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No don't have to use a specific type/brand really...just a lowcarb one.. but they didn't say that you could use a whey protein powder though...they just named the ready to drink ones.. they named the EAS, ATKINS, Slim-Fast, and maybe Isopure or something maybe.. I can't remember.. I'll prolly just get the other ones from amazon...those expired ones kinda scare me! OMG I had that 3 hour class today..the last half hour was exercising.. I'm exhausted.. unfortunately I haven't exercised in like 3 years.. but it felt good! I definitely had more energy the rest of the day. Otay.. does anyone know.. this liquid 2 week diet thing.. am I supposed to not have alcohol for these whole 2 weeks.. I know I should prolly just ask the nurse but does anyone know??

I'm 2 years into my journey, and recognize everything that everyone's saying. Before the surgery, I would think about food all the time - every day. Even now, I still miss the freedom that I had, I sometimes still order what I used to - then can't really get past a few bites. If it makes you feel any better, I found that since I wasn't hungry all the time, I turned into one of those people who actually FORGET TO EAT!!! There's no way I ever thought that would happen to me, but now when I'm busy, the time just passes and the busier I am, the more weight I lose. This band isn't a silver bullet, but it is a very useful tool that you can use to break your addiction. Alcoholics don't have a Lap Band for drinking, but thankfully - it's helpful for us Food Addicts.

I think it is caused by being in ketosis which is a great news for your weight loss. I think they have some mouth washes that help with dry mouth (nothing with alcohol in it) and you could try some sugar free breath mints to suck on and just keep sipping on the water.

I def think doing the "head work" is almost as important as the controlling the eating. I was always so proud that I stayed away from alcohol and drugs after growing up w/ an alcoholic father. However, I now realize that my addiction became food. I had a year of therapy before the surgery and now continue w/ it 2x a month. It is a big help and continues to be helpful. Hang in there and it does get better....

Hi Gang! My internet service went down last night......then I have been at the nursing home taking care of my mom. I hope to get preferred living set up for her by Monday, but if she needs to stay in the nursing home my mother is prepared to pay for it. Those falls and the wrist fracture has scared her into accepting assistance. I had to get out her size 8 clothes to fit over the cast. Therapy is really helping her to clear her mind. Sandy, does you dad have Meals on Wheels available to him? They are inexpensive. I have volunteered to deliver them in our city. He may have to get on a waiting list, but it would take some stress off of you. Also if he does not drive he should qualify for home health and therapy for his arm. I can't believe his doctor did not order it. Medicare pays for those benefits. Sorry your parents were not loving. My mother had enough love for her and my dad. My dad loved us, but being an alcoholic he wasn't there for us. Eva and Apples......wish I was there to chime in on the conversation. Sounds like a lot of fun. Lori.....BooHoo!!! ......no Hawaii for the 4th time this year.......you go ahead and whine. I am sure you will go sometime this year. Sounds like a cool support group. Bath and Body.....Woohoo! What was the fragrance? I am hooked on Japanese Cherry Blossom. My pup hates it. He sniffs at me like I bathed in Skunk....lol. Joyce, I haven't been to the Grand Cayman, but I would love to go one day. How long will you be gone? I know what you mean about our bodies crapping out. This cold weather has made me so stiff. Oh, I would do the same thing on the snow thing. If we had snow hell would freeze over before my kids would offer to help. Well, my sons don't live close enough to help, but that is not their thing. If it is computer related they are all over it. I am not on the train today.....just points. Later!

Because hunger is not the only thing that makes you eat. People eat because they are bored, lonely, depressed, upset, stressed - and ghrelin has nothing to do with those feelings. That stuff is all in your head. I believe this is partially why we get the psych evaluation... I am 10 weeks out and I do feel the restriction and it is a major tool. But in all honesty, I for example love nuts - and seriously, there is little to no restriction on nuts and I can easily eat ounce after ounce (with 1 oz. having almost 200 calories). So, if I don't control this, I can easily eat an additional 600 calories - 3 ounces of nuts are not a lot. You can also drink an almost unlimited amount, so milk shakes, juices, soda and certainly alcohol go into you like you are not sleeved.

