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That's exactly it. When we met, I was about 150. Could have stood to lose about 20 pounds, but the food wasn't as big in my life as it became over time. When we dated, everything revolved around eating out. And often during our marriage, we'd eat out 3-4 times a week, which is waaay too much. Sometimes it was just because neither of us felt like cooking, other times it was because we wanted to try this or that new restaurant. I willingly went along for the ride and enjoyed it. Then "one day" I woke up more than 100 pounds over where I was when we met. When you are trying to eat chicken and fish and he's talking about going "just this once" to have that steak dinner or other delight at that restaurant we both love, it can be easy to eventually succumb because you really WANT to have that instead of another. night. of. chicken. It's MY fault for eventually saying yes. I take FULL blame. But at the same time, when he knows that you're trying to behave, why tempt? Because HIS wants come before YOUR needs eventually, that's why. That's my frustration. This time I have essentially laid down the law -- where *I* am concerned, not him. HE can go out whenever he wants, but I won't join him. But that wasn't good enough in our last conversation because he was trying to convince me I can still go. It's like taking an alcoholic to a bar and saying you can be safe and order Water. Yeah, but... When one is in a close relationship like this, the other should not do anything to try to sabotage the other. If he had to do some new training for work over the weekend, I would not put my needs to be paid attention to over his need to do his work and go upstairs and bother him and harass him, you know? This isn't just about vanity or what I want. I NEED to do this. I was staring major health issues in the face, and I was afraid I wouldn't live into my 50's if I didn't do something. I didn't just get the band for vanity's sake (well, that will be a nice side effect, but that certainly wasn't the reason). I NEEDED to do something more drastic, something that would help me. Too many people get the band and feel like, whoopee, I can do anything I want now and eat like before. Wrong. Sadly, I guess so do some spouses. Again, WRONG. One day food may not have the hold on me that it does. Until then, I at least need some support from him in the form of understanding that this is MY cross to bear and I don't need him becoming a stumbling block for me. That isn't really too much to ask, and anybody in any kind of relationship should understand this, no matter how block-headed they are.

I think your analogy to alcoholics is close to the issue. He's probably reacting to the fear of how his life will change because of your lap band. He needs to learn how to adjust, eventually he'll realize that you can still go out to dinner and he can normally even though you will eat differently. He may feel "pressured" into dieting with you, but if he doesn't want to diet, he'll go back to his old eating patterns soon enough. Look at the bright side, if he's loosing weight, your band has worked for both of you. Would he have the initiative to loose weight if not for your decision? Stay positive and give time for him to see that you're only changing your own eating patterns, and I bet he'll calm down soon. i.e. ignore negative comments for a little while and hopefully he'll tire of making them. If that don't work... good luck.

Ok my disclosure is, I did eat these when I was on Atkins.. so I only know of its 'impact' on Atkins if you want to eat them. As for calories, since I am on a reduced calorie diet-- I stay away, calories are calories. But apparently carbs are not created equal! My husband is doing Atkins now and eats these as well. Anyway.. I don't know what sugar alcohols actually means (besides it can act as a laxative if consumed in large quantities), but if you're counting carbs, you get to subtract Fiber and Sugar Alcohols from the carb count. So, on Atkins these candies work out. They never affected mine (or my husband's currently) weight loss on Atkins. The nitty gritty which I don't quite understand is that they don't trigger your sugar levels to change (diabetic info inserted here--that I don't know), so it doesn't impact you like a normal carbohydrate would.

Sugar alcohols come out of the carb count. But as Laura said, they are also good laxatives, lol. The calories are still the same. In my humble opinion, you are doing yourself more of a disservice by eating the 'fake' chocolate with the fake sweeteners. Eat REAL chocolate, but in moderation. Those fake sugars screw with your metabolism. That's why you are not seeing weight loss. There is plenty of science out there that shows sugar free is NOT the way to go. Nor is the Fat free stuff. Off my soap box now. :wink:

I'm just curious if anyone else has noticed this and what it really means. They show on the package that they have low carbs, but if you look closely it says sugar alcohols. It seems whenever I eat any of this chocolate and even accounting for the calories, it pretty much puts a stop to my weight loss. I'm not eating more calories per day, but I'm just wondering if the "sugar alcohols" is really reacting just like normal carbs and preventing me from losing weight. I am one of those people who really has to watch my carbs or I don't lose.

