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About a week ago on one of the forums someone asked that same question and wow she got a ton of replies and everyone said yes and some said the last week, im under the week catagorie. lol This Thursday night will be my last meal. Going to have a big steak with all the fixings.. Kinda cant wait...Silly i know but like a smoker has there last smoke and an alcoholic has their last drink same thing... Go for it..

Also don't drink alcohol the night before. I want to run a half mary now. I'm wondering if I can do it by the Fall?

Last night was TOUGH. got home around 8pm and wanted to eat sooooooo bad. I had to seriously fight it off hard-core because my body is still detoxing from sugars (primarily in the form of alcohol sugars) and the cravings were awful. The good news is that I woke up clear-headed and not hungry at all. It also helped that I slept in a bit to get me through a bit more time. Please keep us posted on the protein cravings and what your live group days. Tomorrow am I have an apt with my NUT and will be discussing macro goals with her.

Hello! Just checking in to report, I've not done any IF, nor made a sigle wise choice as of late. Weighed in this morning, up 5 lbs since my new low last weekend, but not surprising considering, terrible food choices, alcohol, not anywhere near my fluid goals (even including alcohol!?), lots of sodium, etc., etc. This sums up the last week This week won't be much better. Headed to a trade show right now, with every bad, crappy, but delicious food you could ever imagine, and then entertaining in the evening ... FML Glad to see IF working for those on here though

I'm an opera singer... and no... opera singers can no longer be famous when they are larger- take Deborah Voigt for example- she had to have GB because she was fired from an opera house because she didn't look pretty in a little dress... I went to Juilliard for my undergrad and am now at Manhattan School of Music. I don't think its too hard to be a bandster in NYC because everyone has their vice there... alcohol, drugs, food, shopping, sex, you name it. All of my friends know about the surgery and are supportive so thats all that matters. You guys are rocking it! Happy Friday... I have a Sushi/picnic date planned for tomorrow. haha- weird combo, but whatever. its different.

sugar free would be ideal but beware of sugar alcohol and that is what most sugar free candies are made from - that stuff gives me horrible tummy troubles. I would rather just have one or two regular.

Hi Loridee, 30 pounds cool start! Deal Breakers, definite Abusive behaviour be it Drugs, alcohol, mental, physical, drama queens and LIARS I have found that often times where a littany of excuses lead BS follows. Boy am I cranky, strarting to feel effects of that darn unfill!!! I could eat my !@#R$@^%^& *(&*&^%^$# $#$@# coffee table right now!! Three weeks to refill :-( JC

My experience with all inclusives is similar to @ms.sss's. The food isn't good enough to be all that compelling. But the alcohol on the other hand ....

@ms.sss Wow congrats on your surprise vacation. Get bikini fit before you go, You deserve to indulge and enjoy. You know yourself best. Try to be ok with a small weight gain. You can trust yourself to work it off after you get back. I am just checking in after a short vacation and family wedding. A fantastic time was had. I was 130 at the start of vacation and I’m now 143. A bit over my ten-pound bounce range. Clothing is tight. My body is not used to the craptacular food and alcohol choices over the last week. I feel sluggish and not myself. I appreciate how good I feel when I eat on plan. Looking forward to getting my weight back in range.

We just had to take a 150 or something question test for our psych clearance. I told the psychologist about my issues with my appearance but they didn't consider body dysmorphia an issue... they were SUPER just focused on if I was a drug/alcohol addict or an emotional eater. Probably 50% of the questions were about drinking habits. I just took that test and that was it. I sorta think everyone figured when I got down to my former weight my body dysmorphia would just disappear because I would have a) experienced being actually fat and b) realize that at 140 I wasn't fat... thus solving the problem. Wrongo. My psychiatrist signed my clearance form no questions asked. I treat with her mostly for my Tourette's, however. We just recently started discussing the body dysmorphia, but I have seen a LOT of therapists in my past for it but have always been a therapy flunky. My current doc has always known about my body image issues, but until recently my biggest concern has been my motor tics so that is what we typically focus on since it outwardly affects my life (socially). But now the body image stuff is playing a more dangerous role, which is why we are focusing on that more now, too.

