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not at goal yet. first 20lbs pretty much flew off but after that i had to work my butt off lol. work out 3 to 5 days a week. always do cardio and then some weights. try not to eat sugar, carbs, caffeine or alcohol. i cheat a little here and there but mostly i stay on track. can't over eat cuz....well cuz i can't so that's good lol. original goal weight was 160 but now i'm thinking of going to 150 or even 140. i'm in a loose 12 right now. would like to see what it's like to be in single digit size! good luck everyone. SW: 232 CW: 165 Goal: Not sure!

Rubbing alcohol did it for me. There is another thread somewhere on this same topic and there were many other suggestions as well. Good luck!

I worked at it for a few days. I soaped up in the shower and gently rubbed the adhesive with a washcloth. I also used some alcohol swabs. It took me a few days of doing this before i got it all off.

Those of us who are banded have admitted that food has been a problem or an addiction. For me, food was my drug of choice. I had someone tell me once that an alcoholic craves liquid sugar and a food addict craves solid sugar. Makes sense to me. You have taken a hugh step, and should be extremely proud of yourself. I am finding that changing my mindset to food is harder than sticking to the band rules. It's something I constantly have to work on. This forum offers so much hope, real life feelings, experiences, that it will guide you through. My doctor's office offers counseling for anyone that needs that extra help in controlling those feelings of no control. It would be wise to seek out help. You will be successful. You have taken the first hugh step to a healthy life. Now, for the next steps... I'll be praying for you. God Bless You!!:bored:

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.)

Copied from Allergan: Your surgeon may consider whether the LAP-BAND ® is right for you if your BMI is at least 35 and you have a health problem that is related to obesity. Your surgeon may also have other criteria he or she uses. Ask him or her to discuss the criteria with you. Contra-indications The LAP-BAND ® System is not right for you if: You have an inflammatory disease or condition of the gastrointestinal tract, such as ulcers, severe esophagitis, or Crohns disease. You have severe heart or lung disease that makes you a poor candidate for surgery. *You have some other disease that makes you a poor candidate for surgery. You have a problem that could cause bleeding in the esophagus or stomach. That might include esophageal or gastric varices (a dilated vein). It might also be something such as congenital or acquired intestinal telangiectasia (dilation of a small blood vessel). You have portal hypertension. Your esophagus, stomach, or intestine is not normal (congenital or acquired). For instance you might have a narrowed opening. You have/experienced an intra-operative gastric injury, such as a gastric perforation at or near the location of the intended band placement. You have cirrhosis. You have chronic pancreatitis. You are pregnant. (If you become pregnant after the LAP-BAND ® System has been placed, the band may need to be deflated. The same is true if you need more nutrition for any other reason, such as becoming seriously ill. In rare cases, removal may be needed.) You are addicted to alcohol or drugs. You are under 18 years of age. You have an infection anywhere in your body or one that could contaminate the surgical area. *You are on chronic, long-term steroid treatment. You cannot or do not want to follow the dietary rules that come with this procedure. You might be allergic to materials in the device. You cannot tolerate pain from an implanted device. *You or someone in your family has an autoimmune connective tissue disease. That might be a disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus or scleroderma. The same is true if you have symptoms of one of these diseases. I put * on the potentially applicable contraindications. Talk to your rheumatologist about this, please. Best of luck!

