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Remember you can not drink alcohol like you used to. One drink in your system is like two drinks before. Don't plan on driving. In addition remember to stay away from anything carbonated or you will suffer. Have fun but be careful.

Pre-op, I would have less than 12 drinks all year, so I am not a big drinker either. Post-op, I had a drink about 3 months out even though my surgeon also recommended that I wait a year. I asked for the bartender to make it with a little less alcohol than usual. It hit me a bit faster than it did pre-op. I didn't really think it was worth it, but it didn't hurt either.

My Dr. recommends 1 year before alcohol. Absorbs into intestines very quickly. Lots of carbs, empty calories etc.

I am 6 weeks post-op and friends of mine are getting married on the 18th of this month. After the ceremony they're just having an informal get together at a sports bar in Manhattan. I think people are just mostly going to have drinks. Cocktails are like $12. I am just wondering what peoples experiences with alcohol have been post-op? I haven't had any problems with any food that I've tried. I don't really drink. So, even before surgery I would just nurse 1 drink all night. So, pros? cons? Worth the $12 drink?

This is an open forum...no one is preaching. We only share opinions and best practices. There is really no need for sarcasm. Obviously Cheryl has some valid insights to share...she is a success story. She is someone who knows what she is talking about... And there is a significant difference in regards to "low carb" versus "no carb" meal plans. We need carbs in our diet, as the brain can only use carbs to function. The important difference is in making the carbs we choose healthy. Alcohol and over processed "white foods" are examples of unhealthy "empty calorie" carb choices. Healthier carb choices would be unprocessed cooked oatmeal instead of over processed "Special K" (read the label of ingredients; if they have to add nutrition back into the cereal because they removed the nutritional value when they processed it to manufacture it, it is an over processed carb). There is a definite difference in the carb value between pizza dough and blueberries. If you look into the research completed looking at the long term outcome of those who have followed the Atkins Diet plan, you will see that over time they modified the diet to include carbs and healthy Fiber rich foods. Our long term health will be affected if we ate a "no carb" diet. Again, this is only my opinion...it works for me. Other's mileage may vary. And I will always advocate for any forum participant to follow the instructions given them by their medical team.

When I was a baby, my father remarked to my mother: 'She's going to have problems with her weight in the future.' Apparently I was physically very similar to his mother. It turned out he was right but not for the reasons he believed. Ironically, it was his life choices that set me on the road to super morbid obesity. Whenever I want to imagine myself as slim and fit I have to go way back through the photo albums to the age of twelve or so. My thighs were so muscular, tanned and slim then! I ate normally, felt normally, behaved normally. I had friends at school, worked hard, and as the daughter of a vicar, was expected to behave impeccably. At the age of twelve my father abruptly left his children, his job and his wife for another woman and we had to vacate the vicarage quickly. We moved to a small, moldering terraced house in a rough part of Manchester. Our diet changed to extremely poor quality food as my mother struggled to care for her three children without the assistance of Child Support (I don't think it had been invented then). I ate to comfort myself, to choke down my feelings of abandonment and sadness. I stole change from my mother to buy sweets, I sneaked out of school at lunchtimes to go home and eat chips and cry on my own. My weight gain and my obvious differences in life experiences from my new classmates meant I was bullied, not only by the 'in crowd' of girls in their smart clothes, but also by my sadistic PE teacher, who on one occasion brought a tape measure into the girls' changing rooms and measured everyone's vital statistics. The closer to the fabled 36-24-36 they were, the more they were congratulated upon for being 'nearly right'. My home life didn't improve. My mother met a man who was an alcoholic and he moved in after their second date. Years of drink, violence, abuse and other horrors took its toll on my mental health and I began self-harming in secret. How is a fourteen year old schoolgirl, already reeling from changes in her life supposed to react when she comes home from school to find her stepfather passed out in the garden, his trousers to his knees, fully exposed and wet from urinating on himself? Worse still was later on when he had come round, expected to sit around the dinner table as if nothing had happened. My weight climbed and my self-esteem plummeted. At fifteen I went on my first ever diet. A quarter of a glass of grapefruit juice for breakfast, half a slice of dry toast for lunch and a quarter of a tin of mushroom soup for dinner. I lost weight, I obsessed about food constantly and my yo-yo had begun its lifelong twirling. I dieted several times in my life - sure to lose many stones then just as surely putting them back on and some. One does not simply wake up at 27 stone, it is the peak of years of food use, abuse and denial. My last big loss was in 2008 when I lost almost eight stone through strict diet and increased exercise. Four years later ... every stone is back and they, as always, brought a couple of friends back with them. I know this would have been the pattern for my almost certainly truncated life had I not had the incredible good fortune to have a mother about to receive a hefty inheritance along with a deep sense of guilt and regret for some of her life choices. I asked her several months ago if she would consider releasing some of the funds that she intended leaving to her children in the future early, enabling me to have private WLS. She said yes. It has happened very, very quickly. A medical screen by a bariatric nurse yesterday, followed by a consultation with a surgeon booked for next Tuesday. As soon as the funds come through (early December) I will have a date for a sleeve gastrectomy booked. The WLS is only ever going to be an aid, not a cure for my weight. I know I have years of poor eating habits and psychological difficulties to work on. But I have never been in a happier place personally than I am now. A husband (blimey!), a sense of direction (future children and employment) and a maturity of self set me in good stead for this undertaking. Bring it on.

