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I'm 5 months out and still do shakes. As for alcohol....most doctors say 6 months. Me personally, I've seen what it can do to a rny patient that wasn't carful and it scared me so I won't touch a drop. HW: 331 SW: 11/26/12 319lbs CW: 229 04/23/13 GW: 157

My surgeon told me that when you get to the point of getting 64 grams of protein a day from food then you don't have to do the shakes. The shakes are just a "helper" until you can eat regular food. The margarita question... hmmmm.... I had my first wine about 3 months out. Be careful because alcohol is empty calories and they can add up mighty quick. Also when you try your first drink make sure you are home, some people get drunk really quick some don't. I would also ask these two questions to your surgeon as well.

I do believe that sugar is toxic for us....Here is an article I thought you might like to read and give your opinion on..... Your Brain on Sugar It gives you a rush, messes with your mind, and always leaves you wanting more - and now researchers are calling for the government to regulate the sweet stuff like a drug. Is sugar worse for you than, say, cocaine? According to a 2012 article in the journal Nature, it's a toxic substance that should be regulated like tobacco and alcohol. Researchers point to studies that show that too much sugar (both in the form of natural sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup) not only makes us fat, it also wreaks havoc on our liver, mucks up our metabolism, impairs brain function, and may leave us susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, even cancer. So far, no federal action has been taken (advocates blame industry lobbyists), and experts say simply raising awareness isn't enough, especially when 80 percent of our food choices contain sugar. "It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion," says coauthor Laura Schmidt, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. Nevertheless, after the shock of hearing the news, many of us shrugged and turned back to our cupcakes. Yet, truth is, women in their 20s and 30s may already be feeling the effects of too much sugar without even realizing it. Here, the most common sugar-induced issues and how to beat them to prevent long-term damage—and feel your best right now. STRESS EATING For a pick-me-up, you may feel the urge to inhale a bag of M&M's or scarf down a box of Cookies. But the impulse goes deeper. To examine the hold sugar can have over us, substance-abuse researchers have performed brain scans on subjects eating something sweet. What they've seen resembles the mind of a drug addict: When tasting sugar, the brain lights up in the same regions as it would in an alcoholic with a bottle of gin. Dopamine—the so-called reward chemical—spikes and reinforces the desire to have more. (Sugar also fuels the calming hormone serotonin.) THE FIX In times of stress, dieters are more likely to binge, studies conclude. That said, a cookie once in a while (say, twice a week) is fine, but on most days go for oatmeal with brown sugar, suggests Jeffrey Fortuna, Ph.D., a health and behavior lecturer at California State University, Fullerton. The whole grains fill you up and the sweetness is just enough to release serotonin. INEXPLICABLE WEIGHT GAIN You stay away from burgers and drink diet soda. But sugar—both real and artificial—is the secret saboteur. When the pancreas senses sugar, the body releases insulin, which causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen for energy. Eat too much at once, though, and insulin levels spike, then drop. The aftermath? You feel tired, then crave more sustenance to perk up. Faux sugars don't help. "Artificial sweeteners travel to the part of the brain associated with desire but not to the part responsible for reward," says Dr. Gene-Jack Wang, a researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. Nor do they trigger the release of the satiety hormones that real sugar does, so you're more likely to consume more calories. THE FIX Feed sweet cravings with fruit (the Fiber will help keep insulin in check), and sub in sparkling Water for diet soda. If you must indulge, go for a small snack made with real sugar, and eat slowly. Add fruit or yogurt to feel fuller and prevent a crash. BRAIN FOG Blanking out in the middle of a meeting? Research out of the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests that sugar forms free radicals in the brain's membrane and compromises nerve cells' ability to communicate. This could have repercussions in how well we remember instructions, process ideas, and handle our moods, says Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, Ph.D., author of the UCLA study. THE FIX Stay under the USDA limit of 10 teaspoons (40 grams) of added sugar a day. Read labels and available nutrition information at chains: A 16-ounce Starbucks vanilla latte and Einstein Bros. bagel will max out your day's allotment! A wiser choice: black coffee and plain yogurt with antioxidant-rich blueberries and walnuts, sweetened with honey. AGING SKIN Sugar causes premature aging, just as cigarettes and UV rays do. With young skin (generally under 35), when skin support structures collagen and elastin break down from sun or other free-radical exposure, cells repair themselves. But when sugar travels into the skin, its components cause nearby amino acids to form cross-links. These cross-links jam the repair mechanism and, over time, leave you with premature wrinkles. THE FIX Once cross-links form, they won't unhitch, so keep sugar intake to as close to zero as you can. "It's the enemy," says Dr. William Danby, a dermatologist with Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire. Avoid soda and processed pastries and trade sugar packets for cinnamon—it slows down cross-linking, as do cloves, oregano, ginger, and garlic. A SLUGGISH WORKOUT Muscles need sugar for fuel, so carbs (which break up into glucose, a type of sim-ple sugar) can kick-start your morning jog. But fruit or prepackaged Snacks touting "natural sweeteners" contain just fructose, which is metabolized in the liver, not the muscles. The result: bloat, or even the runs. THE FIX A glucose-packed snack with just 4 to 8 grams of fructose—it'll help increase glucose absorption, says Dr. Richard Johnson, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver. Try a sports drink like Gatorade or trail mix with dried fruit an hour before your workout.

