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I got so sick of shakes after my liquid period. Literally having anything liquid I supplement form make me gag. Unfortunately I'm finding it difficult to get all my Protein in. I've been doing a lot of research and just ordered Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex. Rich Milk chocolate flavor. I've been making it with 12 ounces of 2% milk and a splash of Water with ice. Tried it in blender but it turned to foam and was nasty. Apparently their formula is specially made to mix easily so now I just use my shaker bottle. I also just had for an after dinner drink the powder using just water. While not as tasty as with the milk it was plenty tasty nonetheless. My son thought it was chocolate milk both with milk and with just the water. I've put the link below. I've had 4 shakes in pat couple days and I'm really happy with the purchase. I've found my protein missing link and this stuff has a ton of other goodies in it. Amount Per Serving Calories 270 Calories from Fat 10 Calories from Saturated Fat Amount Per Serving and/or % Daily Value* Total Fat 1g (2%) Saturated Fat 0.5g (3%) Polyunsaturated Fat Monounsaturated Fat Trans Fat 0g (0%) Cholesterol 20mg (7%) Sodium 250mg (10%) Potassium Total Carbohydrate 5g (2%) Dietary Fiber 2g (8%) Soluble Fiber Insoluble Fiber Sugars 1g (0%) Sugar Alcohol Other Carbohydrate Protein 60g (0%) Amount Per Serving and/or % Daily Value* Vitamin A 0 (50%) Percent of Vitamin A present as beta-carotene Vitamin C 0 (100%) Calcium 0 (25%) Iron 0 (6%) Flavor 0 Vitamin E 0 (100%) Biotin 0 (50%) Chromium 0 (100%) Niacin 0 (50%) Pantothenic Acid 0 (50%) Vitamin B12 0 (50%) Vitamin B6 0 (50%) Riboflavin 0 (50%) Thiamin 0 (50%) Folic Acid 0 (35%) Alanine 0 Arginine 0 Aspartic Acid 0 Cystine 0 Histidine 0 Isoleucine 0 Leucine 0 Lysine 0 Methionine 0 Proline 0 Serine 0 Threonine 0 Tryptophan 0 Tyrosine 0 Valine 0 Glutamine & Precursors 0 *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower based on your calorie needs. http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Nutrition-Complex-Chocolate-Pound/dp/B0015R6Z5Q/ref=pd_sim_hpc_1

Right, I was gaining nothing for the 1st 2 years. I then developed bad habits of drinking too much and eating some bad choices. For me it was mostly alcohol, we like being sociable in the pub and beer and cider are packed with calories, and don't even mention the fact that a bottle or red wine has 630ish calories! So anyway, I then found I had managed to put on 15 lbs and I am now remedying it using fitnesspal and will power. The foods not so difficult but my husband is still drinking and it drives me mad! So for the past month I have not had a drop and I am losing at a rate of 3lbs every 2 weeks on average. I hope I have learnt my lesson, but I probably haven't.

My surgeon's "official" word is no alcohol again, but "un-official" is just to be careful on both volume and frequency. It will go to your liver quicker and stay there longer. I have had both wine and gin since my surgery and while before I would drink about 1 drink per hour about 1 time per week, I have limited it to 1 drink per evening every few weeks.

I'm 5'9. I don't do super low carb, I probably stay around 60 grams of carbs a day. I log everything I eat and I have completely avoided alcohol. Thanks for all the positivity everyone!!!

Seems like my tolerance for alchohol has diminished since being banded. I had a couple of glasses of wine a few weeks ago and did not eat much. That old feeling of the room spinning and saliva buildup in my mouth came back. I was lucky, no barfing. Hope you're alright and learn your lesson. I think I've learned mine. But, you know, this alcohol thing can rear it's ugly head out of nowhere so being a person in a glass house, I won't throw stones your way

beer is so much a part of my culture. My family has beer and wine for every occasion. I am going to miss it !