Per my post-surgery diet plan, I'll be on regular foods starting at 4 weeks, although the idea is to ramp up slowly, so I don't necessarily think that being on "real foods" is a problem. I do think that the choice of real foods might be an issue, though. As others have already said, the sleeve is a tool, not magic - we still have to work at having an appropriate diet and exercise. In fact, it's probably even harder since the volume of food is so much smaller. You need to make sure that you are getting your nutritional needs first before anything else. I know you've heard it all before, but go back to Protein first, then produce. Once you get to maintenance, then is the time to think about the occasional treat like ice cream or Pasta. For now, focus on taking maximum advantage of the so-called "honeymoon" period where your weight loss is at its best. I'd also recommend going back to tracking for now. You may find you don't need to do so stringently after a little while, when your good habits are set, but for now, especially if you're concerned about not losing, it's helpful to know exactly what's going in your mouth. When you can, weigh it or measure it. If you know you'll have to eat out once in a while, master the art of measuring by eye - my NUT made me measure things out for a month so I KNOW what 3 oz. of chicken looks like, or a 1/4 cup of peas, or a tablespoon of salad dressing. It's still better to measure when you can in the early stages of the game, but real life does make that difficult As Pookeyism asked, what are you drinking? Are you getting enough liquids? Avoiding alcohol and empty calorie beverages? Not getting enough Water can impact your weight loss, too. A 1 lb. fluctuation is minor, as well, and could simply be a factor of what you ate and drank in the last couple of hours, if you happen to be holding onto a bit more water than usual, or when you last visited the bathroom! When you do weigh yourself, try and do so at the same time of day, under the same conditions - I choose to do so after I get up and visit the toilet, but before I get dressed for the day, so I'm typically wearing similar sleepwear, haven't eaten or had significant amount of water yet, and I'm pretty much at my base weight for the day. I plan to continue that once I have my surgery, and I've vowed to myself to ignore the scale between weekly weigh-ins I know for a fact that my weight can fluctuate as much as 3-4 lbs depending on the time of the month, too, so I take that into account before I panic about a gain. Did you take measurements before you started your weight loss? You might check to see if you're still losing inches. As you've probably read, it's fairly common to have a weight loss stall but find that your body is just playing catch-up, and the inches are still coming off. Are you getting more exercise than you used to? Remember that you could be building muscle, which weighs more than fat. The big thing is to not panic or get discouraged, take a deep breath, and go back to basics: take care in what you eat and drink, get some exercise, and get plenty of sleep. If you do that, I'll bet the weight starts coming off again!

I would caution real food is not a great idea at 4 weeks, and the way you are defining your portions might need to be revisited ("small", "bite", "half"). The foods you are describing come straight off my no-no list straight to this day, so I cannot say that you can eat those things and be ok. Stay away from foods you cannot measure and keep a calorie count, give yourself no excuses, keep a food log. You did not mention what you were drinking - Water, juices, dairy? Alcohol?

After looking closely at the label on the Centrum Silver Chewables there isn't any IRON in it! The only other source of Iron (at the moment) that I can find is in liquid form that he can take is the "Geritol Liquid". He's only taken one teaspoon so far, but is really freaking out because it does have some alcohol in it. I'm saying that with such a small dose (1 tsp.) that it isn't enough to matter as long as he is getting his iron. Am I wrong? My question is two fold I guess. #1. How much Iron should a grown man have per day? #2. How do you get your Iron? He had his band done yesterday.

quick question - are you eating anything like Atkins Bars? or anything with sugar alcohols in them? I was losing fine, then I started adding in an Atkins Bar a day or even 1/2 of one, and my weight stalled out for almost 3 weeks. I finally realized maybe it was the Atkins - so I cut them out, and holy crap did the weight start falling off again! So maybe if you are doing any bar supplements or something like that, give them up for a week and see how it goes?