That is exactly what mine told me she was looking for. She really fixated on the fact I was bulimic in high school and my dad had been an alcoholic. She then drilled me on my 'addictive' behaviors. She also wanted to know about my support system. She even told me at the end that is was not really to look for conditions but to see if you are in the frame of mind to handle all that comes with the surgery. So, if you are fine on medication you should be OK. Good luck to you!!!

One other thought, many of the sugar alcohols... that in in "ose" can cause diarrhea in some people if they eat it in large quantities.

At 10 months out I slime when I dont chew well,eat too fast or have eaten too much.this happens only when I stuff something in my mouth before I actually sit down to eat (while still preparing the food or dishing up..lol) The dumping is a different thing altogether.I dump on sugar.It does not happen all the time but if my stomach is empty and I have even a bite of a chocolate,I get very sick.Nausea,shakes,runny tummy,really really sick. I had one sip of Baileys about 3 weeks ago and boy I thought I would die.There was also no time lag between drinking the sip and the sick feeling,it happened instantly. So,alcohol,creamy liqeurs actually,and any sugary thing like ice cream,chocolate ect is a definite no no in my life.The Lord surely blessed me with this as I often dont know my limits with these things...lol

Ilenerm, thanks for addressing the alcohol issue. Anytime us RNY'ers try to re-write the plan, we will not succeed!

I found a alcohol free wine called FRE it's made by Sutter Homes. The have 6 different flavors, such as Red Blend and Moscato. I bought it for the holidays, it was very good. Best part was not as many calories as regular wine, an 8 oz glass of the red blend has 70 calories.

Do not be fooled by "Sugar Free", there is still sugar alcohol in the products as well as sucralose. Attached is a link to help you with the different between fat free and sugar free products. http://www.momswhothink.com/diet-and-nutrition/sugar-free-or-fat-free-to-lose-weight.html Either way I have found taking in natural sugar and fats will help curb your cravings and assist you in staying full longer. Try Salmon for fats or organic raw butter. How about cooking with coconut oil. It's wonderful. As far as sugar I love pineapple. Sweet and satisfying. Hope the article helps.

What you're experiencing is very normal. Including the ***-sitting husband! LOL Your body has gone through a traumatic experience and needs time to heal. It is definitely hard to eat enough right now. You're probably on a liquid-only diet right now, so just try to have whatever you can. Broths, SF Jell-O, and Water. Sip your water whenever possible. sleep if your body tells you it needs sleep. Now is the time to rest and recuperate. Tell your husband to get you something if you need him to. But don't forget that you need to walk, so sometimes getting yourself something is good (as long as it doesn't mean lifting or doing anything you're not supposed to do). Walking will help with the tummy sounds, etc., too. When your dr says you can have Protein, add some high protein/low-or-no sugar shakes - maybe start off with some that are already made since they should be very smooth. If necessary, water them down (or add skim milk). It will take time to work up to the amounts you are "supposed" to have. Just remember, as you progress, to do it slowly and don't add anything that doesn't assist your being healthy (NO candies even when/if the dr says you can have them in moderation, and don't drink alcohol except once in a blue moon and very little of it). Take it from someone who regained 76 lbs and has been struggling to get down below the almost 50 lbs she finally lost!!! (As for the alcohol, that's because even many drs don't know the latest research on WLS and drinking. It turns out that RNYers get high quickly, may feel like it went through us quickly, but the effects and blood alcohol levels stay longer - plus we tend to become addicted to it very easily. Don't risk cross addiction.) End of "lecture." LOL Good luck! ♥

I've tried a few of the sweets recipes from Bariatric Foodie. (Make a small portion ahead of time and have it for a few days.) I just made two of the protein cheesecake ramekins (eating one now) and it is so good! I also got in the kick for a while of buying sugar free angel food cake or SF shortcakes and adding some low-carb toppings (cool whip, nuts, SF chocolate chips, torani syrup, PB 2). There's always sugar free candy, if one piece will satisfy you. But that's where the real sugar alcohol problem comes in. I learned my lesson the hard way!

I've been eating Ben and Jerry's ice cream since day 14 with no harmful side effects and I've lost 22lbs and nearly five inches in 26 days. Ice cream goes down very easily and stays down but I limit it to 58g (2oz) per serving. I use MyFitnessPal.com to track everything that goes into my mouth. It's real easy to rack up empty calories with ice cream. However, ever since returning home from the hospital, I've been struggling with meeting my Protein requirements and consuming enough calories to meet my BMR. It will be 8 o'clock in the evening and, according to MFP, I will have only consumed 650 calories for the day. After meeting my protein goals, ice cream helps to provide a lot more energy than yogurt and, as long as I am well within my calorie goal for the day, there isn't one iota of guilt to contend with. The consumption of ice cream (bacon, chocolate, etc.) doesn't sit well with the abstinence model people (who warn against eating anything with processed sugar, wheat, and alcohol) but I don't believe in abstinence when it comes to food with the exception of carbonated beverages after VSG surgery. Learning how to eat in moderation is the key to long term success. Limiting foods high in calories in an attempt to offset the damages from grazing is the wrong approach I think... at least it is for me. The healthier approach is to abstain from grazing, not foods that you enjoy.

