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It’s March! Trees are leafing out and the green of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations surrounds us. This brings to mind that instead of wearing green, we should be eating more greens…and yellows, oranges, reds and purples. Include the colors of the rainbow in your veggie choices. Veggies have vitamins, minerals, water, fiber, and anti-oxidants. Having a smaller stomach pouch after surgery makes it a challenge to get in more veggies. Veggies you can sip instead of chewing to applesauce will make it easier to get in your vegetables. Think about blending veggies with protein powder to help increase your protein intake. Focus on non-starchy veggies. There are several ways you can sip your veggies. One way is to experiment with blended smoothies. A blended smoothie has 3 main parts: fresh or frozen produce, ice cubes, and a base. The base can be water, milk or yogurt. For bariatric patients, a base can also be protein powder or ready to drink protein shakes. You’ll need a good blending machine like NutriBullet, Ninja or Vitamix. Look for a blender with at least 1000 Watts for best results. Next time you make a protein smoothie, throw in a handful of raw spinach or kale, cucumbers, shredded purple cabbage, frozen veggie blend, fresh herbs or something from your garden. Fruits are often a part of a smoothie, but you will need to calculate the carbs to stay in your carbohydrate goal. Another idea is to make a non-alcoholic Bloody Mary. Stir a tablespoon of unflavored protein powder into 6 ounces low sodium V8 vegetable juice. This V8 is a blend of several vegetable juices. Throw in dashes of lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, stir again and the pour over ice. Unflavored protein powder can be added to vegetable soups. Sprout’s has unflavored whey protein powder in the bulk bins, which is a way you can test taste this protein without buying a large canister. One tablespoon provides 10 grams of protein. If you use whey protein isolate, remember to keep it under 140o F. to prevent the protein from curdling. Healthy sipping!

I am post op bypass 13 months ( surgery was 10/07/2020) ) and am I now drinking alcohol every night . I have gained back a few pounds Like 8 and am scared to death. I feel like I am heading back toward terrible habits and need to regain back control now. I am working with a Psychologist that's not very good for PTSD issues and major depressive disorder. I have got control of that but I have now a new problem= alcohol! A year ago, I would never think of drinking on a week night or much at all but now it's become my new addiction and it leads to me over eating and then the dreaded weight gain. I have now drank every night for the past two months and I can't seem too let it go. This had never been me before as my family is filled with alcoholics and I could never understand it and now I do? It kills pain and drowns out so much. It definitely affects me differently after surgery and takes very little to have any affect at all. I am drunk or affected at sip 3. It is such a great escapism and good lord with Covid and the way of the world all I want to do is escape in a legal way and alcohol is legal. I am on disability and have a lot of pain issues and the doctors and psych's try to say its a lot mental / PTSD/ Stress related but they haven't lived in my body. I have had over 15 surgeries and have had many scars and all kinds of mesh - They don't live this body and don't feel my pain. They tell me I need to learn to live with it. Well hell , I am doing the best I can and alcohol does a great job of dimming that. But I know I need to find a better answer and am looking to my community as I know I can't be alone in my pain or journey. My New Year's resolution is to get back to that person that doesn't drink in response to pain. That learns to deal with it. That get's her weight under control in the meantime. Sending out an SOS to my community and asking for good advice or just shared empathy to know I am not the only one and that we do not travel on this journey alone.

Hi there! I'm in the same boat as you, with similar stats as well. Highest weight was around 300, but I'm down to around 276 after over a YEAR of jumping through hoops to get insurance approval (I started the process in February of 2021!). The weight loss I've experienced so far can be attributed to giving up soda (even diet) and alcohol, which I did last summer. My surgery is June 24th, so today is the first day of my two week liquid diet, and someone at work has already offered me candy...uuuuuuugh. I've only told my closest colleagues about my surgery (I work at a school and today is the last day for students, so my surgery will be over summer break when I don't work anyway) but I might end up telling more of my co-workers at the end-of-year faculty luncheon later today, because some people might wonder why I'm sipping a protein shake staring longingly at everyone else's plates. How has your pre-op diet been going? What is your surgery date? Edit: Oh derp, I just saw you said your surgery is on the 20th. >_<

There is a robitussin that is for diabetics, no sugar or alcohol. Not had surgery yet but am a bad diabetic and that's what I take.

