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Hello My name is Marcia, I use to be addicted to drugs but got clean and then got married and never realized until yesterday that I had an addiction to food. I have WLS tomorrow July 13th and the pre-op liquid diet showed me just how addicted I was. I talked to my therapist on Monday and she told me what I was describing was a food addiction. It's about control for me. Just like drugs were and then you realize you never were in control I come from a family with a lot of addictions; Drugs, Alcohol etc. A lot are clean from one thing and then substitute a new addiction. I am hoping that now that I know this and can have help from my therapist I will be able to succeed in finally losing the weight I have packed onto my body.

I am donell1000 and I have alcohol and "dry goods" free for 22 years. I sleeved 6_10_2016. What is interesting about getting sleeved is that it feels somewhat like doing a 28 day detox/rehab. Each day I learn something new about myself and I have to work my weight-loss program the same way I work my recovery. What I am trying to wrap my mind around is how someone can loose weight and then gain it back. Is it just going back to eating the wrong foods? Does the smaller sleeved stomach grow back in size? Please let me know your thoughts... How to Prevent Weight Gain After Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery

hi leslie - was interesting reading this thread starting in 2009 - but we all are food addicts, what ever year it is. In my case, give me Cookies, donuts,etc. and i'll be your friend for ever! Some people (DH) love all the carbs like bread etc.. i don't know why we just cant't limit ourselves from eating the consumption of food that we do eat with. ) Most peoplec can eat a regular portion of desert or plain amount of dinner or whatever, but us food additcts-well wd just ca't stop. The temptations are too strong. Similar to alcohol yet food addition doesn't count to "normal people" Therefore we become' food addicts" don't eat properly, and can't stop eating when we should - ADDICT, ADDICT,ADDICT Oh well - i didn't answe any question, just getting some feeling outs - thanx - welcome leslie Kathy DOS 12/15/11

Actually, I was told not to have any alcohol at dinner but I CHOSE to anyway. I know bad me, but I didn't think my f*cking story was going to be dissected by obnoxious downers with no life!!!! Who the he11 are you to question me and my actions? Like I said this was my experience and would I recommend Dr. Aceves to others? Absolutely!!! So my suggestion would be for you to get over yourselves and allow this to be a support board again.

You're intelligent, self-aware and you've done this before. You can do it again and be successful. I agree with the person who suggested going back to a week one diet. I'd suggest the pre-op diet. You need to eliminate carbs. Treat them like alcohol and you're an alcoholic. There's no such thing as "I'll just have one drink/chip/lb of pasta" for people like us. You made a powerful decision before and changed your life. You are STRONG. Every time you fall down, just get back up again. It's never the end. Nothing you've done is irreversible. You won't be perfect, but you can be *better. *

Hmm, alcohol in moderation shouldnt be a problem, but you can drink too much without being an alcoholic or binge drinker. My parents were always a glass or two of wine per night drinkers. Both my sisters are too. My youngest sister, right in the middle of young kids loves 5 o'clock, lol. She'd have 2 or 3 wines a night. Hardly binge drinking but too much to be healthy for a woman I think. But since she's fallen into this habit, she's gotten really quite fat. Its deadly calorie wise and I find when I've had a drink or two, suddenly I cant be stuffed cooking dinner and will order pizza instead. I love a drink, but I dont drink daily, its too concentrated in empty calories when you're trying to lose weight.

You must be planning one helluva party! I see posts from you about alcohol, and another about cocaine and ecstasy!! Not judging, just observing! Be careful, give yourself some time. My surgeon advises to wait six months for alchohol, made no mention of weed or hard drugs What does your surgeon advise?

Fat = lazy slob Drig and alcohol = poor thing probably had a rough life and needs help. Nobody cares why someone is overweight because you're just lazy. Even with studies showing sugar is even more addicting than some drugs. Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

The alcoholic has a sort of sympathy from society, their addicted, poor thing they can't help it... Obese people have a problem relationship with food, I'll go as far as to say we addicted to it much like the alcoholic is addict to alcohol... The obese person is viewed by society as the person who can't stop eating and does not exercise.... The cure for alcoholism isn't surgery, obese gets a surgery to help with it... People can't connect those dots, no matter how much you explain.. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Well I'm happy to report I NEVER abused food or alcohol. I nurtured and loved and coddled every single bite and swallow!