I highly advise against drinking alcohol. It's just empty calories, hard on the stomach, and you end up getting more intoxicated than you think because your pouch is small. I agree though, that if you must drink alcohol, watered down vodka is probably the way to go. Do not get anything carbonated mixed in.

I knew that no one would actually tell me that drinking was okay. I was just going through a tough time. I have since recovered and pulled myself out of the pits of hell! lol jk Although, I did feel pretty awful for the next few days following- guilt was horrible. I think the worst part though was my appetite the next day. OMG! I wanted to eat everything in sight. My band of course did not allow me to make any more regretful decisions but believe me I tried. So here I am back on course and determined to stay on the straight and narrow. I appreciate everyone comments! Oh and to answer your question back2petite, my stomach did feel a little bloated but otherwise it was fine. I did call my advocate to confess the next day. She told me that carbonation is fine in moderation but to remember beer was high in calories. I guess all docs are different. That being said, I will find other ways to relieve stress before turning to alcohol again. Like I said earlier, my appetite was insatiable, not to mention the headache. Thanks again!

I posted this on another thread: be sure that you don't develop a transfer addiction with alcohol. It's very easy to convince yourself that you DESERVE a treat for being 'good,' and suddenly you're in the throes of another addiction! I speak from experience---I am currently detoxing from a ridiculous wine habit. SO DUMB--wasted calories and wasted time toward my goal of taking care of myself and living a healthy life.

OTR, I'm still killing myself with food. On another post, I just wrote how i let myself "go" for the past 2 years. I didn't want to admit to it, but I did. I gained about 25 lbs. Not horrible, but I need to get a hold of this or else all will be lost. So about 11/2 weeks ago, I started on Atkins. Been doing well. Thought it wouldn't be hard, well today was day one of severe carb withdrawal. It was one hell of a day, but i did it. I was to the point of numbing myself with medication to stop the discomfort of withdrawal. I can only imagine what it must feel like to be withdrawing from drugs or alcohol. OMG it's terrible. But this evening I took benedryl to help me with the jitters, it's helping. I can just imagine how i would be tossing and turning tonight! LOL. I'm an addict. . never thought I'd say it, but here it goes. . Hello, my name is Ericka and I'm a food addict. . . .

Oh my dear, how i can relate! I let myself "go" for the past 2 years. I thought for sure I was invincible but guess what? I am not. I gained weight, not a horrible amount but enough (25 lbs). Now I had to get a grip on it before it really got out control. I started Atkins with net carbs of 20g a day. It is so hard. I've been on it now for 1 1/2 weeks and as of today have finally gone into carb withdrawal. It is horrible. I can only relate how a addict to drugs or alcohol must feel. I was doing everything possible to avoid eating today. I had my meals as normal and stuck to the diet. This evening i was going nuts, ready to even take medication to dull the discomfort. But I didn't, I did take some benedryl because i know if i don't i'll be tossing and turning all night thinking about chocolate, crackers, cheesecake and other evil things. I then got onto the computer to keep my hands busy and put on a really good movie. It's so hard, but if i can do this so can you! Together we can overcome this monster and be victorious in the end! Thanks for listening.

It's things with no nutritional value but high in calories. Things like alcohol, Cookies, pies, cakes, chips and crap like that. When I think of all the soda's that are sold each day and all that money spent on them and the calories and absolutely no nutritional value at all, none.

"TakingControl" - You are welcome and yes it is good to know "it's not just you"! Everyone I really didn't know how much you have to mentally adjust to the affects of the physiologic( your digestive system) change you go through. I know we all had to have psych evaluations and I can see why even more now but those evaluations or sessions should really incorporate some of these familiar feelings and psychophysiologic( mental and physical) feelings we all have. I think of smokers trying smoking cessation ( stop smoking program) or alcoholics attending AA ( Alcoholic Anonymous). I would think that those who have any addiction, once they stop or withdraw from the source of their addiction have to physically and mentally adjust to loss of that dependence. Same for us, I suppose. Physically and mentally but the physical part is amped up due to a real anatomic change so our bodies are rewiring some circuitry. Pat yourselves on your backs because it takes real strength to accept and take on the challenge that we all have chose to take!!!!!Godspeed Sleevers!!!

I just celebrated four years and 110 pounds lost on Dec. 30. I encourage you to maintain some support and never become complacent. If a food addiction has been part of your life, do not allow something else (like alcohol) to take its place. Use this tool/gift with wisdom and respect!

Thats awesome that youve started ur preop diet that early and have been so successful. I didnt even think about it that early on it didnt seem real until my insurance approved it and i had a surgery date. I nevee thoughr id be scared not to chew my food only drink but i am. Food really controls the mind i understand drug and alcohol abusers now

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 !