Finalizing Requirements to Schedule Surgery...

First time post and in reading thru here, looks like being terrified is par for the course. Here is my first of what I expect will be a mind-numbing number of questions: My social life revolves around ****tails and food. Every holiday, every party, family gatherings, etc. Assuming I'm not the only person with this social scene, can anyone give me some idea how the surgery and changes affected your social life? What are some tips and traps to think about?

First rule: no alcohol/****tail...sorry!

other than that I noticed people don?t pay attention to your plate at parties. So you can be as discreet as you want. If at a ****tail party I stick with shrimps when passed around. If a sit down dinner skip the first course (soup or salad) and have protein for entee with little vegetables. Skip dessert. I go to a lot of events (part of my job) and nobody has ever noticed my food intake.

Somebody posted here during thanksgiving few golden rules that I follow religiously:

1) mingle

2) don?t talk about what you can and cannot eat, nobody cares.

3) enjoy the company

Yup this is a big one for me.

People might not notice what you're eating, but they definitely zero in on the water glass in your hand haha. (Especially if you're a woman, people assume you're pregnant or trying. I kinda hate those people now...)

People cannot wrap their heads around not drinking. Sometimes I'm fine explaining it to people, but often I just say I'm doing low carb, or watching my calories, or driving, etc.

ive found people can relate to "diet talk", then they change the subject pretty quickly, lest they start thinking about their own consumption hahahah

ill often ask for water with lemon or lime in a Collins or ****tail glass, rather than a water glass, so at least it looks like more of a drink.

for food, there's almost always something protein forward, shrimp, meat, cheese, veggies etc.

When someone has noticed my portions, I say I ate before coming, or I'm going to dinner later etc. But that rarely happens.

i have also tried shifting my social life to include more activities. Not just sitting and drinking and talking. Party games, or a project people can contribute to. This would vary on the type of people. Shifting the focus to an experience, rather than just consuming.

And there's also the reality you might grow distant from some people. Your priorities might not line up anymore. But that happens throughout life, and isn't unique to Bariatric surgery.

Good luck!

You have to really come to grips with the notion that alcohol and food are a big part of the reason that you're headed to the operating room. At this point in the process you should be thinking 100% abstinence. Your social life is going to take a hit for sure.

A lot of people have that problem. But really, a social life means the society of other people. It has nothing to do with food and alcohol. I know it does, but it doesn't need to.

Alcohol is a real problem postop. We've seen a lot of people transfer their food addiction to alcohol. They never think it will happen, but it does, and it doesn't end well.

Ask yourself this: If you aren't willing to alter significant behaviors, why are you thinking about WLS? How do you think it can help you?