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Ive heard no bubbly of course, as the carbonation is bad. Ive also heard keep the alcohol very light, as it effects your body differently.

I am counting all the carbs. I think it was the Atkins Diet that let you subtract fiber and sugar alcohol to come up with net carbs. Personally, I think nutrition science is quite fuzzy and so I am sticking to a more strict interpretation of "carb."

I'm new here and I have at least until January until I can get banded. I currently drink pretty heavily. I'm hoping that the band can help me curb the wine drinking as well as it does with foods. Is it possible that the band will restrict how much wine I can drink?

Hi Dina, That was one of my first question to the surgeon, he told me that alcohol should be very limited due to the calories. He did say though, that you won't have to drink as much in order get that happy feeling. Oh also said that I should no longer drink anything carbonated....beer...because of the chance of too much gas in my stomach causing the band to slip. Then he turned to my husband and said I'll be a cheap date! I'm with you, I love going out and having fun although, I'd wrather be skinny than buzzed. Good luck and keep us posted. Nicole

Today: 100s and 1000s (dare I say millions) are traveling to the legal pot Mecca of the USA : Colorado. They are arriving by plane, by train or even by camper to participate in what fondly has been named "Green Day." http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/12/31/colorado-readies-for-green-wednesday-pot-sales/ Legally a person can buy up to 1 oz of pot, smoke it publicly and face zero consequences from it. Sounds like a big party to me. Or a train wreck. It could go either way. The questions (ignoring any moral implications of post use for the moment - I am opposed to use): How did such a law get passed in the first place? Must be some really good lobbying. Why would the state of Colorado want this? Is pot going to end up like alcohol and tobacco industries where big business lobby political parties to pass new laws in the name of Capitalism? How long do you think legal pot use will last? When do you think it will go nation wide? If pot becomes a legal commodity for consumers, I can see it being easy to buy everywhere from gas stations to Safeway with perhaps age restrictions. The price may come down. Today, it is going to sell for about 200 dollars an ounce from Denver pot stores where it is known to sell for 25 dollars on the street (according to some research). Government would be advised to lower the price in a fixed range if they want to clean up the street sales of it. After all, why would someone pay 200 when same quantity is available for 25 on the street corner? I admit that legal pot sales will probably have better quality controls then the illegal pot sales. Government would want to prevent the start of pandemics from bad fungus and that sot of thing (or would they, hmmm...) And before you write off this topic as being completely non weight loss related, check out the following article that claims pot use lowers the insulin response: www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/marijuana-and-weight-loss This thread is just a fun little discussion in "the lounge." No holy wars please. Just be honest and friendly with your responses.

I think they ought to legalize pot if alcohol is legal. Not much difference.....except pot has zero calories.

@@kbmerritt84, congratulations on getting a date for your surgery! I hope all goes well. @@Tiana Harris, Most insurance companies require some type of supervised diet. Mine required 6 months and by the time I got through all of the approvals and what not it was 9 months later. The good news about that is there has to be some good habits built in order to be successful. I used that time to change a lot about my eating and exercise habits. Although I only lost about 13 lbs during that period, I feel like I am better off now because of it. You have to learn to: 1. Chew your food like crazy 2. Eat at the table and not in front of the TV 3. Get up and get moving as much as possible 4. Don't drink 30 minutes before and after your meals 5. if you need a therapists help to deal with any food addiction issues, use this time 6. Cut out all Alcohol, Soda and Cigarettes if you use them. Thankfully I did not have to do this because I don't do any of these things currently. One every 4 to 6 months I would have a cocktail with my stepdad but I only saw him very infrequently so this was not a problem for me. Getting ready is a lot of work and I have learned that slow and steady wins the race! Good luck!

We actually had a little "smoothie party" after we got the Vitamix. We made some veggies smoothies, dessert smoothies (with frozen fruit), green smoothies, orange julius smoothies (with splenda), sorbet smoothies - you name it. There are TONS of smoothie recipes on the net. Name a veggie, fruit, nut, or flavor and there are lots of recipes. Also some excellent savory recipes for Soups and sauces. Frozen drinks (with or without alcohol). Salsa. Ice cream made with soy or almond milk. If you purchase a separate container you can make your own fluor from any grain. The versatility of this machine is actually quite impressive. Vitamix took a different approach to blending. Most blenders have sharp blades which require less power to do the blending. The problem is that the blades dull which results in excessive wear on the motor and eventual burnout. Vitamix blades are "dull" right out of the box. But they power the blades with a 2hp motor. The result is that it will liquify just about anything you can imagine to a perfect consistency. Many fruits and veggies don't even have to be peeled. A definite advantage from a nutrition standpoint since many of the Vitamins are in the peel. I sound like a Vitamix commercial! Lol. I really don't own any stock. But it's refreshing to buy a product that will do what it says it will do and do it well.