Thank you for bringing up the word addiction. It's not just head games, head hunger, or getting your shit together. For some it is an addiction. ~this is my personal opinion, take what you like, leave the rest, I'm not pushing my thoughts on anyone, just sharing my experience~ I heard someone once say "I could have just as easily become an alcoholic, but I was mugged by Sara Lee and the Pilsbury dough boy before I was old enough to be seduced by the Jose Cuervo and Jack Daniel's." - Anonymous My dad and a few others in my family have struggled with substance abuse with drugs and alcohol. I am the only fat one. I feel that I chose food to cope. I saw what drugs and alcohol did to my family and thought I would never be like that. Then facing 300 pounds, one day I realized that I had simply chosen a different drug. A more socially acceptable drug.:hungry: Sometimes I think it would be easier to be an alcoholic, you just STOP drinking all together, stop going to bars, stop hanging out with drunks. You cant stop eating, stop going to the grocery store, stop going out to eat, stop being around food. When I hit 280 I considered gastric bypass, at that seminar, I realized the problem is in my head and not my stomach. At that point I joined OA (overeaters anonymous) and over the next two years, I worked the program and lost 90 pounds. The obsession had been lifted. I started changing my life and dealing with old shit and the weight fell off. Then last year I got married, graduated and lost my job. It was a lot to handle, I stopped working the program and gained back 80 pounds in a year.:whoo: Last April my Dr. Suggested the bypass again, I decided on the band. I figured that with all of my knowledge of working the steps in OA that had helped so many other drunks/foodies the band would be one extra tool in my tool belt. I know it will be hard. I have to do the foot work and USE my tools. I got myself into this mess, and now with help I can get myself out. I am looking forward to my journey with the band. I also plan on going back to OA and working the program again. My addiction/disease will always be there. I simply need to change the way I handle and give in to this disease. Thank you for letting me share my experience. I Assume that the band will help me if I use it. This thread has been very insightful and helpful! I'm on this site daily soaking up as much persepective and experience as I can. Sorry this went on so long.

I haven't had one yet and I'm 3 months out. Talk with your surgeon. I believe alcohol can be irritating to a new sleeve.

I was actually told that they had found that band patients who do drink alcohol (in moderation) lost more weight than the others. He said that I still needed to be aware of the calories, but a couple of glasses a wine a night for instance would do no harm.