You have already done the hardest step which is to make the decision to end the madness. Really, that is key. Once you set your mind to make a change, the rest will follow. You just need to put in the hard work of following the post op eating plan, drink lots of water, exercising, cutting out the crap like high sugar, fat and salt. Cut out alcohol for 6 months. You can have it again after that, but get through most of your weight loss first. Alcohol is going to sabotage you because it will take your body out of being a lean, mean calorie burning machine. After 6 months, drink in moderation, like a couple a month to be social and to relax with the guys. I do this today. However, do not let alcohol become anything more in your life then that because you do not want a cross addiction nor do you want to get soft from it. I know you can do this because of the strong desire I read in the words of your post. Do not worry about exercising that much in the first 5 months. Getting your diet right, forming a good moderate exercise plan (read: not hard core) and forming a good set of habits are going to be your key to success. I always failed in the past to achieve my weight loss goals pre sleeve because I always tried to be a fiend in the cardio and develop a fad based diet at the same time. What ended up happening is I would get burned out from the exercise and then my eating habits were so unrealistic it would all go to hell around 6 months. This time it was different. After being sleeved, I got the lifestyle habits in place during the first 6 months, lost the weight I needed to lose a d then, and only then, stepped up the exercise and workouts to nail my fitness goals. Today, I can manage the eating and the exercise only because daily habits are in place. And they are ingrained, man. It is not work. I love to do it. I have to say my one habit i struggle with is eating slow. i can do the small portions and eating small bits, but i still woof my food. try to do perfect at this and you will have it all. All the success. You can have this vision of success! Just keep in mind my points about building up the good habits first before going balls to the wall with both a killer eating plan and workout strategy.

No, they advised against solid food for four weeks, but sometimes I play fast and loose. I have followed up with dietitian, but I knew as much about diet and nutrition as she does before the surgery. My obesity was simply from alcohol consumption, poor choices, and putting a sedentary career first. I have long since known what had to be done to accomplish weight loss. There was 8 years or so period before I was married where I was akin to an amateur body builder, although I never competed or cared to. I hear you about the old eating habits. I don't plan to keep it up, but I was just being honest about why I have only lost a pound or so in the last three days.

Yesterday, Sunday, Dec. 1 Maintenance : 5'2" / 1yr PO Sleeve / 116.3 lbs **** Xmas party season has officially begun. Had an indulgent Saturday (client holiday party) and an even more indulgent Sunday (family bday lunch then had a Friends-mas at BFF's place as she and her fam are leaving for vacay next week. Spoiler alert: I was taken down by desserts and alcohol this weekend. And I am being punished for it by feeling like absolute CRAP this morning: sluggish, tired, cranky, crampy, bloated, and unbelievably thirsty. It's only 11:30am and I've drank over 2 litres of water already (plus 1 coffeee & cup of broth). Oh, and the scale says I've gained 2.9 lbs since Friday. I'd love to say its all poop, but I had a total-intestine-clearing number 2 yesterday as a result of too many Italian almond cookies, so that's definitely not it. Anyhoo...I'm enacting a weekday dessert embargo for the remainder of the month to balance out the inevitable dessert eating on weekends. **** 8:30am - coffee w/ stevia + tea w/ stevia 1:30pm - 1/2 side caesar salad sans croutons + 1/2 side goat cheese and beet salad + 1 slice Lemon Curd Cake + 2 glasses red wine 3:00pm - 1 slice Lemon Curd Cake + 1 cup greek yogurt + 10 blueberries + 5 green grapes + 1.5 oz almonds 6:00pm to 2:00am - 6 oysters on half shell 5 oz prime rib w/ gravy 1 cup spring mix salad w/ strawberries, goat cheese & candied walnuts 16 mini Italian almond cookies 3 mini biscotti 10 dark chocolate covered coffee beans 1 oz candied ginger 2 HUGE pistachio cannolis 4 glasses red wine Totals: 3574 cals - 123g Protein - 301g NET carbs - 186g fat