On May 17th I will hit the 5 month mark on my weightloss journey. I've officially lost 63 lbs since surgery, made it into Onderland (at last), experienced the dreaded stall, had my pants fall off because they were simply too big (I call it the Pants on the Ground Phenomena), cursed my scale which I swear was broken for a month, had my rings fall off my hand, gotten tons of great compliments, rediscovered mirrors, stopped hiding behind people in pictures, flown on Southwest planes where people actually chose the seat next to me even though there were many others open, been ushered out of the plus sizes section at a department store by a well meaning sales lady who thought I was lost, started wearing high heels again, eaten too much too fast and puked, gotten very drunk off of very little alcohol, learned how much I love solid proteins, started exercising again, and have started reaching out to old friends as part of my reconnection plan - which was part of my New Years resolution. My life is 100% happier. I cannot imagine NOT having this surgery. I look forward to what lies ahead, and I although I expect that I will be cursing my scale again at some point, I have faith that the remaining 73 lbs will be worked off in time. In many ways, I've restarted my life at age 40!

Louise-good point about needing to work off the calories on the drinks. I noticed today after my margaritas last night that the scale is up a few pounds. Must be water retention from the dehydrating effects of alcohol. Go figure because I drank like 1.5 gallons yesterday. At least I did not get any hangover affects this morning (never do). Today is my run day so it be extra weight should drop by tomorrow. However, I would not recommend drinking the day of or before wanting to run because it makes the body more lethargic.

I am a couple of weeks away from being a year out and I am close to goal. My surgeon advised no alcohol for six weeks after surgery. I was having wine before I was having steak, bread or Pasta :-) What I drink has changed though. White wine - I can no longer tolerate Sauvignon blanc or Pinot Gris, they give me heart burn. I can drink Chardonnay, dry riesling and a little champagne but not too much as it is too gassy. Red wine- I go for Syrah or Pinot noir, the tannins in heavier reds give me heart burn. Beer - cant do it, just like I can't do sodas. The bubbles fill me up way too fast and become unpleasant. I will have a few sips and then I am done. Spirits and liqueurs - so far I have not had a problem with any! As long as I am not mixing with soda all is well. I dont have spirits often as I am more a wine with dinner girl but when I do I will take a grey goose dry martini, dirty. Thank you! Frequency, well I drink at least two nights a week and sometimes more. This is often just a glass or two of wine with dinner but can be more if we are out and about. We eat out a lot and I travel a lot with work so often it is simply a social thing. I add those calories right on in there with whatever else I have and then make sure I work a little harder to burn them off if I over indulge.

It is best that way (wait to month 6) in order to be over all food issues before complicating things with alcohol. Also a fair amount of weight loss will be lost by month 6 and alcohol is known to slow down or stall weight loss.

Ok so I just want to let you know what my nutritionist said. She says they have a ton of fiber and some of them have sugar alcohol so they can cause stomach issues and cramping. They have about 17 grams of fiber. I tried one of the peanut kind and it was so horrible I could not finish it. I also bought some different flavors. Can't wait to try the strawberry cheesecake. I would not use this on a daily basis or for a meal replacement. I use it only after full body workouts. As for shakes. I can't stand them and they can't stand me and the calories add up to fast if you add anything like banana or peanutbutter. Thanks for the suggestion but I am looking for high protein bars.

It isn't failure at all if you reached your personal goal. At 5'3" my first goal was 115 lbs. Since then I have changed it to 125 lbs. Very different caloric tolerances between our respective goals. That doesn't mean one is right or wrong or better or worse. People also carry their weight differently. Alcohol has more calories per gram than any other food. Depending on your goal weight range, consumption of alcohol may seriously impact your progress, or not. This isn't said as judgement, just as one of many perspectives.

A question was asked to people who are in a similar situation. I think your personal lectures on "backsliding" and such is really uncalled for and rude. We all have vices but they're not the same. The analogy using AA was good except when you go to a meeting and admit you fell off they don't get lectured they get support to fight another day. The purpose of this forum so I thought was for support. The purpose of our new tool is ultimately to learn how to live life with things in moderation. If you can drink soda, eat dessert, drink alcohol and any other taboo behaviors in moderation then your on point!! Less judgment people we get enough of that from "regular" people no place for it here. Have a blessed day! ; )

Thanks for the clarification and I have a better understanding of where you are coming from. I just wonder though if those that grant absolution to those that come to this board seeking it, are really doing the right thing. If this was a board of alcoholics and someone came on and wanted to know which of the twelve steps allowed for beer, would we agree that beer would be okay? I'm just thinking out loud here, and not putting this to you at all. I do question what types of decisions have been made when someone comes here and asks about certain foods or certain behaviors that have been proven to be detrimental to one's health (like soda and all the foods you mention). I just wonder if any of us on this board is doing the right thing by saying well..."do it if you want to, it certainly won't kill you"....when maybe we should be saying "it would be better for your health and your recovery if you didn't do it." Maybe if we did more of that, we wouldn't see so many "I've failed at WLS...or I can't get the scale to move" posts. I dunno, just thinking out loud on a rainy day....

