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Ok, so I thought I found the perfect sugar free snack, SnackWell's fudge brownies...I get them home and go to eat one thinking, lets see how good these are, and I take a bite and find, wow not bad. Then I read the box again, and see that indeed it had 0g of sugar, but 9g of Sugar Alcohol??? What is this??? Is it good for you, do you need to count it??? If anybody out there knows what this is can you please, please let me know. Thank you in advanced for your time.. :nervous Tara

I had to travel for work 4 weeks post-op. I stayed at an extended stay hotel so I would have a kitchen and I bought my soft foods. The company dinner was to a Mexican restaurant. I e-mailed my dietician about options. I asked about the shrimp taco. She said no shrimp until month 4. Since there wasn't anything else on the menu, which I previewed beforehand, I gracefully bowed out of dinner. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one. A few nights later some colleagues went out to eat. I went with them and at the salmon. My dietician is adamantly again alcoholic beverages in the first year because we don't have the enzymes for proper digestion of alcohol yet. It will take a while to get back to that place. So I'd say, skip the wine. Plus it's just empty calories. Happy V-Day!

My cholesterol used to be off the charts crazy, triglycerides through the roof. Today my doc told me he does not have any other patients with numbers as good as mine! At 4 months post op my Lipid profile was as follows: Triglycerides 101 HdL 52 ldl 113 Total cholesterol 185 Now at 8 months Triglycerides 55 HDL 114 Ldl 66 Total cholesterol 191 So if you are not sure what all that means here is some info: LDL (low density lipoprotein cholesterol, also called "bad" cholesterol) HDL (high density lipoprotein cholesterol, also called "good" cholesterol) Triglycerides (fats carried in the blood from the food we eat. Excess calories, alcohol, or sugar in the body are converted into triglycerides and stored in fat cells throughout the body.) Results of your blood test will come in the forms of numbers. Here is how to interpret your cholesterol numbers: LDL Cholesterol LDL cholesterol can build up on the walls of your arteries and increase your chances of getting heart disease. That is why LDL cholesterol is referred to as "bad" cholesterol. The lower your LDL cholesterol number, the better it is for your health. The table below explains what the numbers mean. LDL Cholesterol LDL-Cholesterol Category Less than 100 Optimal 100 - 129 Near optimal/above optimal 130 - 159 Borderline high 160 - 189 High 190 and above Very high If you have heart disease or blood vessel disease, some experts recommend that you should try to get your LDL cholesterol below 70. For people with diabetes or other multiple risk factors for heart disease, the treatment goal is to reach an LDL of less than 100. HDL Cholesterol When it comes to HDL cholesterol -- "good" cholesterol -- the higher the number, the better it is for your health. This is because HDL cholesterol protects against heart disease by taking the "bad" cholesterol out of your blood and keeping it from building up in your arteries. The table below explains what the numbers mean. HDL Cholesterol HDL-Cholesterol Category 60 and above High; Optimal; helps to lower risk of heart disease Less than 40 in men and less than 50 in women Low; considered a risk factor for heart disease Triglycerides Triglycerides are the chemical form in which most fat exists in food and the body. A high triglyceride level has been linked to the occurrence of coronary artery disease in some people. Here's the breakdown. Triglycerides Triglyceride Category Less than 150 Normal 150 - 199 Borderline high 200 - 499 High 500 or higher Very high Total Cholesterol Your total blood cholesterol is a measure of LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and other lipid components. Doctors recommend total cholesterol levels below 200 Total Cholesterol Category Less than 200 Desirable 200 - 239 Borderline High 240 and above High So basically my bad cholesterol and bad triglycerides have been cut in half and my good cholesterol has doubled! All to the benefit of diet and exercise!

Yet wondering...if I am consuming some alcohol but staying within my calorie requirements and exercising...will that slow my weight loss? I love spinning and core exercises, tabata, etcetera but I also like a couple glasses of wine a couple times a week. I'm keeping my food carbs low, too. Just wondering about others experiences. FYI--I am almost 5 months out. Down 63 lbs--275 to 212. Eating about 1000/ day and exercising 4-5 times week with good workouts IMO.

All the surgeons I have met have said no alcohol. Ideally ever.

I sure don't want to sound "holier than thou", but for me, it was just the opposite. After I made the decision to get the sleeve, for me it was an acceptance that I was going to make a fundamental change with my relationship with food. I did have a "last meal" at my favorite german restaurant (which turned out to be sooo disappointing). But I think it was like an alcoholic. Once you admit you have a problem, you can't go back to drinking the same way again.