Do you think your dumping kept you from gaining while eating the real sugar items? And now that you are eating sugar free you aren't dumping, so the extra cals are adding up quickly? Or maybe the sugar alcohols are still giving you an insulin spike and maybe you are up 4lbs from glycogen stores + water? I know we have to be very careful of them here. They spike Mr. F's BGs and they do slow down my WL and also make me bloat (gain a couple). So they are a rare treat for me. Sorry about the 6lbs!!! Toss em in Deep Space 9 (your freezer) and forget them. If you can't, then punkin chunkin time!

Has been reading around the site for a few days and finally registered so here I am......ok my story ....well I have always been overweight as a young child , as a teenager , as an adult and here I am now...super morbidly obese .....how did I get here? Was bullied all through school so ended up turning to food , got married He ended up being a highly abusive alcoholic , had no where to turn so turned once again to food.....marriage ended after 5 years ....happy to be divorced but now I am raising 3 special needs kids on my own , very stressful so ate once again to make myself happy and here I am beginning the Journey of WLS .....waiting for my patient orientation and support group on March 1st , already has a meeting with the sleep study Dr scheduled....I know it is going to be a long journey but at the end it will be so worth it !!!!!! Looks forward to giving support and receiving support as well

For me I waited six months before drinking anything alcoholic and have tried both wine and beer since then. Wine seems to give me more of a buzz than it used to and two glasses is my limit now. Beer seems better tolerated even with the carbonation though I generally pour it into a glass now to get rid of some and can have a beer or two before dinner without too much effect but have to stop drinking when I start eating and wait at least an hour after a meal before drinking again which I rarely have so far. Still I am 120lbs lighter than I was a year ago so would be worried if I did not get buzzed faster than before.

I think all docs are different. Mine says no alcohol for 6-8 months.

Occasionally I drink these low carb grapefruit soda water boozy drinks. They’re only 5% alcohol and a whole can (8-10 oz?) got me slightly buzzed but not significantly. However, I’ve always had a naturally high tolerance to alcohol. I just make sure the alcohol fits in my macros. I’m naughty and had my first drink maybe 2 months out but my stomach and I survived.

It's totally natural to be scared! But trust me when I say this, there's very little to be scared about. Having any kind of gastric surgery has about the same risk as having an appendectomy. However, the thing to remember is that the heavier you are, the more risk there is for you on the operating table (assuming you have no other major health issues which would impact this). The good news is that surgeons have been doing this for quite a while now and have reduced surgery times significantly. Of course, you have to speak to your doctor about your own issues, but I imagine you would have to lose some weight before surgery (often you need to, to be approved by the insurance company). This is not only better for the surgery itself (in terms of complications, it also helps to shrink your liver, which is important for the surgery as well), but to get you on the right track in terms of eating habits. Also, having surgery is NOT CHEATING. It is NOT THE EASY WAY OUT. I've written about this extensively before, but basically obese people, especially morbidly obese people, have a ton of things stacked against them when it comes to losing weight. Low metabolism, lots of fat cells (which you can never lose, only shrink), leptin-resistance, insulin-resistance, food addiction, etc -- all conspire against your weight loss efforts. There's a reason why people lose weight, then plateau, then regain (probably more than where they started from) - it's the body fighting back to get back to where it was. There are lots of books and research done about this, I highly recommend the book Fat Chance as a good overview. What surgery does (bypass or sleeve) is it "resets" the body back to normal. Hunger is gone (literally - that part of your stomach gets cut out). Metabolism goes back to normal. If you're diabetic, you have a good chance of not being one after surgery. They're still not sure why this happens, but it does. And what that does is it gives you a fighting chance to lose weight and to keep it off. To answer your other questions: What if I still want to use food to cope, what if I fail, what if I die? This is probably why you'll need a psych evaluation and you'll have to have some kind of counselling, or group sessions, or something like that, to help you deal with these issues. A lot of people who get the surgery are able to deal with their food addictions afterwards, but you have to be careful about transferring your addiction (as a coping mechanism) to something else, like alcohol. That happens. As for dying - honestly, at your current weight, that is a reality that will come sooner, rather than later, if you do nothing. The chances of dying in surgery are extremely low, and the success you can achieve from it is worth the risk. Is it worth it/ do you regret it? Yes! I've done it twice now - sleeve, and a recent revision to bypass. Why? Because I failed - I went back to old habits, and after a while it was too difficult for me to realise any kind of success. I'm angry that I had to do it twice, but I don't have any regrets about it. I feel great, I have a different relationship to food, and my failure the first time taught me a lot about what I can and cannot do. I'll have to be careful about what I eat for the rest of my life. Do you feel like your life is normal? Yes. In the beginning, it's a bit harder due to food restrictions and the size of your stomach, but after a while you just get to know what you can handle and what you can't. Can you do it with 50/50 support from those around you? I did it with ZERO support from anyone - I did this by myself (self-paid) and have not told anyone about it. Not family, not friends (well, a couple of old friends, by they live halfway around the world from me). It's nobody's business but my own. Not everyone does this, a lot of people share, but many people regret sharing. Unless you are truly confident in what you are doing, and you are confident in the support of those you confide in, you may want to consider how much you tell, and to whom. Do you have to lose weight first? In most cases, yes. Is the loose skin as bad as people make it out to be? It depends on the person. Your age, how long you've been overweight/obese, how much you lose, etc. all impact what your skin will do afterwards. In many cases people will opt for some sort of plastic surgery afterwards to deal with problematic areas. Hair loss? It's common to have hair loss after surgery, during pregnancy, etc. It happens to most people but it only lasts for a couple of months, is probably not noticeable to anyone but yourself (unless you already have extremely thin/thinning hair), and it will start to grow back. Tips? Think of things you want to do in your life that you can't, because of your current weight. It may help you with your motivation about what to do. Educate yourself - not just on forums like this, but find real articles, books, that look at real research and make your own decisions based on that. It seems overwhelming at first, and it can take time to overcome your reluctance, but in the end it's worth it. ~Thank you all for your love and support!!! Also how do I update my profile? CW, surgery date, type, etc.? It's better to do this on a computer, not a phone. Go to the top of the page and click your username. There's a dropdown menu. You can update your profile there. Near the bottom of the menu is says "My Surgery" - that's where you can put your surgery information, and update your weight, etc.

Yes and no, your body may be starting to go into fat-burning mode. KETOSIS STINKS, IN THEORY AND IN PRACTICE! My own , not so much bad breath as my armpits, B.O. my armpits smell like rotting onions, keep cleaning, baking soda, ani-persp/deodorants, even wiping down with 90% rubbing alcohol, in case it was bacterium. Family says they smell NOTHING but Baby I Do!👿😕👿

Hi, @RedE2goAimee! Thanks for sharing! I'm with you on watching vlogs and reading articles, and having a good friend to answer questions. I'm of the "no such thing as too much information" mindset 🙂 Kudos on eliminating caffeine and alcohol! I started off caffeine when I started my 4-week pre-op diet plan last week and the headaches have been mild but constant. But I know it's for my health, so I can bear it. Yay for better sleep! Wow, a liquid diet on vacation, that's setting the bar high for yourself! But you can do it! You'll have many more vacations in the future because of this health decision, right?