I highly advise against drinking alcohol. It's just empty calories, hard on the stomach, and you end up getting more intoxicated than you think because your pouch is small. I agree though, that if you must drink alcohol, watered down vodka is probably the way to go. Do not get anything carbonated mixed in.

Can't help, I don't drink any alcohol. Empty calories.

Water....seriously that is the best thing you can drink. If you are asking about alcoholic drinks... Vodka and water heavy on water...with a splash of cranberry might be the closest to being the best.

*stands up infront of everyone* Hello, My name is Paul and If I'm an alcoholic... good.. Suck it up scumbag because I couldn't give a rats ass.

Edit: Thinking about this challenge some more, it should be opened to everyone. I originally thought about it being tackled only after weight loss because it would not seem good to have such a transformation challenge interfere with weight loss. However, now I think anyone should be able to do it even to help with weight loss, as long as you are able to physically and mentally rise to the challenge. I will let you define what this criteria means to you, but I would think it excludes those that are less then 2 months post op. I would probably not attempt it until 5 months post op, but that is just my opinion. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transformation is something that may interest some veterans who are done with the weight loss phase of VSG. Losing weight is the beginning of the transformation process to become a beacon of health and radiant energy for yourself and those around you. I am really a big fan of both transformation programs that the Phillip brothers have spearheaded. In 1999, bill Phillip created the much revered Body-for-life program that is 12 weeks of intense transformation. Some have trouble extending their success of the 12 week program to the rest of their life, possibly because they jumped in too fast or did not have the mental and physical strength to continue after 12 weeks. That is where his brother Shawn Phillips came along more recently and created the Strength-for-life program. This program focuses more on developing habits of strength in all areas of physical and mental health. The results gained from exiting the 12 week strength-for-life will be foundational for the rest of your life. The strength-for-life program includes a base camp phase that is 12 days long. It is important to do this base camp phase before starting the 12 week program in order to set your body up for success. During this time, you focus on rebooting your body. Essentially, 1. Eat lean, clean and green 2. Drink Water in abundance (no alcohol, sugary drinks, energy drinks, etc, just water) 3. sleep at least 7-8 hours of restful sleep a night 4. Have an attitude of gratitude 5. Recharge with the base camp training plan As VSG post op, we know how to eat and how to drink water. Try and keep the Protein as lean as possible. Drink as much water as you can, but do not drink the energy or sports drinks ( too much sugar). sleeping restfully will lower the cortisol levels and help the body detox. The base camp training plan is essentially Training 3 days a week with body weight movements. Do 3 sets of 3 different exercises, pausing for 30 seconds between each set. Monday: 15-20 reps of push-ups. 3 sets. Wednesday: 15-20 air squats or lunges. 3 sets. Friday: 12-15 ab crunches. 3 sets. If you slip on any of the 5 principles listed above, start over. It is important to get thought the 12 days successfully before moving onto the 12 week transformation. You may see some weight loss and or lean muscle gain during this short reboot. However, the real change will occur over the next 12 weeks. Here is where I would like to propose a transformation challenge. The challenge will be 12 weeks long and success is defined by achieving a set of clearly defined goals. Make sure the goals are as personal as possible and link them to your feelings. Create 2 physical goals and one inner strength goal. For me, I am : 37 years old 5'11" 188 lbs pre transformation (as of yesterday) Married with no children, a dog, 3 cats and currently provide a place for my brother. Physical goals: I will lose 15 pounds of fat, gain 5 pounds of lean muscle and lose 2 inches around my waist by September 1st. I have high energy and soaring confidence. Mental/emotional goal: I will have positive energy to share with my wife and brother. We enjoy 1 family activity a week that is not centered around the tv. I will read 2 leadership books and hire a business coach to strengthen my career by September 1st. Be sure to measure along the way: Weight Body fat percentage Resting heart rate Blood pressure Cholesterol Other Take weekly photos : front, back and from each profile. Shoot the photos in the same position and location, wearing the same clothes. At the end of the 12 weeks, you will literally be able to see the transformation from week to week. During the transformation, consider the following eating guidelines: 1. Shoot for macronutrient balance, eating lean protein first. 2. Eat 5-6 x a day, keeping each meal small. 3. Avoid sugar and alcohol 4. Eat your Omega 3s. These really help with inflammation. 5. Get more Vitamin d either as a supplement or being in the sun 6. Eat organically During the transformation, consider the following strength training guidelines: 1. Monday - Upper body push (chest, shoulders, triceps and biceps) 2. Tuesday- HIIT and abs 3. Wednesday- lower body / legs ( quads, hamstrings and calves) 4. Thursday - upper body pull (back, rear delts, triceps, biceps) 5. Friday - HIIT and abs 6.saturday - circuit (strength, stamina, stretch) 7. Day off - recover and rejuvenate Train strong and not long. 1. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday should last 33 minutes to 44 minutes 2. Tuesday and Thursday HIIT would be 20 minutes 3. Saturday circuit should be 20 minutes followed by 8-12 minutes of stretching The strength workouts should be no longer then 4 sets: Set 1: 12 reps Set 2: 10 reps Set 3: 8 reps Set 4: 8+ reps For example, I will be using a pair of dumbbells at home to complete the strength training Try and be very focused during the strength training. It is the focus that is going to help the most with achieving the transformation. Be progressive and increase the weight from week to week. Make every rep count. Make them super high quality. HIIT training is far more effective then long cardio training at steady state. 1. Start with 3 minute warm up 2. First interval is 60 seconds at high intensity 3. Second interval is 60 seconds at lower intensity (catch your breath) 4. Repeat 2) and 3) for 18 minutes. No more. 5. Cool down for 2 minutes For example, I will be using cross fit training with a PT to complete the HIIT workouts. On the 7th day, it is a rest day both nutritionally and physically. If you want to eat more calories or have that treat, this is the day to do it before diving into the next week. Each week should be programmatically the same, but should also increase in intensity. It is important to keep a diary of your training during this 12 week challenge. This will help you with keeping on the program and motivation. After the 12 week transformation challenge, you will be in a position of strength to set new goals and achieve them. Good luck everyone!