Why is it that when people hear that someone who was destroying their body through obesity has lost 100+ pounds with the help of surgery, some will call that a "cop out" or the "easy way out"..... But when someone who is destroying their life through alcohol abuse and gets help through an intensive, in-patient recovery program with medical professionals....how come that's perfectly okay, even laudable? Why is getting serious medical intervention for obesity treated like something to be ashamed of, when we applaud those who take similar intense intervention to drug or alcohol addictions? Aren't we all just trying to save our lives ? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I have been married 2 years and recently have kicked the battle of alcohol that has plagued me all my life. I have been clean about a year and have no desire to drink. This really has pleased my husband because he saw how it tore me up. My life has changed so much since he came into it. I'm just very blessed. Here is my issue. My husbands mom died last year and he came into a bit of money. And I asked him to help me get this operation. He never denies me anything unless he thinks it will hurt me. Well, of course he said yes...and so now I'm on my way. I could have used credit or gotten a loan but he wouldn't hear of it. Said we are getting out of any debt we have had and that would be counter productive. Well now that he has just given me the cashiers checks to pay for this whole deal (I go on Monday the 24th for my internal medicine appointment and thats when payment is due). And I'm thinking about how much money this is...how I SHOULD have been able to do this (lose weight) myself. Funny thing is my DH has never had a weight problem, was very thin when he was in his 20's and really has no idea what being FAT all your life means. He says he can imagine and see's me try. He only wants me to be happy. We've been together like 5 years and we both have improved each others life. He's much happier now and the main reason I'm doing this (LB) is for our intimacy. I told him his quality of life will improve considerably *grin*. I'm so healthy I should not have really been considered. I am over a 35 BMI so that's the reason they are doing it. It just is amazing what he is doing for me. I'm blown away and feel kind of guilty as well. I better not fail this time. Thats all I can say. Valerie :pray:

OMG that's a powerful story. It has to be good for you to get it off your chest and know that it can help someone else. You know if they can call alcoholism a disease, they can darned sure call MO one too. I swear you either are suseptible to it or not, and grows into a worse and worse problem over time. If you are predisposed to MO, you are almost powerless to control it. I feel sometimes like we are banging our heads against a wall trying to communicate with the medical profession. So many of them still believe that dieting is the answer. We all know that it isn't! I am hoping that I can go from looking like Mrs. Ozzie Osborne before, to within a couple of years after getting the LB, looking like her now.

Anyone who doubts that food is an addiction just like alcohol or cigarettes should read this thread. I confessed my lifelong binging to my (skinny) mom a few months ago, telling her about how my sister and I would stop at the drive thru on the way home from school the moment we got our licenses, and then eat a full dinner an hour later. It only got worse the older I got. One of my earliest memories is lying in bed at about the age of 7 and fantasizing about ordering a stack of 20 big macs. I didn't want a pony, I didn't want a million bucks, I wanted 20 big macs. What's up with that?! The band is great for bingers once we get the right fill level, but I know that I would also benefit from some counseling. My mind is not working with the band right now.

50 Shaded is definitely a distraction lol. I started reading it when I first came home from the hospital. I just finished book 2. I didn't even think to look for sugar alcohols but when I ran to the bathroom I knew they had to be in there. I bought them because there was a Protein bar thread and people seemed to like those. I'll go back and try to find another. I always plan ahead, but looking for things to stash in my drawer that can keep.

I'm a teacher too! I've been trying out different bars for Breakfast because I can't seem to get up early enough to get dressed much less make breakfast. Anyway, I tried one that contained those sugar alcohols...ugh....never again! My insides did not appreciate it at all. I had a Zone bar this morning-chocolate Peanut Butter. It was really good. No badness for the tummy. It was 200 calories with 14 grams of Protein. It did have 25 carbs which I know a lot of people on here are low carbers. I'm not.

What kind did you try? Had you eaten anything else with sugar alcohol in it today? My stomach has been very sensitive to SF candy but during my 4 month pre-op diet I sometimes had 2-3 Atkins bars a day and never had problems. I'm not sure which varieties have more SA but I would recommend the ones without chocolate. I got sick of the fake chocolate and towards the end I was only buying the oatmeal squares (so good in microwave), apple cinnamon bars and peanut nougat one (not sure of exact name). Unfortunately, I've never seen these ones sold individually but I will tell you WalMart carries Atkins products for MUCH cheaper than anywhere else!