Hi everyone! DH had his heart catheter test done yesterday, and come through it just fine, sore, but doing well. It showed he has no blockages forming at all. It also showed the MVP to be worse than they thought, so they moved him up to a 4 on a scale of 1-4, with 4 being the worse . We are waiting today to hear when our appointment with the surgeon is. Will keep you posted, and thanks so much for all of you being there with support, and prayers, I appreciate it all more than I can ever say! Darcy, will send you some pics to resize for me when you are feeling better, which I hope is very soon! Sorry you feel crappy! When you go to remove your stickies from the holter monitor, use some baby oil, or something petroleum based, it helped a lot with DH's. The nurse said you would be surprised at how many people grab alcohol...ewww talk about burning!!! As for having the 6 million dollar dog, I think that you do need to rename her, maybe Ava is just too expensive of name for her, maybe she needs to be Fido or Spot....even just Dawg!! Hope the both of you are well very soon! Donna- thanks so much for keeping us in your thoughts, I think we are about to face the big surgery, and get on with the healing. Patty has given me all kinds of good ideas for the time in the hospital! I am glad to hear your DS is hanging tough in boot camp. From what I understand, it saves many a boy/man. Tough love is such a hard thing to pull off, I am proud of you! Eileen-- My DD also had growing pains, literally. She grew in height suddenly, and instead of her hip bone just increasing in length, she grew a growth plate on the top of it, a separate piece of bone, about an inch thick, and one day for some unknown reason, it tried to slip off of the hip bone. The tissues around it swelled, and the school nurse said she had scoliosis, because the leg was longer than the other...Xrays found the problem. Dr. suggested exercise, and he mentioned karate, due to the side kicks they do. So off to karate class we went. Here we are 15 years later, and she is a brown belt, working towards her black! I took great comfort in her abilites when she began dating back then!! Good luck to you and your DD!! Mary--I vote for a light taupe color, it would look great with the hunter green, and show very little smudge wise or dirt wise!! Then you could always find a bright fun color to highlight with! Dianne-- I do not envy you doggy sitting for a 4 pound biting beast!!! You are a good friend to do that!!! Years and years ago, I worked for a vet, and it was always the little ones you had to watch!! Little or not bites hurt, be careful!! Patty---You poor darlin'!!! I think we should make a voodoo doll and really "hurt" the witch!! It will happen for you in the time it is supposed to, I hope for your sake it is soon. Maybe the timing is this way so you will be able to be a support to your friend Robbie right now. Maybe they need you, and your positive advice, and help like I did! Keep positive thoughts, and try to stay cool. Go to the library where it is cool, the kids will see it as a treat, and it is free!!! I used to take the kids all the time. In fact the book bag still hangs on the closet door, it is way too big, for just me now, but I figure the grandkids will help me fill it up very soon!! Cindy--Thanks so much for all your positive vibes coming our way...:cool: I will catch the rest of you later, I need to go watch DH walk!!! He is off, and he is supposed to have someone with him just in case he falls or somehow opens up that artery!!! Stubborn man!!! Kat

I read about one lawsuit where a paroled drug or alcohol offender had his parole revoked because he did not complete the terms of the required substance abuse program he was in. Apparently, he was Catholic and the center was Protestant-based. He was told that his religion was witchcraft and that he should convert. When he refused to convert, they said he did not finish the program.

My dad passed away this past June. I respected him for the positive things that he did throughout his life. Hitting your kids is inappropriate behavior. His parents hit him and were both alcoholics so he really didn't have a good example to follow. I think perhaps people find it more acceptable when you call it spanking. But hitting is hitting and it's wrong.