The atkins shakes and bars say they have 2 or 3 'net' carbs. When I look at the back of the product (nutrition label) it (the bar) shows that it has 18 carbs with 6 of Fiber and 2 of sugar alcohols. This doesn't add up to me. How can they say it has 3 net carbs? I'm also looking for a low carb ready to drink shake that is not awful tasting. I got 'Premier Nutrition' chocolate shakes at costco and gag! They have this really weird taste to them. They are 30g. of Protein and 2g carbs. Great numbers if I can cover the taste with enough almond extract. I'd like to know of shakes that taste a little better. Thanks

Hello, this may be a weird and stupid question, but with alcohol affecting us differently now, does cooking with wine affect us too. I know when u cook with it, it evaporates. But I didn't know if it would be different with us!

No caffeine for 3-4 weeks, no alcohol for 1 year, no bread/rice/pasta for at least 3 months. Goal is 60 grams of protein per day and 64 ounces of water. I’ve avoided all the things I was told not to have. Working up to my fluid and protein goals—-39 Days post op.

Oh my. I have a clotting disorder as well and I'm on Lovenox for life since I've had clots while taking Coumadin and Xarelto. It sounds like you have developed an allergy to Lovenox itself or one of its components. Unless it could be something else, like the alcohol wipe you're using to clean the skin before you inject? In any case, not to scare you, but that's something you need to get checked out right away. An allergy can progress from giving you a rash to putting you into anaphylaxis. Not saying that's going to happen but it's a possibility. Hope you are able to get that figured out quickly! Lovenox bruises are bad enough, no one needs hives or welts on top of them!

My appointment with the patient coordinator went well-ish, I get my ass chewed out a little bit for drinking alcohol while on vacation last month but in the end I got my surgery date which is on January 7th, 2019! I’m beyond excited.

Try different protein shakes. I started with a soy based protein and it made me miserable. I switched to Premier Protein and my system became quite happy. You just have to keep trying different ones til you find one that works. The sugar alcohol and sucralose thing was also an issue for me. Good luck!

good morning , just wanted to comment on your blog here from some experience i have had. i have been banded since 2/13/07 and you are definately right about being successful if you do not test the waters. I have been successful with the band, yes I should be at goal probably but i'm not. I feel if i did not get the band I definately would have gained back my 52 LBS. that i did lose, and more. Having more invasive surgery? well I have two siblings who have both had the gastric bypass and sure they have lost there weight with one year BUT they dont look healthy, they look sickly, there personality had chanbbed, one of them got devorced, addicted to alcohol, shopping, and strayed away from the family. So I'm not so sure all those negative outcomes would be worth losing weight to me. But you can only decide that this is only my personal experience. Would I do it all over again? yes I would. I am here to help so if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask me. Good Luck in your decision making, I know that if you do get the lapband you will not regret the outcome. Just remember it's only a tool and if you follow the rules you will be a success!

CBC - Complete blood count... will tell the dr your red blood cell count, white blood cell count, platelets, hemoglobin, hematocrit... most common blood test ordered.. very basic.. CMP - Comprehensive Metabolic Panel - will tell the dr your glucose (sugar), will also check basic kidney function as well as liver function...you may also hear this called a SMA12 or CHEM 12... also very basic and commonly ordered. Hemoglobin A1C - Used to monitor glucose levels in diabetics. Sometimes ordered when you may be a borderline diabetic.. TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone ... monitors your thyroid function.. very common test as well.. Fasting Lipid Panel- Cholesterol panel.. will give your total cholesterol, LDL, HDL (good and bad cholesterol), triglycerides... Iron - Checks for anemia TIBC - Stands for total iron binding capacity.. normally ordered in combo with iron. Ferritin- Ordered to see how much iron your body has stored for use...again normally ordered with iron and TIBC. Phosporus- Checks for levels.. deficiencies are normally only seen with malnutrition and alcoholism... Magnesium- Checks for levels..deficiencies normally seen with malnutrition, diarrhea and alcoholism Thiamin (Vitamin B-1)- Checks for levels...same as above Vitamin B-12- Checks for levels.. same as above Zinc- Checks for levels RBC Folate- Used to help diagnose the cause of anemia 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D- Checks for possible vitamin d deficiency PTH- Parathyroid Hormone- ordered to diagnose the cause of high or low Calcium level. All are very common tests... you WILL need to fast 10-12 hours prior to the testing...

Water w Mio.........alcohol, not allowed for me for 6 months and not worth the calories.

