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I think mine was around 1200 to 1800 a day. I looked for my paperwork, but couldn't find it, sorry. I gave up soda, coffee and alcohol and concentrated on proteins and veggies, I think I drank at least 2 protein shakes a day as my snacks and very minimal carbs. and walked at least 1 mile a day. it was tough, but so I the huge change in lifestyle you are about to do. Please check with your Doctor and Nutritionalist. Best of Luck to you, BELIEVE me when I say that 6 months will fly by! It is all worth it in the end.

Hello out there! I am expecting to get banded this summer. Has anyone gone through Dr. Dent in Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) for the recomendation to Dr. Graber in Utica (New York, USA)? Also, Dr. Dent is recommending the RNY bypass, but I would really prefer the Lap Band from all I've read. It seems a little less invasive and leaves you with a slightly more normal lifestyle. (From what I understand bypass, never any caffiene or alcohol, but with lap band 1 or 2 glasses of wine occasionally is ok and coffee is tolerable for many). Any comments would be appreciated!

Wow, Richard that is great!!! I had my band placed 7/22/08, in Mobile,Al. I have lost 24lbs so far. My Dr. did not require a pre-op diet. I know what you mean about alcohol, I try to take the calories into account for the day. I only drink wine, mostly Chardanay, or White Zin. Would love a beer but rather scared to try it. Keep up the great work!! Debe

So Im in week 8 and down sixty pounds.. the last 3 or for pounds have been a bear to take off...my body seems content at this weight (278lbs). I have to fight everyday to maintain at least... Over the labor day weekend i had 2 count them 2 mojitos...and gained 4 lbs in a day, you have got to be kidding me...well anyway that was sunday and today i have taking 3 lbs back off.. i must tell you they are not kidding about the alcohol...it is not worth it..just say no:cool: Of course it was water weight so i expect it to be gone today and that would put me at 61lbs down. and my allergies have kicked in..wow im really wining today huh..well i need to restart i think i will do liquids only again next week lets see what that does...maybe i can drop another 10lbs in sept and get to 268... thats sixty eight to goal.

Hydrate. Alcohol wrings the water out of your body, which is what causes the hangover. So water up!

Hello everyone. I've been absent from the forums for a while, I got a bunch of great information and asked a few questions which got me through the decision + the stages to be able to eat again. I was a self pay so the process was much easier than I expected. Psychology wise, I've adapted to the new lifestyle pretty well. I have my moments where I'd really like to eat something shouldn't. Anyhow, I'm fairly impressed with my progress, if not a little shocked. I'm currently around 55 lbs lost in about 12 weeks. I certainly didn't think it would come off this quick and I'm expecting it to slow. My original goal is ~120 lbs down, actually, anything near 200 would be awesome. Most importantly, I don't let things go to my head. Even with Thanksgiving and a wedding in the span of four days, I kept myself on the straight and narrow. During the holidays I just kept saying to myself that I wanted to have a whole new wardrobe by next Christmas. I did indulge a bit, had alcohol, had some sweets. I find I can't eat many breads, few pastas, and that's fine with me -- probably where I got most of my calories. I'm stepping up the physical activity over the next few months. I had no delusions about it coming off, it will, I'm just going to work as hard as I can to make it happen. Anyway, I hope the New Year is treating you all well. So far, I haven't even had a fill yet, the doctor is happy with the progress. Any advice from anyone in the same place as me? Anything you'd do differently? I'm not over confident, if anything I'm the opposite. I will tell you, it feels great to eat so little compared to what I did and feel full. I'm not sure if I can say with any assurance that I could ever feel full before surgery. I was either starving of stuffed, not "full". My best to you all. John

Hello everyone. This is more for the longer post opers. Have any of you tried drinking alcohol? If so, how was it? I like to drink the occasional beer or 2 and want to know what others have experienced. Thanks!! Sent from my LG-D800 using the BariatricPal App

My doctor advise me drinking lots Water because i had history seizure at 12 years old.. I love drinking alcohol and i decide to quit alcohol because i had kidney stone..