What a ride this journey has been. I never thought I would ever get this far and definitely not this quickly. I have worked so hard though; was super strict on myself from day 1; I feel that is just my nature; it's either 110% or its nothing.. go hard or go home!!! So one morning I just decided this is the day I'm going to start my diet and change my life. I had spent the past 15+ years of my life helping everyone else in my family and ignoring my own health issues mental and physical.. I researched the surgery options and trawled this website for months whilst waiting for my surgery to happen. I found a great doctor and surgeon and he agreed with me that the roux en y bypass was definitely my best chance at success and a future. I took everyone's advice on board but ultimately I knew it would be my choice and my decision to change my life. I also gave up alcohol now nearly 4 years ago.. I started journey at the highest weight of 322LBS with multiple comorbidities and medications keeping me alive. Eventually I went into hospital on October 28th 2019 and had the bypass surgery and I knew there was no turning back; its now on me to prove to everyone including the doubters I could do it!!! Here I am 6 months and 9 days later and this morning I weighed in at 175.5LBS and I'm not sure if my body is even done yet... I've had a few stalls along the way but none longer than 1 week so I've been very lucky; I've stuck to my diet pretty religiously since day one.. I was using protein shakes pretty much for the whole first 5 months with some small things like yoghurt and tuna but the past few weeks I've been adding more carbs and experimenting with real foods and not being so strict but still keeping focused on my weight of course. For the first time in my life I feel normal and I feel happy and excited for the future and I never thought I would get this far 175.5lbs is an amazing effort which equals to 146.5lbs lost gone forever in just over 6 months!!! I hope I can show others it is possible to change your life for the better you just have to be committed, you have to be mentally prepared, you have to be doing this for yourself and nobody else!!! I hope I can be an inspiration to others!!! Love Mikey