If you are finding that post- sleeve you are much more vulnerable to alcohol, you're not alone. Here's a link to an article that examines recent research. Basically, because our stomachs are so much smaller, we absorb more alcohol, and it peaks in our blood more quickly. My doctor said the alcohol is acting more like crack cocaine in terms of speed and intensity of the high. And therefore much more dangerously addictive. So, in addition to alcohol being empty calories, we are at much more grave risk of becoming alcoholics if we drink after gastric sleeves/bypass. Here's the link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171120133922.htm I'm now struggling with this myself. Snuck up on me quickly, within 2 or 3 months of dealing with some personal trauma and depression. Kept finding that when I'd try to stop drinking, the shakes and intense anxiety were overwhelming. After consulting with a number of agencies and doctors, found there are some meds that make the withdrawals much more manageable, and those have helped tremendously. But insurance limitations make obtaining additional support much more challenging - still working on overcoming that hurdle. Anyway, be very very careful with alcohol after the surgery. One shot of tequila can affect you like 5 shots. And the brain really gets to liking that way too much. Then that's another battle to fight.

I told my husband that quitting alcohol and drugs is much easier than eating right when all you know is unhealthy eating. I'm only 6 months post op, but I struggle daily, especially now my 8 year old is playing football. All those yummy horrible foods at the concession stand. I do good for 2-3 weeks, then I go on a week binge. I have lost 45 pounds but I know I should have almost lost to my goal weight. It can be discouraging. But you have all of us here on Bariatric pal.

There are many things that I'm sure all of us do that doesn't follow our Drs orders, and there are many things we do we know we shouldn't do. Some of them really aren't that bad, like I drink out of a straw, all the time. I eat desserts like cake and cookies probably at least twice to 3 times a week. The key to these 'bad' behaviors is moderation and admission. If you feel like you need to drink in a social situation and your sleeve tolerates it, then go for it. I drink with my sleeve. I did wait 6 months, and I have maybe half a drink every few weeks or so, also as a social thing. I do think that alcohol is empty calories and is probably hindering you from losing more weight faster. Another key reason many Drs don't want us drinking is due to transfer addictions. If you have had a true food addiction, it is easy to transfer that addiction to alcohol, gambling or even sex. If you want to drink, you are an adult, and you're the only one that can modify this behavior if you're really concerned about it, otherwise, congrats on your sleeve.

Yes, food and alcohol. Alcohol not a problem in terms of overt drunkeness, but certainly contributed to my weight problems. I am in the process of interviewing some therapists right now. I realize that this was the missing piece of the puzzle during my medically supervised weight loss 3-4 years ago.

Watch your "sugar free" drinks and foods including popsicles. They often have "sugar alcohol" which can act like a laxative.

@@lisa52 Imagine instead of a food problem, you have an alcohol problem. Your drinking is causing health problems and relationship issues. Your insurance has just approved you for a procedure that will (with your cooperation) offer you a chance to get right and start getting healthy. Your procedure is scheduled for a few weeks from now. Do you spend the next few weeks getting smashed and bidding farewell to wine, gin, vodka, whiskey, lager, IPAs, porters and wheat beers? Or do you start your part (remember, it only works if you're willing to make it work) early, and try to get a jumpstart on this golden opportunity to turn your life around?

I think everyone experiences getting 'stuck' from time to time...its a learning experience for sure! It's so uncomfortable and I hate it when it happens, but when it does happen I know its my own fault; I just take too big of bites or dont chew enough ~ or I decide to try to eat something I know I probably shouldnt. My 'stuck' episodes have made me completely give up bread and certain meats. Kinda like when I was young and decided to get drunk and now will never touch brown alcohol . It's all a learning experience. It was all worth it to me.

For the hospital, I wish I knew about the nausea after getting out of the procedure, it was horrible and for me lasted 2 days. A small pillow is a must so you can hold your stomach to cough and blow into the spirometer thing. Everything else is just the lifestyle changes that come with surgery and are second nature to me now. I don't think about them too often, except when I go out with friends. I vowed not to drink alcohol until next March because I don't want to introduce that sugar and extra calories until I am at goal or close to it. When going out, it is difficult because I enjoy a glass of wine with friends. With that said, nothing is more important to me right now than getting to goal. I have discovered that I have something in me that I never knew was there.....self monitoring and self control. With the advantages the sleeve gives you as a tool and the right mindset, we can do this. I'm not saying it is easy because it most certainly is NOT. Most things worth working for are not easy. It is achievable though and I hope to keep my mindset moving forward and take all that comes with the surgery in stride to a successful finish line. Good luck to you on your research journey.

For me, it is getting to the root cause of why I abused food. Every time I put something into my mouth, I try to understand the reasons. If I understand why I turn to food then I don't have to do actions which may cause me harm, whether that be gambling, alcohol, shopping, sex ... fill in the blank. Cross-over addictions are real and I believe, for me, the only way I can prevent further behaviors which are not in my best self interest, is to understand why I turn to food when I am not really hungry.

The real answer is ask your doctor and see what they say. My personal answer is probably no, since you're trying to keep your liver as shrunk as possible for the surgery, and this liquid diet is basically practice for after the surgery anyway, when alcohol is definitely a no no. But, again, that's just me, and you should ask your surgeon this question.