Hi everyone- NJ2NC- LOL about the alcohol! I'm not a drinker, so have no experience. I think it's great to have that goal to run the whole 5k. I would love to be a runner- I have a plate on my right shin holding things together after an ankle break a long time ago. I've tried running and it kind of hurts, but maybe after losing a bunch of weight I could try again. It is such a good exercise! Kymie- that's a good goal- if I were you I'd up the exercise and the protein, and really really track everything. Chrissy- I was having a protein shake, but was too tight- so that's a good idea to do the hot tea then protein shake later. Hi Ready- good to see you, glad turkey day went well. I do need to do something about the ice cream, but for me it's going to have to be NONE, not something else- I"ll overeat whatever it is. It is truly a trigger food for me. Ladybandido- I hear you on the hibernation thing! I am feeling that as well. And I'm kinda sick and headachy, so just not feeling it. My dd is sick, throwing up- just at night, so I have to be up, LOL. DH is taking her to the doctor today, couldn't get in yesterday, so we'll see what's up. I'm not feeling great and not getting any sleep isn't helping. I stupidly tried a pastry that was in the office, and got stuck- luckily not badly, but threw the rest of that sucker out! Not worth it! Still hanging in, but not doing great, but honestly I'm just surviving until January. I did get the carb cycling book and will be reading it to implement it. I will get back on track, and get my mojo back! Nicki

Hey guys they are talking about alcohol on another thread! That's where I'll be!

Nor should we condone it either and let the cycle continue. One would assume the kids would want to better themselves so they don't end up like their parents! My grandfather was an ironworker drank up a storm. My dad is one of the most anti alcohol people I know and their family never got any hand outs or anything "special". They were dirt poor and managed to survive somehow. It can be done, come from absolutely NOTHING and make something of yourself to have a better life for themselves and their family w/o all this gov't "assistance".

my dr. said 6-8 weeks after surgery before having alcohol - each doc different. trust me i'm counting down the days.

As I'm getting closer to my goal, Ive been starting to think about what things I may start eating in the maintenance stage that I haven't so far. Ive probably been a little more strict as far as my eating than a lot of people as I haven't touched Alcohol, Caffeine, rice, bread, Pasta, potatoes, anything fried, no deserts, no sugary drinks. I never slipped, never took a cheat day, no breaks or anything. I don't know what would happen if my sleeve gets full because I measure everything and never gotten to that point lol. I actually haven't even eaten any fruit. So to my question. Ive been thinking about adding sweet potatoes to my routine. what do you guys think about it. do you eat them? I wasn't because I figured they would still be high in sugar.

I heard alcohol will hit you very quickly because our stomachs empty so much faster. But seriously, your taste buds go through some major change. Mine started before I even got sleeved. Now sweet is overpowering sweet. I think cake or ice cream would make me sick. I have to say last night my husband had pepperoni pizza. I snagged one and put it in my mouth to try the flavor. Heavenly but WOW the flavor was intense. My dog then got a treatLOL! But it told me flavors are more powerful to us it seems. Right now a chicken breast and veggies sound like heaven but I've got another 30 days. Oh and I have zero hunger. This is nothing but mental at this point and honestly barely there.

Semi Update. Just bought size 40 pants two weeks ago, they are already falling off (didnt even get a chance to wear one of the pairs I bought). Buying some 38's next weekend. I started in size 44's which were pretty tight. I visited my personal trainer for the first time since surgery and she was amazed at the amount lost. She thought that I was a gastric patient and even said that I'm losing faster than most gastrics. First week of school is down and life is great. My self-confidence has reached record highs and I'm a lot more social around people. My shoulders are a little sore from the exercise, but other than that I'm having a hard time avoiding a parties and drinking (1 gram of alcohol has 7 calories, that is double what carbs and proteins are), and the primary drink of the college student is Beer which I do enjoy but wont drink due to the high calories and the carbonation effect of the fermentation. I'm scheduled to take do some structured interviews and tests with a psychologist to see if I have AADD. I've been the person people come to for help with Math/Sci/History all my life, and yet I can't get above a C (from Jr. High to Current College). There is a lot more to it that I won't get into here, but I'm hoping I can figure out everything and hopefully figure out ways to improve myself mentally, now that the physical aspect is going full-throttle.