Well, I formally move onto less mushy foods today. Terrified! So much so that I am still eating the same things I ate on the last phase (yogurt, baby food, cream of wheat). I am afraid to open the flood gates. I had some peanut butter on a spoon, ate it slow, and boy did it stick like a ball of wax - not ready for that yet. I received a notice of a "bandsters" mtg. in my general area and they are meeting at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet restaurant! Isn't that like taking an alcoholic to a bar for a meeting? Aren't places like that what got us in trouble in the first place? Definately will NOT be going to those meetings. Trying to motivate myself to get back to exercising. I used to go to a strenuous boot camp 5 mornings a week. Would like to do that again - maybe 3 days and get back into running. A little too soon I think as I still have pain in my left side like a running cramp - start with walking I guess. Fingers are crossed!!!:smile:

A nice Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir is my choice. In fact, tonight will be the first time since beginning my pre-op diet on 4/9 that I will indulge in anything alcoholic and a bottle of Cab has already been picked out.

I too was worried about my psych evaluation....mainly because I admitted myself to a Mental Hospital a year after my first daughter was born. (Severe postpartum depression). But unlike most people on here, my Psychiatrist didnt ask me to fill out any questionnaire. She just asked about my family history. If there was any drug abuse/alcohol abuse, obesity, mental disorders. Then she asked why I wanted the surgery and how much I was REALISTICALLY looking to lose. I guess I got an easy Psychiatrist who didnt really do these types of evaluations too often. (And that showed later when they faxed the eval the first time to the surgeon and forgot to put my last name on it.....and then it took them a month to fax the FINAL eval because the Psychiatrist didnt release me and did not NOT release me). So far, I seem to be the only one who didnt endure any lengthy visit. Mine was like 20 mins tops. I spent more time in the waiting room than I did in with the Psychiatrist. What I am trying to say is, dont freak out. Just be honest and dont forget to stop and breathe in between parts of the eval. Good luck and hang in there!! Let us know how it goes...:thumbup:

Pnut, I am worried, you're obviously such a sweet vivacious person, and alcohol, especially large quantities is -so- hard on the body. Please take care, I have a brother who is an alcoholic, who has been sober now for a few months, his common law wife of a few years also an alcoholic passed away from massive organ failure due to her alcoholism earlier this year, the time he quit drinking was right after her death. She was only 36 years old, and alcohol killed her, it came as a shock to all of us. I truly believe we all have a right to do what we want with our bodies, but I can't help but feel the forums are here partly to help support one another in getting not just thinner, but healthier. I don't know whether you have a problem with alcohol or not, but please, do take care of yourself. A lot of us who struggle with food/sugar addiction, also struggle with alcohol or other addiction... It's been a fine line for me once years in the past. Be well. XO Leila

I think I share pitfalls posted by everyone so far. Junk food, volume of junk food, timing of junk food and then float it all on gallons of beer and you pretty much have the recipe for disaster that I was following. Crazy lifestyle. I work long rotating shifts in a fast paced and stressful job. I let this single aspect of my life just about wreck my health. I didn't prepare meals like I should have. I almost never carried meals & Snacks in to work with me. Fast food on the way to & from work.......junk food from vending machines and the crapateria while there. Lots of diet sodas during the shift. Now.....I don't even take in cash with me. I bring in 100% of what I'll eat and it's much healthier and much more economical. I am blessed in that my job will allow me to walk for hours on end if I choose to. I'll be able to burn a ton of calories on the job. I also drank a lot of calories in beer. I'd work like crazy and then get a day off. That day would find me firing up the grill around mid day and popping a top. If one beer is good.....then an endless supply until bedtime is even better. Great music, relaxing and conjuring up a great meal. Son would get home from school and chow down and my wife would eat with him. I'd usually skip it and keep enjoying my brews. Late evenings......just before bedtime.....I'd want to eat leftovers and crash. So much bad with all this. Now...I'll be able to enjoy my days off so much different. Get up....have some coffee and then go hit the gym. Enjoy my tunes then while getting my elliptical and treadmill sessions in. I can still fire up the grill and cook up some tasty Protein......and break out the foodsaver on the leftovers for work lunches. I don't have and answer for the beer. I've avoided alcohol since last April while losing weight. I'll see what the future holds. I've seen some skinny margaritas that were low calorie.....basically a zero calorie mix + tequila or vodka. I'm not in any hurry to toss this back into the mix just yet, though.