Hi All, I rarely come on the forums anymore. It seems that, once I got past the really tough times with my band to sleeve revision I just drifted away. Anyway, I realized that I will be 2 years post-revision in a couple of weeks and I should probably report in and let the newbies know about my experience. If you want to know specifics about my surgery, you can look through my profile posts - it is hard for me to remember all the details now. I had a lap band for 4 years and it sucked. I got my lap band at 215 pounds and ended up at about 195 pounds and was gaining slowly on top of that. I couldn't eat chicken (did I mention the band SUCKED?). I wanted the band out, but I was afraid I would baloon up higher than ever. For me, the sleeve was an insurance policy. I did not expect it to work because I had already been through weight loss surgery that did not work. Why would I expect anything different the second time around? I was 100% afraid to dream that it might be successful. And, of course, I was wrong The sleeve was everything the band promised and more. On surgery day I was somewhere between 195 and 200. I went to Dr Aceves and would recommend him without hesitation. Band out and sleeve in, took less than 90 minutes. No complications. Good pain management. That's when the tough stuff really started. I couldn't drink the Protein drinks because I couldn't handle the smell or taste. Because of this I barely ate or drank anything for weeks. Everything tasted so weird / bad. I was significantly fatigued for 3 months because could barely get any food in. I chewed my Vitamins and took my omeprazole like a good girl. The apex of my weight loss occured after about 9 months. I got down to about 127 pounds. Mind you, at no time was I ever "trying" to lose weight. In fact, I was "trying" to get enough quality calories in my body. Since I ate so little, I couldn't mess around with junk food - I only ate food with good nutritional value. I also found that Certain foods were just harder to eat. I craved chicken, but I had a hard time eating carrots (they stick!). I would say I didn't feel completely normal until about a year had passed. At this point I have levelled out in the 135-140 range and I am thrilled about it. It is easy for me to get down to 135 (and lower if I wanted to) by just cutting out one snack a day or quitting drinking alcohol altogether. I weigh myself maybe once a month and if I see myself creep towards 138-139, I start cutting out a couple of things and get back to my comfort zone. It has been hard in the last 6 months because my father committed suicide leaving me with a contentious legal battle with his wife. I started drinking a couple of drinks every day because of the stress. That has kept me in the upper end of my range, but it is still easy to maintain. I find as time goes by, I stopped drinking every day and only a couple of times a week - it made me less puffy :-) So, my lifestyle now: I don't exercise. Yes, I know - that's bad. I do have tons more energy and I walk more in my daily life than I ever did before, but I do not engage in regular exercise. I try. I do my best. I'm just being honest. I still have a hard time getting even 30 ounces of Fluid every day. The taste of Water changed for me the day I had surgery and I have had a terrible time replacing it. Sometimes I have fizzy water. Strangely, beer goes down very easily. I developed a Starbucks mocha habit after the first year, but I limit it to one a day and get nonfat most of the time. I also started drinking iced coffee. I eat 5-6 times a day (I limit it to 5 if I am actively trying to manage my weight). I eat protein and veggies. I just started liking sandwiches again, but find bread and rice both expand in my stomach and make me very uncomfortable after I eat them. Even now, I eat too fast sometimes and can be in terrible pain from fullness. I still can't drink after I eat. I drink as much as possible up to the point where I put food in my mouth and then no liquids for an hour or more - PAINFUL!! I could never have done this without the sleeve. I am completely happy with the result. My life isn't "normal" because I still have to think about carrying Snacks with me so I can have good choices while I am out of the house. I still have to eat slowly. I still have people in restaurants badgering me about why I didn't finish my food. The difference is that I wear size 8 jeans and size 4/6 dress. I can walk / run around Disneyland for 10 hours with my daughter without major breaks to sit down. I rode a bike with my kid just this week and it was awesome. I finally feel like I fit in with my world. The outside reflects the inside. I feel much happier now, also, because people are used to me being this size now. Before people were always making a big deal out of the wieght loss. I don't like talking about it. I hated the attention during the loss because I was very guarded about the surgery. Now I have been the same for a year and a half or so, people don't comment about it as much and I love it. My future: well, the biggest surprise for me is that my husband and I are thinking about having another baby. My daughter is 8 and I had my tubes tied 6 years ago. I scheduled my tubal reversal with a specialist in Beverly Hills at the end of March. I will be 39 in a couple of weeks, but the doc says my FSH level is that of a 25 year old and my husbands sperm count and motility is off the charts! I used to be super-fertile before my tubal (just look at me sideways, and I was knocked up!) so we will see if that is still the case in a couple of months. Also, I finally finished my Bachelors degree 21 years after I started :-) I graduate in June. My life rocks! I was already lucky to have a good man, a great child, good job, and overall good health. The sleeve and weight loss are the icing on the cake for me. I'm a lucky lady. With gratitude, Lara

In my case, my goal weight chose me. I am 5'5" and started at 238 pounds. My doctor's goal weight was 160. My personal goal weight was 150. This is what I Weighed in my 20's when I was active and fit. Despite increasing calories and carbs and fat as I reached my doctors goal, I kept losing even past my personal goal. I've bounced around between 137 and 141 for the last 3 months so I assume I'm done. I did try and stop at 150, but apparently this is where my body wants to be. As for maintenance, I'm not doing anything special. I drink a protein/fiber smoothie with 30-40g Protein everyday. I drink at least 64oz of Water and take my Vitamins. Other than that I don't count calories, track or measure. I pretty much just eat healthy balanced meals and Snacks including protein, fruit, veggies and whole grains. I eat when I'm hungry which is every 3 hours or so. I graze like crazy on the weekends, and have alcohol, deserts and white carbs (bread, Pasta, rice, sugar) several times/month. I'm definitely thinner than I had hoped for and have truly lost my curves, but I am perfectly happy to be where I am at this point. I figure I'm in a good place in case I do gain some back as I get farther out.

A few days ago woke up with a sore throat and it got worse through the day and the next day I had a headache and that all over achey feeling. I headed to Walgreens to find something to take. I know we are supposed to avoid NSAIDS like ibuprofen, aspirin, Aleve (naproxen). I spent a very long time going through all of the choices on the shelves, looking for something that might help with my symptoms. Eventually I gave up and went for an Alka-seltzer product that dissolved in Water. Yes, it did contain aspirin. So I mixed it up and let the fizz wear off and drank a dose. It was a nighttime version and knocked me out. I felt better so I took another dose when the instructions said to, even though this time it made me slightly nauseas to drink it. Again, I felt much better. Both times I also took a Prevacid to help with any stomach acid. Later that night my stomach and intestines were letting me know that things were not all good. After a few hours of discomfort, I went to the bathroom and had a lot of very soft, solid black, tarry stool. Nothing that I had eaten could be attributed to that outcome and it wasn't Iron supplements since I take those daily and have not produced black tarry stool from iron. That meant that it was probably quite a bit of blood in my stomach. I ate very little the next day. Last night I poured a glass of red wine and took a sip. It felt like glass in my stomach. I'm going to guess that my stomach lining was raw and the alcohol scorched it. I have read from other posters that you don't have problems with NSAIDs, but I wanted to share this with all of you during this cold and flu season. If anyone knows of a good alternative that targets sore throat, sinus pressure, headache, body aches, cough, etc., please share it.

