Search the Community

My nutritionist gave me a large packet of very useful information, most of it had to do specifically with what to expect before and after surgery, and to to maintain a new and healthier life-style. But it was the lists that are helping me make the life-style changes that I have taken whole heartedly. I would like to share these with, in hopes that they can help you in the way they are helping me. Here is how it was explained to me; from the first list of 20 options choose 2 modifiers and start employing them into you life. Then, when you see your doctor in a month, choose two more. Don't just choose them, but add them to the previous months modifiers. Repeat this month after month. I call these modifiers, as that is essentially what you are doing, modifying what and how you eat. here is the first list: 1. Do not skip breakfast - eat three distinct meals per day. Avoid grazing. 2. Decrease portion sizes and stop eating when you are no longer hungry vs. when you are full/satisfied. 3. Limit eating out to once/twice per week; make better choices when eating out; ask questions about how the food is prepared. This might mean you cook more at home and meal prep. 4. Increase fruits and vegetables by including one or both at each meal. 5. Reduce desserts/candy/sweets to one time per week. 6. Reduce grab-n-go processed foods such as granola bars, chips, frozen meals, PB crackers etc. 7. Prepare meals with a half-plate portion of non-starchy veggie, a palm-sized portion of lean protein, and 1/3 - 1/2 cup of healthy carbs. 8. Avoid fried foods and begin choosing leaner meats (Leaner meats include the word round or loin such as sirloin, top rounds etc.) 9. Begin some sort of activity every day even if just for 5 minutes (walking, swimming, exercise videos etc) Reduce time sitting. 10. Decrease caffeinated, sweetened, and/or carbonated beverages with the goal of eliminating. 11. Start gradually increasing your water intake until you are up to at least 64oz per day. 12. Reduce alcohol with the goal of eliminating. 13. Begin a multivitamin daily (after surgery, you will switch to a quality bariatric vitamin). 14. Begin calcium citrate with vitamin D 500mg twice daily. 15. Practice taking bites the size the size of a thumbnail, eating more slowly, chewing more. 16. Practice SIPPING beverages---no longer "chugging" or gulping. 17. Practice NO LIQUIDS 30 MIN. BEFORE/DURING AND 30 MIN. AFTER MEALS. 18. Practice positive self-talk; weight loss isn't easy, so be nice to yourself! 19. Begin to reduce use of straws and gum. 20. Track calorie intake. The first month I chose #7 and #18. This month I chose #9 and #20 I hope this will be of some use to you who are just getting started, and to those of you already on the losers bench...

Are you drinking alcohol or having any desserts? Is sugar back in your diet anywhere? Are your protein drinks low carb?

@frust8big love from me. So much of your story is familiar. My mum is anorexic - by my teens and weighing a very normal 130lbs at 5foot7, she was telling me, her friends, my friends, everyone what a humongous blimp I was, I had legs like wharf poles, was shaped like a container crane. I still hear it in my head when I am big (she is sort of paid back, though. Cos she is still like it, I only visit her when I am below 190lbs - so very short stints over the years! Her loss.) But thank my lucky stars the man I married turned out to be one of the most decent men on the planet. Our marriage was short (6 months!) but we still love each other deeply 30 years later. We have both married lovely women who are our solid rocks - but from the age of 30 he has been a steady encourager, he pushed me to go to Uni, reassured me I WAS bright enough to get a psychology PhD, pushed me to aim for good jobs and now I am a CEO with 1000 staff. And now, he is unfailingly supportive in this journey too, (as is my wife, by the way - she is normal size but has lost 10lbs with my low carb cooking!). So he helped me move in myself - from a home life of mental illness, abuse, alcoholism - to learning to accept myself, know my good and bad bits, change the bits I wanted. I read your post - and will now email my (ex)hubby - to thank him again. Because of him the band surgery in my 40s, this RNY in my 50s. If it wasn’t for him, @frust8, I am not sure I would have EVER got my **** together like you. You are a bloody miracle. Thank you so so much for opening up.

