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Okay thanks. I know a alot about liquor (well at least my favorite ones) including the caloric content. I was a gym rat a few years ago and I googled all of my favorite drinks for the alcohol content. Can't remember the exact numbers but it was like 1000 cals for one of my favorite drinks depending on the size. I'm not a big drinker, just was interested on how it affects some, and if there was a "list' on here. I was watching someones youtube, and she still felt the liquor the next day, but she was drinking at 4 weeks out so I'm sure it would be different later. I guess there's only one way to find out.

I have found that I react to alcohol the same way I did before I was sleeved. I was a big partyer when I was younger and now one or two drinks is plenty; as Indymom noted, alcohol is empty calories. I have no idea how long it takes to leave my system but I don't wake up with a hangover after one or two screwdrivers.

My doctor put no alcohol on the paper like that's going to happen. So what I want to know is how long does it take to leave your system?

I waited until I was about 4 months out (my doc said 3-6 months). I drink pretty much whatever I want, obviously in moderation. I've had beer, wine, mixed drinks, etc. The carbonation in beer can cause a little discomfort, I usually drink a wheat beer like blue moon that isn't highly carbonated and I always drink out of a glass. Alcohol (especially mixed with high-calorie mixers like fruit juices) is TOTAL empty calories, so most surgeons warn against drinking during the weight loss phase. It can also lead to crossover addictions, so be cautious. I'm a social drinker and haven't noticed that it has impacted my weight loss at all (I don't even bother tracking/logging my drinking on MFP) so each person may have different experiences with it.

On another forum someone mentioned the allowable liquors/wines for RNY, I am sure it would be the same idea for sleevers. I know sleevers aren't suppose to have any type of alcohol, etc. Anywho, what have you sipped on, and how did you feel?

I've also been into low fat cottage cheese (I'm a Knudsen snob - it's the creamiest) and then stirring in 1 tablespoon of sugar free preserves (Smuckers strawberry or apricot). Another good mushy option. Just don't go overboard on the fruit spread because the alcohol sugars could upset your tummy or trigger dumping if you eat too much. Find me on Pinterest to see my "Weight Loss Surgery Tools" board. I have a ton of other ideas pinned there.

I drink pop sometimes, but it depends, it can irritate a little the first couple of sips. I've always been a fan of Diet Coke and love it, but I don't drink it much anymore. I do drink alcohol frequently, and don't have a problem with it. I love my wine....lol! However, we have to remember it still has calories, so you need to adjust your daily accordingly. Also many people find they feel the effects sooner so can't drink as much anymore. Not necessarily a bad thing!

I have had alcohol on several occasions since my surgery. The first was at 3 weeks out and I had two glasses of wine over the course of about 5 hours. I made sure to get in all my Protein that day using my shakes and then actually budgeted the calories into my plan for the day. Just be sure to make sure it's not a really bubbly wine. I drank Riesling. The second occasion was about 6 wks out and I drank a margarita on the rocks and a vodka cranberry. (those were not budgeted in but I actually lost weight the morning after.) I will say the only issue I have had was the frozen margarita I tried to drink last weekend. I got down about half of it and was sick to my stomach. I guess it's all the sugar in a frozen drink. Whatever you choose to do is up to you personally! Good luck to you!! Kacy Sent from my iPhone using VST

Kimmy thank you for your post. I do love reading this blog but sometimes it is hard to find the someone who has the same opinion as I do, I am a new yorker and almost every thing we do here involves alcohol, am not saying I HAVE to drink but I was hoping to see someone who actually did drink and how they reacted to the alcohol.

I went to a crab feed 2 weeks out from surgery and had vodka cranberry, no issues at all. It was mostly cranberry and I sipped it for a long time. I think if you just have one small glass and sip it over a period of time you will be ok. We are not in a prison, we are talking real life here, we are going to be in situations where we are around alcohol and need to learn how to handle it in our own way. Best of luck on your decision.

I am normally the " drinker " of the bunch so I will have to respond to my non drinking but I am a terrible liar. I will most likely ge he drink and just not drink it or order a juice and try to pawn it off as a cocktail. I do not want anything to derail my weight loss alcohol is not that important! Thanks to all for your suggestions!