I was told not to drink alcohol until i was at least 3 months out. . .you being out only at 6 weeks I can't answer that question for you, you must make that decision. . however you could have juice resembling the same color as wine in a wine glass and make the best of it. . . just a thought. . . happy birthday to you though!!!

Sip slowly and you will be fine! Alcohol hasn't been a big deal for me with my sleeve.

I completely agree with you! I realize now that my addiction to food isn't unlike people who are addicted to cigarettes, alcohol or drugs. There are certain foods that I have decided that I just need to not eat anymore...some people who are banded can eat bread and pasta, some can't due to restriction...I can't because they are addictive substances to me. I told my husband the other day that, for me, giving me a slice of bread is like giving a drink to an alcoholic. I haven't had any bread or pasta since I started my pre-op diet in November and I really don't miss them anymore (my NUT says I have detoxed my body and that is why I don't crave them as much). All I can say is I am so much happier now that I am starting to feel more in control as far as food goes.

Caught up again. Whew! Such prolific writers. Feel like my cold is letting up. It never got bad. Just felt weighed down and draggy and medicine made me loggy. Maltitol and other sugar alcohols can cause gas. Wish more high Protein low carb products used splenda. Hadn't had an Atkins shake for a few days. Had one this afternoon and had terrible gas a few hours later. Sometimes it hits me, sometimes it doesn't. TMI LOL. Watching It's Complicated. Love Merrill Streep. Gonna get to it now. Cheri

Well here goes. I am a recovering alcoholic 16 months sober. I had my band put in 3 1/2 years ago. At first all was well then I got to tight. I started drinking HEAVLY one of the few things that went down just fine. If I was not drinking alcohol I was eating Cookies and drinking no fat mocha lattes. I lived like this for about 1 1/2 years. Now and again I would keep down some Protein, but was more interested in loosing weight, which I was. I lost 70 lbs. and felt bullet proof cookies, ice-cream lattes bring it on! Sept. 10, 2009 I went to rehab to detox from xanax & alcohol. I never told my weight loss Dr any of this. The throwing up continued to the point soft food was all I could eat. I finally came clean after finding out I have an ulcer, dilated pouch and dilated esophagus. I have a 4 cc band they removed most of my Fluid now at 1.1 cc's still in pain. To make a long story short YES addiction does run in families. I hope this helps someone to not take the path i did. I am now digging myself out of the pit i fell in.

Do those shakes contain sugar alcohols? They will cause the poos. I love love love Unjury protein powder. I look forward to my shakes!

Wow, green chili and alcohol. You have a very lenient doctor. Im still on soft mushies at 3 weeks out!

I know I don't need to drink and I plan on making good choices. I just know it will be a little bit hard when everyone else is drinking and eating and I'm sorta sitting there. I was told carbonated drinks are out and the only carbonated drink I have is beer....so non-alcoholic beer won't work. I was also told that you cannot gulp water...that you have to sip and you cannot use a straw? This is from NUT clases. The most important thing to me is that I am successful with this band. I am not happy or healthy being obese and able to eat/drink everything so I am going to have to make lots of changes. I appreciate the suggestion for drinking the protein drink, etc. My life will be changing in so many ways. :-) It's all good! Thanks for all of your replies!

So one week ago today I had my plication done in Tijuana with Doctor Corvala. Excellent experience. I was quite ill that night and the next day but I am 54 years old and I think we take a little longer to recover, the older we get. I came home on Friday and am starting mushy foods. I eat tomato Soup and I had some potato mashed up last night. The thing I am realizing is that while this surgery constrains quantities, the choices I make are still mine and my calories can either be highly dense and purposeful or sugar and crap. There are still a lot of choices to be made and a lot of effort needs to go into this to make it work. I have noticed one effect though right away and wonder if anyone else has noticed this. I have way more energy suddenly than I've had in years! Before surgery I usually slept 10 hours a night and after dinner was too tired to move. Now I am zipping around the house in the evening and I went to bed at 10 last night and woke up "Refreshed" at 6:00 AM!!! The only thing I can figure out is that perhaps I was exhausting myself with the amounts of food my body had to digest. Any ideas? Also having no alcohol is helping I am sure. Anyway I am not on the scale, have no idea what my weight is but I know with walking and smart food choices I can make this work and I think it's the best thing I EVER did.