I find that I tolerate some sugars better than others. A teaspoon or two of brown sugar on Oatmeal - fine. A few drops of liquid agave in a drink? Fine. Alcohol (certain ones) - not an issue if I have one drink ( e.g. 1 glass of wine or 1 cocktail.) A full sugar soda or dessert gives me the sweats and makes me nauseous. Refined white sugar is terrible on my system. Just for good measure - I'm about 20 months out and still losing, but working on building muscle - for me its not about the number on the scale, but how I look at this point. (I can't believe become vain.)

Thanks for the information. I would consider mine mild. I can go days without any meds and really its just alcohol or carbonation (or bending over after a big meal) that can give me reflux. I think I have a hiatal hernia as that seems logical being that when I bend over or lift something heavy I can get instant reflux. The manometry, scope, and gastric emptying test all showed everything looked good so they are a little baffled why I have reflux. I did have a hiatal hernia repair when I had lapband surgery back in 2010.

There is also new research out that suggests CBD causes liver fibrosis. (Just like alcohol.)

I'm neither pro or con. I don't and won't personally use it. But that's me. Not you. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4789154/ ******************** https://asmbs.org/wp/uploads/2016/09/Telem-et-al_LSG-Pathway_2016_Final.pdf (From p. 17 of the ASMBS guidelines which helps determine and set standard of care for bariatric patients both pre and post surgery.) ******************* https://www.liversupport.com/medical-marijuana-alcoholism-and-the-liver/ (From the article "Medical Marijuana, Alcoholism, and Your Liver) ****************************** CBD is metabolized by the cytochrome P450 pathway, as are many other things including alcohol, especially almost any pharmaceutical. https://www.alternet.org/drugs/cbd-drug-interactions-role-cytochrome-p450 ********************** Note: When you ingest substances that the liver says, "Hey, we have to deal with this bad boy in a hurry, break it down and get it out of here!" it adds stress on our liver and causes it to work it's ass off. We're already stressing the liver by quick weight loss. Quick weight loss can actually make the liver more unhealthy before the weight loss and weight stability can make it better. So you don't want to add things to your body that: 1. Place more stress on your liver--an organ doing a MAJOR amount of the heavy lifting during weight loss (quick or otherwise). 2. Don't want to contribute to possible relapse into substance use. 3. Perhaps make things more toxic because it enters your blood stream so quickly, since your gut is altered (although no intestinal alterations occur with VSG, you still shorten (dramatically) the time it takes to ingest something to the time it hits the part of the intestine where it's processed by the liver (or into the blood stream where it is still processed by the liver).

I understand it from that perspective but isn’t alcohol just as harmful, if not more? I just don’t understand the dirty looks, etc. Like, I’m 22. Im graduating college with a 3.5 GPA and, so what, I smoke weed. Doesn’t make me a bad person

I am wanting to the sleeve surgery but my surgeon keeps pushing the gastric bypass which I am not doing. I had AR bad so I had my lap band removed a year ago. I did not have AR before he lap band and did not start getting it until 6 years after having the band. I do not take medication daily for AR but I do take them. I mainly get heartburn after drinking alcohol, carbonation, or bending over after eating a heavy meal. Is there anyone that did not get worsening of acid reflux after getting the sleeve. Is there anyone who might not get it all now since they have lost weight with the sleeve? Thanks for the help.!

venting so feel free to ignore. don’t get why there is such a bias against weed. i met with the dietician and social worker today. both asked me about my marijuana usage and alcohol consumption. i said my marijuana use was down (a half lie? it is down but not as much as i said it was) but alcohol was up due to celebrating graduating college on saturday. they were both disappointed that i didn’t completely stop smoking pot, but had no problem with my drinking. they obviously want time to stop both for surgery, but didn’t seem phased about the drinking. in fact the social worker told me to “party it up” this weekend. granted i’m not phased about the drinking either, i’m really not a big drinker, it is just up because of celebrating my graduation and will calm down after this month. but still? i’m just venting but i really don’t understand why there is such a negative bias around pot. what’s the harm!! it’s legal here in MA!!! alcohol is worse for you!!! again just venting so feel free to ignore this

