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I think it depends on whether you're getting the results you want. I've been eating 1000-1200 calories per day and exercising 500-600 calories 5 days per week since around month 3 or 4. My weight loss has been slow and steady pretty much the entire time. I eat what I like, including small treats and occasionally, alcohol. I'm 5 pounds from goal and loving my new lifestyle. At the rate I'm going, I expect I'll go below my pre-defined goal of 145, maybe as low as 135, (an even 100 pounds loss) but I doubt seriously that I'll settle there. If I do, I do, but I feel\look fine now and I'll feel fine at 145 in 5 pounds. Wherever I "land" I'll set a 5 pound range on either side of it and focus on maintaining that range. I feel like I've set myself up for a maintenance calorie goal of 1250-1300 which seems like a lot to me right now, but I'm sure I'll find a way to adjust. :-)

Liz, glad you're feeling better. I have to see my husband Tuesday at my home for a house appraisal. I have only seen him once in person in the past 15 months and that was at court. I haven't been inside my house since I left. Lots of emotions, but of course the one thing that bothers me the most is my weight. I'm ten pounds heavier than when I saw him at court In April. I gave up all alcohol three weeks ago but the scale has not gone down. I'm going on liquids for a couple of days even though my fill appointment got postponed this week. Protein shakes and Soups. That has always been good for a couple of pounds down in the past. My lawyer suggested bringing a friend with me to the house. I decided against it because I don't want him picking a fight with her, and I also don't want to give the impression that I need reinforcements. I will be so glad when this divorce is over. My lawyer told me it probably won't be done until next summer. Meanwhile, I deal with the body issues. I felt so confident in April, and that court date was my lowest weight since WLS. Then I spent these last six months eating wrong, drinking every weekend, and gaining these ten pounds. Anyway, you here are my reinforcements. So talk me off the ledge, please! Just kidding. It will be okay. I just wish I didn't feel fat this week. That jerk is not worth this angst. Edited to add: Mr. Wonderful always predicted I would fail at LapBand. He was openly critical and would often mock his coworker who dropped 100 pounds and then stabilized, with probably 80 left to lose. This idiot's words are in my head this week.

first off, @newbegining2024, you will have zero complaints from me, food porn is my favourite kind of porn, ha! re: food funerals, like @Arabesque, i didn't really have time (or thought) to have one. i had postponed my surgery twice in the year and a half prior deciding to finally (again) go through with it. I called my surgeon to say, lets do it in early to mid september 2018, and he booked me in for surgery in a little over a month later for October 2018. I got into tunnel-vision like mode of like, "Lets GOOOO!" while i didn't do any specific diet prior to the 2 week liquid diet before surgery, i DID make conscious efforts NOT to stuff myself or eat mindlessly. i did this for about 2-3 weeks, and didn't lose any weight, interestingly enough. then it was time for my 2 week liquid pre-diet of 3 protein shakes a day. and since i'm a self-proclaimed over-achiever😂, by the end of week 1 i was doing 2 shakes a day, and by mid week 2 i was down to 1 shake a day. yes, i know i was NOT supposed to do this, but i just wanted to prove to myself that i could for some reason (i blame the tunnel vision). again, interestingly enough, i lost 11 lbs. fast forward 5 and half years and life is good, i'm skinny, healthy, happy, and full of energy. i also eat whatever i want...in fractions of amounts i used to, of course. and we aren't just talking salads (though i do LOVE salads!), and boiled fish. i will order items displayed in that awesome spread that @newbegining2024 shared. i eat bread and pasta and fatty steaks, deep fried whatever, chips, bacon, pizza, cheese, alcohol and yes, even desserts. JUST IN VERY SMALL PORTIONS (and yes, i also eat steamed vegetables, grilled lean meats, greek yogurt, and a ton of water). i guess what i'm trying to say is that you don't have to say good bye to your fave foods forever. good luck! ❤️

