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There really is no way to avoid the stalls. Your body will have to adjust at times. As for getting all of your water in...I had a reusable water bottle, I would take a sharpie and every time I would refill I would make a tally mark on it until I had filled and drank 8 of them. You can take an alcohol wipe and the tally marks come off and you are ready for the next day. As for getting enough protein...it is really hard to get at least 60 grams in one day in the beginning by just eating....so I would buy protein shots at Walmart. They have some that has as many as 28 grams of protein in one shot. Get them really really cold, cause they don't taste the greatest...fruit punch was the least yucky to me. Now for counting calories and carbs and protein.....really the only thing I ever counted was protein. I got a free booklet from Atkins on line that told me the carbs and protein in everything. Once I got to 60 grams of protein for the day I would stop counting anything. I have never worried about how many carbs I ate or how many calories. As long as the scale kept moving down I didn't change anything. It worked for me! good luck to you!

Most in here have answered your questions very well. From my personal experience I love the weight loss my band has provided but at the same time it can be a pain in the ass. The constant tweaking to get to a good restriction almost always tempts people to get too tight with disastrous results. Let me list some things that annoy me about the band. 1) I can't drink liquids quickly. I can't tell you how much I would love to down a bottle of Water in a couple of gulps right now! Lol. 2) Can't go straight to bed after eating or it's very uncomfortable. 3) Veggies can go down slow and hurt sometimes. 4) Daily heartburn if I don't take Prilosec. 5) TIGHT DAYS...out of nowhere my band can tighten up like crazy...causes can be drinking alcohol, stress, exercise, dehydration, early in the morning. 6) LOOSE DAYS...sometimes I'm just loose and can eat more than normal and then I'm hungry. 7) Hunger. Yes. I get hungry. No I don't need a fill. If I get a fill I will be too tight and bad things will happen. 8) Fills can be annoying...I had to get over 20 adjustments to get good restriction. I currently have over 14cc in a 14cc band. 9) I can't sleep on my stomach. If I sleep on my stomach I get reflux. No I do not have a dilated pouch. 10) Sinus drainage wakes me up at night because the nasty Fluid pools in the back of my throat. Gross! This can wake me up choking and is quite disgusting. I'm sure operations like the sleeve has its own bag of nasty tricks but those are some that annoy me about this particular surgery and applies to me. Your mileage may vary. If I had the choice to make over again I would SERIOUSLY consider the sleeve. Would I get the band again? Yes. If I didn't think the sleeve was all people make it out to be after research then I'd get banded again. Getting lapband surgery because you think it is a 'gentle' surgery is a mistake. To anyone that thinks they don't want to get the sleeve or bypass because it's too invasive and they want a gentle surgery then you need to diet and exercise and stay away from a doctor with a knife completley. Surgery is surgery and there's no 'easy' way about it even with the lap band. Look at what a band does to a stomach after 5 years and it's not all daises and sunshine. Don't even get me started on erosion or a slip. Lapband surgery is SURGERY and alters your body. Don't choose it because you're scared of something else. That's not a good reason to make a decision in my opinion. Good reasons to choose lap band are that it's adjustable and you can control, to a point, the speed at which you lose weight. You can usually opt for sleeve or bypass if your band fails which is a plus. Anyway, I've listed reasons why it's a pain in the ass above, but you can still lose weight with it and that's what matters. Is it better than the sleeve? I don't know. All I can tell you is what I do know. Good luck with your choice.

Eh. Nothing has hurt my sleeve but diet coke. (A sip at that). Alcohol has not affected me any stronger.

when i was training i was so surprised about the number of relationship breakups when an alcoholic began recovery. not implying you are that, but that long term relationships are in balance and when a big perturbation happens sometimes the balance is irrevocably disturbed. nevertheless it does not mean that anyone needs to remain in their disease to keep the relationship. Guilt doesnt enter into it. you did what you had to do. I have been married for 35 years and my wife has never seen me at a good weight. I have no choice but to move forward, if it disrupts our relationship we will deal with that when it happens, but guilt is not an option. If I have to remain unhealthy to keep her, then that is a problem in itself. IMHO Alex

I was one of those, disgustingly, well built in shape women that I now have come to loathe. I would have a baby, and within months be back into a size 5. I also, abused my metabolism for years, living off of cigarettes, diet cokes and very little food. My ex-husband, even though he did drugs and was an abusive alcoholic, lifted weights and was very concious and picky about his physique (and mine). Anyway, fast forward past the divorce.. being broke with three kids and trying to conserve food so they would have enough.. and, basically 16 years of pain and tragedy, I got remarried.. got happy.. entered my 40's.. quit smoking and gained a TON of weight that I have, continually, been unsuccessful at getting rid of. I love to work out.. but, I also love food. I love to work out.. but, since I've gained this weight, working out is painful and disappointing... Anyway, my current husband had lap band surgery done a year and a half ago. He has lost 75 pounds, and although he struggles with getting stuck sometimes.. and missing his former enjoyment of food.. he wouldn't trade it. I thought if he had the surgery, then my eating habits would follow suit.. and I'd lose the weight as a by product of HIS surgery. It didn't work out that way. My surgery is scheduled for July 16! I'm pretty nervous.. but, I'm willing to make some sacrifices and do the work. I guess we'll see how it goes!