Soda, pop, fizzy drink! You're all wrong... DownUnder we call it "soft drink", as in, not an everyday drink (despite how frequently one may drink it) but not hard liquor (alcohol) either. And like the rest of the world we say "Coke" for any version of that brown coloured soft drink and "Fanta" for any orange coloured soft drink.

I have been where you are. I was banded and due to problems unable to eat almost anything, that is until I discovered that a couple of glasses of wine relaxed things and allowed me to eat. That turned into a bottle or more every night. I grew up in a single parent household with a functional alcoholic. I love my mom but feel we missed out on so much because even though she was physically present she often didn't remember anything. I got a wake up call about six months ago when my eight year old daughter asked me if I thought I was drinking more lately. We were at Disney world and she should have been happy but there she was in my old shoes too worried about her mom. I didn't believe I could stop drinking but I did that day. It was so hard at first. I allowed no alcohol in my house and I had to tell my friends the same. It is much easier now but there are still triggers that I must deal with. I wish you the best of luck. It is not easy but you can stop. You are not alone in this struggle.

I saw that pretty rainbow layered jello cake too but it was filled with shots of alcohol lol

I believe anyone that has 85% of their stomach removed will lose weight. You can't help but lose, if you are limited to 4oz of food every few hours. Now the big question is, where is your hunger coming from? Only you can figure that part out. Is it from emotional eating, boredome, stress, or is it because you have hunger pangs caused by the hormone ghrelin? From my own experience, I knew that my hunger was real (even though I had eaten 2 hours earlier, I'd be hungry again). It wasn't until I talked to my surgeon that he told me that I had an excess of the hormone ghrelin (produced by the stomach). The bigger the stomach, the more of the hormone produced. The surgery stopped my hunger pangs. I have not had that nagging sense of hunger (other than my stomach growling) since surgery 7 weeks ago. And 4 or 5 oz of food keeps me satisfied, whereas before, I could eat 1 lb of steak and know I'd be raiding the fridge in 2 hours. And I don't have any cravings anymore for certain flavors. Whereas before, I'd think about something that would taste good and I couldn't get the thought out of my head until I ate it - and a lot of it, not just a small portion. Don't get me wrong, you can sabotage yourself after surgery. There are foods, called slider foods, that are calorie dense (ice cream, peanut butter) that pass through the stomach quickly, so it's possible to eat more. And it is possible to just graze all day on snacks that are high in calories. The sleeve gave me the control over my eating that I needed. When I eat, I have full control of what I eat. I can pass on the donuts or just have 1 and be satisfied. With the exception of pasta - it triggers my sugar cravings. So I have to be real careful about eating it. But I don't know if I'd the same success if my hunger was tied to my emotions instead of hormones. I really believe food was an addiction - one you can't quit and never touch again. Other addictions can be quit and never touched again. But what if a heroine addict, smoker or alcoholic knew they had to take some every day or their body would die? What if they had 75 TV channels that ran commericals for cigarrets every 10 minutes during their favorite programs? Or had reality programs (like the best places to pig out or the food challenges) devoted to the best places to get their fix and showed people taking drugs and loving it? Could the addicts just reduce the amount they took every day and never over do it or would they give in to the nagging voice in their head telling them how good it was going to feel? Ok, rant over. :-)

I decided to cut back on alcohol especially since I'm still about 60 pounds away from goal. I like fruity drinks like OJ and vodka or diet cranbery and vodka. I also like mikes hard lemonade wine coolers. I love having a drink especially on the weekend but my NUT said that I'm not supposed to drink until 18 months post op, OOPS! lol Also when I drink I tend to have more cravings and less will power. I also like the bud light margaritas.

