Eating and drinking at the same time?

[Krasavitza 13]

Has anyone ever accidentally ate and drank at the same time? If so, what happens? I’m worried that I might forget and do it out of habit

[SleeverSk 635]

Lol you just feel really full and bloated, I did vomit once. other than that not much but it uncomfortable enough that you try really hard not to do it

[summerseeker 2,274]

It is getting better for me now. I can have a few tiny sips with my food. I used to get a very uncomfortable full feeling, then I usually vomited the liquid up. I had to wait a lot longer than most to drink after eating. I had a tight restriction.

[TRAVELRN 73]

9 hours ago, Krasavitza said:

Has anyone ever accidentally ate and drank at the same time? If so, what happens? I’m worried that I might forget and do it out of habit

yes it was horrible and made me never do it again. I vomitted as well and then had dumping. Remember its wait before AND after eating.

[Jeanniebug 476]

I'm not entirely sure why gastric sleeve patients aren't supposed to eat and drink at the same time. Don't you guys still have your sphincters? I know that in gastric bypass, we don't have our sphincters anymore, so stuff just literally goes right through us - there's no regulation. If we drink, the liquid will just wash all the food out of our pouches. We'll end up getting hungry quicker, plus dumping is a risk.

[Spinoza 1,467]

Yeah - drinking soon after eating pushes food through a sleeve quicker. We're a lot less prone to dump than people who have had a bypass, but some of us still do.

I have been super lucky - have pushed the boundaries of my sleeve in a number of ways when it suited me but never paid a big price. I can drink right up until I eat but I don't like to drink for at least an hour after (preferably two) - I have framed that in my head as a total waste of my sleeve.

[BriarRose 438]

I am 12 years out from surgery. At first, you are only drinking after surgery. Then thicker drinking, then semi solid food... then soft foods... As you hit the semi solid/ soft food phase you should try to not drink with meals. Since you will be not eating out for a while, it is actually easy. Just don't put your Water on the table. You won't drink by mistake. I thought I would NEVER be able to eat and not drink. But because you start out eating about a quarter of a teaspoon of food at a time, you don't really need to drink. I find that now, after all these years, I will sip water until a few minutes (maybe 15 or so now) a meal, and then I do not drink for a good while afterwards. Mostly because I feel full longer with out the drinking afterwards. I was never a gulper, and never have liked sodas or carbonation, so that was not an issue for me, When eating out, I just move my water glass when my meal comes. If I want a sip, or need a sip; it's fine. but to get the most out our small meals in terms of Vitamins and minerals and all that, it's better NOT to wash it down so quickly.

[Doctor Q 2]

This has not been well studied. One study from Scandinavia showed no difference in weight loss when people drank during meals. Many of my successful gastric bypass patients, as well as sleeve and band patients, do drink small amounts during meals. The key is not to drink liquids with the sole purpose of forcing in more food. Remember, speed-eating champions (with normal stomachs) will sip Water while they pound down their hotdogs. Mimicking the eating patterns of the world's speed-eating champions is probably not a great way to eat on a regular basis.

I advise my patients to drink a glass of water (or some calorie-free beverage) about 15 minutes before they have a regular meal. This prevents them from being thirsty when they start a meal. It also helps to "flush through" thick saliva that may cause food to get stuck inappropriately. If the "pipes are clear" every time they eat (band, bypass, sleeve, whatever..) their eating experience will be more consistent.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Doctor Q

[pintsizedmallrat 473]

16 hours ago, Jeanniebug said:

I'm not entirely sure why gastric sleeve patients aren't supposed to eat and drink at the same time. Don't you guys still have your sphincters? I know that in gastric bypass, we don't have our sphincters anymore, so stuff just literally goes right through us - there's no regulation. If we drink, the liquid will just wash all the food out of our pouches. We'll end up getting hungry quicker, plus dumping is a risk.

First of all one of the reasons is they ask you not to drink for 30 minutes is exactly why an RNY patient does: because it will push what you ate through your stomach faster, making you hungry sooner and reducing the amount of Vitamins you absorb.

Second of all, while less common than RNY, some sleeve patients can and do dump.

[Doctor Q 2]

It's interesting to hear the "reasons" given. As a surgeon on the editorial board for the Journal Obesity Surgery, I can assure you that I have not seen good studies indicating that people should not drink during a meal.

It does seem intuitive to think it matters, but as I stated, it really only matters if someone is trying to "cheat" their surgery, and anyone that does that is destined for failure anyway.

[xoxoMeli 64]

food and liquids fight for space in your new pouch. You'll likely feel full and bloated and get hungry again sooner, but nothing too serious. LOL. It is my least favorite "rule" though.

[Spinoza 1,467]

Lots of personal experience gets quoted and shared on this forum because that's the nature of this type of forum I think.

I can only speak for myself but I know I don't stay full for nearly as long if I drink soon after eating. I know this because I have used it to eat bigger volumes than I normally can, in situations where I want to (for my own reasons, usually obfuscation, LOL).

I wouldn't generalise my experience, it's just my very own - but it is my experience. 😊