My surgeon has NO requirements for a pre-op diet. None. All I have to do is not eat solids after midnight the night prior to the procedure. Don't beat yourself up, Kelly--after all, listening to the judging/angry/"you're-not-worthy" voices in our heads is WHY some of us are in the predicament we're in. I don't know about anyone else, but a lot of my eating is self-medication against negativity. Cheering myself up with yummy Snacks. Eating to avoid dealing with my emotions, then feeling rotten about what I ate, giving up on myself--since it MUST be all-or-nothing to succeed, right?--and starting the vicious cycle all over again. Eat poorly, hate what I did to my body by eating poorly, punish myself with a mental lecture about being worthless, do a 180 and say "SCREW THIS IMMA EAT WHAT I WANT", eat poorly again. Lather, rinse, repeat. (Of course, the whole process above doesn't WORK and it doesn't make logical sense to stay in that cycle, but that never stopped an alcoholic from looking for answers at the bottom of a bottle of whisky. I preferred to search my way to both ends of a brownie pan or a bag of peanut M&M's.) So, yeah. Don't add your voice or anyone else's to the negative chorus of "this will not work for you if you can't stick to liquids". Right now, it's optional. For a lot of obese people with food addictions, all the good intentions in the world just won't get the job done when it's optional. We make excuses, we sabotage ourselves, we make bad food choices. It's what we DO. It's why we're choosing to be sleeved--to take the choice out of our hands (and stomachs). You're gonna be okay. You CAN do this. Your sleeve is going to make it possible, and you're going to be a success. Hang tough, girlie.

Definitely talk to an addiction counselor. I delayed my surgery for 10 months because less than 2 weeks before first scheduling, I had people begging me not to go thru with it. A relative of a close family friend was in the hospital dying of liver failure because she had cross addicted to alcohol because she could no longer eat to deal with her problems. She died at 32 years old leaving 3 kids behind. Obesity is an addiction just as serious as any other. If you don't deal with the problems that caused you to gain weight, you can transfer it very easily. Please, please don't wait to get some professional help. We don't want you to die.

Hmmm ... are you a success or failure ... I can't speak for you, but I know I am neither ... I am human. An imperfect one, at that. I am an alcoholic who has found others who have found a solution to their issues with alcohol abuse. It is a 12 step program you may have heard of. If not, Google 12 step alcohol. There are many meetings in cities around the world every hour of the day. I found shame in admitting it at first, but after some time, similar to being sleeved, I have found that I can be of service to those in need, trying to reach out to others. I would love to discuss this further with you, if you are so inclined, but I cannot do this for you. No one here can tell you why you abuse alcohol just like no one here can tell you why you were obese. But I, and many others in your own city, can tell you what my issues were and how I found a solution which may work for you, if you are willing. You may or may not be an alcoholic. Only you get to decide. I've known more than one person who could suck down a bottle of vodka, but wasn't an alcoholic. But I do know, for myself, I stepped over the line when I lost my power of choice in the matter. Feel free to PM me, though, I think you may have already before ... right? The only shame is not doing anything about it.

