Hey guys, so I am 10 months post-Op and I used to be a social drinker. I do wanna introduce alcohol socially only during dates and other outings. Ofc I know I'll have to be cautious and what not and that I will be, so question is what alcoholic drinks are more favorable for bariatric patients? Form your experience, which ones did you try incorporating? Something that's low sugar and less calories? Red wine, white wine?

Personally, I'm don't care about "bariatric friendly" when I drink. Alcohol is not on my plan which is another reason I'm not looking at how it will impact my weight.

My first consideration is not to drink often. Anything not on my plan I don't do often. Just my plan for off plan adventures.

Next, I dump on sugar so I must be careful to I avoid fruit juices and sugared mixers such as cola. Amazingly enough, dumping takes the pleasure out of just about anything.

Be sure whatever you do works for you. Do test run's at home because the effects of alcohol often hits GB patients quicker and harder than normal and also passes quicker, which could be precarious in public.

Good luck,

Tek

I always enjoyed a large glass of wine or two every night before surgery now I rarely drink. It may sound odd but I don’t enjoy it as much any more. I might have a glass of champagne, wine or a gin & tonic & one is enough, maybe once or twice a month or so depending on what socialising I’m doing. And I take ages to drink the glass & sometimes don’t finish the glass. I never enjoyed sweet alcoholic drinks & rarely used mixers except with tonic or suds water with gin. (I don’t even add water or ice to my whisky.) I say I drink quality now not quantity. Certainly drinking less than my friends has not affected my socialising & enjoyment of an event. And my bar tab is always cheaper LOL!

I have noticed that if I drink I tend to nibble on food more, don’t drink enough water & notice it on the scale the next day.

Best advice is probably just to take it slowly & see what works for you.

I have drank 2 times since surgery. First time I had 4 shots over 5 hours and it was weird, I actually made a post about it. The first shot hit me hard and quick but then passed quick and nothing else really eventful through the night. Was kind of a waste of calories.

BUT! The second time I drank I was **** faced and passed out in the bathroom by 10pm. It was crazy. I made "skinny margaritas", to keep it as you say bariatric friendly. My recipe is : 24oz cup filled with ice, half shot of pure lime juice, half shot of pure lemon juice, 2 shots of tequila and 3 splenda packets. The only sugar and calories are in the alcohol.

I don't know why I got so trashed on these and not the shots though, so BE WARE when drinking.

Crystal light isn’t bad with flavored rum. Not sure how to accomplish that when your out though. I guess you could order a shot and a bottled water and mix it but it would depend on where you are. That’s exactly what I did at the sand bar but it’s super casual. People even bring their own glass to keep their drink cold there. Plus we had the “boat” rented out for a party so it was all people that knew me around that could see.

Vodka sodas (NOT tonics…tonic water has lotsa calories!) with LOTS of lime was my go to the first year or so after surgery. Also dry red wine.

Like others said, take it slow…you won’t know how you will be affected…until you do.

Good Luck!

Edited September 19, 20223 yr by ms.sss

So I tried *red wine* at home, about 0.33 of a cup or so. I think I did okay. Yes it did get me buzzed just with that amount lol. So I'll have to go slow when I am out and about.

I don't dump on sugars or carbs so I think I should be okay with drinks as long as I keep them in small quantity.

Edited September 20, 20223 yr by DaisyAndSunshine

Vodka sodas (NOT tonics…tonic water has lotsa calories!) with LOTS of lime was my go to the first year or so after surgery. Also dry red wine.
Like others said, take it slow…you won’t know how you will be affected…until you do.
Good Luck!

Agree. Vodka or Tequila soda. Go slow. It hits you fast. Avoid drinking liquor by itself. I've made cocktails with less mixers and more soda water so I can still have a cocktail but less Alcohol and sugar.

Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

Dr Matthew Weiner posted about alcohol after surgery on instagram today.

8 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Dr Matthew Weiner posted about alcohol after surgery on instagram today.

Based on my personal experience I would agree with this.

EVERYONE I know who had surgery told me "you get drunk faster but you sober up faster too"

NOPE! Not for me. I get drunk WAY faster and STAY drunk WAY longer.

Luckily I never drank much anyway, so it is easy to just skip it unless I plan on making a night of it. haha

I've started trying to get accustomed to just drinking some sort of spirit or liqueur on the rocks...I was a gin and tonic gal before and while I know many of you are able to handle bubbles eventually, I'm a year out and they still give me the ick, so no more. I find that I don't tend to drink the stronger stuff as fast and it tends to get watered down by the ice. LOTS OF ICE.

On 9/14/2022 at 11:27 PM, Arabesque said:

I always enjoyed a large glass of wine or two every night before surgery now I rarely drink. It may sound odd but I don’t enjoy it as much any more. I might have a glass of champagne, wine or a gin & tonic & one is enough, maybe once or twice a month or so depending on what socialising I’m doing. And I take ages to drink the glass & sometimes don’t finish the glass. I never enjoyed sweet alcoholic drinks & rarely used mixers except with tonic or suds Water with gin. (I don’t even add water or ice to my whisky.) I say I drink quality now not quantity. Certainly drinking less than my friends has not affected my socialising & enjoyment of an event. And my bar tab is always cheaper LOL!

I have noticed that if I drink I tend to nibble on food more, don’t drink enough water & notice it on the scale the next day.

Best advice is probably just to take it slowly & see what works for you.

Did you take a Blood Alcohol Test before surgery. If so, how long did you have to abstain from drinking

In the weeks before surgery you’re on the restrictive pre surgery diet so no alcohol for about two weeks +/- prior to your surgery. After surgery you’ll be advised to avoid alcohol too for a period of time. Alcohol is high in empty calories, dehydrates you & will slow your metabolism & weight loss. Plus there is the concern that if you have an addiction to food you will become addicted to alcohol as you can’t satisfy your food cravings.

18 hours ago, Barry atric pac said:

Did you take a Blood Alcohol Test before surgery. If so, how long did you have to abstain from drinking

i stopped drinking in the first day of my 2 week pre-op diet.

And no, i didn't have to take a blood-alcohol test at any time.

Had my first drink (2-3 sips of red wine) at around 3 weeks post op. Had my 2nd (partial) drink around 2-3 months post which gave me one of the worst dumping experiences i have had to date (it was a sugary soju-sake cocktail).

I had maybe 4-5 (partial) drinks during weight loss phase: vodka sodas or very dry red wine.

Now im just a normal regular drinker for the most part (but i still try to stay away from overly sugary drinks).

Im 4 years post op.