I'm just ensuring I only eat at meal times and obviously very small amounts. Plenty of fluids In between and strictly no alcohol !! To be honest I'm never hungry and get full very quickly so my sleeve works very well for me Sent from my iPhone using VST

I can't have alcohol till after a year. My family has a low tolerance to alcohol (five out of seven of us are alcoholics) so I don't drink much for that reason. I do like an occasional glass of wine. I was told that with rny you will feel the effects of alcohol faster, get intoxicated on less, and it stays in your system longer (a proven fact). All those things are bad, especially for me, so I may give it up completely. No one has said this to me but I have another reason why I wouldn't want to be drinking, ESPECIALLY while healing. Alcohol impairs judgment and even a little bit can make you not think about what you are doing. I would be afraid of eating or drinking too much too fast, not chewing thoroughly, or eating something I shouldn't. Any of those things would have painful consequences. Even if you don't give up alcohol forever it's best to abstain for whatever amount of YOUR doctor recommends. And your family and friends will benefit from having a designated driver! :-)

Well, and because your still healing. I can have alcohol after a year ..... Oh and empty calories

From what I have read, this particular kind of euphoria is rare, everyone feels good after exercise but this is different. I could count myself lucky to feel such mind bending pleasure from strenuous activity *cough*, but I also think it has something to do with a genetic predisposition toward addiction, basically our brains are overly sensitive to pleasure, we feel pleasure more intensely than normal people. So, some addicts abuse this gift with heroin, others with alcohol. Me, I hit the cheeseburgers. And people can legitimately become addicted to exercise, I'm sure I'm a looong way from that, but I get it.

I believe my sleeve is a tool to keep me from overeating to excess like I did pre-surgery. I want to eat like a "normal" person . . . and most "normal" people I know enjoy treats in moderation - alcohol, sweets, crunchy salty Snacks, etc. Today I ate a healthy lunch, and then stopped by a pitch-in some of the girls from work had and had a couple bites of a brownie and half a chocolate chip cookie. Before my surgery, I would have eaten a huge lunch, and then hit the entire pitch-in buffet and filled a plate or two. I do know that there will always be red-light foods for me (salt & vinegar potato chips, movie theater popcorn) but if I find myself craving one of those things, I get the smallest portion available.

Yipee!! Someone else that's a vet. The coordinator isn't being discouraging about the surgery, she's over the bariatric program and gung ho for the surgery. She just wants me to have it through the VA and not in Mexico, which I can understand. She's done no research about my doctor, about the facility, or about others who have had the procedure there. The only experience my the VA bariatric surgeon has with Mexican surgeons is correcting their complications so he's really not thrilled about people having the procedure there. Which is again understandable. He never sees all the people who are fine. He only sees the ones that have complications. And he forgets that every surgeon has complications. I spoke to the coordinator again today and she's still trying to convince me not to go. She wants me to do the move program, lost 5% of my weight, then have my PCP refer me to the coordinating surgeon in Columbia, then have that surgeon refer me to Charleston, where the surgery is performed. So after I lose 13 lbs in 6 months, not more cause if I drop below a bmi of 35, they won't do the surgery, I have to convince my PCP to refer me, then she has to convince the Columbia surgeon to refer me. Then, if all that is a go, I have to pass the psych eval when I have drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and sexual abuse in my past. That's just going to be lovely. So that's 3 opportunities to be denied the surgery after waiting 6 months to have it, plus another month or two for them to act on my request. OR I can just have my surgery this Wednesday coming and not jump through any hoops. It's a hard choice, believe it or not. A part of me does want to have a program that follows me, and a doctor to call when I'm worried, and it would be awesome to save my money. $4500 isn't much but I really appreciate having it sitting in my savings account, just collecting interest and giving me peace of mind. Of course, I would normally spend 3/4th of that in 6 months eating out but there's something about dribbling the money away that feels ok when spending it all in one big chunk seems crazy. I don't know. I look at what I was and what I am and to think of postponing my surgery for 8 months just to be told no? I don't know if I would be ok. Here's a current pic of me (I'm the girl with the crazy big breasts): Here's a pic of me in 2005 with my sons and my mom. I'm in the rust-colored dress: I went from a average size woman to a severely obese woman in 8 years, mostly due to medication that's still affecting me. That's crazy to me. I don't want to live like this another year.