Alcoholic Drinks

[JPM514 20]

Hello folks!

I just had my 2-week follow up with my surgeon today. I am excited to be moving onto stage 4 (out of 5, being solids food and forever based on my surgical center's directions)... I am able to take in soft foods and thicker purees.

My surgeon told me that I can resume drinking alcohol again at the 2 month mark. I know this might be a contraversal topic and I know many have different opinions and experiences. But if all goes as well I plan to resume drinking and enjoy some alcholic beverages again.

I have heard that others do drink beer (which is carbonated). I am willing to try it and see how my stomach tolerates it. But I am normally a liquor drinker or mixed drinks. I am used to drinking vodka in sprite or ginger ale. I am trying to plan what non-carbinated drinks I can make especially with vodka. I would love to find a ginger based drink because it would go well with vodka in my opinion.

Does anyone have any ideas of what alcoholic drinks to try when weening back into alcohol.

*note* note I also know that I will try my first drink at home and be aware that it will affect me quicker. I know that I need to be aware of my calorie intake and know that alcohol = sugars.

-Joe M.

[Diana_in_Philly 1,426]

I have a glass of red wine about 3 times a week. I budget that 120 calories into my 1000 per day and make sure I get all my Protein and Water in before I pick up that glass of wine. I look at it like a dessert or treat.

If I'm out with my husband or on business, I'll have a vodka and club soda and nurse it. A single shot of vodka is about 70 calories. Again, I make sure its in my daily budget.

Every once and a while, I'll have a Manhattan, Old Fashioned or a bourbon on ice. No carbonation there!

[blizair09 3,250]

1 hour ago, JPM514 said:

Hello folks!

I just had my 2-week follow up with my surgeon today. I am excited to be moving onto stage 4 (out of 5, being solids food and forever based on my surgical center's directions)... I am able to take in soft foods and thicker purees.

My surgeon told me that I can resume drinking alcohol again at the 2 month mark. I know this might be a contraversal topic and I know many have different opinions and experiences. But if all goes as well I plan to resume drinking and enjoy some alcholic beverages again.

I have heard that others do drink beer (which is carbonated). I am willing to try it and see how my stomach tolerates it. But I am normally a liquor drinker or mixed drinks. I am used to drinking vodka in sprite or ginger ale. I am trying to plan what non-carbinated drinks I can make especially with vodka. I would love to find a ginger based drink because it would go well with vodka in my opinion.

Does anyone have any ideas of what alcoholic drinks to try when weening back into alcohol.

*note* note I also know that I will try my first drink at home and be aware that it will affect me quicker. I know that I need to be aware of my calorie intake and know that alcohol = sugars.

-Joe M.

I either have red wine or whiskey and Water (depending on whether I want to have the carbs in the wine or not). On those days I do have drinks, I have to maximize Protein and minimize calories through Protein Shakes. Basically, I have to reserve calories for the alcohol, and since I'd rather be able to eat real food rather than drink, it has become just an every-once-in-a-while thing for me now. (No beer for me, though, since I won't do any carbonation...)

Good luck!

[PatientEleventyBillion 851]

I personally won't drink a drop of alcohol until I know my liver issues are completely resolved first. Another criteria I'm imposing is to be my bottomed-out weight, so I don't have to worry about stalls that will result. Like others here have shown with their planning, it makes 100% sense to go at it from a logical perspective.. just be careful if you're doing any sort of exercise or prolonged standing. Keep hydrated and fed.

Edited May 26, 2017 by PatientEleventyBillion

[Gobonn 20]

My doctor said no alcoholic drinks for a year! I'm 3 months post. I have had a couple very small sips of red wine maybe 3 times now. I did feel the alcohol quickly since I had not had any for 2-3 months. I will continue to be very sparse with this. Too much sugar will hinder the weight loss. And I'm loving my results MORE than I love drinks. [emoji12]

[MarinaGirl 609]

What do you mean what alcoholic drinks to try when weaning back into alcohol? Are you looking for recommendations on low alcohol or low sugar or low carbonation drinks?

My favorite drink is champagne but it's quite sweet and bubbly so that might not be the best choice. I'm thinking maybe some Rose or Chardonnay might be a better. I do like vodka drinks but some of the mixers might be hard on the stomach. I don't tend to drink hard alcohol straight; however, some pineapple infused vodka with lots of ice might make a nice drink.

I'm only 6 weeks post-op and am not sure when I might try a drink. I may wait 3 months, 6 months, a year, never, who knows. I definitely don't want to cause an ulcer but an occasional drink might be fine. TBD

Edited May 27, 2017 by MarinaGirl

[PatientEleventyBillion 851]

10 minutes ago, MarinaGirl said:

What do you mean what alcoholic drinks to try when weaning back into alcohol? Are you looking for recommendations on low alcohol or low sugar or low carbonation drinks?