I'm done with alcohol. After surgery doc found a ulcer. I don't want any issues. I went to a bar/grill last weekend. I had a crystal light drink enhancer in my purse ordered water in a glass gave it a shot of enhancer for color. Lol. I had fun, felt great the weird part was when the guys wanted to buy me a drink... I had to say I want a water. Lol

Hello my BFF's, I've missed you all. I just got done catching up on everyone. So much has happened, it seems like I've been gone forever. I had a very good time. The weather was iffy, but did have sometime around pool and the beach. The food was excellent. Dave was very good at making sure I was comfortable and happy (not really like him), lol. Iactually got him to wear a wedding band after 40+yrs. We went into the Harley store in Pensacola and they had a gold mens band with a Harley logo etch in the center, with a small diamond on each side. It was on sale and he really liked it, so I bought it for him. I quess we're officially a couple now, lmao. The airports killed my knee's, especially when we practically had to run to catch connecting flight in Atlanta. I know it was a good mile between planes. We just made it. ATLANTA AIRPORT IS A ZOO!!!! Got home to a flood garden, again. Had to wade threw the ick and rescue plants, again. The Water was up to my ass. Rained all day yesterday and I had to go out and rescue the rest of the plants I thought were safe. All this did not help my knee's either. The weather called for more rain today, but so far, so good. The tide in garden has gone down almost a foot. Calling for rain until July4th and I keep praying for mercy. Today is Maddy's Independence Day, she left the NICU 12 yrs ago today after spending her first 10mths there. She laughed all the way out the door and the drive home. Terri, I hope you have a nice time on the coast. Carole, Glad the foot is ok. The granite sounds amazing. Yeah for the scale. Continuing good thoughts on the barium test. Dawn, Have a good time with Brad and kids. Prayers for safe travel. Mini, So sorry about your pain. I was wondering about Shingles???? Hope they get tothe bottom of it and find you relief. Also hoping for relief from the unbearable heatwave you and Nicole are facing. Dee, So proud of who you are!!!!! Next time you take that test, please ask for prayers.... Glad you are having a wonderful time with the kids. Hugs, angel! Diane, Hang in there GF. One day you will be on the beach with your hub. Anyone who is as dedicated as you, will be blessed. Nicole, I hope things are going well.I'm sure you are exhausted returning back to the work force, after a major life change. Oh, I forgot, congratulations Mini on the 6 lbs down. You rock! Dawn, you do not take after your c mom when it comes to drinking. The only alcohol that can knock my socks off, is Vodka and I stay way far away from it. Jagermeister- I can drink anyone under the table on, no effect at all. I did have a couple Long Island Ice Tea's this trip, thought it was made with ice tea, NOT. Vodka, tequila, rum, gin, triple sec, sweet and sour mix and a splash of coke (what, coke?????), very, very little coke. No effect. Stomach made of steel, that only stress can get to, go figure.lol