So I will probably get a lot of kick back from this, but here it goes. Alcohol seems to be such a compromising issue for so many folks. The truth of the matter is, that NO amount of alcohol is good for you. Yes, there are antioxidants in red wine, but even very light alcohol consumption increases risk of throat, mouth, and GI cancers. Alcohol is a very strong chemical that is damaging to living tissue. Period. Think about why an alcohol swab is used on your skin before a shot. It cleans and kills. There is absolutely no reason for a bariatric patient, of all people, to drink alcohol. Yet, it is so hard to make the total break. It is the same argument I hear all the time with patients who smoke - "I just smoke 5 cigarettes a day," "I just smoke a pack every week," "I just smoke socially." When we all know that ANY amount of smoking is not good for health. All I am saying is that if we make this huge effort to improve our health with WLS, and we are willing to make total lifestyle changes to be successful in the long run for life, why do we try to compromise and flirt with seeing how much we can get away with concerning alcohol? Is it our addictive nature? Is it social pressure? It is a bit of rebellion? I believe it is a issue that is worth exploring deeply for each person and really asking the hard questions about WHY it is so important to continue drinking at all when there is absolutely no benefit, and only harm that can result. So fire away at me. I've said my 2 cent's worth and won't bring it up again.

my surgeon said no alcohol until 6 -12 months after surgery

I used to drink 2 bottles of wine a week. I didn't get smashed, but I had some every night. I thought I wouldn't be able to break that habit easily, but WLS did break it. Now I don't drink at home - just when I'm out with friends for a special occasion. The last time I had alcohol was about a month ago, but this weekend is a girls' weekend, so I'm going to be making friends with a bottle of Prosecco. 😉 Really looking forward to it - it's a treat to have a wee tipple now!

Alright Banstista that's what I have been talking about I don't care who's watching or what they think I dance like nobody's around , in fact I went with another friend ( Woman) & we went to this little hole in the wall restaurant & three was a blues band , I dance pretty much to anything & it's good fun sweat exercise , shoot I didn't drink any type of alcohol for almost 20 + year's then I had 2 glasses of wine now I know that's all I can handle LOL started to get that tipsy feeling SO I drank a lot of water & flushed it out but MY family is like your not home much anymore LOL cause I actually get out & do more now I think even though I'm living with them their starting to miss me LOL

Checking in on this Monday.....decided to do a juice fast and liver cleanse for a few days to clear out congestion and joint pain as well as general band care, a break from caffeine & alcohol, return to better habits, etc. The periodic fasting works well for me and usually gives me a new number on the scale that I can dance around with for a while. I think I have about fifteen pounds to lose, though I won't be sure until I get closer. Really working on toning these days. Got an inversion table (free!) and am doing crunches to tighten up my belly, which is still a little flubby. Missing the big walks and coming up with strategies for the winter. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We are seeing our elders then sneaking off to the city for a couple of nights. Looking forward to the getaway.

Tonight I went with my friend who got a tattoo to commemorate her mom who recently passed away and while I was there, I got a nose ring! Yep. I've wanted one since I was 18 and for some reason, it took me until I was 33 to bite the bullet and do it. Guess I'm really starting to come out of my shell. I'm afraid about how work is going to react but heck, who cares? Life is too short! lol. Who cares what your work thinks...I have one too. I got mine about 6 months after my ex-husband and I seperated. That was in Feb of 2002, so I have had it quite a while now. I rememeber when my parents saw it they were wondering if I was going through some kind of crisis or something since I was 25 years old when I got it. But I just laughed at them and told them I just wanted one. I had one when I was 16 but got rid of it after my daughter was born right before my 18th b-day. But I love mine now and don't know if I will ever get rid of it. I have a very small diamond in mine and I really do love it. It is barely even noticeable now to most people I have been to many jobs and interviews and because it is do petite most people say they don't even notice it until I point it out to them. I would like to get a new diamond soon since I have had this one since March 2002. But I think you will definitley enjoy it Chrispy!!! Especially when all the soreness is gone. To be honest I didn't get rid of the soreness completely until about 2 months later. I made sure I cleaned it EVERY day with the cleaner that the tattoo parlor gave me. Now I just use Rubbing Alcohol 2-3 times a week.