Saturday, July 11, 2009 Evidence of God's Sense of Humor--ADHD The connection between ADHD and compulsive eating is something I've been noticing in myself for some time. I've never actually read a study directly connecting them, but ADHD in women is known to cause depression and low self-esteem since it often affects our ability to keep up with things that are automatically expected of women--like neat, clean houses, organized schedules (for the whole family), doing all the shopping, following recipes, etc. We spend a lot of time trying to be good at things we're not good at, and trying to fit the mold (which nobody really does-but we don't even come close.) Eating has always helped me concentrate and focus and sit still. Maybe there is a study out there that shows a relationship. I found one article that mentioned it but I mislaid it. LOL. One of the strongest markers of ADHD in women is disorganization and an inability to stay on task. (Although some people actually overcompensate and become rigidly organized because otherwise the world is too overwhelming.) ADHD people tend to be more right-brained and creative. I read Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Effective People 2 or 3 times, attended training in 7 Habits of Effective Organizations, andhad a Covey/Franklin Dayplanner, which I was continually searching for and forgetting to write stuff in. I can tell you what people need to do to act organized and I can fool people into thinking that I am organized (temporarily) but it didn't change the way I was made. I make lists and lose them. I go to the store with a list, check things off, and still come home without something on the list. I don't do recipes with more than 3 ingredients. I cook by the seat of my pants. I've come up with many compensating techniques that have helped me survive. Food, especially chocolate, is one of them. Chocolate, of course, is full of caffeine. People with ADHD frequently self-medicate with caffeine. They are also more prone to self-medicate with alcohol, tobacco, and certain drugs. So why shouldn't food be one of the "drugs?" Chocolate is also known to produce seratonin in the brain and therefore is a natural antidepressant. Like we need one more excuse to eat it. But food and chocolate helped me survive. I think I should be grateful for them even though I now have to move past them. The high protein low carb nature of the food recommedations for bandsters works very well with my ADHD. I'm supposed to pick protein first and then veggies and fruit and if there's still room I can have a little bit of of carbs like potatoes, noodles, rice, etc. I keep Atkins high protein shakes on hand if I don't feel like cooking or if I feel like my stomach really doesn't want solid protein right now which, first thing in the morning, it tends to reject. My stomach definitely does the weighing and measuring for me on the protein, especially if I don't drink for 30 minutes before, or during, or for 30 minutes after the meal. I am quickly full and have little room for anything else. I put a variety of proteins in my home so I don't get bored with my food choices. I'm not a huge veggie and fruit eater but I have V8 and diet V8 Splash as part of my 64 oz of liquid and I get my dairy in my two 20 oz. iced decaf lattes with 1% milk and Splenda. I sip one all morning and one all afternoon, and the milk seems to keep me from getting hungry. I have a very skinny straw that only allows me to sip, so I'm not gulping my liquids or finishing them fast. I have sugar free low-fat pudding snacks for at night if I'm hungry, and low-fat Mexican cheeze to make the proteins taste better. These help toward my dairy, too. I don't make potatoes, rice, or noodles and so am not tempted. If I'm eating somewhere other than at home I may allow myself a little--after I've eaten protein. I may try a taste of this or that treat at a party, just to not feel deprived but then I go into another room away from the food and stay there. This is actually a pretty simple diet. It doesn't involve any planning or writing down my food. It doesn't involve weighing or measuring portions. It works with my ADHD instead of against it and I'm not walking around feeling guilty for not being able to do all those other techniques just like I was not able to use a planner. I'm walking at least 45 minutes a day which helps control my ADHD as well as my appetite. At night I write my blog which is really helping me to not eat at a time when I used to eat treats non-stop. It's also helping me to explore the reasons I eat. Putting it down on paper is really helping me deal with and eliminate the cravings. Writing has always been a way to get what's stuck inside me, ideas, feelings, etc. out where I can deal with them. I've said before that ideas flow out my fingers like confetti when I'm composing. Its like my creative, feeling, flight of ideas right brain cooperates instead of fights with my language centered, logical left brain to create amazingly (to me) well-written organized articles. I'm learning to love this crazy complex lady who alternates between being a ditz and being competent, sticking my foot in my mouth and moving people to tears, letting myself be controlled by other people and overcontrolling others, hubris and self-contempt. It is so amazing that God loves me, that he gave me the the gift of ADHD with all its attendant problems and joys. He also gives me the tools to survive and even thrive. ADHD people are frequently huge brainstormers and creative problem solvers. We are the best solvers of the problems our ADHD creates. Such irony. God has a sense of humor.

Hi I'm new to this site! 5 weeks today that I had the sleeve. I want to sip a glass of wine, but am afraid it is too early. How long did you wait post op before having any alcohol?

I'm on day 8 of my pre-op, and I feel ya. I'm hungry toooo.....BUT, to remind me I look at my dreaded fat pic, and vision myself skinny! I not only had to give up food, but also my alcohol, I love my red wine! I'm doing this and so will you! Good Luck, you have an entire world of support here.

So, I just had Lap Band surgery on February 21, I'm still on a full liquid diet that I've been doing a good job of following strictly. while I was still in the hospital, I had an and, um, shit my pants/hospital bed. I was on Clear Liquids and had actually just started taking anything other than ice chips by mouth that evening--it was my second of 2 nights in the hospital (I spent 2 nights in the hospital because my IV wasn't working the first day and I was behind on fluids). When I got home on day 3, I continued to have diahrrea for the next 12-24 hours, but since then i've been pretty much "regular" I started on a full liquid diet the day I got home from the hospital as my doctor had advised me. I have been strict about it with no real changes to what I'm consuming. This morning, I made a smoothie with Protein Powder, unsweetened soymilk, cocoa powder, about 1/4 of a banana, a tablespoon of Peanut Butter, and the last little bit of a low carb slim fast (like less than 1/4 cup's worth). I have made this exact same smoothie before, but never put the slim fast in before--I just put it in because I had a little leftover from Monday and didn't want it to go to waste. but so about an hour or so after I finished it (it probably took me like 45 minutes to finish it since it ended up being a little bigger than 1/2 cup), I once again shit my pants (for the first time since the hospital and it was the first time i had had diarrhea since that first day I was home from the hospital. So I'm wondering if anyone has experienced this--I don't normally have accidents like that when I didn't just have surgery, I'm 26 and in very good health--I'm not sure if this is just some kind of fluke, or if it's something I ate or did wrong. The night before I had Soup for dinner and mixed in a little bit of greek yogurt (for protien and also because I like it). The only other thing I can think of is that the slim fast has sugar alcohols in it, which maybe could have caused this. anyway, I will bring it up with my doctor if it happens again, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any feedback

