Search the Community

My dr never mentioned no coffee or alcohol.... i can live with out the alcohol... but COFFEE... The world couldn't handle me off of coffee.....

I can relate to what you are going through. At my highest I was 336 and I was terrified that if I got the sleeve I would start losing weight and wouldnt be able to stop. Imagine my surprise when less than a year after surgery, my weight loss came to a screeching halt. I thought that I was eating well, and I was exercising more than anyone I know but I stopped losing. In retrospect what I thought was eating well usually consisted of a venti white chocolate latte from starbucks with 6 shots of expresso, chased with wine later that night. Im not saying that you are doing any of these things, I am telling you the things I was doing that I didnt count. In Nov of 2014 I weighed 232 and I thought wow this is as good as it gets? That sucks. Well I can tell you that I dont lose weight as quickly as other people, I just dont. My aunt got sleeved weeks before me, she can eat way more food than I can and never goes to the gym, we are the same weight. I have a friend that got bypass 6 months ago, she weighs 230. I have been hovering between 205-215 and struggling to get under 200. For me giving up alcohol is huge. I think it is really easy to drink calories and not even think about it. Even though you may not lose weight as easily/quickly as others at the end of the day it all comes down to diet and exercise, I just thought with the sleeve I would need less of both.

Yes it was 7 days! My tolerance is pretty low I havnt had an alcoholic drink since sugery so I was careful I did drink way to much champaign one night it snuck up on me real quick! 4 pounds a week is a lot that's why I was do surprised I normally lose about 2 a week.

@startingoveryeyagain I can relate with how you feel. I have been overweight all my life plus I have hypothyroidism which makes my metabolism super slow. So no matter if I was a low eater, I exercised regularly, even with a trainer for over a year did not loose significant weight. I also had 4 low back surgeries that limited my exercise capability, 4 jaw surgeries that required a soft diet. So I researched the VSG v. Morphine pump which was recommended by my MD at the time since after all the sx I had gained up to 236 and I'm only 5'0. Had the VSG on 6/12/2012. Has a very difficult road to recovery, was very weak and in pain but did not have a problem with the diet initially. In phase 1 & 2 lost 25lbs. In phase 3 as I started to introduce solid foods the gastritis I had at the beginning of as came back. (Other co-morbidities HBP, diabetes, hypothyroidism, chronic back pain & chronic migrains). But it was violent GERD. I could not hold anything down. The MD ordered a Barrium swallow & X-Ray. I had developed a serious structure & Hernia. So I had a VSG revision with a hernia repair on 7/12/13. By this time I had lost about 65 lbs since the 1st sx. After the 2nd VSG I went down to 126. So I lost a total of 91 lbs until November of 2014 when the scale started to come up. I started to gain weight, I am baffled as to why. *I document EVERYTHING I EAT. I USE My Fitness Pal. *I weight my portions. *I am exercising at least 3x a week for 1.5hrs walk, bike, strength. *I am drinking about 50oz water daily. No juices, nothing else but water or milk. No alcohol. *I have my protein drink for breakfast. Have lunch, dinner and a small meal at night with meds. So having 4 meal a day. Per program on maintenance should have 5 small meals a day but can't fit all. *sometimes get hungry if I wait 6+ hours without eating. *my protein sources are usually 3oz chicken breast, lean hickory ham, 1 egg, cottage cheese, white cheese, milk. *I have 2 small fruits a day Per the guidelines. One green apple with no skin & one small peach with no skin. I eat it with white cheese to combine the carb & protein. That is a small meal. *when I have chicken I make a small salad with lettuce, tomatoes & carrots. I use thousand island dressing Per my guide that is 6gm carb, 5gm sugar. So I would appreciate if anyone takes the time to read my post, for someone who is 3 yrs post op with all I've been throughout, is it normal to gain weight? What I'm I doing wrong? My labs are ok. I spoke with the NUTshe sugg to drink a shake and doc all intake but I already do that. I am keeping my carbs at or under 80gms daily, protein 60-80gmgaily to loose per the NUT. She said don't count calories but stay under 1000. Which I'm usually between 800-900. My other MD's day it's too little. So, someone out there please HELP ME I NEED TO START TO LOOSE WEIGHT AGAIN. MY GOAL IS TO LOOSE 30 MORE LBS.????