Have you considered attending some OA meetings and/or working the steps around food? When you read the Big Book and change the words alcohol and alcoholic to food and compulsive eater, does it still apply? I agree with others, the sleeve is not a magic cure buy it has been a miracle for me. That said, I think the reason I am seeing results is in part because of the mental work I have done around food up to now and in part because I have radically changed the way I eat. I too recommend you start tracking your food with MyFitnessPal or a similar app. Focus on getting enough Protein (at least 100 grams since you are a guy and an athlete). Avoid starches, added sugars, and fried foods. Completely cut out anything with high fructose corn syrup. Choose healthy, whole foods instead of pre-packaged processed foods. Eat good fats. Take Vitamins (at least a Multivitamin and possibly D3). Exercise (sounds like you are already doing so). Wean yourself off of caffeine and carbonation. I would suggest you check in with a good NUT to talk about your goals: losing weight, running, etc. so that he or she can help you determine the level of macros you need (protein, fat, and carbs) for your activity level and to lose weight. One of two things will happen. Either you will lose the weight and not need surgery, or you may decide to still have surgery but you will be better prepared. Keep in mind that whether you have surgery or not, when losing weight you WILL experience stalls. It's how you deal with those stalls that will determine your success. Keep us posted on how you are doing and what you decide.

Does anybody know if they test for alcohol Sent from my N9560 using BariatricPal mobile app

JoJo I can't really say what the complications would be, but my surgeon told me I would not be able to drink alcohol after surgery. I don't drink so that was no big deal, but the way it sounds he was meaning I shouldn't ever drink it. You may want to talk to your doctor before drinking alcohol, but I certainly would not drink it this early.

Hello ~ This is my first posting but I've been reading all of your wonderful posts for a few weeks now. Just a little background about me...I've been heavy my whole life. A few years ago I got myself in the low 200's and to my that was thin! Unfortunately, I've let myself seriously go and I'm up to 350. Last year, I went to my PCP and told him that I wanted the RNY. He was supportive and gave me the referral. Well, I ended up chickening out and tried one last ditch effort with WW. I ended up losing about 40 pounds but successfully put back every pound and then some. I gave up on WLS surgery and dieting all together. A few months back I discovered the VSG and thought to myself that it is definitely a surgery that I be comfortable with and worth exploring. This past week, I got the courage to see my PCP and asked for another referral to a surgeon who does the VSG. Well, my PCP did not tip toe around my feelings. He definitely voiced his disappointment about me not having WLS. He said that he can't help me if I don't take his advice and is STRONGLY encouraging me to have the surgery. Which he is probably right. He gave me the referral and said that he would take care of the necessary paperwork. I definitely got the tough love treatment. I trying to find the right time to tell my family that this is all happening. By the way, I'm single and 30 years old. I know they will be totally supportive but I feel bad for them to see their daughter have to go through this. I've let myself go so bad that my only saving grace is surgery. Ok, the concerns..... 1) Lactose Intolerance, does this happen to everyone? If it should happen, does it go away or am I stuck with it? 2) The hair loss ?...I'm expecting it to happen but my hair is the only thing I get compliments on. Will it grow back? Will it be like it used to be? 3) Bowel issues...as a child I had lots of bowel issues and I can still remember the horrible experiences. Will constipation always be a problem after VSG? 4) Alcohol...I do enjoy a drink now and then. Will I be able to enjoy a glass of wine or a vodka drink? I would not attempt this until way further out. Thank you all so much for letting me get this off my chest. You are all a great comfort and full of advice and knowledge. I look forward to getting to know you. Thanks for your insights. :thumbup1: