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100 pounds is such a huge number. Heck it's an entire teenager! I began my journey on May 26, 2015 when I skyped with a nutritionist from BariatricPal. She set me on a path and plan for my pre-op diet and with much determination I never looked back. I still have 30 pounds to my goal weight and my plan is to make that by the end of the year. I used Dr Jesus Martin Lopez in Tijuana. My experience with them was sooo amazing. Dr Lopez is a talented surgeon and he is kind and cares about his patients. I have since recommended him multiple times and even traveled with a friend to have her surgery in February. I remember thinking when I had the surgery that I would be happy losing 75 pounds and making it below the 200 mark. Honestly any thoughts of losing 100 pounds or even making it to goal seemed impossible to me at that time. Goal weight seems possible now! Having gastric sleeve was the best tool I could have chosen for my weight loss journey. And please always remember that it is merely a tool. I am 10 months out and now consume between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. My weight loss has slowed to about 5 pounds per month. I have used the last 10 months and the new tool to develop new eating habits.....To change my mind and my attitude about food. If I were consuming the same 1300 calories in cheesecake and hamburgers I would NOT be losing weight. All calories are not created equal! I have not had a coke or Diet Coke in 11 months. Diet cokes were my weakness and much like an alcoholic I had to give them up completely. Probably three times I have had a bite or two of desert. But I have not touched candy bars. Not in the entire time!! My stats: start of pre-op diet 5-26-15; surgery date 6-15-15; high weight 268; age 52; height 5'0"; goal weight 130 pounds.

First, here's my idea of how stress has affected you thus far in regards to your health. PLEASE forgive me if I'm being preachy. When we're under a lot of stress the body naturally goes into Fight or Flight mode. While this would work well if you were being chased by godzilla, stress causes numerous physiological responses. For the most part these are good but if you're under continuous stress the body isn't able to function as well over time. In the fight or flight response, the adrenal glands enlarge and spit out large amounts of adrenal cortical hormones. Cortisol, the name of the hormone, has been scientifically proven to cause weight gain because the body thinks that you're in a stressful situation and you may not get food for a while. So it holds onto every last calorie. Just a side note, when cortisol is released the body stops all healing processes and redirects energy to the vital organs. If you are healing from an injury or SURGERY, you need to be low stress to get better. Overtime, chronically elevated cortisol levels lead to abdominal fat, suppressed immunal function and even chronic fatigue syndrome. sleep plays a major role in stress reduction and weight loss. Grehlin a hormone in your stomach can cause you to feel VERY hungry and sleep deprivation raises levels of grehlin and cortisol. Both are released under stress and fatigue which probably significantly contributed to your weight gain thus far. However, I would think (I'm not a doctor yet, just studying medicine.... My mom's a nutritionist/dietician so I grew up with this stuff!) that with the band it will be easier to control your hunger but you might still have head hunger. For that, I would suggest seeing a therapist and getting some extra help for your mom. Also, if your stress continues to be a problem or you have trouble with being hungry after fills, there are all sorts of herbal remedies for helping with adrenal function. Ask your pcp for more information about what would be best for you. Hope this helps. Best of luck. With love, Sheila P.S. I know it's really tough... my grandparents are VERY resistent to change and caring for my grandfather's cancer and my grandmother's diabetes and alcoholism can be VERY stressful and tiring.

I haven't been banded yet but maybe he doesn't totally understand the whole diet thing? Sure probably everyone on this board has dieted in the past but those were temporary SHORT fixes. What happens?? We fall off the diet wagon cause something tempts us or we get tired of only eating <insert your choice here> Or any of the thousands of other reasons we stop our diets. Then we gain it all back and some more to boot. Its not quite like being a smoker or alcoholic where you can pretty much avoid it. Heavens sake its food we have to have it to live. Unlike most of the diets the band is a long term tool. It doesn't replace anything. You may not be able to eat everything you want to but most can just in WAY SMALLER portions. Its still up to you to eat right though. But its gotta be way easier to recover from a binge or falter of 1 cup of food or less then when not having the band. I know my other half didn't like the idea of surgery. But he's seen what its like in a way. We tend to argue allot somedays because even though he's just barely overweight he can't avoid the candy/sweets even though hes diabetic. And he works at walgreens so he's around it all day long. And he cannot resist the temptation to buy that candy bar or candy. And i'm not there to tell him no. (candy I can avoid my problem is carbs) lol But after having him read more about the band hes now behind me 100% to get it. And is making a better effort to knock off the sweets for himself. And eat better right beside me. Suggest he come here to the boards and read and research with you. Maybe if understands more he will be more supportive.

Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health Expert links additive to cell damage By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Published: 27 May 2007 A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA. The problem - more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse - can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's. The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity in children. Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative used for decades by the £74bn global carbonated drinks industry. Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces. Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive Vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance. A Food Standards Agency survey of benzene in drinks last year found high levels in four brands which were removed from sale. Now, an expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the "power station" of cells known as the mitochondria. He told The Independent on Sunday: "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether. "The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing." The Food Standards Agency (FSA) backs the use of sodium benzoate in the UK and it has been approved by the European Union but last night, MPs called for it to investigate urgently. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat chair of Parliament's all-party environment group said: "Many additives are relatively new and their long-term impact cannot be certain. This preservative clearly needs to be investigated further by the FSA." A review of sodium benzoate by the World Health Organisation in 2000 concluded that it was safe, but it noted that the available science supporting its safety was "limited". Professor Piper, whose work has been funded by a government research council, said tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration were out of date. "The food industry will say these compounds have been tested and they are complete safe," he said. "By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago." He advised parents to think carefully about buying drinks with preservatives until the quantities in products were proved safe by new tests. "My concern is for children who are drinking large amounts," he said. Coca-Cola and Britvic's Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi all contain sodium benzoate. Their makers and the British Soft Drinks Association said they entrusted the safety of additives to the Government. :drum:

DaneQ8@hotmail.com.... I was SO obese that my Tricare standard insurance approved me in under 48 hours. I didn't need comorbidities etc. I was good to go! I'm not 100% up on fatty livers since I didn't realize I had one until my 1st surgery when the doc, on 8/11, couldn't place my band because of mine! I will tell you what I know...visceral fat (around organs, and mostly in our torsos of course) is really hard on us...super obese people store fat there and in the liver. If left unchecked it can lead to liver disease...cirrhosis It is in fact called NALD...or "Non-alcoholic liver disease" I think as the liver becomes more clogged with fat, its function diminishes. I wasn't at that stage (thank god) but did have a large thickened liver. I followed an Atkins type diet but very low cal, too...600 cal a day average, VERY low fat, high proten. I did that for 5 1/2 weeks and lost 32 pounds. Apparently I lost much of that as visceral fat .... that gut fat around my organs and in my liver. On 8/29 my liver had shrunk sufficiently for the doc to move it out of the way and place my band. They did blood work which, I'm sure (although I didn't discuss w/my surgeon) showed elevated liver enzymes, so he knew I had a fatty liver. I had an abdominal ultrasound but that didn't show him how THICK and immovable my liver was...so he didn't know that until he "went in". As motivation to stick to a diet, coming to in recovery and being told "You didn't get the band, dear, your liver was too fat" is right up there at the top of the heap! I cried about 2 seconds and then got determined. SO if you are VERY obese, like me, (more than double what you should weigh) then your approval will be fast. If your doc tells you to follow a preop diet, do it TO THE LETTER! Learn from me! LOL

Tough Love: Alcohol slows lipid oxidation (the burning of fat) by about 75%. So yes, it's likely the alcohol causing your weight gain. And it's probably contributing to your nutritional deficiencies. You should be eating nutritious food, not alcohol. Particularly if you are deficient. DUI is selfish and dangerous. You are extremely lucky that you...or anyone else.... wasn't injured/killed by your poor choices. 3-4 mixed drinks, or a whole bottle of wine a night....is an addiction. I think you're trading one dangerous addiction (food) for an even more dangerous addiction (alcohol). Try to stop drinking for a month. If you can't? Seek help. I don't mean this to sound overly harsh, it sounds like you've been through a lot. But sometimes being kind means being honest....even if the truth hurts a little. Please take care and let us know how you're doing.