Funny you post this. I went on antibiotics last Thursday and have gained 6 pounds! I was away over the weekend and did eat more/worse choices than usual, plus some alcohol. However, I was thinking this seemed a bit high for a 2 and 1/2 day trip. ( I wasn't chugging cases of beer LOL) I am now wondering if the Amoxicillian has something to do with it....

Wine is pretty good after a few months. Not something to abuse, but good to relax with. Make sure you know the time table for when to introduce according to your doctor. Mine said post 3 months if I recall correctly. Laura probably remembers my live post from the Italian restaurant in Jan 2013 where I was throwing it all in the wind with a 35 glass of fine Chardonnay at a very fine Italian restaurant. I was tipsy and having a good time with my wife after my first 1/2 glass and had trouble walking after one glass. It was a very full wine, so I think that matters when you choose one. Need less to say, I started in on a second glass and only made it one or two sips before getting an upset stomach. Waste of a glass. I think I probably drank it too fast @ 10 minutes. The effects wore off after 20 minutes. I had wine a second time @olive garden See, I do not discriminate as long as they offer the good stuff. Lol. One glass this time. Same drunken walk experience. This was in February 2013. Post 7 months. The effects wore off after 10 minutes. For the final alcohol test..ERM... experience, I tried drinking a Dangerous Dave from Dave's BBQ ( national franchise). It was basically a Long Island with a few other spirits thrown in. I was able to drink 2 of these which was very surprising. Needless to say, I was woozie for a good 3 hours after that and it did not hit all at once. Came in waves. Probably won't do that again, but it was a tasty mix. This was in march 2013. Post 8 months. I think wine is good to have, but for me, I will stick with 1/2 glass or less if it is full so I can still speak intelligently with others at the table and not fall over on the way to the mens. Lol. If it is lightweight like Moscato, then maybe I could do two glasses. Anyone care to share experiences with Moscato? Last time I had Moscato was at 2 am in a little cafe in Roma tucked back in an alley way. Per surgery at that time.

At my 6 week checkup I was cleared for alcoholic drinks (I'm not a big drinker, but asked because I had a family thing coming up) I was told wine and non carbonated things are ok in moderation, just watch anything with very sugary juices because of the "empty calories" also, no beer (carbonation) good luck!

immediately after surgery NO after a while...not a good idea. For one, since you're not getting as much food you will get drunk much faster and might not be aware of it. Also it's empty calories. you don't need alcohol to enjoy yourself

I'm not a doctor or nutritionist but I am an RN. I work at a detox/mental health IP facility. My sister had WLS 6 years ago. She was barely even a social drinker until about 1 year after the surgery. She now is a full blown alcoholic. I see it often at work too. No saying that you can't drink at all just be careful. A lot of us have a food addiction. It is far too easy to turn that occasional glass of wine into a problem attempting to fill a void. You just have to be really aware of what you are doing....

Interesting question! I know I was/am addicted to both. It's a conscious effort to ask myself "am I physically hungry, or am I head hungry?" Head hungry is when you want to eat just for the sake of eating, not for hunger. As a food addict, I still struggle with this. Thankfully, the band definitely keeps the physical hunger at bay so at least I'm not battling that anymore along with it. The big portion thing is also so true! It's funny, even now over 6 months after being banded, I still have eyes much bigger than my stomach. At home when I can measure food it's not a problem, but when I eat out I habitually end up with more food than I could possibly eat. Like today, I went out to lunch with my kids, and I had a single crab cake for lunch. I decided I also wanted a salad so ordered that too. I had about 3 bites of the salad and wasted the rest. Ordering the salad was a dumb move on my part. I couldn't even finish the crab cake! The sad part is, before being banded, the crab cake would've been just an appetizer. I would've ate it all, the entire salad, a big entree, and maybe even dessert. Now, there is just now way I could possibly eat even a quarter of all that at one meal. Any kind of weight loss surgery patients have to be very aware of trading addictions. We are definitely more at risk for drug addiction and alcoholism so it's smart to be aware of.

I have heard that you should wait 3 months to even try it and then a drink here and there is ok, but not smart to get drunk because alcohol can agitate your still fragile stomach. After about 6 months maybe you can go out and have a few drinks, but it will probably hit you like a brick wall so don't even think about tryin to drive

First talk to your Dr. Second I drink beer all the time, have never had a problem with carbonation and my Dr never told me I could not do carbonation. He did however recommend that I pour it out into a glass and let it sit for 15 minutes. But your Dr may say something else. Also remember most beers are a minimum of 200 calories and lots of carbs. You should search alcohol in the forum to hear more about it

How long before you can have alcohol and what has everyone found the most tolerable?