Well, I still drink. Mostly martinis (Cosmopolitans, blueberry martini, pomegranite martini, you name it). So far it is working for me. If things start to not work, then I will reexamine what I am doing. One of the things no one has touched on yet is swapping vices. Being forced to give up food, you can easily swap for alcohol or other behaviors. Just be cautious. Oh and Spartan, how completely petty and small of you. The whole idea that you are going to follow someones posts in order to gloat at their failure should be enough to let you know you got some more work to do on yourself. You might be at goal, but you got some issues.

I would say you're fine, but understand that I'm not an expert. I can tell you, however, that most people are effected quite differently after surgery by alcohol. I drink only about 4 times per year but since being banded I get pretty tipsy after about 1/2 of a drink. I'm quite the light weight! LOL Have fun and be safe!

AH! I thought, like the rest of us, you were here to give advice, not just brag on your alcohol consumption! Apologies! As long as you are just "sharing" and not implying that it's ok for the OP, at 4 weeks, to drink what s/he wants, then forgive me for misunderstanding!

I am an Emotional eater. My problem is Going long long periods at work without eating. My work is stressful and busy during that time I have no appetite . But after work i hunger for salty crunchy Popcorn after work, only once in a while though. I have a food and soda -cocktail - like . Not Alcohol but. Ive talked with the Psych person about. They called me an emotional eater. I m concern enough i won't risk my sleeve for popcorn! Just concern about my emotions! Because I've dropped my craving for most unhealthy foods but a few. I Especially kicked my addiction to Cake! And it was my BFF! Not joking! I had one for everyones birthday in my house, and certainly all holidays. when most didn't even want none at all. i would eat off it for days and some times I'd get so mad about my addiction, enough id throw almost whole cakes away. I loved specially made cake so much that i even had a personal Baker on speed dial, yall. Now i haven't had cake in 4 months and don't crave it! Yay! Saving me money. Lol I made it even though having 4 occasion to Celebrate with it !

I was wondering the something about Beer and Diet Coke. I get banded Dec 18 and looking forward to it. I will try and enjoy the company with no alcohol knowing what the outcome of being healthy will be.

I don't have pain if I eat too much it just wants to keep trying to come back up my esophagus. Then I spend the next hour or more trying to keep it down. Really annoying. I'm still on full liquids and have been trying to actually eat something 3 times a day like cream of wheat or a soup, but really I feel better when I don't. It's like alcohol though. No real signs while I'm eating then about 10 mins after a meal WHAM it hits me. Too late by that time.

So I had my surgery on 1/3/08 and am still recovering. Things felt okay when I was first awake, I really just wanted to sleep and they were hooking up the blood pressure cuff and the heart monitor to my finger and they wanted me to drink some sprite, they said that my blood sugar got low during the surgery, so they gave me some glucose in an IV. I think what hurt the worst at first was the gas. When I had to get up for the first time I walked maybe a few feet then felt nausea. I told my nurse and she started yelling for some drugs and she made me get back in bed and smell a alcohol wipe and hold it under my nose until she got the nausea meds. The alcohol wipe really did keep me from vomiting, and I really thought I was going to blow, my mouth was already watering (a sure sign for vomit for me). After my nausea meds I just got really sleepy again. I think I was in and out a lot. The nurse told me I had to do 3 things before I could leave, first drink 500 mL of liquid, I got apple juice, cranberry juice, chicken broth and green Jello to choose from, then I also had to be able to walk and finally be able to urinate. I was able to complete all three tasks and was out about 6 hours after the surgery was completed. I was told by my family that it took me a while to wake up from anastesia because they didn't get to see me for about 2 hours after the surgery, and it seemed to me that I wasn't awake for very long before I got to see them. The days following have been fine, I thought I would feel like I was hit by a "mack truck" but I really didn't, just felt gassy and like I did about a million crunches, oh and very tired! The most pain I've had is when taking a deep breath, or yawning. I called my Dr. office about it and they said the Dr. says the surgery can irritate the diaphragm and that is where my deep breath pain comes from. Overall I would say it wasn't as bad as I expected, for my first surgery ever. I'm really looking forward to being completely recovered. I slept on my side for the first time last night and that was great!:notagree