Double BINGO. This is a classic co-dependent response. Like some people who are is in a realtionship with someone who is an alcoholic. They are enablers because they don't WANT the person to get well because they are in a SAFE zone as long as the person relies on them and needs them and they enable the very vice that makes the person weak and needy. Your friend is sailing down the river of Denial. Want2beme is DEAD RIGHT. This is TOTALLY NOT about you and I feel rather sorry that your friend is masking her true feelinigs under the pretence of worrying about you "multilating yourself" (NOT). If you feel it is worth it, you can try to sit down with her and explain your feelings. She may very likely balk and deny everything, but at least you gave it a shot...or you can write her a nice long letter when your head is sompletely clear and you have time to put your thoughts in order. Either way, what will be will be.

If I drink alcohol I don't lose weight. And you should know better than to drink anything carbonated. You're just asking for trouble! Have you been going to your doctor regularly? Monthly follow up for the first 2 years is the key to success. Your doctor can't help you if you don't go to him and tell him everything you're experiencing.

I don't think it's about the calories or the stomach stretching as much as it is about the addiction. Diet or Regular I think it's a slippery slope for many of us (not all). I have known several people who went back to "just a sip or two", "I'll limit myself to one can a day" or whatever. It just gradually creeps back up. I was sleeved 5 months ago and still battle with this almost everyday. Especially if I'm eating something I used to always have a Pepsi with (pizza, Chinese). Pepsi was sooo my go to comfort item. Almost daily I have the desire for just one! But I know me-and it might be just one today but it wouldn't take long for that one to become two and so on. I also agree with the write above who said that even drinking diet soda was making her crave more sweets and carbs (that actually has been proven by MANY studies. Everyone has to chose for themselves and maybe it would never be a problem for some (just like not everyone who drinks alcohol becomes an alcoholic), but if it was a problem before surgery-It will most likely be a problem after surgery if you start up again.

I have given up alcohol completely as its empty calories. The aim of the sleeve is weight loss and drinking wont help. It all depends on how serious you are about loosing weight. That's just my opinion but I really don't think you should be drinking that much so soon after surgery regardless of what it is. Good luck with the weight loss.

You seem to have a rather unorthodox doctor? Fills at 1 week post-op are rare if not ever? I'd also recommend you lay off the booze for a few months. Alcohol can lower your inhibitions to food and they also contain empty calories. At a time when you're eating less, the quality of nutrition going in your body is much more important than the buzz from booze. jmo tmf

Re-evaluate your diet. I to have had bad diarrhea and eliminated sugar free pudding and jello and it slowed down quit a bit. I also had problem with milk but I love milk so much that I still try to have some to maybe get used to it again. I talked to my NUT yesterday and she informed me that sugar alcohols in sugar free products will cause diarrhea (as posted earlier in this thread)

My program at Kaiser Richmond CA told us no alcohol ever again. I think their biggest thing against it is it is empty calories and they don't want you to trade one addiction for another. But they also have the no carbonation, no caffeine, no gum, no drinking from straws, no smoking ever rule too. So it really varies from program/doctor.

If you are on a liquid preop diet, drinking will knock you flat. Also, if you are having problems with following instructions before the surgery, are you sure you're ready to face the diet restrictions that will follow the surgery? The preop diet is for shrinking the fat around your liver to minimize complications during surgery. Drinking 8 oz of alcohol is a lot for one evening. Please think hard about what you are doing.

What is the rule about drinking alcohol? I think I read somewhere to wait about 6 months after surgery. Is that correct? In the past I averaged one drink every month during social gatherings. Has your doctor recommended anything to you about this?

Its mornings like today that I still struggle with my addiction to food. Waking up at 5am with the most unbearable pain in my stomach...true HUNGER. I have an honest addiction to food, and I'm aware of this...and have to face my addiction everyday. Its not like you can just walk away from it and never face it again. You have to have food to survive. Sometimes I think it would be easier if I were addicted to drugs or alcohol...where I could chose to not to have these things in my home....out of sight out of mind...but NO my addiction is FOOD and I face my addiction everyday. This is not easy and I pray for strength to get through every day of this process. I'm learning every day new techniques on how to handle this, and break the patterns taught to me as a young child. Learning to express my emotions, as oppossed to supressing them with a overfull stomach. How many of us "eat" out of pure emotional hunger. This morning I chose to "CRY"...full on heart wrenching tears, instead of eating a bowl of icecream. Another episode conquered...one step at a time Christy...YOU CAN DO THIS! Stay focused, 4.5 more weeks of liquids...I can't wait to be back on track and have my band back at my "sweet" spot...I have done this for 18 months, this is a bump in the road. Just gotta pick myself, brush myself off and keep going. Goodness this is a tough morning, I can't wait till the Sun comes up....I could use a walk in the fresh air to clear my mind. Confidence is building even as I write. I CAN DO THIS! This time I have WON!

First I want to say that I am so sorry that you feel you've not had a good experience with your band. Second, I want to say that I am pre-op scheduled for the 17th of this month. Third, I want to say that THIS FORUM has been an AWESOME resource for information, support, stories, inspirations, and has only fueled my anticipation of joining the MANY people who have success stories here. I don't understand how anyone could read the posts on this site and then say they wish they would have read here first or they would have never gotten the band. To me, that makes no sense. I'm not trying to make light of your situation, but I just can't see that. To me, a successful surgery is one I wake up from and with little or no complications. THE REST IS UP TO ME!!!! Only having one fill since having the band put in isn't following what most doctors advise. You have to be completely honest with yourself (I'm just saying in general, not YOU specifically) about your eating, exercise, and following the program as it should be. WLS is not a magic bullet or bean or anything other than a tool to assist you in losing weight. If it's not working, then maybe you aren't working it like you should. Kind of like an alcoholic can quote the 12 steps all they like, but if they don't work the program or actually TAKE the steps... its meaningless. If I were to be completely honest, I would say how much it bothers me that we live in an overly litigious society and people think that they can cure all their woes by suing other people, but I don't want people to think me inappropriate. If I were to continue to be completely honest, I would say that if I were to sue my surgeon for me not losing weight when I haven't been following his/her instructions as well as the dieticians would be as silly as me suing Taco Bell for being fat! I think, being the honest person that I am, I would maybe look in the mirror to find the person to blame for my lack of success after being given all the tools I needed to be successful. But... that's just me. Best of luck to you anyway.

I was concerned because you cant take asprin and only certain laxatives, so thought because the saliva woul goo down may affect. And i know alcohol is very concentrated on lapbanders thought maybe the stuff would be too cocentrated fom the patch . Pre band different, but post band concerned about.

i only told my family and one trusted co-worker because i needed some cooperation with work schedule changes to accommodate the surgery date. My co-workers noticed and a lot of people asked about what I am doing. I told them "major lifestyle and diet changes." If they press, I tell them, "A lot more exercise, no wheat, no sugar, no alcohol, no snacks, no soda or coffee, no processed foods, no artificial sweeteners/coloring, low carb, intermittant fasting..." Somewhere between the sugar and alcohol their eyes glaze over and they change the topic. I don't want to lie, but the truth of the matter is that if someone is not willing to make lifestyle and dietary changes now, they have no right to any additional information. If someone actually told me they have been doing all those things and still struggle with weight loss, i would ask if they had considered WLS as another tool. But so far, no one seems willing to actually make serious changes. Everyone wants a magic pill. Since then, I have changed departments, and NO ONE says anything because they didn't see me before. I FEEL LIKE A NORMAL PERSON! And it feels great! I'm not the biggest gal at work anymore, and it is kind of weird, actually.

When did you try alcohol & what is this better choice to drink?! I want to try one tonight! -Had Gastric Bypass-

I was told by my Dietitian that while losing weight rapidly your liver is working harder. So when you drink during rapid weight loss you are giving you liver something else to process so it isn't ideal. Which is the primary reason they say no alcohol for a full year, since that is when you are losing the most rapidly. Just a helpful tip to think about.

It's not worth it, it really isn't. I have read a lot about alcohol abuse after surgery. Our body's can't handle it and it goes through our system very quickly. We would need more to get the same affect. Why trade one addiction for another? Where I work a woman was fired after WLS because she became an alcoholic; she actually came to work under the influence. I am going to France and would love to sample some wine while I am there but it won't be worth it (I will have a dessert or two though...also a no-no but no DUI)

But if you are going to talk about alcohol, you have to include the best political speech of all time and the best on the subject: Read it here: http://www.rdrop.com/users/jimka/whisky.html John Grisham reads it for you here:

Bariatric Realities – Medical Professionals’ Guidelines about Alcohol Use & WLS I know I said my next article was going to be on causes of obesity, but I got carried away tonight doing some investigating about the professional medical guidelines for alcohol use after weight loss surgery. In summary, the gist of the recommendations are: “Patients undergoing bariatric surgery should be screened and educated regarding alcohol intake both before and after surgery… patients should be made aware that alcohol use disorders (AUD) can occur in the long term after bariatric surgery.” (From: http://asmbs.org/resources/alcohol-use-before-and-after-bariatric-surgery.) Well, now. Those are some non-specific medical recommendations by medical professionals who are the predominant leaders and caregivers of the surgical weight loss population. Education and awareness. Hey – I am all about education and awareness. Great things, education and awareness. And yet, I’m gonna say that as a recommendation, that is a very “PC” non-recommendation recommendation, when one considers that we are talking about 1) ALCOHOL and 2) WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY patients. Consider these educational nuggets and facts I found that WLS patients really ought to be aware of: Psychologist Stanton Peele, writes, “readers now know that scientifically, it's not alcohol that causes people to live longer, but it is simply being with others and that they are less socially isolated when they drink that prolongs their lives. After all, alcohol is a toxin.” (italics and bold added) (From https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/201011/science-is-what-society-says-it-is-alcohols-poison. My comments: Yes – alcohol is a toxin, and that means POISON. Those of us in the medical field really ought to know that people are not supposed to ingest poison. But the recommendations do not say, “Do NOT ingest the toxin, alcohol.” No, no, no… they say be educated and aware. Dr. Charles S. Lieber, M.D., M.A.C.P., in a publication for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, writes, ““A complex interplay exists between a person’s alcohol consumption and nutritional status,” and … alcohol and its metabolism prevent the body from properly absorbing, digesting, and using essential nutrients” (italics added.) Dr. Lieber does indeed, educate us about the nutritional value of alcohol: “Alcohol would not fall under the category of an essential nutrient because not having it in your diet does not lead to any sort of deficiency. Alcoholic beverages primarily consist of water, pure alcohol (chemically known as ethanol), and variable amounts of sugars (i.e., carbohydrates); their content of other nutrients (e.g., proteins, vitamins, or minerals) is usually negligible. Because they provide almost no nutrients, alcoholic beverages are considered ‘empty calories.’ Therefore, any calories provided by alcoholic beverages are derived from the carbohydrates and alcohol they contain.” (italics added) My comments: People who have weight loss surgery (other than the band) experience absorption issues to one degree or another. Nutritional deficiency is one of the concerns the medical professionals monitor in the months and years following WLS. We stress to patients the importance of taking vitamin supplements for the rest of their lives to help ensure proper nutritional balance. And yet, rather than saying, “Alcohol use is unwise after WLS,” or “Don’t drink alcohol after WLS,” the governing body of health professionals for bariatric surgery recommends being “educated” and “aware.” Is that happening? Are the physicians and surgeons and nutritionists and mental health professionals educating patients and making patients aware that ALCOHOL IS A TOXIN THAT CAN INTERFERE WITH VITAMIN ABSORPTION – and it should not be consumed after weight loss surgery? I can’t answer that, although I know we do this at the programs I work with. If it’s not happening, why not? Having a background in direct sales, which, ironically, was incredible education for my later career as a psychologist, I was taught to “anticipate the objections.” Many health care professionals may be pooh-pooh’ing the vitamin deficiency issue associated with alcohol, stating it’s only those who drink heavily who are at risk for this type of vitamin deficiency. That information, to the best of my knowledge, is relevant for persons who have not had weight loss surgery. What’s more, we don’t know the extent to which people are drinking many years after WLS. Most of the research, as noted in the ASMBS Guidelines/Statements entitled ASMBS position statement on alcohol use before and after bariatric surgery, states, “The existing studies do not present a uniform picture regarding the overall prevalence of lifetime or current alcohol use disorders (AUD) in patients seeking bariatric surgery. The vast majority of the existing literature is retrospective, with small sample sizes, lack of control groups, and low response rates. There are also varying definitions of alcohol disorders (“high-risk” versus “misuse” versus “abuse/dependence”) in the bariatric surgery literature.” In other words, this research does provide some information, but remember, we don’t really know that much because there isn’t enough research on enough people over a long enough period of time. We don’t then, know the actual affect that alcohol use has on vitamin absorption for WLS patients. We DO know that vitamin deficiency is a concern, so WHY aren’t we telling people not to drink? Not only is alcohol a toxin for our bodies, “Alcohol is actually classified as a drug and is a known depressant. Under this category, it is the most widely used drug in the world. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)” (italics and underling added). http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_and_nutrition/article.htm My comments: I am literally chuckling now at the absurdity of this situation. The situation being the medical professionals, all having a code of ethics that reflects the “do no harm” sentiment, ignoring potential harm for their patients. Please note that we would all consider alcohol as being “empty calories” and having sugar/carbohydrates and certainly no protein. PLEASE let it be the case that the mental health practitioners around the world who deal with surgical weight loss patients are telling them, “Don’t eat empty calories. Eat a lot of protein. Limit the simple carbs and sugar. And refrain from consuming your calories from liquids. NO STARBUCKS. BUT, HEY - GO AHEAD AND DRINK THOSE SUGAR/CARB LADEN, EMPTY, NUTRITION-ROBBING TOXIC CALORIES IN ALCOHOL, THAT ARE, BY THE WAY, THE MOST WIDELY ABUSED DRUG IN THE WORLD.” Honestly, that sentence should be the entire article. But WAIT! There’s MORE! I really love this last tidbit I’ll share with you. It’s so much nicer for me when I can find it online so it’s not that mean, alcohol-hating Dr. Stapleton being the one to blame! “The truth is that no one needs alcohol to live, so regardless of what you've heard or want to believe, alcohol is not essential in our diets. Did you know that a glass of wine can have the same calories as four cookies? How about a pint of lager – surprised to hear it’s often the caloric equivalent of a slice of pizza? You do not need to be an alcoholic for alcohol to interfere with your health and life.” https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/appearance/calories-in-alcohol Do you hear this, people in the medical profession? Are you giving the OK for your patients to eat four cookies “now and then,” or “in moderation,” or “not for the first six months, or year after surgery?” Do you realize that you may be DOING HARM by giving your patients “permission” to drink alcohol? “But our job is not to be the watchdog or decision-maker for people.” Another potential objection to my dismay about the recommendations being for “education” and “awareness,” rather than a direct, “SAY NO TO ALCOHOL” stance. I agree that no one can make the decisions about what people can or cannot do, or what they will or will not do. People in the medical field do tell people things like, “Don’t get that wet or you could get an infection,” “Keep the splint on for the next six weeks if you want to heal properly.” There ARE dos and don’ts that are educational and increase awareness. What’s the real issue that medical professionals don’t take a hard stance on alcohol after WLS? I don’t know. I do know that I did my dissertation on medical doctor’s attitudes toward addiction. Turns out it is much like that of their attitudes toward obesity: many don’t know that much about it, very many do not feel comfortable working with it, and most don’t care about/understand it. To top it all off, HERE’s the real kicker… Not only do the medical AND some of the WLS organizations not tell people, “Don’t drink alcohol,” THEY PROVIDE ALCOHOL AT THEIR EVENTS! I can’t say any more. Connie Stapleton, PhD connie@conniestapletonphd.com Facebook: Connie Stapleton Twitter: @cstapletonphd LinkedIn: Connie Stapleton, Ph.D.