My favorite drink is champagne but it's quite sweet and bubbly so that might not be the best choice. I'm thinking maybe some Rose or Chardonnay might be a better. I do like vodka drinks but some of the mixers might be hard on the stomach. I don't tend to drink hard alcohol straight; however, some pineapple infused vodka with lots of ice might make a nice drink.

I'm only 6 weeks post-op and am not sure when I might try a drink. I may wait 3 months, 6 months, a year, never, who knows. I definitely don't want to cause an ulcer but an occasional drink might be fine. TBD

Mixers tend to have a ton of carbs.. that has always been my choice too. Some prior post they were worried about carbonation and while that's relevant for gas pains it ignores the effect carbs have in halting weight loss or going the opposite direction and causing weight gain. The very reason many of us are here is due to a lack of self regulating so I hope the people going back to drinks so soon learned this in such a short period of time.. lest we read more threads of people confused as to why they're stalling and gaining while drinking.

[MarinaGirl 609]

1 hour ago, PatientEleventyBillion said:

Mixers tend to have a ton of carbs.. that has always been my choice too. Some prior post they were worried about carbonation and while that's relevant for gas pains it ignores the effect carbs have in halting weight loss or going the opposite direction and causing weight gain. The very reason many of us are here is due to a lack of self regulating so I hope the people going back to drinks so soon learned this in such a short period of time.. lest we read more threads of people confused as to why they're stalling and gaining while drinking.

What's the purpose of your comments to my post? To educate me about carbs? If so, you've made incorrect assumptions about my knowledge of them and impact to my life & weight, nor do you know when or if I will imbibe post-WLS. I prefer that if you want to give a lecture to please keep me out of it and write your own comment and not one directed at me. Thx.

[NixNichi 79]

Doesn't it burn though? I took Nyquil the other night and felt like my stomach was on fire! I can't imagine how a shot of whiskey or vodka would feel [emoji44][emoji43][emoji37] ...maybe I'm just not a good drinker. I've heard Red wines supposed to be good for your heart. XD so you know...two birds and all that

SW: 328

CW: 256

GW: 150

Surgery date: January 12, 2017

[leslaine 121]

I am 5 months post op (sleeve), and I tried a cape cod (cranberry & vodka) 2 weeks ago ... it felt like fire! I tried Tuaca and cranberry this weekend and it wasn't as bad. Still, it's just not for me anymore, and that's OK.

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

[PatientEleventyBillion 851]

1 hour ago, MarinaGirl said:

What's the purpose of your comments to my post? To educate me about carbs? If so, you've made incorrect assumptions about my knowledge of them and impact to my life & weight, nor do you know when or if I will imbibe post-WLS. I prefer that if you want to give a lecture to please keep me out of it and write your own comment and not one directed at me. Thx.

Settle down snowflake. It's just a post.

[Tattooedlady 2]

Are you all saying that you don't really enjoy drinking anymore?

[blessed grammy 14]

What about margaritas? Do they burn too I wonder?

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[MarinaGirl 609]

10 hours ago, PatientEleventyBillion said:

Settle down snowflake. It's just a post.

No need for name calling. What purpose does it serve?

[PatientEleventyBillion 851]

18 hours ago, Tattooedlady said:

Are you all saying that you don't really enjoy drinking anymore?

I personally would, because I never over-did alcohol in the first place, but I think people don't understand a few things:

- Contributory factors of addiction in many of us who had eating problems shows this isn't a good thing to have post-op -- those who had food addictions are way too susceptible to substituting food addiction with alcohol addiction. This is something my hepatologist mentioned before surgery and I notice this is backed up by numerous scientific journals.

- Nextly, many of us know that the surgery puts our body into panic but don't fully understand the extent. The liver, for example, goes into overdrive, producing massive ketones to burn glucose and fat throughout the body as a natural response to lack of carbohydrates to utilize as energy. It likewise has to work extremely hard to produce enough glucose to move through the bloodstream to make up for the lack of glucose due to the extreme carb and caloric deficit, so the body needs to have enough energy to function. This happens all the way until we've healed enough to go to a normal diet. So add alcohol to the stress the liver is going through and it's very easy to cause damage to it without even thinking. This isn't a huge deal for people with normal livers, but for the 20%+ of population who do have liver issues (diagnosed with 1st stage fatty liver or worse), it's not smart. I believe in a recent journal I read that over 90% of people entirely who go through VSG wind up having inflamed livers (showing in their enzyme levels) for a period of time. It needs to heal almost as much as the stomach does. So throwing alcohol into it one or two months into surgery I just don't find to be a good idea. Besides all the carbs in alcohol it's likely to cause stalls and weight gain, never mind the prior paragraph about liver damage.

9 hours ago, MarinaGirl said:

No need for name calling. What purpose does it serve?

If you want attention find a guy. You've already made enough drama out of nothing. Go away.

Edited May 28, 2017 by PatientEleventyBillion