Happy Independence Day to all my American followers! Ah, another holiday brimming with awesome BBQs, cold beer and delectable desserts. A regular fat ass nightmare. And it's on a Thursday. Which means 4 days of ducking and dodging hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and ice cream. Not to mention Al. C. Hall. (That's alcohol for you new readers.) He's always the first to be invited to every party. After all, a party without Al is really more of a church meeting. I will have to be extra cautious this week. We can't have Johnny taking a dive off the food truck. (That's the fat ass version of the wagon.) Today's rant answers the "when did you know" question. I have touched on this in the past, but maybe you're ready for a clearer understanding. For years now, I have been asked "when did you first notice you were over weight"? It's on every medical history you fill out for any doctor and always asked by the over-active metabolism crowd. Here's my best answer. Had I the capacity of cognitive thinking, I would have noticed at age 6 months or so when mom had to move me in to the "chubby baby" size diapers. Unfortunately I was too distracted at the time by the creepy stuffed bear that kept staring at me and that horrendous mobile thing constantly twirling above my head playing the same song over and over again. I was too traumatized to realize I was busting out of my skinny diapers. If only I could have read the "New Chubby Baby Size" blurb on the diaper box. Who knows? Maybe I would have started on low cal Gerber's. In blissful denial, I moved into my early childhood. We all know I had to wear man size cub scout pants with three feet cut off the legs. And yes, we know I was further traumatized when my ass knocked over the stacked milk cartons in grammar school. I talked about those incidents in earlier posts. But there were other signs that my blissful denial refused to let me see. As I grew older (and wider), I used to try on shirts with the "HUSKY" tag on the sleeve. I always got mad when they took the that tag off. I thought it was a cool logo. Like the alligator or the swoosh. I could never fit in the shirts with the little penguin. I should have known then I had an issue. Another sign I should have picked up on was my inability to comfortably fit in the normal child desk provided to me by my school. Remember the desk with the attached chair with the top that hinged open forward? Every other kid had no problem lifting that lid and getting to their books and supplies. My expanding ass and belly prevented me from using this desk as designed. I had to carefully slide off the chair, open the lid and then carefully slide back in. In hindsight, I think I should have took the hint. There were other signs that I ignored along my pudgy path. One of the last glowing signs I remember came when I went to join the pee wee football league. I showed up at the designated time with all the proper paperwork and was ready to start my football career. Unfortunately, there was a weigh in and I failed. I was rejected by the pee wee football team because I was too "husky". WTF? How can a guy be too fat to play football? Bottom line is they were afraid I would smush the little kids when I jumped on the tackle pile. I ended up playing for a fat ass kid's league three towns over. Another hint missed. I didn't just wake up one day and discover I had an elephant size ass and a hippo's stomach. I've know since my bottle sucking days that I was well above average in the girth department. Obviously I should have started getting serious about weight loss then. I may have been able to avoid going to Uncle Vito's Big & Tall for my prom tuxedo. See ya soon. P.S My official Fitbit scale says I have dropped 35 pounds of blubber since April 9th. 50 more to go. Reprinted from my blog. Stop on by for a chuckle. http://thedeconstruc...y.blogspot.com/

It's so weird the differences in doctors. I'm not sure about alcohol as I haven't asked- not a big drinker anyway. My NUT says no sodas ever again and yet my surgeon told me when I'm 2-3 months out he doesn't mind as long as there is no caffeine and it's Diet. I mean they work in the same practice and yet have varying rules!

My Dr said to kiss soda and alcohol good bye forever. He won't support it. Even after the first year. LOL

Nice - I will check those out too. My dentist was pushing the xylitol products, which I hadn't realized were a sugar alcohol, because they are supposedly good for teeth, but holy cow, I was pretty sure i was going to die after adding some of that to my coffee too! I actually cried I was in so much pain. Just say no!

I really like the cappuccinos and the fruit drinks from American Bariatrics - and no sugar alcohols. I just had my first experience with sugar alcohols in the Big Train Fit Frappe drink mixes - brutal - my system did not do well with it.

Well I have every intention of trying anything without the sugar alcohols .....I will go by my local gnc next week on my off day. Im going to start my postop diet soon. Im excited nervous scared but ready. At 49. I figure I have more yrs behind than in front of me and I just want yo b healthy.

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that! I don't use Facebook (for many reasons, LOL) but I would imagine that making a general post like that would likely trigger some less-than-supportive responses, particularly if you have lots of acquaintances through FB who aren't sensitive to your feelings or just don't know your story. And, as we all know, EVERYONE is an expert on YOUR weight loss. I have told certain friends that I'm close to (usually the ones that I eat with quite a bit, because things will definitely change there!) as well as some coworkers and my boss. All but a few people have been incredibly supportive and are very excited for me. I had a similar experience as AudOne, where someone I thought would be really supportive surprised me by not being very supportive. She said that she had an aunt and a cousin who had the surgery and they developed other issues (which I later learned were replacing food with alcohol abuse, etc) so she said she was just "concerned," but it still hurt that she wasn't as supportive as I had expected. Hang in there and just think about how fierce you'll feel when you're healthy! They may just be jealous that you're taking charge and changing your life...I find that to be a fairly common issue of naysayers re: weight loss surgery. Good luck! We're always here to support you.

I have similar problems with sugar alcohols - but find I can tolerate Unjury (delicious, in my opinion), and Jay Robb's protein is sweetened with Stevia (if you don't mind the pompous picture of him on his products, hehe). http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3678894

Hi everyone, I've been staying away from carbonated drinks like soda since surgery 4 months ago. My question is, has anyone had something like a mikes hard lemonade or something similar? My doctor cleared me to drink alcohol but I don't really like anything other this. I know it has a little carbonation (less than soda). Just wondering if I can drink something like that this weekend at a 4th of July party. Thanks!

Hi there! unjury products don't have sugar alcohols and are very low carb/high, good quality Protein. Look at unjury.com their chicken Soup is a great source of protein also and a staple for me the first weeks out. Good luck!!

