Alcohol and coffee

So I am a little over the 2 month post surgery mark and I have had my first few glasses of wine over the last week with all the holiday gatherings. Anticipating that the wine would go right into my bloodstream and I would feel the effects almost right away, I was prepared. My first glass of wine was at home with friends on a full stomach from dinner and then this past weekend at a restaurant dinner. Both times I had aprrox a 1/2 cup of wine in my glass, at home I had one glass and at the resto I had two throughout the whole evening sipping slowly along. To my surprise.. both times I felt no effect from the wine..I was shocked!! Not that I wanted to get get drunk..lol..but I didn't feel anything. I think it was the waiting for something to happen or the wondering of what the feeling would be concerning alcohol after surgery and how my system would handle it now. I'm assuming that possibly the wine just went through my system as fast as it went in..not sure on this one.

I then had the opposite effect with coffee over the weekend. I was out and instead of having wine this time, I had 2 cups of coffee after dinner and I was wired for hours after..lol. I was buzzing on the caffeine high..or "tweaking" out on caffeine as my BF put it, as I kept him up until 2 am as I couldn't stop talking and moving around..lol. I have been a coffee drinker my entire life and I never had this effect from coffee before. I still have one every morning when I get to work and feel nothing and I was always one of those people that could drink a cup of coffee before bed and still fall asleep. Maybe it was having 2 coffees in a row?? I understand that with my new sleeve I will experience different effects from different substances, I just was surprised how they effected me or didn't.

Anyone have these experiences with alcohol and/or coffee?

Sure, everyone has different experiences, and those even change for each of us over time.

That being said, at so soon post-op, is it ok with your surgeon that you're having caffeine and alcohol? Do the alcohol calories fit in to your food plan? Just making sure you're not hurting your tummy.

I was the opposite.  I had full on buzzed affects with a minimal amount of alcohol but I was 9 months out.  I regret trying it so soon because I was instructed by my doctor to abstain for the first year. 

I never drank coffee pre-op.  I didn't like it but then it became my transfer addiction for several months but I was also about 9 months out.  I still enjoy my iced coffee now but I don't feel like it takes the place of anything in my diet.  I can also drink regular coffee soon before bedtime and be fine, just like you!

My advice if you don't mind me saying (because I know you didn't ask this & this is just my personal experience) is to be careful with alcohol too soon after surgery.  It can become a transfer addiction and it's just a bunch of empty calories that can & will hinder your weight loss.  I know it's the holidays now and it's fun & even relaxing to enjoy some wine but we will have plenty of opportunities later to enjoy it.  Continue to get the weight off.  Right now is the critical time to take advantage of your major sleeve restriction to where you can maximize your weight loss to the fullest. 

Congrats on being sleeved and your success so far!

Thanks everyone for your feedback and concern as I can feel this can be a touchy subject. Everyone has different recommendations from their professionals. The general guidelines in my neck of the woods, that they instruct everyone in the course before surgery concerning alcohol post op is 3 months after surgery. When I met with my nutritionist a week and a half ago, she gave me the green light to try alcohol. Recommended the types and amounts of alcohol to consume first time out.

As most VSGers know, every time we introduce a new food or in this case liquid..we tend strategize and proceed with caution. Then depending on how we feel after consuming, is a good determining factor on how we will proceed moving forward. We have to educate ourselves in this area of weight loss constantly about what we are putting in our bodies. What I have learnt is to be prepared and anticipate, this means having my meal and snacks planned daily and writing everything down. If I am going out to a restaurant I plan accordingly, whether it's food and the occasional drink. Another good re-framing strategy is to look at alcohol like an indulgence from time to time and know before hand if you are planning to indulge.

I hope this gives some insight into how I personally approach things concerning weight loss after VSG and how you can responsibly incorporate different foods and liquids into your diet without abusing them. I know its' hard sometimes we are not perfect and we do slip up, just need to keep the basics in place to fall back on.

Cheers everyone :-)

 

Just be careful with the alcohol - I'm was totally fine at 6 months out having an occasional glass of wine on a full stomach - did not affect me.  

BUT, recently I ordered a glass of wine on an empty stomach while waiting for a table at a restaurant - wow - I felt like I had had 4 glasses of wine - major affect.  Scared me.  

I have since abstained at the rest of the holiday parties!  

 

Oh boy! I can see how drinking on an empty stomach can change the effects dramatically..lol. My NUT recommended to never do that, she told me this scary story how one patient told her she fainted at the table for doing that. Good thing to remember.

Empty calories aside, I was under the impression that alcohol and coffee were too acidic on a new tummy until at least 6 months out ?

Also, there is such a thing as transfer addictions. People *****place food they can no longer handle with other compulsive behavior.  It's a real thing. My mother substituted shopping for food on her way to losing 145lbs. She is now the proud owner of 200 pairs of shoes, 50 handbags and so much jewelry that she needs 3 huge jewelry armoires and so many clothes that she uses up 2 huge walk in closet's. It sounds humorous, and at least she has something to show for her addictive behavior, but still.  I want to also note that during this time she was under the regular care of a psychologist and psychiatrist and it still happened anyway.  

Transfer addiction is an important topic to address, especially when overweight individuals can be addicted to food. Very relevant to see the correlation that other addicting behaviors emerge once the primary or "drug of choice" is no longer present. As I reiterate from my previous post, this is why it's so important to have strategies in place. However, I realize that even with strategies and professional help, it will be a constant struggle.

 Congrats on your weight loss; wow just 2 months out from surgery!  You go!  I was sleeved on 11/18/13 and still on  what I call "baby food" .  But that's ok as I ' m finding that my new tummy doesn't like a lot of new changes yet......         I'm seeing and hearing So many different instructions and such a variety of foods that seem to go down well.  I can't take anything spicy or seasoned up at all....I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with my 2 - 3 little bites and wait 90 minutes before taking in fluids..ugh!  I'm so thankful that I do not have a desire for ANY cakes, cookies, pies (and I bake very well) no deserts at all...something clicked in my brain that made me realize that I was eating way too much portion wise and now that I can't handle more than 1.5 oz of soft protein before feeling full - stuffed. ..... Am I going to get past this???? I don't know...All I know is I want my goal weight of 125lbs.  My HW 350; SW 327; Post Surg Consult 300; MD GW 162; My Goal 125! 

The challenge is to take one day at a time....it's really happening....just take it one day at a time....The weight is melting away  which is what I want!!!!  My skin feels a little rough without all that puffy fat to keep it soft. Gotta find a way to buff it up a bit. 

I have similar experiences with both and I am a little further out than you are. I was cleared for alcohol from my doc. I work in a very social company. We had a big wine networking event for our clients. I sipped maybe 1/4 glass over a couple of hours and felt nothing, but enjoyed the "prop" in my hand to prevent people from asking why I wasn't drinking. At our holiday party, I had 1/2 glass of white wine over about an hour. No buzzed effects but my stomach burned so I switched to water. Ok by me.

Now, coffee OTOH...I detoxed from caffeine prior to surgery. My first interaction with caffeine after that was by accident - a Chike coffee shake that I didn't realize had THAT much caffeine in it. I started feeling really funny so I stopped drinking it. 1/4 of that shake and I could hardly stand. Most mornings I do have a half-caff homemade protein shake. My stomach and I like the warmth, and the small amount of caffeine does help get me going/clears my head. If I have full caff, as I accidentally did on the way to run a big client meeting one morning, my thoughts get scattered and I get reallllllly talkative. In the that case, I had ordered a decaf skinny iced coffee and was served full caff. I can figure out the caffeine level of a drink fairly quickly these days, for better or worse. Wheeeeee!