing with the issues related to their addiction that they will normally just "replace it with one that peeves people off less." Addiction is insanity. How many times I have thought to myself, "I can't believe I'm killing myself with food." Yet I can't seem to stop myself. Food is my addiction of choice, and I have had enough counseling to know the chances I will addiction jump are pretty good... that is why I have informed my former counselor that I may be needing some therapy over the course of the next few months. I plan to be very aware of what I'm doing, and I'm hoping for the best. So I ask you, have you acknowledged that there are issues related to your family of origin (aka... your childhood), that are causing you to avoid feeling? You're trying to fill yourself from the outside in, instead of the inside out. Have you ever noticed how many food addicts have relationships with drug addicts and alcoholics? Addicts attract each other.... How many of your closest friends came from dysfunctional families? I am not saying this to blame my actions on my parents because I believe that as an adult it is now my choice to improve my life and not pass on the mistakes of my parents to my own child. Sooo.... how does LBA sound (LabBand Anonymous)?

I am on day 8 now of my preop liquid diet. It was challenging over the holiday having to attend 4 different thanksgiving dinners but I allowed myself one serving of lean meat per day and that helped. Now I am back to 6 smalls meals a day all liquid. I am allowed to have Protein shakes, cream Soups made with milk instead of Water, greek yogurt, sugar free pudding with Protein powder added, sf Popsicle, chicken broth, sf Jello, and anything to drink that has no caffeine, alcohol or carbonation. My daily meal plan usually looks something like 7:00 AM Protein shake, 10:00 AM protein shake, 1:00 PM Soup, 4:00 PM Protein Shake, 7:00 Shake or Soup, 9:30 PM Greek Yogurt. I also add in jello and sf Popsicle along with my water if I get hungry. So far I am down about 1 pound a day.

I soooo 100% agree with what you said about families and addicts being attracted to each other. My addictions: food and shopping. My stepfather was a raging alcoholic while I was growing up. My husband is a (now sober) alcoholic. I never thought I would ever date someone with a substance abuse problem after what I went through growing up...but here I am. I also never thought I would have an addiction...yet here I am. And so it goes on.

Munchkin392: Your Avatar gives the impression that you are a nurse. Did you know that statistics show that nearly everybody that is a nurse has at least one parent who is an alcoholic?

Yes, I am a nurse, you guessed correctly. I did not know that statistics show nurses usually have an alcoholic parent...but it does not surprise me at all. I think a large majority of nurses have very codependent personalities. My family doctor and shrink both agree with this theory. Food for thought.

Got these at GNC - it is 45g of protein in a 3.1 oz container that looks like a big test tube. I tried the fruit punch flavor - it's almost cough syrup-like in its sweetness and consistency. It's a lot easier (and faster) to get down than a bottle of Isopure, though. My two worries are that it contains 8g of carbs (5g from "sugar alcohol") and a blend of protein. I was told to try for 100% whey protein if possible. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Thanks.

I choose the sleeve for three reasons: 1. My surgeon okayed drinking alcohol (down the road) with the sleeve and recommend lifelong abstinence with bypass. 2. My surgeon said the same about NSAID'S. I have quite a bit of arthritis and even down 80 lbs, I still need my ibuprofen. 3. I like the idea of just cutting off some of my stomach as opposed to all the plumbing rerouting and the whole dead stomach thing. I'm not sure about the whole hunger thing. If I avoid simple carbs, I'm not hungry, but if I eat them, I still want more (I'm in month 4).

Obesity is the last of the 'politically correct' prejudices. It's so true. The sad thing about having a food problem is that everyone can see your problem. Almost all other human 'problems' can be hidden from the general population, drug abuse, sex addicts, alcoholics, racists whatever...but obesity is obvious to others what your problem is and so everyone feels it is ok to comment on it or feel superior to those who struggle. Here's what I never understood...why are you superior if you are an alcoholic or a smoker or a drug abuser? No one ever has to smoke, drink alcohol or do drugs but we all HAVE to eat. Its easier to give up something completely than to 'limit' it. I have been obese all my adult life. It has held me back in soooo many ways. I hope losing this excess weight will help me to 'dare' to do some of those things I should have done a long time ago. Here's to new horizons!

Calm down, you can do it. If I can do it anyone can. I am 4 weeks post op tomorrow and before surgery I was a BIG drinker (not alcohol) water, nothing but water, had crystal lite in it but water. Probaby a gallon a day like you. But since surgery you just tell yourself you have to do this. Now on some of my days I get thirsty after a meal and I cannot wait till my hour to hour and half is up and drink but most of the time I eat fish and veggies and I am not thirsty. It will all work out for you, I promise. Like I said, if I can do it you can to. Donna