I am a 21 year old college student and have been overweight for many years now and have not been able to lose weight and keep it off. My parents and I have been researching the Lap Band procedure and I have set up a meeting with a surgeon to discuss it in more detail. I would like to get the surgery done this summer while I am not in school so I have time to adjust to all the new changes before coming back to school. I wanted to know what the diet will be like for the first 2 or 3 months after the surgery? And how soon I would be able to eat solid, normal foods again, obviously in much smaller amounts. Also, being a college student I like to go out on the weekends with my friends for a few beers. I've done research about drinking beer after the operation and found some people saying they can drink and some who don't at all anymore. I would like to still be able to drink a beer or two on the weekends and wanted to know if anyone is able to do this? I have already realized that if I do have the surgery my days of drinking a 12 pack on a Friday night will be over, but would like to still have a few beers or some whiskey waters on the weekends when I go out. Thanks!

I think odds are you will be able to live a normal, if more moderate, lifestyle after the surgery.

You're right that your 12 pack days are over though - my husband, though never a big drinker, will nurse a beer for about 2 hours now, it takes him that long as its filling becuase of the bubbles.

The other thing with alcohol is that you have to be careful after you've had a few, you're attention to the way you eat lapses and its prime time for a huge vomiting episode if you shove something down your throat without chewing. Even though you've got a band, after four or five drinks a hot dog or kebab at 2 am still sounds mighty good. But you just cant do it.

But I think at your age, you'll be able to fit in still wihilst being mature enough to know your limits.

I've found two beers that I can tolerate because they have very limited carbonation-Guinness and Tetley. If you are like I was in college, you won't be drinking 12 packs of these mainly because they're too damn expensive. But they aren't bubbly, so they don't make me bloated the way that regular beer or soda does.

Whiskey doesn't have carbonation, so if you're not drinking it with club soda it should go down okay.

The biggest issue with alcohol, though, isn't the carbonation. It's the calories. Lots of empty calories that go straight through the band. I don't drink much anymore because doing so would undermine maintaining my weight loss. Of course, I'm also 36 and drinking a lot isn't nearly so important to me as it was when I was 21.

Good luck.

I really only drank in college as part of the "seeking women" ritual.

Later, I realized, being thin, would have been much more successful and I never found anyone I really liked in a bar anyway??

Drinking is what I used to do, to make things seem fun, that weren't fun otherwise. I replaced these things with activities that I thought were actually fun sober.

Of course these may not be the reasons to drink for you, that was just my reasons.

Hey Deed87... I understand your concerns but did you ever think that all the drinking may have contributed to that weight gain? Lol I know it did for me. After a late night of partying and hitting the breakfast buffet at the kettle or the taco bell tacos, it took its toll. The thing you have to ask yourself is am I ready for this commitment? It is ok to drink occasionally. I've hit the vodka with V8. its pretty good but I weigh myself often and notice a slight weight gain. Ocean spray has a 5 cal diet cranberry that you can drink with vodka that is pretty god too(but a little to girlie for me in public). I would personally stay away from all beer. #1, you are making a huge investment, both monetarily and emotianally. #2 if you are here, you already decided to make a life changing decision. don't blow it for yourself ! Hope this helps. Keep you eye on the prize!

Thanks for all the speedy responses guys it's helped alot. Another question that I have is about the diet and lap band after you reach your target weight. Right now I weigh about 320 and am 6 ft. 2 in. and would like to weigh around 200 or just under. One of the main reasons I am considering this is because the job I want to get in the next year or two will require me to climb telephone poles and work from bucket trucks, a linemen for an electrical company. In order to do this I need to get my weight under control and get my knees back to their original strength before I gained all my weight. If I do ahead with the lap band and reach my target weight of 200, I will start work and will have to remain at that weight in order to continue working as a linemen. Since I am so young and will have a very active job, climbing up and down poles almost everyday, is it possible to have the band loosened so that I could eat so half a normal meal? I honestly believe that once I am smaller and have seen all the benefits of it, that I could control my eating and weight much better especially since I will have to if I want to keep working and earning the high pay I would as a linemen. Sorry for the long post but I have a lot of questions that I would like to get answered.

deed87... I'm no expert but I think you are kinda going into this with the wrong mindset. You have to understand that this is a tough deal. Too many people call this "the easy way out" but its all but that. This is tough. The job you seek will serve as great motivation but the are many posts in here about people who don't have sucess with it. However, when you do reach your goal weight, you can stop getting fills, have some Fluid removed from the band, etc. I think once you get close it will motivate you to go further.

I also get the feeling that you are like many of us that LOVE food and you are thinking that you will never be able to enjoy the good stuff again. Many people on this forum talk about how hard it is to maintain when you reach your goal. To take fluid out will only give more hunger and you will want more food which will give you more calories which will eventually lead to weight gain. Hope this helps.

I don't drink beer often but when I do, I drink Smithwick's

re: "is it possible to have the band loosened so that I could eat so half a normal meal? I honestly believe that once I am smaller and have seen all the benefits of it, that I could control my eating"

One of the amazing NEW parts of our journey, is our idea of "normal meal" changes dramatically!!!

What satisfies me now, often amounts to a small appetizer that I ate before 'the meal'....which of course would be stuffed down with my eating shovel regardless of whether I was hungry or not.

The odd relationship and competition of 'eating it all' and "finish this little bit" and "CAN you eat this last little bite" will be something you leave in the past.

I do plenty of heavy activity and remain satisfied on far less than you would ever believe could happen.

One of the other benefits of the Band, is NOT being hungry all the time. I no longer feel like a shark having to swim forward to breath, crawling over my incredible pile of food to merely make it through the day.

I haven't been in a fast food place in nearly 4 1/2 years now. That alone has saved a fortune in both time AND money.

I'm down to the size I was in high school during JFK-Camelot era. I went from size 56-58 pants to 42/44. I'm headed for size 40....

NOTHING tastes as good as being thin feels!!!

Jack - I have to say that it is very entertaining reading your posts. You wield the english language like you know what you are doing.