Opinions on alcohol

I didn't even see that! I will have to go watch it. Thanks!

Burning fat requires a lot of extra work for your liver and kidneys. So during weight loss it's an absolut (sic) no go.

Later on, most people have found it effects them very differently. There have even been court cases where WLSers tried to use surgery as an excuse for drunk driving fatalities. It got them nowhere.

It also leads to what most refer to as transfer addiction. We transfer addiction from food to alcohol. It's no way to live a short unhappy life. Do a search for transfer addiction here on OH. No one EVER thinks it will happen to them. Everyone ALWAYS thinks they can do it in moderation, and control it. Until the day it slowly starts to unravel.

We all ended up on the operating table from doing what we wanted, rather than what our bodies needed. We never, ever, need alcohol.

I haven't touched a drop since well before surgery. Really, you will be far better off if you just kick the habit, for good. This is the time in our recovery from WLS and obesity that we need to develop these permanent, lifelong habits.

Just my opinion and this is from a DSer. I didn't touch alcohol for at least a year (maybe even longer). Not a drop. I was never a big drinker so it wasn't too hard. Also, since my surgery I am a "cheap drunk". Two drinks and I'm toast,

That said, I do drink alcohol now. I love a glass of wine in the evening before dinner or when going out with friends. Definitely have had a margarita. Bubbles are an issue - I was never a beer lover but will occasionally have a beer or a glass of champagne. Just drink it a little slower.

If I'm out for the evening, I will have a drink, then a glass of water. If I want another drink, it will only be after water.

Margaritas are one of the poorest choices as far as an alcoholic drink goes...

They are nothing but refined high fructose sugar...

IF you DID decide to have a drink, pick something like a dry red wine or a sugar free soda/alcohol...

The general consensus is that drinking any alcohol during the weight loss phase is a bad idea, and will slow down your weight loss... can lead to a transfer addiction... and is harder on your liver than usual.

This is an opinion from an alcoholic. I think if you didn't drink before don't.

I know a lot of people have read my story. I get sick of hearing it myself.

I started drinking when I was about 14 years old. I kept it up till I got pregnant with my kids. As time went on I kept drinking. I was trying to not to feel. I didn't like who I was and I felt lost.

I continued to drink after kids. Pre-surgery I drank almost daily and would black out. I put my family through a lot of heartache. Thankfully they still love me.

After surgery I thought I was fixed. I didn't drink alcohol for about three months after. I thought I had control of it. Like thinking I could drink just two glasses of wine and be done with it. No such luck. I went back to drinking. Not just a little bit. Balls to the wall meaning it was to not to feel and medicate myself. It was all or nothing.

Daily I wanted to stop drinking. I hated what I saw in the mirror. Hated. Wanted to die. I bought every self help book known to man to fix me. I just couldn't live like this anymore. It was very painful. It was hurtful to my family to worry about me if they were not home. If they would find me walking in a blackout through the neighborhood. Or would I be dead somewhere.

I thought if I lost the weight I would be fixed and would not want to medicate myself with food and alcohol.

I am an addict. I would hide to eat so no one saw me. Or drink so much no one would know how much I did drink. I would buy small bottles of wine and put them in the fridge. I would also buy more wine and hide the boxes or bottles.

The peer pressure as an adult is sometimes harder than it was when I was young. I use the excuse that I don't drink since I had the WLS.

I was really blessed to have a bartender who is my friend show me how well she was when she stopped drinking. I saw how she started looking healthy again. Seeing her smile without booze made me want a life without alcohol.

She talked to me about AA. I know this isn't a program for everyone. I didn't think I needed it. I did though

I have been sober for over a year and about four months. I am learning who I am. I don't have the self hate that I did before. I can look and see a woman of dignity in the mirror. Not a woman who had to figure out what happened the night before since I wouldn't remember since it was another black out.

I don't have to wake up and apologize from something stupid or dangerous I did the night before.

Do I like how I feel sometimes? Not always. Dealing with feelings can be really hard. Feeling like the Grinch when his heart started growing. That is how I can explain how I feel now. Before I was a shell of a woman. Now I am a person who can help people. Not just worry about when the next glass of wine was going to happen.

I don't cry like I used to. I can say something and mean it. No more lies.

Sorry that this is so long. I know you asked for opinion. Living without alcohol is not a horrible thing.

This is my story. Just thought I would share. I figured if someone out there might need help.

I want to add that my drinking wasn't because my surgery. It is because I am an addict.

God Bless you on your journey! Thank you for sharing your courageous battle.

You are one of the bravest people I know, and I have the utmost respect for you

Thank you Gina. I don't feel brave some days I am just tired. You are a wonderful woman.

Good for you for getting sober. It's not easy. Life on the isle of denial is very comfortable for most people. My ex was an alcoholic and died at age 48. He literally drank himself to death. He was a lovely, handsome, charming individual most of the time but he was a tortured soul and not a happy drunk. Multiple detox visits and stints in rehab did not result in lasting sobriety. I pray you have a great sober life because I've seen the other side.