Good to hear from Lisa and Bandista. I've noticed that my arthritis is generally better this year since I made some major f ood changes. I do get occasional (bad) flares, but they come and go pretty rapidly and are, I believe, correlating with stress. Anyway, when I'm not in a flare, I have a much better overall pain level than I did a year ago. What changed? I gave up fried f ood 9 months ago, all alcohol a year ago, and most refined carbs 9 months ago. I'm down over 20 pounds since last September. I'm not at goal but I'm slowly losing. I really wish I could get motivated to exercise. I really hate getting sweaty. There, I've said it. JustWatchMe

Paula, I was married to a man who was bipolar - he, too, used alcohol as a way to 'relax' - and he knew he couldn't drink and take his medication - so therefore he fought this decision on a daily basis....I imagine for you to have posted - things are downright unmanageable - anger management classes might help - but are probably not the 'first' step to take - I agree - many towns have sliding-scale fees for 'family' counseling - if I am reading things right your hubby definitely needs to have some ongoing counseling and help via a doctor on staff and YOU my dear also might want to ask for a counselor for yourself - the other option is one counselor who sees both of you together and separately -- not marriage counseling - mental health counseling - I've been through it with my fiance's son and it has changed his life and ours - but it takes time and the right medications that work for him....sorry to rattle on - this is so close to my heart as I have lived it and I know how hard this has to be for you - this cycle of 'anger' and 'depression' needs to be stopped and you both deserve the assistance of a good family counseling center - God bless! I am on all the time - you can PM me anytime - I'll always listen EDIT: after reading another post in this thread -- it hit me in the face - he may be DEPRESSED - that is an entirely different issue -- something to think about and not ignore......

Hi Everyone! I survived my horrid school administrator's exam last Saturday. I sure hope I did well enough so I don't have to do that ever again--3 two-hour blocks of solid writing (and a real bargain with its $500 price tag--NOT)! One more awful test to go on July 14th--another 6-hour writing marathon. This one is worse because I have to memorize all kinds of people and laws. If I don't screw up, I'll be done school at the end of August. I can't wait to be out from under this constant stress--I'm getting too old for this crap! I wanted to tell everyone how much better I feel now that I've read that some of you are having some struggles too. I'm glad that I'm not alone. I haven't been able to go to any of my local support group meetings because I've been in school every Thursday night for months (which is when the meetings are held of course). I started off SO well that I'm really ticked off at myself for letting my weight loss practically come to a dead stop! I just couldn't keep everything going at once. I didn't want to go for my fill this week because I knew that I hardly lost anything. I am SO grateful that I haven't gained any weight though. I guess that things could be worse! Although I haven't suffered any great tragedies or anything, life has just gotten totally out of control. I haven't had time to exercise or to plan out and prepare my food. ARGH! I can't say I'm doing poorly because of the band (it's staying tight) or because I'm drinking alcohol or eating whole cheesecakes or bonbons. It just boils down to not having the time to plan and pay attention to my eating plan. I've got to fix that now! So, because I got mad about the time I've wasted, I kicked myself in the butt. I pulled out all the paperwork from when I had my surgery and reread everything. I started my food log back up and broke out the old measuring cups. I have to go shopping tomorrow to make sure I actually have something decent to eat in the house (too tired to shop last weekend). I'm going to walk on the treadmill when I'm done writing this. If I'm really anal, maybe I'll catch up with where I should be with my weight loss. On the positive side, I bought a bathing suit 2 sizes smaller than the one I wore last summer. I'm trying not to beat myself up too much because I at least have kept off the weight I've lost so far, which is a little something to build on! I guess the bottom line is that we have got to hold it together so we can get to our goal weight! Hang in there, we can do this!