Naw I’m an alcoholic.. I’m an idiot.. yes I can wait 6 weeks I can wait a year I can wait 2 years i simply asked a question to see if anyone did it I’m so sorry that i offended anyone this app is the stupidest thing

I was told alcohol needs to wait until at least 6 months for any type of alcohol but to play it VERY safe because you will get drunk/tipsy SOOOO much easier than you did before. When you drink the first time drink a few sips and wait a bit, do it at home and do it while someone is there with you in case you react poorly to it. Just be really really careful, I'm a revision from a sleeve and I didn't think it would affect me THAT much more than before but I was very very wrong. You should be fine to start adding wine into your diet now though..

I have been at this weight for about 2 months. My problem is liquid calories. I drink too much alcohol. I don't need a fill. I am going on vacation in 2 weeks and I go for a slight unfill next week. Once I return, I immediately am going to go back in to get me to 3.0 ccs again. How do you recommit yourself when you are close to goal? My goal is to only have a couple drinks a week after vacation. What are your thoughts?

I am looking into getting the surgery done but i just have a few questions. If you were to have the surgery are you allowed to drink alcohol after the surgery?

I am looking into getting the surgery done but i just have a few questions. If you were to have the surgery are you allowed to drink alcohol after the surgery?

Before you have gastric bypass they warn you of a few things. 1. You can gain the weight back 2. Alcoholism is a possible side effect after surgery 3. food that used to fill you up or make you sick won't do that as much after awhile 4. Smoking cigarettes causes ulcers post-op My mom always says no matter how much I'm warned - I've always had to learn every lesson the hard way. Gastric bypass was that way too. My story is just a warning for all you newbies out there - all the stuff they warn you about is real. Hey, I'm Kaylee and I had my surgery when I was 20 years old on June 11, 2012. I was 280lbs. In less than 8 months I got down to 150 lbs, 130lbs lost. For the first 9 months I was insanely strict. If it wasn't a lean Protein or a non-starchy vegetable I wouldn't eat it. Couldn't pay me to eat a carb. While this is good health wise and I'm sure made my surgical team sing - it was the start of my inevitable failure. I was so strict that after awhile all the foods I had denied myself even a nibble of became so enticing I felt ravenous. My first screw up was picking up smoking again almost a year after I quit. Pure stupidity, I was just bored and thought I could do it socially, wrong. Got ulcers and have had them for over a year and a half. Without acid reducer pills I'm in a lot of pain. Breaking that golden rule led me to break other rules because hey, I already screwed up right? I started having those forbidden foods I had not allowed myself to even look at for such a long time. Bites turned into mouth fulls turned into plate fulls. Then came introducing wine back into my life. I suffer from depression and when you don't have to put effort into getting drunk anymore it is so appealing. I fought depression with wine and started drinking every single night - going through a box of wine every 3 days or so. I then moved from sunny south Florida, away from all my friends, to cold Missouri in the middle of January 2014. I fell into a deep depression and my drinking got worse, and since I was waiting for all my stuff to arrive in the moving truck I lived off hot pockets, bagels, pretty much anything I could toss in a microwave or toaster. I ate crap, drank daily and smoked like a chimney for pretty much the entire year of 2014, all the while pretending my scale didn't exist and convincing myself my clothes were shrinking and I wasn't getting bigger. I was too ashamed and terrified to look at the scale. I finally got up the courage to face what I had done to myself the start of January 2015 and got on the scale. 