Alcohol and Weightloss

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Obviously: Drink alcohol, lose weight.

[Cape Crooner 589]

Obviously: Drink alcohol, lose weight.

I doubt it, but the fact is there are tons of skinny people who drink and plenty of WLS people on the forum who have reported that they do drink in moderation and have not seen any issue staying on their weight loss program.

BTW, I did not start this thread seeking some sort of validation for drinking. My surgeon has given me permission within limits.

Like many people on this forum, I am reaching out to others to help refine my strategies for maintaining my weight within the context of my surgically modified stomach. I don't eat oatmeal, bread, rice, Pasta, and many other things I read folks talking about on this forum, but I have been a social drinker for decades and plan to continue.

Again, I welcome hearing from anyone who drinks and has either developed a strategy that worked or one that failed. The experts are all over the place on this topic and thus real first hand experience is wonderful.

[debp1953 35]

oatmeal? What's wrong with oatmeal. It was on my sample diet plan and not on my do not eat list.

[Cape Crooner 589]

Nothing's wrong with anything as long as it's within your nutrition plan.

[jess9395 5,449]

Nothing is inherently wrong with oatmeal. Some people limit carbs either because that's their plan or because it's a choice they've made or because after experimenting they've found out its what works for them.

Oatmeal is kind of an in betweener carb. It's not like refined sugar, white bread, white potatoes, white rice or Cookies which have little nutritional value but it's more calorie dense and less nutrition than the more complex carbs like green vegetables. It's like whole wheat bread, sweet potatoes, etc. some avoid them some don't.

I avoided it during my loss phase but use it now once or twice a week during maintenance.

[Indieflickers 298]

This is a very interesting and angry thread. I drink occasionally and greatly enjoy it. I do notice, however, that when I drink more than once or twice a week, my weight loss slows, even if I make sure that the alcohol doesn't put me over my calorie limit. I read an article recently that said that alcohol slows down your metabolism - basically because alcohol is empty calories, your body has to put everything else on hold to try and process the alcohol first, which slows down your overall metabolism. I don't know how scientifically accurate that is, but it seemed to make sense to me when I read it.

[Cape Crooner 589]

Thanks @indieflickers. I'm still learning my way, but closely monitoring weight, food and (occasional) alcohol is part of the process.

I'm 63, retired, 36 years married, and virtually all our social life involves some alcohol consumption.

Prior to WLS, I'd drive my wife crazy by "just saying no" to invitations to socialize where food and alcohol would be preeminent. I think my forced abstinence built an inner anger.

You know, "it's not fair that I can't go out on a Tuesday night, when my skinny friends have a beer at lunch."

Now, with my tiny stomach, I can socialize more while eating/drinking far less (understand, I'm talking about once a week, rather that once a month.)

I've been on this site for almost a year and have come to the conclusion that there are many troubled souls here.

Well meaning "newbies" report observations, ask veterans if they've had similar experiences, or just make light hearted comments and people jump all over them like they're stupid, lying, or just born losers!

Kinda sad, but after suffering though the way society treats obesity, it is totally understandable.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

@@Cape Crooner , your post above about feeling angry about not being able to socialize around alcohol in the past when dieting clarifies for me the reason for this thread and another thread you started about alcohol use.

I'm not being snarky at all when I say I've had the impression you are generally grumpy about this alcohol topic. It's also obvious you keep coming back to it. I think I understand better now what's driving you on this topic. Thanks for sharing that insight about yourself.

You've probably noticed from my comments that I drink, too. Wine and single malt scotch are my preferences. But since one (not two) drinks a day constitute social drinking for women, I endeavor to stick to one drink a night. When I don't hold the line on that I can start to feel entitled to having a scotch AND a glass of wine every night. Or two glasses of wine. And the wine pours go from 4 ounces to 6 ounces to 8 ounces. Sadly, I can't maintain my weight if I have two drinks a day every day.

When anyone here comments about alcohol, they (like you) are coming at it from their perspective and their experiences. And if those differ from yours (or mine) it doesn't make them any more of a "troubled soul" than you or me. It only means they're not us. And that we're not them. Some people here are recovering alcoholics or are nervous about transfer addictions post-WLS. Or they're just trying not to drink their calories because they're still in the "honeymoon weight losing phase." I stopped drinking alcohol about 2.5 months prior to WLS and didn't drink until I was almost 6 months post-op. Looking back, that was the right decision for me, since it helped me navigate a calorie / macronutrients budget that let me maximize my nutrition while losing weight at a steady (albeit not fast) clip.

I'm pretty sure that at our grown-up ages (I'm 70 years old) and given our respective long struggles with obesity and other life challenges that none of has had it easy. We're just trying to fight off the various monkeys on our backs while having as much fun as possible. Sometimes it's a real balancing act for me.

Best wishes to you in figuring out how to do that, too.

[Cape Crooner 589]

Thanks Ann...

But as a point of clarification, I am far from grumpy about this topic (now), just the opposite, I now find that I can enjoy myself and eat/drink far less. This was one of the goals I had going in and I discussed it at length with my surgical team.

I am a very disciplined person, but short of finding all new friends at 63, I cannot stop drinking socially. The problem was that my old stomach was very stretched out. It started with my parents prosperity in the 1960's (Ding Dongs, Fritos, etc) and continued as an athlete who could drink a dozen or more beers at a time without falling down.

This all meant that I could and did eat too much and after eating, I could drink as much as I wanted and not get drunk. Some people might like this, but I did not.

And like you, I did abstain for 7 months, which was interesting, but also uncomfortable because it also meant dropping out of most all social engagements (I am keeping my surgery secret).

Anyway, I guess I'll just keep my questions and observations to myself in the future...

SIGNING OFF THIS THREAD FOR GOOD!

CC