Officially 9 months post op and I weigh 169lbs at 5’8 1/2. HW 252lbs (January 2020) Pre-op diet starting weight (236lbs on August 14, 2020) SW: 228 (August 27, 2020) CW: 169 Goal Weight (158-163 range) My BMI is currently 24.99 so I’ve finally crossed into what “they” call the normal range! Ha I feel great. I’ve had zero complications. I have not had any alcohol since pre surgery and don’t plan on trying any until at least 1 year post op. (I’ve never been a big drinker but would enjoy the occasional margarita or glass of wine). My surgeon asks his patients to wait a year and I told him I would. I do exercise at least 5 times a week incorporating cardio and strength (arms to try and tighten the loose skin- at age 44 things down bounce back like the used to). I’ve done this since I was 6 weeks post op. I haven’t cut out any foods. I don’t tolerate spicy foods like I used too so I don’t eat a lot of those. I don’t eat a lot of pasta or rice either - I’ll try a bite or put a small servings (think tablespoon) on my plate but I’m still focusing on protein and still aim for 80 grams of protein a day and drink one premier protein shake on most days). Yes I eat carbs and will have mashed potatoes, cookie or piece of cake (everything in moderation right?) Some days I get in 64-72 ounces of water other days I’m lucky if I get 45. For all of those in the fence (I was too), just know you can do it - it’s never too late to get yourself healthy.