14 days post-op I was eating green chili and drinking alcohol. I couldn't even imagine throwing up though, that must have hurt like hell. Just stick to what your doctor and body are telling you.

Why can't you have alcohol. I am only 12 weeks banded but I have had alcohol twice (a friend's birthday party and New Years Eve) with no problems. You just have to be accountable for the calories and make choices about what you are willing to do (either accept the weight gain or work it off). No whining if you don't lose weight the week you chose to drink alcohol.

I would water it down. One of the things they told us in the preop class I went to was that alcohol is absorbed much quicker, so a 1/2 glass is like a couple of glasses previously as far as affect.

Great posts Spartan! Thanks for taking time to give me your advice. I do my work out on the total gym so it is not cardio. I do workout every night about 1 to 1½ hours but it is all on the total gym not cardio. I have some DVD's that I am going to get started on this week. They are all cardio, I think that will help me greatly. I do not drink milk my Surgeon recommended that I stayed away from it, no problem as I do not like it anyway. I do eat Carbwise yogurt though. My downfall is vegetables I can barely stand any of them except the ones that are not good for you.. I have thought about getting a juicer and eat my protien and drink my veggies and they would be fresh that way. Would that work? I am not worried about hunger as I lost my hunger months ago except head hunger at night. I know I do not need a fill as I had to have a small unfill several month ago after being too tight for about 6 month. It did not change much except all of my food stays down now. I am going to really try to add more veggies and do some cardio and I may have my answer. I do not drink any alcohol nor have I for about 25 years. I also try to stay away from cheese and nuts. I know everyone eats them but my surgeon told me not to as they will hinder weightloss in some people and I do not miss those 2 things. Thanks so much for you help. I will let you know when those pounds start dropping. I think the cardio is really going to work. Such a simple answer! Cheri

I understand your dilema. I have a weekly girls outing at the local bar for open mic night and a variety of fried food chicken wings, cat fish, french fries, onion rings, etc. I was never a heavy drinker so I would always order a pepsi, well now I can't do that. It took some adjusting but you can do it. The best thing is to eat before you go, or at least have a protein shake. That will stop you from being hungry and will curb your desire to munch. Having never liked beer, i can't tell you what a good substitution is, but you can always add a shaker to your water bottle for a little extra taste.have fruit juice or some other type of drink to get you by. I often order cranberry juice at the bar so it looks like i have a coctail when I really don't and the juice is good for you anyway in moderation. The reason they say not to drink is you have less food in your stomach, and your stomach is smaller, so you will absorb the alcohol much faster and once you're tipsy/drunk you will make poor decisions including what to eat. I've learned each doctor's recommendations are different so follow your doctor's advice.