Ok, this is totally TMI but I need help. I had surgery on 3/19, and up to 10 days ago I was doing fine. I lost over 50 lbs and I feel great most of the time. I can eat almost everything by now (of course, no sugar, no fat, no carbonated drinks and no alcohol) but the past few days I've been really constipated. I never had problems like this before, on the contrary, if you know what I mean. I eat plenty of fruit (i admit I've been a little lazy with vegetables, eating only once a day), and every time I have to go is a struggle. I go days without having to go. Can anyone help? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

ask your surgeon what he recommends. I think you will find the surgeons recommendations on alcohol as varied as they are on caffeine/coffee! I think I had my first social drink at maybe 12 weeks post op, but I tend to avoid alcohol altogether now because it really is just excess calories. If we are out with friends I will get a "token drink" and sip at it, but that's about it. I'm all about not throwing the calories and carbs away for drinks. :-)

I don't have issues with carbonation and it is not forbidden on my plan either. We are just told to limit it and of course, only if your belly is ok with it. I don't drink beer, but I do have alcohol sometimes and diet soda sometimes. Ok with both. Although, try the alcohol safely at home as it hits everyone so different. Most people get drunk super easy but sober up even quicker. For me, I get drunk quick but I don't sober up. I stay drunk just as I would before surgery. But I get drunk VERY drunk with much less alcohol. Be safe, follow your plan. Best of luck!

My goal is between 1000-1200, and sometimes I'm a little short, sometimes right in range. How many calories am I able to eat? A lot more than what I am actually eating. All I'd have to do is "eat around the band" -- drink with meals, drink calories like juice or alcohol, eat chocolate or ice cream... The band can't stop you from eating junk. It will help keep you feeling full between meals though if you use it right.

I am not sure about the amount. My rule is to eat until I am no longer hungry instead of eating until I am full. The alcohol and carb question would be up to you and how quickly you want to loose. I haven't had alcohol yet because they are empty calaries (Although I plan on having a shot of tequilla to celebrate Onederland shortly I hope ) I had stayed with a low carb diet. I think it has helped me to loose faster than average. Partly because I am impatient and wanted faster results. There are those who eat carbs in moderation. They may loose a little slower, but are still every bit as successful. Hope that helps. Your doing great!

I've done that with the protein shakes! Lol. Ice cream was just one of my favorites before sleeve and probably was a huge contribution to my diabetes. I don't crave sweets yet and I think it would make me want more. It's an easy "treat" to not get full on but not enough nutrition for me and too much sugar (even sugar alcohols count to me as sugar). Good things come to good people.

Then it would be a good idea to say that in your question, wouldn't it? Speaking only for myself, the dealbreaker for me is the presence of sugar alcohols. My sleeve doesn't have a problem with them but my gut sure does. I've lost my taste for sweets, anyhow, so seeking out sugar-free, lactose free ice cream isn't on my radar.

When I asked my NP about these she said she has asked several companies to send her the research with proof that they really do absorb through the skin and not one has yet to send it. So do your research. She said it mustn’t be simple that it absorbs through skin otherwise things like hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes we use on our hands (and she says she uses a ton of all day) would be absorbed into our bodies and that sorta made sense.

The science of transdermal patches are real, effective and proven. I can't speak for vitamins or this brand. Ever heard of nicotine patches, prescription pain medicine patches or DMSO? That stuff is 100% effective. It uses a "vehicle" to transport the product into the skin. Your nutritionist may not know about transdermal patches. If you plied sanitizer or alcohol into a transdermal patch, theoretically it also could cross the skin barrier and enter the muscle/blood using whatever vehicle they use. Nicotine patches work. It might just be possible!

My surgeon recommends no alcohol for at least 6 months post-op. I'm currently 2 months out and don't plan to drink anytime soon. I would say, follow your plan, its there for a reason.