Hi everyone im new and needing information. Im type II diabetic so I have tried all forms of artficial and natural sweetners. I caint tolerate sugar alcohols at all. My questions are this? Once I have surgery I will need to get lots of protein. Are all the protein drinks sweetened with sugar alchols? Thanks u guys seem to be very knowledgeablevand friendly

Isopure and many SF puddings contain sucralose (otherwise known as Splenda) or other sugar alcohols that can make you have diarrhea or other gastro problems because your body has a hard time breaking those additives down. I thought I was lactose intolerant too and it was "liquids in, liquids out" until I realized it wasn't the milk or the protein -- it was the artificial sweeteners that was causing the problem.

The Big Train Chai Frappe mix is delicious, but it also has sugar alcohol in it - a real bummer on the digestive system....

I have a friend who had surgery about ten years ago. She drinks alcohol (she never was a big beer drinker) but still to this day gets drunk very quickly only takes one drink to get her tipsy.

Evening all! Another wave of storms tonight all my east coast friends button the hatches. Teri I could not believe Chapel Hill was flooded. Stay on high ground friend. Yeah, Carole found the scales. Now stay off them! Once a week only while your losing. The granite counter tips sound awesome. I cannot wait to see pictures of this kitchen. How is the reflux ? Dee you amaze me, you will get that GED. You are so inspirational to all if us. You are an Angel on earth and I fell honored to call you my friend. Mini I all too well remember this high temps from my7 years I. kansas, we on the east coast have no idea what hot really is. Those 100+ temps in the mid west and west are hot as hell. Stay protected and drink plenty of liquids. Dawn, when is ur move? Janet are u back did you have fun? Cawannna we hope ur ok! We miss you! Has anyone talked other? Short week for me, good weekend but busy. Mom loses more and more of her cognitive abilities daily. So sad ;-(. I have to drop the nighttime sitter, we can't afford it and I need the money for her bills and day care. I will just make the best of it for now. She is cooperative, liking day care and with me controlling the alcohol and change in meds the delirium and hallucinations have subsided . I think the antidepressant is starting to work, she is more manageable the past week except for Friday. Part of me thinks she has given up fighting with me because I am relentless and don't give up easily. That's me bossy and in control , god I think they gives meds for that also . Lol I am in organization mode, work is getting very stressful. Lost a director so my life just got thrown back into the clinical management arena for a while along with my administrator duties. I will try to keep up , just know I am here if you need me even if slow to respond.

I had a few sips about a week ago. It was a charity event that was being hosted at a Wine Tasting School. Fortunately it wasn't impolite to take a sip or 2 and then dump what was left (and they were pouring very small amounts anyway). Even at my highest weight.. I was a bit of a light weight when it came to alcohol. Fortunately this was small enough & stretched out enough time wise that it didn't really hit me. I will say that when I got home I was famished.. even after having a protein bar on the way home.

My doctor said no alcohol ever - he said with the sleeve sx, alcohol is very corrosive to the new surgical line and could lead to ulcers if not leaks.

I finished the 6 month supervised diet so now I'm going to the seminar on July 13th I have a list of requirements from the insurance company and it looks like I meet all the requirements. I'm already on a c-pap so do you think they'll make me do the sleep study again? It's been years since I've done one... After the seminar I complete the packet and mail it back then will get an appointment for the first consult. The only other question I can think if us how long dies it take to get the pshchological eval??? Do they (the team) have one on staff usually? I checked here locally and it could take a few months to get into a psych. Also what is the pulmonary test they require??? This is the list my ins requires does it look pretty much like everyone else's??? List of questions I know, just hope I make sence... ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ● BMI >40 ● BMI 35-40 with at least one major comorbidity (i.e. Diabetes; Hypertension; Coronary Artery Disease; Dyslipidemia; Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA); Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD); Osteoarthritis; Pseudotumor Cerebrii. ● Letter of medical clearance from Primary Care Physician to proceed with an evaluation for appropriateness for bariatric surgery. ● Medically supervised diet consisting of six (6) consecutive months within the last two (2) years. ● Dietary evaluation ● Cardiac evaluation/clearance ● Pulmonary evaluation/clearance (to include evaluation for Obstructive Sleep Apnea) ● Psychological evaluation (to R/O behavioral health disorder(s); severe psychosis/ personality disorder(s); mood/anxiety disorders excluded or treated; and drug/alcohol screening. ● Current TSH level to R/O out Endocrinopathy ● EGD, Upper GI or H. Pylori test to R/O active Peptic Ulcer Disease ● The patient has a clear understanding of the procedure, the surgical risks, and the ability to participate and comply with life-long follow-up and lifestyle changes (i.e. changes in dietary habits and beginning an exercise program.)