204lbs. In the span of one year I had gained 54lbs. I felt disgusted with myself and cried for days and days and beat myself up emotionally. I failed everyone, especially myself. But nothing good comes from beating yourself up over what you cannot take back. I can't take back living on bagels and wine for an entire year. What I can do is fight to get back to 150lbs though. So on January 12 I quit smoking, quit drinking every day and have reduced it to just Saturday's with my boyfriend at home versus my downtown-bad-habit-factory, and have gotten close to back to basics but allow myself some freedom - for example for lunch on days I work out I let myself have my chicken and veggies inside a wrap [carbs are my crack] instead of depriving myself of anything I want. I want very badly to get back down to 150lbs... I'm terrified I never will and have somehow ruined this "one and only chance" I've made up in my head. Like I had this wonderful gift of being thin and now that I messed it up I'll never get it back, but I know that type of thinking won't help me. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully someday get back to it. If you've actually made it this far, thank you, I really needed to get this horrible guilt off my chest. I feel like an absolute failure but getting it out helps. So advice to all you n00bs: 1. Yes you can gain it back, I'm an example. 2. Becoming an alcoholic is a real risk you need to watch out for post op. 3. You will be surprised how much food you can get into your body if you really try 4. If you quit smoking never pick it up again, I didn't even have a desire to smoke and managed to become a pack a day smoker again within a month. Not even one after you quit. And most of all - NEVER EVER stop using your scale. I ignored what I was doing for so long and that's how I ended up gaining the amount I did. If I had just looked a couple months before and saw 175lbs I would've done what I'm doing now back then. I would have never let it get this bad if I had just swallowed my pride and looked. I'm lucky that I caught myself when I did because I was headed towards being morbidly obese again. Good luck to you all - try not to make all the mistakes I did. Here's to hoping I can look like this again

So today has been a rough day and we haven't even hit 1 PM yet. This morning, instead of having my normal 3 turkey sausage links for Breakfast (100 cal, 13 gm protein) I decided to have a ham, egg and cheese croissant with only 1/2 the croissant from our local donut shop. I have done well lately and have been seeing the scale move which has made me really happy. I have been craving one of these croissants which I haven't had since before surgery so I figured this morning I would stop and get one and then do REALLY good for the rest of the day. I don't mean skipping meals, just getting the most out of what I would eat for the rest of the day. Anyway, things got hectic at work and I didn't get in a morning snack, by 11 I was so stinkin hungry and with no end in site for lunch I grabbed what was easiest and closest, 1/2 a donut... and then the other half. I haven't eaten a donut since well before surgery. Then the boss went out and bought hamburgers and fries from Burger King for lunch. I ate mine with only half the bun, and only one fry but still, not my good planned lunch that I was counting on. He also bought me a chocolate shake and I can't remember how long its been since I had one of those. One drink of it and I knew if I kept going I would feel bad because of all the sugar. It went down the drain. I haven't had a drink out of a straw since surgery and I even drank the drink of the chocolate shake through the stupid straw. I know better. I know better than all of it. I'm disappointed in myself that I let myself fall off the wagon like I did. I'm a food-a-holic, I have to watch myself just like an alcoholic does. I feel like I have failed miserably today. I also feel like I missed the good feeling of the "drunk" and went straight to the hungover feeling. None of what I ate made me feel better. In fact I kinda feel gross right now. I know it is a lesson in learning. I've been really proud of myself with how well I have done over the past 5 months. I thought I was getting to the point where battling these food demons was getting to be second nature and it wasn't so hard anymore. I don't want to do anything to screw this up. I don't want to start gaining back what I've lost... I've worked too hard. Nothing about this journey has been easy but I have been living it. I've been making it and making it work for me. I just feel really defeated. I told my sister about all of this (she is in the process of getting approval for the sleeve) and told her that tomorrow would be better. I can't wait until tomorrow, starting from this minute the rest of today has to be better. Sorry for the vent/whine. Praying for a better rest of today and for better decision making...