I found this in an article called "8 Reasons Why You're Not Losing Weight" on sparkpeople. I remembered this question and thought I'd post it here. #1 You're eating back all the calories you burn. When you work out, you're burning extra calories. That's why exercise is so important in the weight-loss equation. But a lot of people overestimate how much they burn—and even use the "I exercised today" excuse to later overeat, overdrink (think alcohol) or overindulge. How many times have you faced a food temptation and thought, "Well, I worked out today, so it's OK this time." Or even, "I'll have this now, but work out extra hard tomorrow to burn it off." If that sounds all-too-familiar, this is one major reason why you're not losing weight. For the exercise to help you lose, you can't re-eat all those extra calories you burned. And in most cases, we overestimate how many calories we actually burned and underestimate how many calories we're actually eating, which means using that 3-mile walk (240 calories burned) to justify that restaurant meal (1,000+ calories, anyone?) leaves you in a worse position than if you may realize: at a calorie surplus. The Takeaway: Exercise can help you lose when you're really using it to burn extra calories, not as a reason to eat more.

I too have almost the exact same pr-op weight amd no pre-op diet reccomended. Now, I stopped drinking alcohol several months ago and generally try to watch carb intake. I also gave up soda and caffeine in March and haven't missed it. I trust my surgeons advice. I am doing some pre op restriction in order to try to make his job easier but definitely not a pre op diet. I was scheduled for surgery initially in March and I cancelled the day before surgery. I had not purchased my protein, soups, vitamins, nothing. I wasn't ready mentally but I know that I am now. I've started trying to get used to the protein and started eating yogurt which will be a staple afterwards. I also bought my vitamins and some things I will need for the hospital. That all helped to make it more real for me. Counseling never hurt anybody. But, only you know yourself and only you can decide if you are ready. Everything else is just the opinion of people who have struggled with the same issues that you (and I ) have and have done no better with them (or they would not be on this forum in the first place). It sounds to me like you feel you are ready and are just having a hard time right now. Sounds to me like you also have the pre-surgery jitters that almost everyone gets. I know there is a balance that people are trying to strike between giving you some hard truth which is post- surgery we must follow the doc ordered diet or we can cause a leak or other serious problems! (I am not saying that everyone that gets a leak causes it) and trying to be supportive. Think about talking to the nurse or coordinator in your surgeons office - it will probably give you some peace of mind. You could even pose it as a hypothetical "say a person my size had great difficulty following the pre op diet and only followed it about 50-75% of the time. Does that make the surgery too risky? Should that person cancel?" I bet it would give you some peace of mind.

Comfort.. It's why I ate. Numbing myself with each bite, from what? Past trauma? Disappointment? Boredom? Life? The answer? All of the above. As you know a lot of us struggle with addictive personalities here. If you've been around here you've heard me talk about my problem with the pain meds at night, I started taking them in the evening ( the same time I did my best eating) long after I "needed" them.. I shocked myself because drugs or alcohol have never been a problem for me. It's like an addiction is waiting around every corner just waiting for me some days. I've been sick this last week and had bad allergies to top it off. I have always stayed away from Benadryl because I have a bad drugged type reaction and then it knocks me out. Well a few days ago I got so desperate I took one, worked awesome! I went back for more the next night. Last night I couldn't find them, my husband took them. He said I know you just want to knock yourself out.... Was he right? Maybe. We have additive personalities, and we are sneaky beings. So we are always looking for ways to fill that hole. My husband knew about the pain meds in the beginning because I told him. That's how he knew to take the Benadryl away and confront me on it. You need to do the same. Shine a light on the problem, talk to a close family member, friend, and counselor. And us of course, I talk about my daily struggles here, sometimes in real time as I am trying not to binge. It makes me sad that you can't come here as "you" because this does not take away from your successes and value here as a person, but I will respect your privacy.

please don't be embarrassed! first all please seek help before alcohol does your body permanent damage. second of all your post is very important to all the members here as a reminder to be diligent about cross addiction. i wish you well...please get help!