I will forever be diligent and a bit obsessive to keep my weight in line. It's not up to me to rescue other people. I can only rescue myself. This is so much like Alcoholics Anonymous...Nothing worse than a recovering obese person..lol I try not to come off as judging or preaching . I realize that my enthusiasm level may not be everyone's enthusiasm level..*laughing at myself*

Well first off, I fully am grateful we live in a diverse world and that people have their own unique perspectives and beliefs. The power to choose is a blessing. And my choice will and should never be anyone else's but my own. And God bless on that! For me, there is EXTREME danger in telling myself right now at this point in my very TOUGH journey that it's just "hunky dory" for me to opt out of reaching my goal, excelling, and doing my personal best (which is goal--because I know I am fully capable of that being my personal best). It's dangerous and deceptive to allow that little whisper that says...."Psssst, hey dummeh, over here. Wanna buy a watch? Want some crack? This one tiny bite will make you feel good. It will ease your pain. You don't wanna process life without this Little Debbie do you? A Little Debbie will do you." Would you honestly give a drug addict that same advice relative to their disease? Would you give an alcoholic that same advice? Oh...you can self-regulate! You can self-moderate! Obesity has now been classified as a disease. It has. I am MO. Won't matter my goal weight or not. Once MO, you will ALWAYS be MO internally. You will always have a gazillion empty fat cells helping to regulate your hormones and who will be working against you. Seriously. I can't make this stuff up! Hells to the no you wouldn't! LOL. I am no different. I've had a lifetime of obesity. I am a junkie. I have a forked up mind and forked up (permanently) biochemistry. I have empty fat cells littering my super highway, just waiting for a slight of hand to send some new fat their way. And it turns out, that I can't even lipo it out cuz once the body recognizes that you once had X number of fat cells, it's so smart that it REGROWS those mother fuc*ers in a new place. Isn't that a kick in the teeth? That's how smart our bodies are and that's how much it wants to stay in homeostasis. So yeah. I feel FOR ME, that I must realize that for me to get to goal is an imperative. And for me to maintain, I'm gonna have to change my brain, my habits, my thoughts, emotions, and DEF behaviors and relationships for the better. It will be a daily lifetime walk. One day at a time, sometimes one step at a time. And it may border on the obsessive. I don't know yet what that toll will be. But simply declaring that I'm gonna be balanced is just plain magical thinking because of the brokeness of my body. Does that mean I will be devoid of happiness or joy? Oh hells no baby! I'm loving the crap outta life right now and doing things I've not done in 18 years. LOL. It gets better and better every day! Thank ya sweet baby Jesus of the golden fleece diapers!

Yes, I tasted a couple of sips of a Michelada. BIG mistake. Not anxious to repeat alcohol any time soon--including my beloved wine. Honestly, I thought I'd miss it. But I do not. I'm much happier with tea. And plus, any time pre-surg that I had alcohol of any kind, I stalled for 4 days. I could count it on the calendar. And I'd usually go up a couple pounds about 2 days after drinking. It SUCKED!

I haven't ventured to CO wine country yet. It's on the other side of the mountains, cuz on the eastern side, nothing grows but prairie grass! I did break the taco trend last night by getting bison/prickly pear cactus chili. It was tasty! Hubby tried the 'devilled egg tacos' which were, as I expected, weird and unsatisfying. I did do a bariatric no-no though. I ordered a drink with dinner - drank some beforehand but did sip some in between bites of chili. I'd had over 60g protein earlier in the day so didn't feel too bad. First alcohol since sleeve! It was a cider made with CO peaches (which are awesome - from the other side of the mtns of course) and 'high-altitude' apples. Not sure we have any other kind in this state! I didn't finish the pint as tiny tum was full, but it was tasty and didn't immediately make me fall off my bar stool. I think 2 would've done it though! Re those jeans - I haven't tried his jeans yet, but a couple years ago we got quick dry pants for kayaking. I had xxl and he had xl. I tried on the xl yesterday and they fit! So in a way, I'm now wearing his pants And now, talking about wine tasting, I want some good salumi and cheese for dinner.... I can live without the baguette and sweet butter, but damn..