Debbie, your transformation is amazing. Liz, you nailed it when you promised yourself you won't leave the boards. As you guys know, I stalled for a year (yeah, I know a year is technically not a stall) and then gained a little over ten pounds before I was ready to get my sshit together. I wasn't ready until I was ready. But once I was, miracle of miracles, my band was as reliable as ever. In December I cleaned up my food. I dropped the crap that I knew was causing my weight gain. Dumped the fried everything. Dumped the movie crapcorn. Focused on p rotein instead of bread and p asta. Alcohol was already gone. I tracked the food honestly and even bought a kitchen food scale and used it. I faced the truth about what I was eating. And the truth was that I was regularly eating over 2000 calories a day. No way was this old shot-metabolism, zero-exercise body going to lose weight on that amount of calories per day. Slowly I got my calories down to approximately 1100-1200 per day. I've gone from 204 down to 189 since December. It's been slow but it's coming off. And that "tightened" my band without an additional adjustment. Funny how this contraption works. Feed it lean solid p rotein and no sliders for a couple of weeks and restriction comes back. Don't give up on yourself. I don't know why I stagnated for a year. Furthermore I don't know what emotionally kicked my butt into reenergizing. I have my theories, but today the reasons are less important than the success I am experiencing. It feels good to feel good again. You will too.

Well more than that, not that I'm a saint about anything, but IMHO we all need to try to make the next best choice from here on out. Doesn't mean we will win, cuz I can guarantee we won't win 100% of the time. But each time we DO win the test, we get stronger and are one step closer to redefining a lifetime of bad habits that got us a lifetime invitation to the Obesity Ball. You know? And you know, there are a host of reasons why alcohol isn't a great choice, but 5 weeks out it's even worse: 1. Wine = highly acidic and could increase acid and possibly cause a small ulcer at the operation suture line. Big time Billy-badass probs then. 2. Empty calories that disrupts fat burning mode in some way I can't fully explain to you. 3. Your tummy is still pretty raw in there. God! Imagine having to confess why you're hemorraging! Cuz alcohol thinned your blood too much now your bleeding at your incision sight. 4. Then there's the whole transfer addiction thing...and I'm not qualified to talk about that... But hell...I'm just a shmoe on the internet and am not qualified to talk about any of this stuff! Lol!

I am very heavy & after I wash my belly button...I dry it & put constarch baby powder in it. Tha keeps it dry & it smells good. Clean it out with alcohol & then put in the powder. I do it after EVERY shower & mine never smells. I use 2 have that problem bcuz Im so heavy & it is so deep.

I'm just curious about everyone's drinking habits with the band, and if it affects anything? Xx

@@Connie Stapleton PhD - Thanks for the clarification. I understand the warnings and advice to abstain to maximize success. The tone just comes across like this scene from Mean Girls: The term toxin is loaded, pejorative and a bit misleading. Tylenol is toxic. Vitamin D is too. Both can be hard on the liver and fatal in high doses. But these are acceptable risks in moderation. Alcohol is rough on the liver in high doses. It can be fatal in the most extreme cases. There are risks in sex, driving, and even walking on a treadmill, so I heed the cautions. And to be clear, when I discuss this subject with fellow WLS people, I do share my cautions based upon my experience, research and warn of possible red flags and dangers signs to watch for. It is a danger area. Alcohol may have put me in a stall, but that's why I am abstaining for a season to test this out. In short, I don't disagree with your message, just the words (rhetoric in the classic sense of the word). Thanks for what you do, and I do have a great deal of respect for those of you who work with people in recovery from substance abuse. It is a tough job, where you know most are not going to succeed and it is often heart breaking work, so take care of yourself too (this is a major part of my sister's work, and I always remind her "there is a reason why the airline tells you to put on your own oxygen mask before you put one on those around you, and don't forget it.").

@@CowgirlJane I'm with you on the cigarettes! We could certainly rant about that! Please remember that my comments are specifically related to the bariatric professionals who are the "leaders of the pack." My position is that this governing body needs to have a more definite RECOMMENDATION, based on the fact that alcohol is a toxin that can have deleterious effects on the absorption of essential nutrients, in addition to other possible negative effects. A recommendation is different than a "thou shalt not." Thanks.