Crod; A few things come to mind. First, congrats on your success. MANY Band Patients do not make it to those last 15. You have done very, very well. First, you said you exercise, but you did not specify what KIND of exercise you do. In a later post you agreed that you should start doing cardio. If you have not been doing much or any cardio up to this point, then you really have not been working out. Cardio is KEY to losing weight. You should spend most of the hour you dedicate to exercise on cardio, with your pulse in the correct range. That might be all you need to shed those pounds. Also, you said that you ate correctly %99 percent of the time, but you did not specify what exactly that means. To many people on this forum, "eating correctly" means having only ONE Snickers instead of 3. I have stated many times on this forum that it is the constant, small decisions we make in what we eat that will determine whether or not we are totally successful. I seem to continually get into arguments here with people on the subject of alcohol. I won't open that debate here, but in fact those couple of glasses of wine that many people have at dinner or bedtime might be inhibiting their weight loss. I saw a post recently where one member (LeighaMason, I believe) had difficulty losing her last 10 or 15 pounds. When she cut out her glass of wine, the weight came off. It is NOT always a matter of Calories in/calories burned…..different types of food have different effects on your METABOLISM. Alcohol is one of them. I am not suggesting that this is your problem, but I would encourage you to take a serious look at what you are consuming. Culturally, we are very conditioned to think that certain things are "good" for us, when in fact they are ONLY good for the people who SELL them. Milk, for instance, is one of those foods. We are the only creatures on earth who continue to consume milk after we have been weaned from our Mothers, and with all of the hormones and drugs that the dairy animals are given to promote growth (and profits), there is a good possibility the Milk we consume can be, in fact be having a detrimental effect on us. Most of the positive nutrients in Milk are destroyed during the homogenization process, so you're not getting much nutrition from your Milk, but you ARE getting some fat, calories, and other things that are NOT desirable. You can get all the Calcium you need from a small serving of vegetables. So, I would encourage to you take a close look at what you are eating. There might be some things that you can change that will make a difference. You have done very well, so you must be eating fairly well. I suspect, though, that adding in as much cardio as possible in the exercise program will be of great benefit, in a number of ways. Cardio is tough to get going on, but after you have done it for a while, you will begin to look forward to it. Best of luck; keep us posted! S.

There is always non-alcoholic beer! The weight loss is really more important, but you are a grown up and your priorities are your own.

Lori/Great -- you DD's MIL is simply a control freak and is being ridiculous. You should e-mail her and tell her neither you or your DD are the hostesses and you do not feel you have the right to ask the hostess to change the date/place. Tell her she is welcome to attend, but if she must send her regrets, YOU will forgive her. What is wrong with people??? I feel so sorry for your DD to have to put up with this woman. Is she an alcoholic or a drug addict? With people like her you must be very direct and don't beat around the bush - if she can't forgive you /your daughter than that's her problem and her problem only. I know it's tough but you gotta hold your own now or it'll only get worse - especially after the baby is born. Your DD needs to take hold of the lasso and rope this woman into reality. She is the one that's nuts, not your dd. Hugs, Linda

Who said you need to break up with Alcohol? I did not have any alcohol during pre-op and about three weeks after... But that was it!! The hardest part was before... because you feel fine - you are just hungry . Afterwards ( post op ) you will have no desire to drink, or at least I did not. And when I did have a drink in a social setting, I was kind of afraid.. for a couple reasons.. I had dropped a ton of weight in a short time - so how was it gonna effect me and I had not eaten any "real food" so was it gonna get me wasted? Which believe me was not my goal.. But now, as I have become more comfortable with my band ( banded Sept 1 ) I can enjoy the occasional cocktail.. In doing so though I do see a difference in the scale... but I am ok with that. I am a firm believer that you can NOT stop living... however appreciate your band and take care of it and you!! Just think... you will be a cheap date!!! My hubby loves that!! ha ha Good Luck!!

Okay, so dh and I have been known to socialize once a week with our dear friends. We just hang around, talk, watch football games, play board games, listen to great music...the usual. How on earth is this going to fly post-band? I know I can survive not eating the munchies but no drinking at all? I understand I have to break up with beer but do I have to break up with all alcohol? Does it really mess up your weight loss or is it just unhealthy for you (which I know it is). I can survive without it as I'm not addicted or anything but I imagine it is going to be tough sitting there and sipping water. Which brings me to another issue... How can I drink 64 oz of water if I have to only sip it (and NOT from a straw?). I mainly only drink water (except read above...hehehe) so I don't have soda to get over and I don't regularly drink coffee either. When I drink a glass of water I drink it kind of quickly which I hear I can no longer do. These are not deal breaker issues. I'm very anxious to get my surgery and begin my new life. I'm just worried that those certain things will be very hard.