Had my bypass done in dec 16. I have done awesome! I quit everything I was supposed to. I take my vitamins and drink my protein. 130 is my ideal weight and I had stayed there for several months. I had an ulcer and didn't know it so I spent a week in the hospital in Feb. I left the hospital at 127. Took me March and April to get back to 130 (I wasn't trying to gain I was just ok with it). I have struggled a bit with alcohol so I cut it out completely. And gain 3 lbs in a week!!! I'm sad, what am I going to do now that I'm really healthy, no ulcer, no alcohol, I gain??!!! I know that foods gave snuck back in and my brain knows what I need to do but why does it have to be so damn hard??!? Sent from my SM-J700T using BariatricPal mobile app

Bahahahaha! He was a trooper, for sure! Texas wines are something of an oxymoron! LOL. I asked him if he thought they grew the grapes for photo ops only! LOL, cuz most get either grapes or concentrate from California. And you gotta think the vintners in CA aren't stupid. Just like in Italy, they keep the "good stuff" in country! LOL. I kid you not, at one place, I smelled each glass and they all made my nose burn!!! I'm like dayum...can you say not fully fermented alcohol and acetone?? *snort* But yes, the atmostphere is soooo lovely and relaxing! Glad to hear you have that too. Cuz you know, mizreh loves company! Hey, how's the charting going? Is that thing which won't be mentioned going down still? ((hugs))

What are you eating in a day. Post some sample menus please with daily totals if possible--also how many cals per day? Also, what volume is a meal? And are you still drinking protein drinks? How many meals/snacks/times do you eat a day? Are you drinking alcohol? Do you drink/eat at the same time? Are you taking supplements? Do you exercise?

Sounds like you're the likely designated driver! If you do drink be extremely careful. I've been told that one drink can put you over .08 since the alcohol doesn't get processed in your stomach at all, instead the raw alcohol hits the intestine and goes straight into your bloodstream.

I have been banded for 10 years. Had the weight off for 8 years and then BAM, retired and last year of work was a nightmare with the boss from hell. I know, that is not an excuse, but here I am again trying to lose this 35-40 pounds gained from stress eating. Getting back on this website has helped me get my resolve to do this again and I hope that this helped you with knowing that we all slip one time or another and we can do this again. I believe that obesity is a disease like alcoholism, the only difference is that you can quit alcohol but you cannot totally give up food. We need to have control at all times and it is definitely HARD TO DO.

Unfortunately most Stevia based shakes/powders also contain a sugar alcohol to help balance the taste (plain Stevia can have quite a strong aftertaste) . So make sure you check the full ingredients list of any Stevia sweetened one.

Arabian I don't think I'm wrong, I think Splenda is sucralose, and gasp, that's a sugar alcohol, look for Stevia instead. I believe Svelte is soy-based and stevia, the bad news. is it doesn't contain 30 grams protein but less. What can I say? 👈😝👉 Life just isn't perfect!

I also have IBS and can't do the sugar alcohols. Orgain is a brand that isn't whey-based and I think it uses Splenda for the sweetener. They have lots of different flavors too. I got mine on Amazon.

Yay girl!!!! Congrats!!! Love your thinking!!! So glad you're on the way back down. Pre-surg, alcohol would completely stall my losses for 4-5 days any time I drank.