I can appreciate your irritation, although...a $7 burger isn't really a fancy place to eat. If your total bill for a burger, presumably two non-alcoholic drinks, and a $3 split fee was $17, I feel like they're holding themselves a bit high as a "nice" establishment. Given the way you were treated, I tend to think their behavior supports the point that they aren't the fine dining they seem to consider themselves to be. That being said, I haven't ever been charged a split fee because I don't really split things. I eat what I want to, then take it home or let someone else at my table eat it. Margins on actual fine dining are slim, and you aren't being charged a $3 fee to actually cut the burger, just like a corkage fee has nothing to do with the manual act of removing a cork, but rather the right to split a meal or to bring your own bottle of wine, when to do so without any minor fee is really not customary practice. It certainly would have been nice though if they had put somewhere on the menu that the fee existed. At a nice place, I can see economically the purpose of a split fee and most people paying to eat at a nice place, first don't care about the $3 and probably don't notice it on their bill, and second at an actual nice place, there would not have been any attitude from a manager, the fee would have been removed. The difference in my experience between a classy place to eat and a place that likes to think its classy is that there is an understanding that you sometimes lose a few dollars, but you make up for it in customer loyalty. A truly nice establishment handles the customer in a way that leaves them feeling happy...sure they complain about you when you leave and they roll their eyes when you aren't looking, but they are never, ever rude to your face or in front of any other customer. They certainly don't have their family members replying to your Yelp comments- that would make them look incredibly stupid and any person who was accustomed to eating in nice places would absolutely avoid going somewhere that responded that way on social media if only because it clearly demonstrates a total lack of class. So...sure, a split fee is normal sometimes, and I understand that you were surprised by it, but I find the behavior of the business to be unacceptable if they are going to cast themselves as being a better than average place to dine. I wouldn't go there after seeing that exchange on social media because it reeks of a scene- something that you will rarely if ever see in a nice place, and certainly not in a way that is exacerbated by management. I'm sorry you were treated poorly, but if it makes you feel better, places like that rarely last very long for all of the reasons I've mentioned above. They will be sad soon enough, lol.

My dr told me that alcohol was a serious no-go post op. She literally described it as becoming as addictive as CRACK because of the way the body processes it (post bypass)... was she exaggerating?

About 6 months post op, I had my first glass of wine....did not notice any difference. You'll read on here where many folks are more sensitive to the alcohol. Now, 4+ years post op, I'll have some a few times a week. Maybe thats one reason I been awarded the slowest loser's badge......

I don't drink alcohol, empty calories.

My name is fairly self explanatory...I live in canada, and my real name is Sunshine. WHY my name is Sunshine is NOT quite as simple...lol You see, I was named after a retarded eskimo. Oops *erm*...I mean a "mentally handicapped Inuit person." My father is American and back in the early 70's he worked dfor the Merchant Marines. He was stationed off the coast of Alaska, back when there wasn't alot of contact between the Inuit and the rest of the world. On one occasion my father and a buddy of his ventured into the Inuit village and at some point met an elder who was accompanied by a little handicapped girl. The girl was sort of oblivious to everything around her but was friendly with my father and told him her name...("Melody-Sunshine")...He thought that was really sweet but wondered why it was "Melody-Sunshine" in English. The elder explained to him, in her own broken English, that her people were taking an unhappy path. (alcohol was quite a serious issue in this particular village) Their culture was suffering, (mostly as a result of the presence of white men like my father!:think ) ..and out of all her people this little girl would never lose her innocence, she would never see her people fall and would never lose her smile. My dad eventually told this story to my mother years and years later...and she stored in her memory until she had a baby girl. She named me Sunshine and my little sister Melody...in hopes perhaps that we would never lose our smiles. Now, I still wonder why it was in English...but my Dad said alot of what was said must've been lost in translation. lol:confused: For as long as I can remember when I have to state my name, I always have to answer the next question; which is always: "Is that your real name?"...and then:"Were your parents hippies?" I usually just say "yes" cuz it's much easier than the whole retarded eskimo bit. LOVE THIS THREAD!!! SORRY TO DRONE ON!!

