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Coops I have a question. What kind of protein bars do you eat? How often do you eat them? I know that my protein bars have around 200 calories and up. I eat Pure Protein Bars that have 20g of protein, 6g fat, total carbs 16g, fiber 1g, sugars 2g, sugar alcohol 6g. They taste really good and are very filling. What would happen if you cut everything back to proteins and broths? There has got to be something that will get your body back on track and dropping those extra lbs........ I'm also stuck and am thinking that I need to start working the program and starting from basics again. I need to lower my goal weight to 135lbs. So, I'm back on the boat again. I am so looking forward to hearing you say you've lost a few lbs finally. That will be a celebration for us........HUGS across the pond!

hi guys, before my surgery 2 months ago i was an alcoholic. i kept this even from my doctor. a friend of mine from work informed me that certain draught ales with widgets had low carbination. i have been cheating a bit and even had hard liquer a few times. my surgery was 8 weeks ago, what kind of damage can i be doing to myself? any bad stories to tell?

Ok, here goes & I'm a very open, honest person.... Pre op diet I was on (liquids) & post-op diet I was on (liquids 1st week), pretty much sucked, weeks 2-4 soft, mushy foods wasn't too bad but took some getting used to (i have an issue with textures). Then, once I reached 6 weeks, I was cleared for foods & alcohol (but in moderation) it was GREAT! I am now 3 mos out, 41 lbs lighter & life is good. I feel awesome & have not been happier with my WLS decision. We all go thru different emotions approaching our surgery date but I'm sure you will be happy with your decision as well. Best wishes for a happier, healthier future!!!!

To be honest I eat most everything at this point, but I am totally aware of what I put in my body. I try sticking to the protein first and no drinking liquids 1/2 hr before eating and an hour after. I do however drink only non calorie drinks mostly water10-15 glasses a day, coffe black, an occasional no carb no calorie redbull (not best choice I also do wine instead of beer (I know alcohol is bad but I'm only human). Fish lots of fish and chicken always protein first. I do have carbs but no where near as much as before and my portions are always small that part the sleeve takes care of, I do have sugars in tiny portions, I know some might criticize that but I have to be realistic and honestly this journey is not about never eating again it's about being conscious of what you eat and in control, not have food control you. Oh and exercise it finally makes sense to me how important exercise is, and I try my hardest sometimes it's 5-7 times a week sometimes only 3 but still a work in progress and I try to remind myself everyday how I must be responsible for my mind and body. Sorry if I went on a tangent

Week 34 and 35 (little over 8 months out – 54.6 lbs down) Last week’s weight – 191.8 This week’s weight – 191.4 Total weight lost this week – .4 Beginning weight – 246 lbs Total weight loss since surgery – 54.6 lbs I haven’t posted anything in a while mostly because I am feeling blah about my weight loss. I seem to be jumping up and down the same few pounds and not making any headway. Headway for me means (1) getting to 55 lbs lost and (2) getting into and starting to work on getting out of the 180’s. The lack of scale movement is definitely a “me” thing. I do well for a few days and then don’t for a few days. Example – Yesterday I had a great breakfast (Chocolate Slim Fast High Protein Shake with a frozen banana) and lunch (spaghetti squash spaghetti) but then I ate a regular size Hershey’s bar. I went home and ate a small bowl of chips as a snack, My husband made french dip sandwiches on a sub roll and I ate three quarters of it (should have stopped at a half – my stomach was protesting). After that dinner settled I had three Tim Tam cookies (way too much…I should have stopped at one…they are very rich). I barely drank any water (maybe four glasses total for the day). Thanksgiving was in that time frame and I ate a good deal of pumpkin bread pudding with cream sauce and drank wine. I did make a group go out for a walk after dinner in order to help digest the food better. My stomach was feeling it. I’m still going to Crossfit 3x a week and I think that has helped keep the pounds from coming back in too drastic a fashion. On the non-scale victory side I bought a pair of size 14R Levi jeans the day before Thanksgiving. They are curvy fit jeans and I bought them at full price because I fit in them. I can get in most size 14’s (as in pull them up and button them but they are still snug everywhere so I don’t think I can say that I am a size 14 yet but moving in that direction. I am 5’5”). I am dreading our Christmas break because I tend to eat and drink alcohol when I am bored. I did buy a refurbished Vitamix and am looking forward to using it (whenever it arrives….geez it takes forever!) In an effort not to focus too much on the negative I underlined my positives over the past two weeks in this post just as a reminder to me that I am still making progress and some good choices. Today my meal plan is: Breakfast - Chocolate high protein slim fast shake with frozen banana (7 a.m.) Snack – 1 oz of plain almonds (10 a.m.) Lunch – Left over spaghetti squash spaghetti (11:30 a.m.) Snack – Atkins Bar (2 p.m.) Dinner – Half a French Dip sandwich with small amount of chips (left overs) Snack – 1 Tim Tam bar in warm milk