So I'm going to just address the naked king in his new clothes standing in the middle of the room. IMHO, you are both maintaining. You are NOT stalled for 4 months. You are eating the amount of calories along with your surgery that allows you to maintain. But beware. You are both approaching the end of the honeymoon period within the next year or 14 months ish. Then those same calories you're taking in right now, will quite likely cause you to start creeping up on the scale. It's impossible to help you. You're not giving us enough information. I could come to you and ask the same question. But because I track every bite of food, good and bad, I can present samples of my day, I can present an excel spreadsheet showing the relationship of macros in a month to average weight loss. I have a LOT of data to look at and tweak. You don't have any of that, even a food log. How can you possibly know what it takes to lose weight? You've no earthly idea. This is not magic bean surgery. It's WL surgery. It's SCIENCE!!!!! You HAVE to count sh*t. The End. And any RD who says you don't has a butt-load of peeps keeping her in job security who never forking make goal!!!! I read yesterday that this surgery is 40% surgery and 60% you. I don't know if that's the exact ratio, but the reality is, weekly cheat days are just that...weekly events that derail your progress. They can do nothing but create a GHDWL situation (Ground Hog Day Weight Loss=where you gain and lose the same 2lbs over and over and over again until you want to chew your own leg off to see a drop on the scale). Go back to basics. For me, and from a lot of vets, the ideal losing phase is a caloric intake average of about 600-900 cals per day. Maintenance is personal--anywhere from 1000+ depending on so many variables. Go back to no eating or drinking 30-30 Water >64oz per day Vitamins every damn day Exercise (walk) every damn day--don't go cray with working out right now Weigh and measure everything (60-80g protein for the day; <30g of carbs daily; around 30g fat for the day; <10g naturally occurring sugars for the day) Log EVERY bite that goes down your piehole If you're drinking alcohol--stop that sh*t right now!!!! Eat 3 meals a day + 1 snack (no grazing, no crap foods, no slider foods) Eat your meals in a window of 15-30 minutes Protein (dense) first 3oz per meal Veggies next Healthy Fats next If any room leftover then low glycemic fruit/berries (but if you have more room, fill up on fibrous veggies) Accept that you are gonna feel like jack sh*t for about 2 weeks. You're eating carby crap and sugar. What do you really expect. Sadly it WILL be fuc*ing hard! You don't have the excitement of the looming surgery, you've got diet boredom, you've lost faith in your tool, and you're being self-indulgent and going back to bad habits. It's gonna hurt and you WILL have to force yourself to get over that hump. Get mad! Do it! Suffer. And do it. In 4 days it will get easier and each day after. If you do those things, I can ALMOST guarantee you will both start losing again. And remember, you can NEVER out-exercise a bad diet. Oh and get your butts to the counselor (someone who specializes in bariatrics). P.S. And I "get" that you want to have a normal relationship with food. I "get" that you want to eat intuitively like all the other skinny girls in the world. But what you don't realize is that many (maybe most) of those skinny girls are secretely limiting calories, fats, sugars, foods or worse, purging, or anna stuff to "effortlessly" look like they are naturally skinny girls. If we were capable of having normal relationships with food, we would have never made it to the obesity ball in the first place. If we didn't have seriously, and I mean SERIOUSLY broken metabolisms, we would never have become MO. Once you are MO, the "normal" rules of skinnydom no longer apply. You can not take the set of rules for naturally skinny people and apply them to the subset of MO and formerly MO people. You just can't. It's like trying to feed a lion a peanut, or trying to feed an elephant a dead gazelle. It's apples and oranges. DUE to our disease, we will ALWAYS have to be more vigilant, try harder, do more, and live differently if we EVER want to maintain our weight loss.)

My surgery team says try not to drink. Apparently you get super drunk on like one glass of wine. I’m still pre-op, so I’m sure there’s someone who can give you an experienced answer, but I think I’ll be avoiding alcohol for a good amount of time. That’s just me though. HW: 311 CW: 258 SW: We’ll see on May 10! First goal weight: 191 lbs Second goal weight: 159 lbs Goal weight: 142 lbs 5’6” 34 yo female in NC