Hey, I'm Devo and must say its glad to hear there are some people in my same boat. I've recently graduated with a Degree in Finance, but a good majority of my friends are still in college or just out of college. So I'm still surrounded by that typical "college" life. I was banded on 12/5/2008, no one besides one of my best friend knows I was banded, so its getting pretty difficult trying to pass up going to Hollywood or going out for a bite to eat, with out them suspecting something or giving me a hard time. I'm just hoping these next 5 weeks go by quicker. haha Anyway, how does alcohol affect us now that we have a band? Is it much easier to get drunk now? Okay. Someone let me know. LATE!

Welcome to the board!!! We hope you stay a while....As far as the carbonated drinks...my Dr's office told me that they could stretch the pouch...like when you put coke in a sippie cup it spews out the top; that is what it would be like in your stomach....I think that is one of the rules that all the Dr's agree on. I could be wrong. I have had frozen alcoholic drinks...margaritas and stuff like that and they haven't bothered me...I think there are some of us that have the drinks around here.. Good Luck and welcome!!!!!!!!!!!

Just found this thread and loving it. My name is Road Queen is because my last 4 motorcycles (of the dozen that I've had) have been HD Road Kings. I have been riding hd motorcycles for over 25 years. My usual name is schnapps_hd. The loves of my life - my dalmation Schnapps and motorcycling. I recently read that you should pick an appropriate screen name because someone that reads it may be your next employer - so I didn't think putting alcohol (Schnapps) in my title was appropriate. But Schnapps is the best name to yell. Those of you with kids know its important to be able to yell their name to get their attention - when I yell "Schnapps" in my neighborhood, I get everyone's attention.

That would make for an interesting colada using green superfood mixed with alcohol. I do not think it has been done before... Lol.

After a tremendous amount of research on the Gastric Band and Sleeve I decided to get sleeved. After going through all the approval processes, I was sleeved on May 24, 2013. I was super excited and looking forward to the new "thin" me!! After surgery the Doctor said everything went just as planned. I was feeling very nauseous and sick. I felt like my head was going to come off.. the doctors said I might be going through caffeine withdrawl?? I asked for pain medicine... they said they were waiting on my doctor to prescribe that. I asked for something for nausea and one nurse gave me alcohol pads to smell.. it actually worked. I was in a lot of pain and finally had my friend who is a nurse call the hospital and find out what was going on. The night nurses were clueless... they gave me water with a straw when I told them I had sore throat... they brought me Tylenol pills to swallow when I asked for pain meds... I told them I couldn't have that... even on the wall it said "ice chips only". They said they would cut the pill in fourths if I wanted them smaller. Again, I had done a lot of research and I knew what I could and couldn't have. My doctor came back to the hospital at 10pm because someone finally got ahold of him and told him what was going on.. he was very upset at the hospital personnel. I so sick and in pain that my doctor ordered a swallow test to make sure that the sleeve was done correctly. That test turned out good. The next day was Saturday, I was still sick and nauseous and for some reason my kidney's shut down. Not good.. and I was still so sick. On Sunday, the kidneys started working again.. thank God! I was very sick but ready to go home. I was released on Monday. I was weak and couldn't wait to get home. My next follow-up appointment with my doctor was the next Thursday. I was still feeling nauseous but I could keep down popsicles and water. At my appointment I showed my doctor a HUGE bruise on my stomach. It was as black as dark grapes and as big as a cantaloupe. I could tell my doctor was surprised. All he said was "that's were you bled out". He told me not to be concerned. By the weekend, I was puking up stomach bile and couldn't even keep down water. I called his office and he told me to come in on Monday. On Monday, he admitted me to the hospital. His exact words to me were "You look like hell". I was dehydrated, weak and nauseous. It was horrible. In the hospital they did another swallow test and an MRI. Swallow test went well... the MRI showed I had a HUGE Hematoma in my stomach. I was 15 inches long. It was bigger than any of my organs... the doctor said this is what was making me so sick. So, they put a drain in and sent me home. I felt ok for about two days then the puking and nausea started again. I was readmitted to the hospital the following Monday for dehydration and nausea. Another MRI showed that the drain was not in the hematoma anymore and the blood was still about 12 inches long. Apparently, all the heaving and puking had moved it. The doctors put two more drains in and after a few days sent me home. After about two days, I was puking and couldn't keep anything down again. After the following week I was readmitted to the hospital for surgery to remove the hematoma. By this time, the hematoma had "jellied" and the doctor said he got out most of it but not all. He said he would literally have to scoop it out with his had to get it all. What was left was like trying to slurp Jello through a straw. The next week I was back in his office still sick and nauseas. Through the whole process I had tried all types of medicine to help with the nausea. I had to wear a patch behind my ear and my two weeks vacation from work turned into a six week sick leave. It took me six weeks to work through the nausea and dehydration. It was a horrible experience and every day I wished I wouldn't have had the surgery. Night and day puking stomach bile was a nightmare. Since surgery I have lost 41 pounds... I love losing the weight and how it makes me feel. I feel tremendously better and have put the six weeks behind me and choose not to dwell on the negative. The weight loss is super slow right now and that is kind of frustrating. However, I've never lost 41 pounds in 14 weeks before so I'll take it. I've been reading about stalls so I know this his normal and the weight loss will continue... I will reach my goal eventually!!! I do appreciate that my doctor did all he could to make me feel better.. I don't blame him for what happened. I am greatfull to finally be feeling like a human again. Would I choose surgery if I know what I know now.. I am not sure?? It was the worst 6 weeks of my life... and I really felt like I was going to die. When I reach my goal I might have another opinion.. maybe it will be worth it... we will see. Nothing that's worth it is ever easy!! If you haven't had the surgery yet, do your research. Mistakes can happen... you need to be prepared and keep in touch with your doctor daily if needed. My doctor texted me almost daily to see how I was doing. Good Luck to everyone!!!