I am 5.5 months post op and I haven't had any alcohol and I don't choose too. When I go out, I don't explain anything to any one and no one really cares anyways. It's mostly our anxiety that prevents us from being ourselves and I am proud of my decisions. I don't need to play the social rules game and I don't tell them about my surgery either. This is me and I choose to be me, I'm normal...... Go to these events and forget about your sleeve, think healthy and smile because you look fantastic! You are beautiful! SMILE!

I am about 9 months post-op. I had a 3oz margarita at a party in November at 5 months. I will tell you it hit me far faster than it had ever before. Also my nut and surgeon both suggest waiting a year before drinking alcohol, as it can slow weight loss since it is liquid calories. On the other hand if you decide to have a drink, remember that you don't have to drink a coctail at the event. I have found getting a glass of cranberry juice generally throws people off at those functions. Plus I don't have to explain anything I'm not comfortable explaining to strangers. Good Luck!

I begin my liquid diet on Monday for surgery on the 10th. I am dreading this more than having my stomach removed. My reaction to food deprivation is scary. I turn into a child begging for food, crying, sometimes yelling...and I'm a successful 37 year old woman! I'm going to do it though. What I want to know is of the 1000 calories I am allowed to have, should I be able to choose any liquid to eat as long as I stay in my calorie range? (Except alcohol of course!) Meaning do I have to pay strict attention to fat and carbs? What would happen if I cheated one night? (Going to a party for the Hunger Games (ha ha) and there will be mounds of food.) At 220 lbs and a BMI of 42, does anyone know the amount of weight I would be expected to lose? Does anyone have any tips or tricks that they did during their 2 week pre-op? Thanks, guys, I'm so glad you're here.

I am pre-op and I enjoy drinking now. I do not drink daily but my husband and I are social and we drink a couple of days a week.(Atleast, once a week.) I think 6 weeks may be too early. That is just my opinion. I will probobly at some point partake again but I know it will not be until I am closer to goal and I will try it at home with hubby before I try it in public just to see how it affects me. As far as keeping the surgery to yourself, just tell anyone that is trying to encourage you to drink that you are on a med that prohibits alcohol for the time being. Just a suggestion. Hope it helps

I'm not sure if 6 weeks is too early or not, but I know that alcohol isn't banned later on. My surgeon said I was fine to drink on my birthday (my 21st...) and that was at about 4.5 months out. I would be worried about the acidity affecting your sleeve... I would be worried that maybe your sleeve won't like it. To be safe, I would just ask your surgeon. If you can't then you can't.. there are lots of reasons why people don't drink... like medications... or you could take the wine and not really drink it.

Am only 13 days post op and have no plans to drink alcohol in the near future but I am curious about how long one should wait before having a glass of wine? I have an event in April and at that time I will be 6 weeks post op. I am going to be asked to have a drink and I really don't want to let on that anything is different as I have kept this surgery pretty much to myself. Do any of you out there think it will be ok to have the wine?

All I can say is thank God I don't have to have the whole nation judge me! I hope she does well. Sounds like alcohol might be a problem too, this is not a surprise. we are compulsive about everything we do. hope she can beat them both!

That is if you had laporoscopic surgery. That being said I am not sure how good those things are in salt water, I have used them in pools and they work well if you put them on right and are not in for hours (clean the area where you are going to stick the band aid with alcohol, but not the cut only the skin where the sticky still will go, it will help it stick better.)

Sugar free chocolate usually has sugar alcohol in it. Sugar alcohol gives me severe gas. I have to be very careful to see how many grams of it are in anything that is labeled sugar free.

I agree with Foxbins, my appetite fluctuates from day to day. Some days I definitely overeat, other days I eat fine, and some days I eat less than I probably should. I dropped as low as 136, but I have a large frame, so that translated into as small as size 2 in some clothing, so I was actually kind of gaunt and bony yet with some fat and loose skin. I then found that maintaining 136 required a fair bit of effort - zero alcohol, zero desserts, that kind of thing - which to me wasn't worth it. I bounced back up to 140-142 and have been there consistently for like half a year now. I bounced all the way up to 145 at some point when I was out of town for 4 weeks and eating a lot of junk while exercising a lot less than I normally do - it required some focus to get back to my normal weight. So YES, you can still gain weight if you are consistently overeating and not active enough to compensate. I don't deprive myself or starve myself, I just make better choices, e.g. eggs for breakfast instead of a cinnamon bun at the coffee shop or blueberries for a snack instead of a protein bar. I actually just took some pix today in the same spot/clothes/lighting as a year ago, and while I've gained those 4-5 lbs from 136, I look better - I'm less "soft," my butt actually exists instead of just skin hanging down, and my stomach is actually leaner. My mom said I look much healthier now than when I was in the active weight loss phase.