Gosh.... that's such a good question! One I've avoided thinking about for way too long. I should probably go to therapy to answer it. I mean the obvious culprits are there -- lack of exercise, love of chocolate and junk food, eating lots of food late at night and not eating all day. I totally do the "night picnic" someone mentioned. I actually get annoyed if my boyfriend comes home before my little food fest is over because I like to binge in privacy. But deep down, I think my weight gain always has to do with MEN. I've never been obsesssed with food in the way some people are talking about. I definitely don't think about it all the time or anything. In fact, the opposite is probably true. I DON'T think about it and then I get starving out of nowhere and eat whatever is in front of me, which ususally means fast food, junk food, processed food-- and the absolute WORST thing for my diet -- TAKE-OUT! I live in NYC and take-out is a way of life here. No one, and I mean no one, COOKS anything. In fact think one of my biggest problems is LAZINESS. I'm very lazy when it comes to food and I just want what's there and what's easy. Even now as I sit at my desk, the thought of going down two flights of stairs to get a salad and some tuna fish just seems like a big mission to me. I put it off and put if off and then the caf is closed and I have to eat something from the candy store instead. Which is really bad with the band and so I need to learn how to take the time to eat the right things or I'll end up losing nothing. But back to MEN -- let's see, there have really been two of them which have caused this gain. My father and my ex-boyfriend. My father died suddenly on vacation when I was 7 years old. My parents were in Italy and I was staying with an aunt who ended up being the person who told me he was dead because my mom was still stuck in Italy trying to get his body back home. It was a total nightmare because she didn't speak Italian and was hysterical and of course, I had no idea what was happening and wast totally terrified. Anyway, the first thing my aunt did is give me a king-sized Butterfinger. She kept giving me and my cousin candy money for the next couple weeks just to go to the candy store and of course, I put on a bunch of weight. I ended up losing most of it though as I grew up, just because -- thank heavens -- I ended up being really tall and lost a lot of the weight in puberty. Still, I don't think I EVER once in my life have not thought of myself as FAT since I was 7 years old. It's so sad, I look at my diary when I was a kid and there's all these "memoirs of a 7-year old", in this really childish handwriting, ranting about how fat and disgusting she was and how she would never, ever eat chocolate again -- and then I realize that's me! So like many of you, yes I guess food become a MAJOR comfort for me. But not just food in general, JUNK FOOD. And not even chips or fried stuff or anything like that, but CANDY. Yup, that fabled afternoon when I found out about my daddy dying -- just created one of the biggest sweet tooths imaginable. Fast forward a bit and then take-out food and alcohol became the big culprit --- that was always my problem in college and even when I moved to NYC. Take out is just so fattening, especially when you eat it late at night like I did (and still do unfortunately). Plus all the beer and booze you drink in college and as a single-girl in NYC.... EEK!!! Still, it was fairly under control until STEVEN. That's the evil ex. It's probably not appropriate to discuss but basically he had absolutely ZERO sexual interest in me and this would make me completely depressed and the bastard would SENSE this and bring home a pint of Ben & Jerry's. He basically placated my need for sex and intimacy with chocolate and sweets. I think he also WANTED me to get big in a way... the psychotic jerk. :angry So ultimately, sexual rejection = eating candy, and abandonment = eating candy. But here we are NOW. No sexual REJECTION (the new BF is wonderful and worships me just the way I am -- he's probably more concerned with me losing weight and finding some other guy or something ridiculous like that), and no ABANDONMENT (although I guess that always sticks with you, doesn't it?). So why am I fat now?? Last year I lost about 20 pounds through hard, hard work at the gym and in about 2 months, I gained it all back plus 10. Why?? Well, laziness is part of it -- I really don't like to exercise, although once I'm there, I enjoy it. Plus, I "hide my weight well" as they say, being 5'8 and all so gaining weight didn't really affect my confidence or social skills that much -- until recently of course, which is when I decided to have the surgery. But also, I think I JUST DIDN'T CARE ANYMORE. Strange really, but it was like I just gave up on the thought of ever being skinny. Even now with the band, part of me just can't imagine being skinny ever, ever again..... I simply don't believe that it's a possibility. I read everyone's success stories on here-- which are so inspiring -- but I have this deep down terror that the band just WILL NOT WORK FOR ME. I don't know, I guess I'm totally crazy. Anyway, sorry for the "book" guys. It just feels good to get all this stuff out though, doesn't it? Funny, I never thought I'd be exploring my internal struggles with perfect strangers, but there you go! Good luck and God Bless to all of you! Suzanne