OOOooohh... so that is what i had yesterday night.I had nothing to eat,nothing to drink and suddenly i got stuck . I started spitting saliva, my stomach hurting for an hour like hell and i vomited once white foam.I was cold all the time.Fortunately i put a towel soaked in alcohol above my stomach and i felt a little better.Yeah..that is no fun indeed.

My favorites for TOM are cocoa almonds.. almost like chocolate covered almonds but with only 5 carbs per 1/4 cup and these delicious "Supreme Protein" Protein bars. Specifically the caramel nut chocolate flavor, you have a chocolate outer coating with little crisp rice (like krackle), nougat and real caramel. 15g protein, and 5 sugars, (15 sugar alcohols). They are crazy good and fake low carb pretty well. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001RD6L98/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=solacefarm-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B001RD6L98&adid=1S7GY74BPCPYDT2DCPQH& Walmart has them too, looks like GNC as well.

I agree. I prefer the quest bars because they are low sugar and high Fiber. I am sure these are delicious but I ca't eat stuff with sugar alcohols in them.

I don't take much stock in this "Starvation" mode either. I have enough fat stored away to take care of such things as being stranded on a deserted island, etc. As long as I get my Protein and essential Vitamins, etc, I know my BMR is fine. I have plenty of energy to work out everyday and go to work 8-10 hrs. I read on another website about "Starvation" and someone said fat people, like alcoholics, will find any excuse to eat more.

Yahoo! About two weeks before my six month surgiversary I am NORMAL! I've gone from morbidly obese (254 at start of pre-op diet on Feb. 15) to merely obese (Was 222 on day of surgery and down to 216 two weeks after surgery), to merely overweight (185 at about 2.5 months out) to today: 51/2 months and I'm NORMAL! I am so stoked! Just one pound more and I'm in the Century Club. And only 20 lbs. to goal, which will put me at a BMI of 21.8., squarely in the middle of the normal range and will let me bounce up and down 5 lbs. and not be too thin or too fat for my taste. I can feel such a difference in my health and energy levels! I am off all blood pressure and cholesterol meds. I no longer snore (per hubby :-). My knees, feet, and ankles rarely bother me. I have noticed in the last couple of weeks that my gait has changed. There is more spring in my step with nearly 100 lbs. gone. Instead of plodding, I bounce a bit as I walk now. And my sinuses don't stuff up as much. I think the extra weight on my face pressed against them. As for the difference in my looks, people don't recognize me. My Mom had a hard time finding me in a store because she was looking for the bigger me. People react differently to me because I am thinner (rant on this later!). I enjoy squeezing in for a tight hug from hubby, trying on clothes, sitting in chairs with arms, tying my shoes, taking a bath in my newly roomy tub, and keeping up in exercise classes instead of paying a personal trainer. At the beginning of my journey, I wore size 22 jeans and a 3 X shirt. I now wear size 8 or 10 jeans and a small or medium top. My mind is still catching up with the new me. Although I often see the same me in the mirror, I know the change is astounding. When I write my weight, I have a tendency to forget I'm in the 150s. I still think of myself at 180 or 170. And my clothes look too tiny to fit me. I can eat small amounts of any food I have tried, except milk, cottage cheese, and ice cream. I'm still afraid to see if I can tolerate milk now almost six months out, but I think I will try soon. I am tracking my calories, Protein and fluids every day and taking all supplements recommended for my plan. I get at least 60 grams of protein, 64 oz. of Fluid per day and average between 700 and 900 calories per day. Greasy and overly sweet foods upset my tummy if I eat more than a few bites of them, so I generally only have a couple of bites of them when I eat them. For example, on Halloween, I had about a cup of popcorn popped in oil (no added butter), two and half fun-size candies, and a hotdog with chili, no bun. That was over the course of the evening and probably the biggest splurge I have had since the surgery. I didn't feel good later that evening and still felt a little off the next morning. I returned to having coffee after my three month checkup. But post-op I have a soy latte with two shots of espresso instead of my pre-op fav of a couple cups of french press or two shot of espresso straight up. I haven't started drinking alcohol again, but I plan to following my six month checkup. I plan to start with port. I am exercising 5-6 days per week. Two 45 minute walks at a fast pace, two 1-hour group workout classes, one 30 minute session with my trainer, and one other activity, such as a bike ride, walk, or yoga class. I do have days were I want to eat only bad stuff and I don't want to exercise. For the most part, I power through, but sometimes I don't. It's a journey and a struggle. I'm still terrified I won't be successful long term so I search out stories of people who have successfully kept the weight off for more than two years. They are out there! Thanks to all who have shared your journey for inspiring me to begin and continue the best thing I have ever done for my health and my looks. Edited: is my face red! I thought I was going to hit normal BMI at 155.5, but I now see when updating my ticker, I'm still overweight till I get to 154. So this post is 1 lbs. early. I will join the Century Club and hit normal BMI at the same time. The thoughts and sentiments are the same, just a little early. Oops!! Lynda