Brain chemistry. I read a study that indicated that our brains are quite crafty at getting us to ingest sufficient calories to avoid perceived starvation. You need to be very careful about withdrawal. If you are using that much alcohol every day, you will need doctor supervised detox. Cold turkey without medical attention can be deadly to a heavy drinker. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

I'm sorry you are struggling with an alcohol problem sweetie but you shouldn't have to hide who you are for fear of judgement. If "we" judge you than you shouldn't take advice from us anyways. I understand being embarrassed or feeling like you failed but YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE. Consuming that much alcohol that often is very dangerous. Part of the reason we all get surgery is because we want to be healthy. It's not worth it love to get surgery and lose all that weight if you are just going to pick up something else that's just as dangerous. I think if you went to therapy it would really help you, quite frankly I think the whole world needs therapy lol. But the reason I say therapy is because maybe there is an underlying issue that you aren't even aware of. I'm going to school to be a drug and alcohol counselor so I'm actually learning about all this. If you ever need to talk you can private message me and I WILL NOT judge you. Sometimes people don't even know what's bothering them or drawing them to have an addiction until they start talking to someone they can trust and then it all spills out.

Find a good support system. I couldn't have ever given up my own drug and alcohol addictions without my wife's strong influence. That also means not hiding your issue. That is exactly what your addiction wants you to do, hide it. That way no one can say "HEY STOP" because they don't know. Talk to people about it, tell everyone that you know is a safe and supportive person about your problem and enlist them to help you with it. This is a very real fight and you team an army not just yourself. Good luck it can be fixed.

I think a lot of us with weight problems have addictive personalities. If it's not food we go to for comfort, it's something else. Sometimes it can be healthy like drugs or alcohol, and sometimes people are able to transfer to a healthy addiction like exercise. I definitely think you should speak with an addiction therapist that can help you figure things out. I think we can all relate to how you're feeling.

Like people keep saying ... this surgery is not on your head. We all have problems we deal with. Now that you don't have food to fall back on, you are focusing on something else. Now is the time to get some help to work thru why you have turned to alcohol. Sure, everyone here can offer advice, but what you need to do is put in the work and go get the help you need. I pray that you look for and find help. Get to the root of the problem.

I find that I can eat anything in TINY bites. I had half a slice of ice cream cake when my daughter turned 18. I found that cake and ice cream go down so easily that I have to make a conscious decision to only have a little. I do go out to restaurants. Sometimes I just order an appetizer for my meal and still have leftovers. As for alcohol, I have no clue since I'm not a drinker. I never really acquired a taste for alcohol. Just remember, everything in moderation.

You can have anything in moderation if that is what works best for you. I am still losing (close to goal).and have cake occasionally - a very small slice for birthdays weddings etc. Same goes for ice-cream but its easy to eat a lot of so its a trap ... I go out to eat frequently and I usually just order an entree or appetiser or a Soup that is mainly Protein. Waste of money though as I never even finish half. I like to order platters with my partner that we both share so people who dont know I have had surgery dont pick up on the fact I have eaten next to nothing. And alcohol is different for everyone but for me its the same as before except I sober up quicker and the hangovers are terrible! I drink a lot less these days but when I do I like to go a bit crazy.