The band has no effect on the way your body metabolizes alcohol. With Bypass however you can become impaired with very little alcohol because your body simply does not have the plumbing it used to. Just be concerned with the liquid calories and you will be fine. You should avoid carbonated beverages for at least a year because you could stretch the pouch. Some people have said they can no longer tollerate carbonated beverages because it just comes back up on them. What it comes down to is drinking responsibily.

So my BMI is 36/100 pounds over weight. I have no known comorbidities. My labs did come back with borderline high cholestrol and non alcoholic fatty liver disease. Both of which doesn't seem to be a major comorbidity to qualify under my Blue Shield policy. I should be scheduled for a sleepy study in the next few weeks. I have my psyc evaluation on Tuesday and have my upper endoscopy schedule for Sept 13. Secretly hoping for a comorbidity is a weird state of mind to be in. Has anyone else been through similar circumstances?

Not to pick nits, but there's a big difference between liquid calories and "empty" calories. Empty calories are those that come without any nutritional benefits--and while one can indeed make that claim about alcohol, it's far from true about all liquid calories. If it were, we'd all starve to death on the liquid diet! Once bandsters are on solid foods, we are indeed told to avoid liquid calories to maximize the effect of the band. But that's not the same as saying that all liquid calories are "empty" calories. Sometimes liquid nutrition is VERY important!