OK, llrya I think I see where you're coming from. It's just that it sounded like you were saying that battling a food addiction was easy compared to a drug or alcohol addiction. I think that's a disservice to people in the battle. If I'm giving my all trying to do something and barely making it I don't need someone telling me that it should be "easy." I would rather people recognize the difficulty of my fight and provide support and encouragement. I apologize if I mistook your language. If I understand now I think you are saying that we should not have a defeatist attitude. Absolutely I agree. But I also don't want people telling me how easy it should be while I'm hanging on by my fingernails. I'm just not into the tough love approach.

I wasn't given any restrictions but I restricted myself while I was on Vicodin. If you're on pain meds and you drive, you're driving while under the influence and can get in serious trouble. It's just like alcohol. So if you're off meds, you should be fine.

I quit coffee for six weeks after surgery. Now over 2 months out, I drink two mugs of coffee in the morning (but do not continue to drink it throughout the day like I used to), and it tastes delicious! BTW, I gave up alcohol July 1 (I formerly drank 1/2 glass wine 3-4 nights per week with dinner) and don't miss it.

I was told 60-80g Protein and 64oz Water MINIMUM. And to stay away from bread, Pasta, rice, sweets and alcohol. That's it. The nut even laughed when I asked about calories and fat vs nonfat yogurt. She said I will be eating so little that as long as I was getting my protein and water and following the guidelines I certainly didn't have to worry about calories, fats or carbs. So I never did bother to count or track or measure. I get my protein, I drink my water, take my Vitamins, I eat healthy and eat smart. It's very simple and at two years out and maintaining 10 pounds below goal, turns out she was right. I was, however, concerned about not wanting to be low cal for very long....didn't want my metabolism slowing down. So I did "spot check" my calories a few times. I was never below 500 and mostly stayed at 600-800 the first 4 months, was up to 1000 at 6 months, 1200 by 8-10 months and last I checked, about 10 months ago, I was maintaining at 1400-1600 calories. I've never counted carbs or fat, so can't help you there.

No offense taken by me, Edivel. I am curious, though, about why you object to a twelve step program for overeating but not for drug or alcohol use. If you're willing to share, I'd appreciate it. If not, just forget I asked.