Hi everyone- NJ2NC- LOL about the alcohol! I'm not a drinker, so have no experience. I think it's great to have that goal to run the whole 5k. I would love to be a runner- I have a plate on my right shin holding things together after an ankle break a long time ago. I've tried running and it kind of hurts, but maybe after losing a bunch of weight I could try again. It is such a good exercise! Kymie- that's a good goal- if I were you I'd up the exercise and the protein, and really really track everything. Chrissy- I was having a protein shake, but was too tight- so that's a good idea to do the hot tea then protein shake later. Hi Ready- good to see you, glad turkey day went well. I do need to do something about the ice cream, but for me it's going to have to be NONE, not something else- I"ll overeat whatever it is. It is truly a trigger food for me. Ladybandido- I hear you on the hibernation thing! I am feeling that as well. And I'm kinda sick and headachy, so just not feeling it. My dd is sick, throwing up- just at night, so I have to be up, LOL. DH is taking her to the doctor today, couldn't get in yesterday, so we'll see what's up. I'm not feeling great and not getting any sleep isn't helping. I stupidly tried a pastry that was in the office, and got stuck- luckily not badly, but threw the rest of that sucker out! Not worth it! Still hanging in, but not doing great, but honestly I'm just surviving until January. I did get the carb cycling book and will be reading it to implement it. I will get back on track, and get my mojo back! Nicki

The primary reason the Doc's tell you no alcohol for 6 months is because alcohol is empty calories (and lots of them !). It offers no nutritional value and can slow your progress significantly. That said, I tested the waters at 8 weeks (was very cautious). Over 3 days I had a couple glasses of wine, a couple of vodka/cranberries, a couple 7 and 7's, and a couple mimosa's (champagne and OJ). I experienced absolutely no problems nor did I become a one drink drunk as many have warned was possible. While my tolerance isn't what it used to be, it was only slightly less. That was my experience and yours may be different, but I can say out of everything I tried, the carbonated beverages were the most uncomfortable and took the longest to drink. Overall, having an alcoholic beverage was no big deal and I still lost a few pounds over those 3 days as well.

No alcohol, no carbonation. I was told no booze for at least six months. I am looking forward to the six month mark, though. I've got a bottle of soju just waiting. Added bonus, surgeon said you become a super cheap date on drinks because one usually does it

Clear burning alcohol like vodka and tequila are the best for our new tummies. Other alcohol has too much sugar in it. Although I still will try wine. But it's a good thing I like vodka and tequila just no pop for mixes

It would do the same thing as pop and I was told no alcohol for 3 months.

I've seen people post about having wine a few months out but I don't drink wine. I use to have 1 Long Island and be really buzzed so I won't drink that but when can I have a mixed drink? I'm 2 1/2 months out. Sent from my iPhone using VST

I am 3 months out and this month I went out a few times and got the drink, sex on the beach which has vodka orange juice pineapple juice and I think cranberry and after half of the drink my lower abdomen started having sharp pains. And then I went out a week or so later got the same drink and it happened again! I was worried and thought maybe it was the mix of sugars in the orange and pineapple juice. I switched my drink and the pain went away. I told my doctor and he said at 3 months its ok to have alcohol and that it most likely was the mix of sugars. I was relieved.

I just hit my 7th week post op and with the holidays coming up I was thinking about when I would be able to have a drink? I should just call my doc but does anyone know if there is any timeline restrictions for a drink? (I know it will hit me harder now than before)

BTW: just FYI my brother was in town (use to be a bartender) so he was concocting many mixed cocktails for the family so I've never had that much constant alcohol in my system since banded..maybe it was a shock to the band lol... just so you know it was a holiday thing haha it kinda sound like I stayed drunk for 3 days when I re-read my last post