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.

I don't understand why you'd want to get this if it hasn't been around for a long time. The sleeve is very safe, without a lot of surgical connections/re-routing. I was sleeved on Sept. 26th. My diabetes was gone in 2 days! The other co-morbidities, sleep apnea & non-alcoholic fatty liver will go away in 3 - 4 months.

My surgery is scheduled for 7.14.21! I'm so excited and nervous. Especially because Day 1 of my liquid diet starts tomorrow (JULY 4TH) where I will be surrounded by hot dogs, burgers, and alcohol. lol

I got sleeved in early February 2015 and no regrets. However I have a feeling that people that had WLS and have regrets don't tend to frequent this board. I don't think that is the particular demographic that is represented here. My co-worker had the band 6 years ago. The sleeve was not an option then. She has lost the weight and kept it off but does not recommend the band to anybody. She gets stuff stuck and still vomits periodically. Her sister had by-pass 10 years ago and she wishes she had that instead. She would love to revise to the sleeve but has no band slippage so insurance won't cover. She is happy she had surgery just not that surgery. Her daughter had the band also 6 years ago and never lost weight. The doctor refused to do any more fills until she had a psych visit. She refused to have one. I bet she has gained another 50 or 75 pounds. She never should have had any weight loss surgery. She was not ready for it. She was also only 20 years old and very immature for her age. . She would eat, throw up, eat more. She never did the liquid diet pre-op and started eating solids too quick after surgery. She would eat slider foods and drink lots of alcohol. She did have a psych eval prior to surgery and "passed" it. Her cousin had the band 5 years ago and had the band removed a couple of years later since she never lost weight and then couldn't stand the thought of something foreign in her. Yes, most of the family has weight issues. It is a tool. Do your research, take your time and make sure that you are willing to do the work. It will take work and planning. It is not a magic wand. For me it has been well worth it. However it is not for everybody. Your choice in which WLS is also a personal thing.

You make a great point about transfer addiction. I'm preparing for surgery and there is a lit out there about WLS patients drinking alcohol after surgery. Luckily I never drank alcohol so that's not a concern for me, but i wonder what might be something I need to watch out for since eating will be less.

@@Babbs I definitely agree that the bariatric team need only give patients education and information. As I keep reminding people, my issue is about the governing body of the bariatric team not making a sound medical recommendation. My point is not about being absolute or overbearing... it's specifically related to the bariatric professionals who are the "leaders of the pack." My position is that this governing body needs to have a more definite RECOMMENDATION, based on the fact that alcohol is a toxin that can have deleterious effects on the absorption of essential nutrients, in addition to other possible negative effects. Continue making the healthiest choices for you!