Pat- I use rubbing alcohol on all my electronics. The moisture evaporates almost instantly and the grime comes off as quickly as using soap & water. No streaks! I have a 2 year old and clean my TV and monitor at least once/week. This also works for the keyboard. Get some cheap swabs and a big chunk of time... Magic Erasers are the best. Here's an idea for the sink again- is the problem discoloration on the drain? If you are looking to impress (short term beauty) try brasso on a really dry drain. It removes tarnish like those black or green splotches on the non-stainless steel part.

thanks, all. i have no idea what's going on. my stomach is just rolling and clenching, and i'm keeping a wet cloth on my neck and sniffing rubbing alcohol to try to stave off any more heaving. i'm just trying to make it through to the morning, then i'll drive the hour to the hospital where i had my surgery and go to the emergency room. right now, i want an iv, some anti-nausea meds, and some pain meds. i'm seriously, seriously miserable. i've been in tears on and off since it happened, worrying that the band got messed up, that i made a horrible mistake in even getting it. it's a true pity party of the highest degree. i'm pretty sure it wasn't a pb. i felt like my toenails were going to come up, and it was so loud it woke my son from a sound sleep.

Oh Shaggs, don't feel guilty about 2 small glasses. I had 5 big glasses the other night (one of my best mates was leaving town) - I tell you what, its true what they say about the alcohol going straight to your head! I also had the worst hangover I have had in a loooong time. I'm not feeling guilty because before I would have downed a bottle of scotch in a session and god knows how much coke. But now when I socialise I am drinking low-alcohol white wine so I still feel social, but without all those empty calories before. And it hasn't hurt my weightloss, I lost 1.3kgs this week! One other thing I wanted to post here - I had the worst, most terrible shoulder tip pain for 2 weeks after the op. The only thing that would help would be panadiene forte but I wanted to get off pain killers after 2 weeks on them! I went to my local massage therapist and she did some bowen therapy on me. The pain was instantly gone and hasn't been back so if anyone is having trouble with shoulder pain, find your nearest bowen therapist! Bowen therapy also helps with detoxing the body, which is good during weight loss.

hey Shaggs, restriction is better but I want more fill. I tested the alcohol vs restriction last night to see how we were placed and I am glad to inform you that having fills does not affect alcohol consumption at all!!! These experiments are ongoing and I will keep you informed on any further results. Ego-boost was at an all time high thanks to advances of a certain cute and BUFF!!!! 26 year old who was very persistent and yet ultimately disappointed. Bad for him, good for me. It's good to know that even though I ain't using it, I still got it!!! LOL.

I've had more than one stall / plateau since surgery - see my signature area. One thing I think helped me break the most recent stall was to "change it up." I've been following the Atkins diet ever since I resumed solid food a few weeks post-op so I started eating some carbs and increased my calorie intake for a couple of weeks. I eat 4 times a day - 8a, noon, 4p and 8p. I love Quest bars, and I was eating one of those for 2-3 of the 4 meals each day. Someone on this site said she had to cut back on Quest bars to get the wt loss going again, so for the past week I've limited myself to just one bar per day - I eat real food the other 3 times each day now -- but just Protein and fat, keeping the carbs as low as humanly possible. Also I was eating several sugar free hard candies each day, and someone on here said she had to stop eating sugar alcohols for Atkins to work for her, so for the past week I've cut out the hard candies too. I had not been exercising at all since surgery, so now I've started wearing a pedometer to count my steps each day, with a goal of 10,000 steps a day eventually, and I've started taking my dogs for walks several times a week. And sure enough, the pounds have started to come off again, albeit v-e-r-y slowly. I'll TAKE it! The important thing is ... SLEEVE ON!! Best wishes!

I eat because i am a food addict. I LOVE FOOD. Food for me is the same as alcohol or drugs or cigarettes are for some. The reason the band has worked amazingly well for me is that it physically stops me in my tracks from being able to over indulge in my addiction. Does it stop me from wanting to eat (aka head hunger) HELL NO. Does it stop true hunger, not for me, what the band does is allow me to eat a small portion that is just enough to satisfy the real hunger and be done.

My doc says no alcoholic drinks for 6 months to a year and no caffein ever again. I've started drinking de-caf tea and I'll probably go to de-caf coffee when it gets cold again. I'm putting lemon or lime in my water and it helps so much. GB

So what about us heavy drinkers. I don't want to sound like an alcoholic but I do some serious partying on occasion. Obviously carbonation is a problem but is there anything else about alcohol that causes issues? Basically I want to know if I will have a problem getting buzzed up at parties.