I've posted this exact thing before on here, and there are many posts about people that can't seem to quit smoking before surgery. (try doing a search on "smoking" and see what pops up) Anyway, here's my advice: Stop drinking if you can't seem to stop smoking with it. Tell yourself you can do it a few months after the surgery if you need to have that to hold on to, but do whatever it takes NOW to stop smoking. I was a very happy smoker for the last 20 years. I started as a teenager, and I was pretty mad about having to stop for this surgery. But I did this surgery to improve my health and my entire rest of my life. Smoking is bad. There is nothing whatsoever good about smoking. I know I am an addict, and quitting is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I had never been able to quit for any length of time before, but making the decision to have sleeve surgery meant I cared enough about my body and my future that continuing to be a smoker was just the most asinine, stupidest thing I could do. And so I quit. And I had one slip up about 2 weeks out, but I got right back into quitting and I didn't slip again, and it's now been over 300 days since I had my last cigarette. I won't lie; I still want a damned cigarette almost every day, but I know it's bad for me and that's not who I am anymore. I won't let them control my life any more. Cigarettes are just as bad as being addicted to drugs or being an alcoholic - you are allowing an addiction to ruin your health and jeopardize your future. If you care enough about yourself to have this surgery, then show that you care enough also to get off the smoking and put ALL of this awful stuff in your past. Some surgeons will test you for nicotine, and even the metabolized form which can stay in the body for weeks, so you might just be kicked out of the pre-op the day of if you haven't quit with enough time to get it out of your system completely. At least a month out should do it, and that includes using gum or Patches. Even if they don't test you, you're risking a poorer outcome. VSG is major surgery, don't fool yourself that you can just keep sneaking one here or there and it won't hurt anything. You are hurting your body every time you smoke, and you are risking poor circulation, poor healing, poor lung capacity and issues with breathing during surgery and even clots for months after. Why? So you can feed a deadly addiction? If you continue to smoke, you're saying to yourself that you aren't worth having the best possible outcome and faster healing and better health. You're better than that, so start thinking that way, and fight hard for your health. There is still time, and you are so worth it. You CAN do this!! (I used patches and gum for a week, then cold turkey. I also used a quit smoking app on my phone - Butt Out - that was a lifesaver as it has a community that was really supportive)

Hi everyone I am 3 month post op and i was told i could drink after 3 month and this weekend is my friends bday so i want to take some drinks low on calories such as vodka water or whiskey and water. Any suggestions? How im i going to feel? What can you recommend?

I was told by surgeon and nutritionist to keep away from alcohol for a least six months if not permanently. In some they said it causes dumping, but also we can get drunk very quickly, and that statistic shows that one in four bypass patients becomes alcoholic. Addiction transfer, and our faster absorption. To me that sounds scary.

My surgeons office said people can dump from sugar alcohol but I have had things with 29 g of sugar in them and haven't dumped yet so I guess it depends on the person! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

My surgeon said to keep sugar alcohol intake fairly low, or at leadt keep aware of it She said that it will cause gas and therefore a lot of discomfort if you have too much.

When I went out to a social gathering before I could drink, I would have water with a shot of cranberry juice in it. This made it look like a mixed drink, and it wasn't obvious that I wasn't drinking alcohol. I also had a glass of tomato juice but that might be a bit too harsh still if you are only 3 weeks out.

I was told to wait until six months post-op for alcohol in any form. I think I had a drink at 4 months out. If you're not back on solid food, I certainly wouldn't put any alcohol in the sleeve. Your staple line isn't completely healed and you might actually end up with pain or burning from the drink.

So this is just my random experience, but I thought that it might conceivably help someone else. I'm pre-surgery, and as instructed, I started all the best practices that you're supposed to do to get used to post-surgery life. I switched to very low carb, ate tiny little bites, gave up caffeine and alcohol, started taking my Vitamins, stepped up my exercise, etc. About a week into this regime, I developed horrible Restless Leg Syndrome. If you've never had it, count yourself lucky. It's a particular type of nerve damage and it makes you want to jump out of your skin. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't sit comfortably. I had the urge to run up and down the stairs constantly just to make the pain/crawly sensation stop. (I did in fact run around, went to exercise classes, yoga, etc.) It barely made a dent. Could it be the low carb, I wondered? Lack of alcohol? Was I really so addicted to a couple of glasses of wine per evening that I couldn't give it up without nerve pain? Yikes! I started reading RLS forums, and learned that there's often no solution, but some people get help from supplements. So I went to the cupboard to get my bariatric vitamins, looked at the bottle, and thought "Wait a minute! This started when I started the vitamins! It's the vitamins." I dumped the bottle in the trash, and within about four days the problem was mostly gone. By the end of the week it was entirely gone. So obviously this is an anomalous response to the vitamins. (They were the main Bariatric Advantage daily vitamins, FWIW.) Most people have no problems. But I did, and since it only takes about 15 minutes to type this up and might possibly help one or two other people, I thought I'd put it out there.