Hello Everyone, wow I have a lot to catch up on.. I had to go back and start reading from the 19th.. JDI- I still run 3.1 miles 2x's a week with my running group or in my neighborhood and occasional add in a short run (about 1.5 to 2 miles) too. But Next time I register and pay for an official timed race I just hope to be at my goal of running the entire course. It's just a personal goal that's all always challenging myself. Rkimom - I know I'm late but glad you've joined the group, I've read your posts and since I've been back to taking my vitamins on a regular basis..I am terrible with that but getting much better. LadyB - I worry about erosion and slippage every time I get a stomach ache, I noticed over the holidays I did great with food but did bad with the wine & mix drinks on Tues, Wed & T-Giving and noticed by Friday I felt like my band was having spasms I got really scared, so I stopped the alcohol and no more spasms, then tried a mix drink on Monday (as a test) and boom, spasm feeling again. I guess me and alcohol no longer get along! well thank goodness I'm not a heavy drinker lol so this should be an easy issue to fix. I see everyone survived Thanksgiving..that's wonderful. I had 1 plate of food, 1 small dessert and I was done with dinner for the day (no seconds) I shared cooking with my mom and my daughter cooked the desserts so that helped with the pre-meal eating. I cooked the vegetables and "light" sweet potato casserole, that helped too. I forgot to post my Monday morning weight still 192. All the running doesn't seem to help however I'm maintaing just perfectly lol, guess I need to switch it up a bit either run more and/or add in some strength training or something. To reach the yearly goal I set by 1/17/13 I'm suppose to be at 175. hmmm, may not quite make it, right now I'm about 17lbs off, but I feel great so I'm ok with it (but I'm still going to try to get as close as possible )

Ok, just got some info from my surgeon: 7 days before he wants me to do a high protein (75 to 85 grams per day) diet, low fat, low sugar 4 days before only clear liquids and protein drinks 24 hrs before do not drink alcoholic beverages Night before no food or drink after midnight, includes water, gum & mints

I was terrified going into it, but my Aunt died after having WLS (back in the 80's) and I didn't tell my family until the night before. However, I knew I was in good hands and not only did my research on the surgery, but also the surgeon. I stayed away from any negative reviews as I didn't want that judgement going in. I had a lap band previous so I knew a little as to what to expect. I was told the surgery was harder than the band, but I didn't think it was. This is not for everyone. It is a lifestyle change and have to be willing to give up an addiction. Just like you wouldn't bring a recovering alcoholic to a bar, you don't bring a recovering food addict to a buffet. It's not an easy fix by any means. You still have to fix what's broken only this gives you the perfect fitting tool to do so. Losing weight will not be the only thing you'll have to fix. It's the easiest, but the hardest is beating the addiction. With the sleeve, while your beating the addiction, you'll be losing weight!

I just asked my dr today when it was safe to have a little alcohol (hell if we cant eat we might as well have a little fun drinking every now and then!) So they told me 1 year post op. Im only 20 days post op...i don't think i could wait a whole year!

I've been taking a chewable from The Vitamin Shoppe - Bariatric Support - It's not too bad but I've seen lots of great reviews on the Celebrate vitamins. If you choose non-bariatric vitamins, make sure that you take high quality vitamins that include minerals (lots of them don't and minerals are just as essential for us as the vitamins). One a Day and Centrum are NOT considered to be high quality - they do not dissolve well in "normal" stomachs, much less in our tiny, itty bitty tummies. If you don't want to pay for the bariatric ones, I would go to a health food store or similar and get a really good one (which will probably be as expensive as a bariatric one). I've decided to either continue with bariatric multi's or go with USANA brand (widely recognized as being among the best nutritionals you can buy - pharmaceutical grade, properly and easily absorbed, etc. But they are expensive ) and figure that the money I'm saving by not eating out and not drinking alcohol will more than make up for the expense LOL....... Besides, what's more important than our health???

I'm waiting for six months because I have never stuck with anything and I need to do this... Also alcohol is going to be SO strong at that point of having nothing. It's gonna be a great party lol Sent from my iPhone using VST

I was cleared at 6 weeks for food & alcohol...each Dr's instructions vary

I just had my two month appt a couple of weeks ago and my NUT told me physically i was OK, but to be real careful,,dead calories and high sugar and carbs in alcohol. Plus you will be a real cheap date as you haven't had anything in a long time. We also tend to make bad food choices when we drink. I have had a couple of really small (2oz) of wine and one mixed drink (no carbonated beverage). and had no problems, but it definately hits you. Remember one 1oz of red wine has 25 calories, so one glass at a resturant is 4oz which equals 100 calories, which is a tenth of the calories at your stage. plus you should only be taking in 30-40 carbs per day. Hope this helps. Good Luck

My nutritionist and surgeon have both said NO ALCOHOL for at least six months and even after that, it must be "skinny" cocktails and "light" beers, etc. At 6 weeks I'd double check it with your surgeon and nutritionist as I know different practices say different things. Good luck!

Ok so is it ok to have a drink 6 weeks after surgery?

My husband has this and when he is overly tired or had lots to drink (alcohol) it makes it worse.