Try your best to do a real, honest head-check, especially where wine is concerned. I don't know if alcohol is an issue for you (it is for me) but you must be very careful. Especially so early. I drank wine at 5 weeks out and regret it. At only 12 weeks, it continues to be a problem for me and always will be. In addition, it greatly slows the rate of loss for a variety of reasons. It is very early on for you to be on this slippery slope. But if you are not able to control what you eat, at least chew things to an absolute mush consistency as much as possible and avoid wine. Tell yourself it will still be there, and you can have it down the road.

I breastfed all my kids into toddlerhood and served mainly whole foods - always vegetables with the main course and homemade treats - oatmeal cookies, homemade pizza too. I was a poor military wife and on food stamps - but I learned better nutrition from La Leche League, I made all my own bread for years and years. My kids were not fat, thought yogurt was an amazing 'treat'. They all like most vegetables and eat nearly anything to this day. I used portion control with treats. I was devastated when the 2 middle kids of the 4 developed type 1 diabetes, I was totally devastated. Of course it was no one's fault - and there are no family members that have type 1 other than these two. Anyway....at least adapting to eating like diabetics was not difficult for the family. My bio sisters/brothers are/were not obese, my bio mother was not obese, nor my bio father. I was not raised by them. My paternal aunt and husband raised me from infancy and produced mega self-esteem issues in me. I used food for major comfort, was only slightly chubby all through school, weighed 135 in high school. Fast forward - I continued to eat for comfort in my alcoholic marriage for 18 years...piled on the pounds. And so on......but I still celebrate with food, food is meant to be enjoyed within reason. I think food at family functions is an important aspect that I am not going to give up. (But there are no chips in my house unless a non-resident brings them over) We eat too much processed food and took home-ec out of schools, need to require nutrition, how to shop for food, and cooking classes with those SNAP benefits. They actually did that for people on food stamps in Hawaii through the home extension programs. We also need to move more, some states don't require gym class either..we need balance.

Though my banding wont happen until some time early next year (Jan or Feb) I have decided to use this time before hand as my "rehearsal dinner"- changing my eating habbits, re-evaluating my relationships (healthy and unhealthy ones) with those in my life, realizing that I AM worth a lot more than I've allowed myself to feel and be treated lately.... Last night was a "going away party" for a friend who is moving to Hawaii- because I had to be at work pretty early this morning (630am), I didnt do the whole "partying" thing with them- but I did join them for dinner at Carrabba's (Italian restaurant). I made pretty healthy decisions as far as what to eat-- Blackened Talapia, fresh green beans, and a ceaser salad. Sure, I ate basically everything, but it wasn't a huge bowl of pasta with a cream sauce! I tried to time my meal so that it took the recommended 20 minuts to eat- chewed each bite at least 30 times, etc... It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be lol! And, I don't really think I drank much while eating either- which is really a big deal for me, because I'm usually gulping down something! (Even if it's just water!) This morning for breakfast I had some string cheese and a chocolate-peanut butter protein shake- which is actually delicious! I will have something to eat at 1030ish (4 hours after breakfast)- and continue to try to follow the through with the right decisions and hopefully form that as a new habbit BEFORE I'm banded... Now, the relationship part is a little tougher... my weight isn't 100% to blame on my relationship issues- it's self esteem issues in general, growing up with an alcoholic father, dealing with abandonment issues, parents who always cheated on each other- etc. So, obviously I've made a lot of bad decisions when it comes to who I've dated in the past- 95% of them were cheaters themselves, my ex husband is an alcoholic, etc... Yes, I'm lonely most of the time, yes I enjoy having someone show me affection, yes I probably settle for less than I deserve... Wait, scratch that- there is no "Probably" about it- I DO settle for less than I deserve, or at least-- I DID! I was so desperate for someone's affection that I didn't take the time to be picky about WHO was giving it to me... And sadly, those people are still in my life. Making an apperance when THEY want to- not when I want them to (well, I always want them to, but you know what I mean!) So quick to say yes when they ask if they can come over, so quick to letting them in to hang out and watch a movie- KNOWING what the out come will be later-- so quick to forget the anger I have towards them, the resentment, the pain... all for what? A night of forgetting about my loneliness, only to feel even more lonely when I don't get a phone call the day after, or even the week after? That's ludacris!!!! So as part of the "new me" that I'm working hard to create, even before I get a lap-band, I WILL NOT put up with it anymore... I will not be someone's option when I've made them my priority for so long- they are now just my option- and honestly, they aren't even my best option! I'm going to learn to be conent with what I already have in my life, I'm going to learn how to take care of myself- physically and emotionally- because once I can do that, then there are no excuses for someone else not to take care of me in those same ways!!! No more using me, no more making me question myself when it's been them doing the wrongs, no more thinking "well, I guess this is all that I deserve"-- SCREW THAT! Even being fat I know that I deserve to have someone in my life to look at me and think I'm the most beautiful girl in the world, I deserve someone who is going to be open and HONEST with me, someone who is going to be loyal, and someone who is going to treat me the same way I've been treating others! I took the first step last night- "he" came to dinner last night, and normally he would have come home with me, watched a movie or whatever, and well, I don't have to spell it out... but when he hugged me goodbye, I turned my face so he couldn't kiss me goodbye, got into my car quick enough that he couldnt even have the chance to invite me over or ask if he could come over- and when he sent a text a few minutes later (of course saying BS like "you should have come over for dessert"--- gag me!!!) I sent back- "Sorry- I'm learning to be selfish and putting myself first- satisfying you is not on my to-do list... you can be my FRIEND- and that's exactly how you will be treated" I am finding "myself"- the girl that I've always been, but let others push into the corner... I am going to have moments of weakness, sure- we all do right? But I will have the courage to pick myself up and give it another try every time I fall! :clap:

So the big day is closing in…and I’m starting to freak the hell out!!! I’m scared as frack for a multitude of reasons and my trepidation is increasing with each passing day. Tomorrow I start my pre-op diet. I did try to be good this past week, at least in the beginning. But then I seemed honestly, legitimately more hungry than usual and my junk food cravings were unbearable. I would be good all day then come home and give in to the ice cream in the refrigerator or feel the intense need to stop at 7-11 on the way home and pick up a candy bar (or two). This definitely didn’t help my nerves. If I can’t even go two days without chocolate, how the heck am I supposed to go two months without solid food? What if I really can’t do this? What if I fail? Sure, I’d considered the possibility of failure going into this. I know the statistics. I know it doesn’t work for everyone. I know a lot of people find ways to eat around the band and manage to eventually gain back any weight they lost in the beginning stages. I knew that I might never reach my goal or that I might, in the long run, not lose any significant amount of weight at all. I knew these things from the beginning, but all those images of skinny me at my sister’s wedding this fall, or my ten year high school reunion next year, or me in a sexy outfit in a bar in the city getting hit on by cute boys sometime in the foreseeable future, were the possibilities my head focused in on. I figured once the changes had been made to my body from this surgery I wouldn’t be allowed to pig out. I wouldn’t be able to binge on junk food. And I’m a good girl; when there’s a rule I follow it. So long as I had a hard and fast reason to eat better, I would stop being able to rationalize the bad things I ate, and I would succeed. Or at least that’s what I believed—or what I wanted to believe. But I know it’s not going to be that easy. I’m going to be fighting those cravings all the time, especially in the beginning and If I couldn’t say ‘no’ this week, how will I do it next week, and the week after that, and for the rest of my life? Will I find a way? Or will this just be another failed attempt of mine to lose weight? And that’s not all that scares me. Because let’s be honest here—I didn’t get to be 315 lbs by not liking food. In fact, I love food. And I don’t just love food. I love sitting down and stuffing my face with mass quantities of disgusting, bad for me food. Right now I’m living at my parents house, since I had no money when I graduated vet school, and decided to stay at home for a year or so and save up money to buy my own place (which I will be moving into in a couple of months, but that’s a blog for another day.) Anyhow, the point is that even though I’m living at home, I’m 27, an adult and a doctor who is responsible for many lives on a daily basis. I should be adult enough to be responsible for my own life. My choices should be my own and I shouldn’t have to hide things from my parents just because I’m living under their roof at the moment. And yet, I do. I don’t hide boys, or pot, or alcohol--I hide food. When they go away and I know I’m going to have the house to myself, I think—“oh yay! I can stay in and watch a movie and order an entire pizza and eat it by myself.” I know this is not a healthy view to have on food, or on life in general, but it’s the way my mind thinks. I actually look forward to the opportunity to binge. And now I won’t be able to do that again—ever. Which is good. I shouldn’t ever do that. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to. And knowing that I can’t use large quantities of food to comfort myself is scary. Now I might actually have to deal with my emotions and to be perfectly honest, I don’t even think I know what my emotions are any more, I’ve been eating them down for so long. And then there are the minor scary things. I’ve never had anesthesia before or even spent a night in the hospital (except the sleep studies I had to do) both of which I will have to do next week for the surgery. How will the recovery go? Will I be in much pain? How will I survive a week at home with my mother without the possibility of escaping to work? (that last one is definitely the scariest.) So well, the freak-out isn’t exactly over, but I guess I’m done ranting about it for now. I’ll probably be back a few more times this week as D-day approaches. Tomorrow I think I’m getting weighed and measured by my PT at the gym so I’ll have some accurate starting stats to share with you. Until then, I’m going to try and convince myself that a week of Medi-Fast and fat-free, no sugar added yogurt sounds delicious.