Oh my word amazing words!! And so true. I stopped telling people after some huge negativity!! I was weak.. Cheating.. all I need is willpower!! And a good gym! Ha if only my eating habits were that easily controlled!! I was looking into amphetamine based appetite suppressants (with the risk of all the major side effects) and I was like "Rachel what are you doing?!!"" I encountered one person yesterday ( I told my 3 closest friends here) I felt I had to as we eat out so much and knew they would be suspicious. 2 of my friends said how brave I was.. Very encouraging. The other one said not one single word & tried to change the subject!! I am still shocked & upset by this. We sleevers are brave and committed to giving up something we had a relationship with all our lives! We have made a decision to break an unhealthy habit which would eventually give us heart disease... Diabetes.. High blood pressure etc! How can this be the easy way out?!! It's not. I was also a daily consumer of alcohol (2 glasses every night!!) I am not missing this & I have never gone 4 weeks without! So I agree whole heartily that we are very very brave & it's not the cheats way out!!

Just wondering after my weight loss period can I eat cake on my wedding day? Can I have ice cream every once in a while? Do any of you guys go out to eat? What does alcohol do to you?

Name, real or screen~ Lindsay Goal weight for May 31st~ 207 Weight on May 1st~ 214.8 Age~ 30 (31 on May 18g Dietary goal for May~ vacation and 4 birthdays including my own so keep to moderation on alcohol! Exercise goal for May~ 3x per week Personal goal for May~ get more sleep Date banded~ 13 oct 2012 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~ appx 58.5 lbs Favorite Springtime Flower daffodil

I haven't posted on this site in so long, nor have I been active on the boards, and it's not only because of finals, papers, projects, and my thesis, but because I feel guilty. I haven't worked out in over a month. My diet? Completely out the window. I've eaten pasta a few times and potatoes. I got stuck with a giant box of left over candy from a school project and ate a lot of it. The scale went up to 231, but now it's back down to 224. I'm not taking my supplements like I should and I still haven't gotten my blood work done because I haven't been home. My hair loss is still going on but it's not that bad. No one can even notice and some days I can't either. Recently, I went out drinking, and let's say getting used to the lower body weight and the fact that liquid goes right through your stomach is a nightmare for consuming way too much alcohol and having nothing to throw up. So I learned my lesson the hard way. I shouldn't even be drinking anyway, but I'm young and graduation is around the corner. I just need to limit myself to one or two drinks. I've been so blessed to be able to have this surgery and I feel like I'm wasting it. I'm so busy with school work, but once it's all over, next week my butt is getting back to the gym and this time it will be for good because my home gym is so much better than my school's gym. I'm more comfortable there! I really wanted to hit that 50 pound loss for graduation on the 20th this month, but it might be possible the week before graduation to lose a few pounds to get close. I also have my 55 mile bike ride with my dad, and I think it's going to really test me because I'm out of shape again. (Heh, maybe I've never been in shape) but we're taking our time and spreading it out over two days. So that's what's been going on in my life. I hope everyone is doing well.

Never got a list to avoid except for carbonated beverages (for good) and alcohol (a year). Basically was told that high fatty food and overly sugary foods may cause some nausea. So far, both have caused me to be a bit queasy, but nothing terrible. I did have a problem with eggs right after surgery which is common. But that has since gone away. I pretty much can eat what ever I want, but smaller quantities.

I cannot keep any snacks in the house, not even semi-responsible ones like peanut butter or cheese I also cannot keep cash lying around or change because I will find myself - almost against my will - using cash and change at work for the vending machine Until I get a few years at goal/maintenance under my belt I guess I am still like the fragile alcoholic who can't be around any reminders at first ...

Thanks everyone I appreciate the support more than you'll know. My wife noticed my bad mood and asked so I told her I felt like a recovering alcoholic babysitting friends at a bar supping a water. She understood and cuddled so doing a bit better now. I ate about a teaspoon of creamy peanut butter and that seemed to stop the cravings

Six months was just yesterday. Started out 220, now 153. It's 68 lbs down. I can eat just about anything except salmon. I do also have alcohol which slows my weightloss. I do miss my taste buds but am glad of my decision! And when I say eat anything, I mean like two or three bites, excellent restriction!