It's easy for alcohol to creep up on you both physically and calorie/sugar wise. My NUT said to do a small amount of vodka with crystal lite or something since juices have added sugar, soda has carbonation, etc. But it can cause dehydration, fluid retention and make you feel icky the next day which could stall weight loss. However, everybody is different! And some is much better at handling foods/drinks than others. Just be cautious - many people can't hold nearly as much as they used to.

Hi kate... I know exactly what you're saying, I have read a lot into nutrition and I measure everything, I track it all on myfitnesspal, I have a fitbit, I use a heart rate monitor etc I think for me, I need to sit down with a nutritionist and work this out. I should probably also cut out the alcohol more so. For example today I have had: Breakfast: Blueberry fruyo yoghurt from fage Midmorning snack: 1 x wholegrain organic rice cake thin kallo with 1 tsp of whole earth organic nut butter Lunch: butternut squash roasted with apple, red grapes, onion and 150g of pork sausage Dinner: 90g steamed salmon with spinach Total, 780 cals, 58g protein 59g carb Yesterday I had: Breakfast: 1/2cup of eat natural gluten free vine cereal and 200ml alpro almond milk Mid morning snack: 1 x boiled egg and 2 x kallo rice cake thins Lunch: homemaid thai chicken skewer Afternoon snack: 10 carrot sticks and 2tbsp of humous Dinner: 90g steamed spinach, steamed rainbow veg ad 1tbsp of fresh pesto, 1 fruyo cherry yoghurt for dessert Total: 1,071 cals, 72 carb 91 protein These are pretty similar, my myfitnesspal is littlemissmo83. There are days I don't track, so maybe I need to be super diligent in the week to assess. How many cals do you aim for? My bmr is currently 1,556 cals at present. Thanks again for your inputs! I know it's boring, but stalls are so frustrating! Soundlogik, I would definitely book yourself in for a fill if you feel it's necessary. It does make a difference, for sure!

Sorry, he's right. The Band won't follow the Bander rules for you, keep you from putting the wrong things in your mouth, or keep you from eating too much...only you can do those things and you'll have to in order to lose the weight. It takes a great deal of committment. The only thing the Band will do for you is help take the hunger away between meals. BTW-I started out with a similar BMI and although I've been very successful and committed to many diets in the past, this WL has required even more committment. It was easier for me to follow a diet plan and only eat certain foods...it's much harder to make an entire lifestyle change where no food is off limits...and even harder to have to finally deal with the head hunger and food issues that got me fat to begin with. For me, any WL surgery is like an alcoholic hitting bottom...you have to be ready and committed to make the changes or you'll fail. I'd be asking myself how ready am I to do what it takes? Good luck on your decision...if you decide to do this, we're all here for you and will help you through! -BG

I had to take a few short written assessments. One was questions related to whether I understood what the surgery entailed and it's possible complications; one was about alcohol; one was about eating disorders. My appointment was only about 30 minutes.

Who says you have to eat/drink when out socializing? Chances are, no one's paying attention to the food/alcohol you're consuming - it's more about the atmosphere, friends, conversation, jokes, etc. Sip away on water and just enjoy the camaraderie! I'll admit, I was anxious heading to a party last night at a wine bar...but my ice water was just fine and I enjoyed catching up with people I hadn't seen in awhile! My boyfriend later asked me what food they served and, honestly, I had to answer "I dunno...I think I saw some cheese?" I'm still on the "full liquid" stage so I steered clear of the hors d'oeuvre table completely!