I gave up caffeine for my surgery and never went back to it. Caffeine is a natural diaretic, it dehydrates your body. I spent the first weeks out of the hospital fighting to stay hydated to the point that I wasn't light headed, I sure as heck wasn't about to put something into my body that made me dehydrate!!!!! Then when the doc said I could go back to coffees and stuff, I figured I had already done all the withdrawls of caffeine and just haven't reintroduced it back into my system. I think they do "no alcohol" becasue of the tremdous amount of calories in it!!!!! You can easily drink your entire days calories in 3 drinks, AND don't mention the fact that it slides right past your band and doesn't give you any satisfaction of being full. Also I think alot of mixed drinks have bubbles, and I don't know about eveyone else but buddles are TOTALLY painful, I swore I would never have pop again after being banded, and 3 months post op I just had to taste what I was missing, OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH is all I can say, I spent 2 hours praying that I could just puke the ick up. And even once the bubbles were gone, by a belching contest to beat the band, the residual pain was still there. Long post summed up, I think your body will determine what you give up, once you've spent hours begging your body to please do "Something" with whatever is causing your pain, you will gladly never consum it again. :-)

I haven't, and I drink coffee every day. Our docs say there's no reason why you can't have caffeine. Our main fill doc says "I gave up food, I sure as heck am not giving up caffeine!" She's been banded for 7 yrs with no problems. The thing to do is make sure you don't put lots of sugar or fattening creamers in your coffee. Alcohol you have to be careful of for 2 reasons: the calories in the drink and the extra calories you often consume when you're drinking (e.g. Snacks or you eat more because you are more relaxed). I was told to try and avoid alcohol for those reasons while losing weight, but once in maintenance you can figure out how to work it back in. Plenty of people who are losing still have an occasional drink though. So I'd say take your nutritionist's info with a grain of salt. Watch your calorie intake & you should be fine!

My drinking days are Sundays. I preplan everything. I double my workouts, plan my meals and make sure I stay within my target calories intake. My drink of choice is a shot of a low cal vodka and Zero vitamin water. Blueberry Pomegranate is one of my favorites. My advice to you is to plan you day and do some research on your favorite alcoholic drinks and find a healthier alternative. Remember alcohol has empty calories. So choice wisely