Liquids

[asheyrae 12]

I am still 6 months out from my surgery completing my insurance requirements, but I am using this time to get myself on track. When I talked with my surgeon he said that one of the biggest reasons people fail in his practice with the band is because they drink with their meals. I always drink several glasses of Water with my meals, but I want to change this habit. Has anyone else had issues with this and if so how did you overcome it?

[BandedSister_Lizz 22]

Hey again !

I was a HUGE liquid drinker during my meals. I would often have 4/5 cups of liquids during my meals. I just started going down slowly. I started drinking one glass of liquid less per week. This really did help me ! Maybe you can try this and see how it goes.

Lizz

[HotButterFly 981]

I was a eater/drinker... Eventually, you'll have no problem doing it. And that's because the first time you try it (eating & drinking with your band) you'll probably puke... It's not a happy experience. I know it seems like such a hard thing to do, even though there are ppl who still so it, but it's just a habit you'll learn to develop just like you developed your current one.

I used to gulp my cold Water specially during the summer months and I thought I was gonna have a hard time adjusting to sipping it... It's child's play. It's second nature. You'll do fine!

[asheyrae 12]

@@BandedSister_Lizz Thanks Lizz! Weaning down seems like a great start. I love my Water, especially with my spicy meals! So over your 6 months were you able to get yourself down to where you don't drink with meals ?

[asheyrae 12]

@@HotButterFly It sounds like you are speaking from personal experience on this. I will take that to heart. I am really looking to make as many changes as I can now during my 6 months to make my transition a little easier. If I can make myself stop drinking with meals slowly now I know it will be easier than going in cold turkey.

[HotButterFly 981]

That's RIGHT!! You can so this! And it's refreshing to see someone making changes so early on. Kudos!!

[Bandista 7,466]

Hi there, good for you getting prepared in advance. I was really happy I upped my exercise prior to surgery. I walked a little more each day, each week. I didn't really want to (lazybones!) but I did it and this gave me something to step right into after surgery, kicked the body into healing mode and helped me shed.

Any kind of body awareness you can practice now will also really help. Just paying attention to where and how you hold tension is a way of connecting to what's going on in the body. Taking that time to scan the body and notice what's going on. For me I find my thighs tighten up when I'm feeling stressed or maybe my shoulders, etc. Just noticing releases that. You will be learning how to pay attention to your chewing and swallowing, looking for signals and having an overall sense of how to listen is a great thing.

I benefitted from some therapy while I was waiting for my surgery date. I wanted an objective third person to go through the process with me as a way of checking in with myself, any worries that were coming up, etc. "what if it doesn't work, what if I fail, what will I have to give up," -- all those feelings we all have. We broke down all my triggers. It was tedious at times but I'm glad to have gone so deeply into what made me want to eat. A broad label of something like Emotional Eater wasn't really enough for me. I needed to get really specific about the ways I used food to prep myself for things I didn't want to do -- like a conference call, I hate those -- hate the phone in general. So beforehand I'd fortify with food then treat myself after as a reward. That's just one example and of course we are all different with our own triggers and habits. Getting "real" about mine and knowing I was getting surgery which would help me conquer them was a good precursor for later. I found the surgery and recovery very easy and I am as excited today as I was then. It's like my whole life has shifted and I am so happy now. The weight loss is great but the empowerment is amazing. Best wishes to you!

[BandedSister_Lizz 22]

@@asheyrae YES DEFINITELY! I also just don't put a cup of liquid in front of myself anymore because I found that I would go for the cup out of second nature!

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@asheyrae in the early days of your surgery your are going to be quite swollen internally and it will not be easy to eat and drink at the same time or directly after you start to eat those solid foods. So doctors will tell you not to do it, and it's good advice.

The old school of thought was that drinking after a meal or with your meal was pushing food out of the "pouch" through stoma and causing it to empty quicker and there for making the person hungry again sooner. With the advancement and studies of the band it was learned that food moves through the stoma in approximately 1 minute after a bite of food is consumed so a sip of Water or beverage after that bite is not going to have an effect on that bite since it would have already moved from the upper chamber above the band to the lower chamber below the band.

That said however you don't want to have food in your mouth, or just swallowed and chase that with the beverage. This can result in that pushing of food, and or "stacking" of food in the upper chamber of the stomach and esophagus and make you very uncomfortable or as others have said force the food back up and out. In the even that this does not happen it can also cause some distention in the upper chamber where it could depending on the amount of food and Fluid stacked in it expand and extend over the band again causing discomfort and further band complications.

So following the Dr.'s rule of thumb not to eat and drink together is a sound one especially in the early stages of banding. Eventually you will be able to sip Water with your meals, especially with the spicy ones and/or dry meats.Follow Dr.'s orders that's the main thing, and you will do great!!

[asheyrae 12]

@@lisacaron You all are offering some great advice, Thanks for everything.