Shirley you are right. I tend to swap addictions. I used to smoke. Then I quit and I've gained almost 90 pounds since then! I'm hoping that I can become addicted to being healthy and exercising. When I was young I loved running and playing sports. I really hope I can get back to that kind of "addiction." And as far as food being an addiction like alcohol or drugs - well can you imagine a drug addict just taking a little drug every day or an alcoholic taking one drink a day? I've known recovered drug addicts that don't even take pain meds because they're afraid of becoming addicted again. But food addicts can't do that. We have to eat everyday. Maybe a program would help. I don't think it's a horrible thing to do a program if you're addicted to something. It shows that you admit you need help. And we all need help or we wouldn't be here getting the band right? So, like pp said don't knock it. It may be just what you need.

Totally. That was a rebound relationship for sure and a hard learning experience. I was with my kids dad for 7 years and I never even looked at another guy. He was bad to me but I truly loved him. I tried so hard to make it work with him. It was a really tough decision to leave but I had no choice. After that I was alone 6 months. When I started dating again it felt sooooo good to be able to love someone again and be loved... But I was SO on the rebound. I wasn't looking out for red flags and I fell in love super easily with that guy the alcoholic. He was really funny, for one, which is a weakness of mine. I was vulnerable and high on the feeling of affection. Anyway that was a rough relationship too and now that I'm past it, I'm in a much better place. I'm looking for someone who is really worth it on multiple levels. My priorities are my kids and my career. If I'm going to invest time in someone they have to be the right fit and be able to contribute to my life, not take away. Dating is fun but I do want a boyfriend. I prefer to be intimate and close to someone. I want to be with someone who knows about my food issues and is supportive. But I'm not even going to settle this time. I'm happy to walk away from red flags. So yeah. I've learned something this year!! The right one will come along. )

If anyone has had the experience of swapping one addiction for another. ie: food to alcohol Post it O.K.... This is really quite common for some people "NOT ALL". Point is these are people that have known addiction all there life, "FOOD" so when they get over the food addiction, lose a great deal of weight., they have already picked up another addiction. This way it keeps them from going back to their food addiction. The pattern continues. I have a son who has given up the bottle, only to discover that he loves to eat everything. He's 36, and has been very thin, and a very picky eater all his life. But the bottle was a great life to him. Now he totally loves food. I keep telling him, remember me! I no what a food addiction is... He agrees, he said he would rather be fat then a Drunk. I agree to that thought, but,,, I told him don't get to fat ! It's to hard to get off. He doesn't look fat, just thickened out. But still you have to watch... What's not fare about a food addiction "I THINK" is you need food to live, it's a must. So to tempt you every day is rough! Booze and Drugs are your own choice. You don't need them to live. I met a lot of people like this at Band Meetings. The one I will never forget was a man that lost over 400LBS. with the Band. He was also a memember of A A & N A. He was my first experience as to swapping addictions..

Well said Kat, its all about reaching the point where NOT doing it is scarier, until then you're not ready. And its hard to have someone else suggest it to you when you've not considered it yourself. However, even pizza and McDonalds can fit into a healthy diet when you learn what reasonable portion size is and if you dont eat it every day. I have not eliminated one single food. Reading this board frightened the sh*t out of me because of all the high Protein diets everyone does, and all the shakes! I dont think that's a healthy diet and I dont want to eat that way, so much so that I decided not to have surgery. Till I joined an Australian board and realised that that was not the only way to work a lapband. I dont do ANY of that stuff. I dont have shakes, I dont measure, count calories or fat or protein. I eat whatever I want but I've learned to eat small quantities and not eat all day. My diet is more *normal* than it was before I was banded. I occasionally eat take away food, I occasionally have a piece of cake, I drink small amounts of alcohol quite regularly and bread, cereals and Pasta are regular items in my diet. Its really not hard or weird or different. Its how you should be eating anyway, for the sake of your health.