I had mine removed years ago after having a baby, I lost 50 lbs while I was breastfeeding in rapid fashion. I had some outside stress going on and was finding it hard to eat due to some depression. One side effect I haven't been thrilled with is loose stools or IBS...coffee and drinking any alcohol makes it worse. But I would imagine once I am having to do a high protein diet that will get better. Also not eating as much will slow it down I am sure. When I started having the gall bladder attacks before I knew I had stones, I freaked out cause the pain is terrible. I would rather have more babies with no anesthetic then go thru that pain again....so get it taken out while u can!!!

I never count fat grams and never will. I ate and continue to eat full fat foods. The limited capacity I have limits my fat intake on it's own. I eat real butter, full fat dressings, miracle whip etc. The only thing I eat that is fat free is Greek yogurt and that's because it cooks better in casserole/crock pot meals and that way I can add stuff to it. And, my cholesterol was never an issue, and dropped even lower during my losing stage and my "good" cholesterol improved. I just did what worked for me. I truly believe we only have one chance to lose the weight, work on our food issues, and then tweak what we can manage in maintenance. Losing was not difficult for me, keeping it off is and will always be my battle. It's the same issue I had from dieting attempts in the past. I could lose like a champ, but then it'd come back with a vengeance plus some. I do not diet in maintenance by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have to watch junk food, carby foods and alcohol consumption or I will surely see a gain.

I couldn't handle alcohol before surgery and I know I definitely won't be able to handle it now! Congratulations on 9 weeks!

Hello. Well, I never thought I'd get to the 8wk post-op point, but tomorrow will be 9wks post-op! I am now finally able to eat pretty much anything I want, although I've been taking it easy with every thing especially raw foods, i.e., salads, raw veggies. I will incorporate more salads this week. I've also tried to stay as vegetarian/vegan as possible, although I have had a couple bits of salmon and chicken. I'm not vegetarian for animal rights purposes, although I totally support it, I want to be vegan for health purposes. I am finding it difficult to be vegan but I just need to dedicate time to it and make dishes ahead of time so I have some good food to eat when I need to eat. What is it they say about preparation....?. Time has not been plentiful recently, but I need to stir some up! When my head hunger is stronger than my new sleeved tummy hunger is when I overdo it a bit and, yes, I've been nauseous many times. Haven't thrown up in a while, but came close. You just can't put much food in a little tummy and be comfortable. It just doesn't work. It is so strange to go to a restaurant and order a meal and take 3/4 of the meal home with me, or order an appetizer and even share it and be satisfied. Prior to my sleeve, I would have ordered a couple appetizers a meal and would have been thinking about the next meal right after. I figure the $ I save on food, will get me an outfit here and there along the weight loss journey. I haven't weighed myself in several days but will do that tomorrow morning and update my ticker. Hopefully it is down a few more lbs. So, I know I'm not suppose to drink alcohol for one year after vsg. Well, I blew that this weekend - and I paid for it all weekend! I was at a Reggae event this past Friday evening that we hosted and the bar had a drink special called a "Catch a Cab". It was a largish shooter of what tasted like a Watermelon Jolly Rancher. They asked me if I wanted to try it and I gave my standard answer..., thanks much but I'm not drinking tonight. Well, i caved under peer pressure and had a sip. I then ordered one (it might have been a total of 1.5oz and I sipped on it for a while. I then got a refill, and then another and another!!! I had 4 of them - a total of 6 oz. I must say, I did not catch much of a buzz, but....I was down and out on the couch not wanting to do anything but drink water both Saturday and Sunday. Needless to say, I won't be drinking any time soon as I just can't recoup. I don't know if it is because of the sleeve or just that I haven't had anything to drink for several months. I am loving this weight loss and looking forward to more of it! One Love.