Drinking & Eating & Alcohol

[Me1e 0]

Hi all

I am 1 week post op & just have a couple of questions for the experienced bandsters out there!

1) When you go out for meals how do youcope with not eating & drinking at the same time... I like to have a glass of wine or 2 with my meal on special occassions.... (its ok at home but when out i imagine awkward). I know we dont do it to be fuller for longer but if we did would it be a problem on the odd occassion?

2) Will i ever be able to have a good drinking session with my girlie friends again?? Like a good few glasses of wine.. again i'm talking rarely but is it possible?

3) how soon after surgery did you dink alcohol?

thankx

[MarylandMommy 0]

I am still on liquids...but my nutritionist said I would be able to drink wine...but to remember that it will hit me a lot faster than it used to. I will be drinking some wine when I got the beach in August...but probably not as much as I used to. I know I can never drink beer again. Not sure if that helps, but that is the info I received about alcohol!

[Me1e 0]

That is helpful - thanks..

I notice you had surgery only 3 days before me but you have lost 23lbs! I have lost 11 lbs since last saturday.......... What are you managing to eat.. i'm thinking maybe I m not eating enough cuz I am hardly eating at all & have no appetite...

does the 23lbs include pre-op diet..?

[holly11 1]

Well I don't know if I should be saying this but......I can eat and drink at the same time. I don't usually do it but if I am out to eat with friends or whatever I usually order a drink, drink most of it before I eat, drink just a little while I eat and finish after I am finished eating. Now this might be 2 drinks or whatever.....I just don't drink a lot while I am eating. The problem with alcohol is the calories. Watch that and you should be ok. I have not tired beer so I can't speak on that. I found a vodka called 3 vodka and it doesn't have any carbs. I mix it with diet ocean spray carnberry juice so my calories are not to bad......Hope this helps a little!!!

[Guest ZenGarden]

Hey there SallieAnne:

I've never been a huge drinker, but I do enjoy an occasional beer with Mexican food or glass of wine with dinner. For me, it seems easier to have my drink FIRST, before I begin eating. I can only drink about half though, so it's really usesless to spend a lot of money for alcohol at this point. It's much easier (and cheaper) so share a drink or glass of wine with a friend. Secondly, I began consuming alcoholic beverages about 5 or 6 months after surgery when I was totally eating regular foods again.

The key is moderation and listening to your band. You will begin to notice slight changes over time, especially as you gain more restriction. As far as not drinking beverages while eating, it's really just a frame of mind. I often find it more difficult to resist the urge to drink AFTER rather than DURING a meal. I really thought I would have a hard time with it, but I began practicing about a month prior to surgery to help get me in the right mindset. It really isn't that difficult once you get used to it.

Hope this helps...best of luck to you.

Edited July 19, 2008 by zengirl227

[pjd3253 0]

I must be one of the people who just lose weight very slow - you have already lost so much and I had my surgery 6/27 and I honestly don't think I have lost anything - I am not eating much - I think I am doing what I am supposed to - I get ful faster than I used to - I am not eating fattening foods or sweets - wonder why some people lose so fast and others don't - I do not have much restriction at some meals, I do at others which I also don't understand - I tried to eat some fruit while ago for a snack and a piece got stuck so it is weird how sometimes I feel I can eat anything with no restriction plus drink iced tea or Water with meals and other times like the snack it got stuck - does anyone understand any of this? Thanks.

[*Love* 2]

I usually order a drink, drink most of it before I eat, drink just a little while I eat and finish after I am finished eating.

The idea is to NOT wash the food through your band. If you wash the food through your band, your pouch will be empty & there will be room for more food. We got these bands to eat less & consume less calories, not to find ways around them. :scared2:

[camila1988 0]

Hi all

I am 1 week post op & just have a couple of questions for the experienced bandsters out there!

1) When you go out for meals how do youcope with not eating & drinking at the same time... I like to have a glass of wine or 2 with my meal on special occassions.... (its ok at home but when out i imagine awkward). I know we dont do it to be fuller for longer but if we did would it be a problem on the odd occassion?

2) Will i ever be able to have a good drinking session with my girlie friends again?? Like a good few glasses of wine.. again i'm talking rarely but is it possible?

3) how soon after surgery did you dink alcohol?

thankx

About the whole drinking while eating, it just depends on the person, like me I cant do it not because it pushes my food down or anything like the doctor sais but because if i drink while i eat it wont go down like ill have to spit it back up, so i save my self the embarasement and just dont drink untill after i eat probably 20 min after or so.

And about drinking alcohol I drank wine 2 weeks after my surgery and i felt no diffrence. Im young so I go clubbing alot and drink alot as well and I have not seen any diffrence and my doctor sais its not a problem.

So have fun and dont worrk about the band getting in your way of drinking because it dosnt hurt it =]

[ShrinkyDink 0]

So honestly if we want to go out for a special dinner with friends and don't want the conversation to rotate around "look at how little she's eating!" we can drink with our meal and eat a normal meal in a controlled portion? I don't mean all the time of course, I mean once in a while. I just really hate the thought of my new eating habits drawing a lot of attention to myself. I don't mind telling my friends, but I don't want to make a spectacle of myself with it you know?

[*Love* 2]

Just tell them you are on a restrictive diet, period. Once they see a change in your size, they will be jealous.

[Fanny Adams 7]

Hi all

I am 1 week post op & just have a couple of questions for the experienced bandsters out there!

1) When you go out for meals how do youcope with not eating & drinking at the same time... I like to have a glass of wine or 2 with my meal on special occassions.... (its ok at home but when out i imagine awkward). I know we dont do it to be fuller for longer but if we did would it be a problem on the odd occassion?

The "no drinking" rule is mostly so that you don't wash the food through your band quickly and end up hungry again soon afterwards. Having a glass of wine with dinner on occasion shouldn't be a problem, but if you find yourself snacking when you get home because you are hungry again, you should probably rethink drinking with meals. Also, as you get good restriction, you may find that drinking anything while eating is actually difficult - I am finding this now. I tend to have a little sip of Water just after a meal to wash my mouth out, but drinking anything more than that can lead to PBing :drool:

2) Will i ever be able to have a good drinking session with my girlie friends again?? Like a good few glasses of wine.. again i'm talking rarely but is it possible?

All things in moderation is the name of the game! One of the benefits that I have found is that my tolerances for alcohol have GREATLY reduced. One or two glasses of wine over the full course of the evening is the most I can manage now without getting really tipsy, whereas previously I could easily knock off the bottle on my own - yay for cheap highs! Be really really careful in a "drinking session with the girlfriends" though - the alcohol does hit you much faster and you can easily overdo it before you realise it. The LAST thing you need is to end up with your head in the toilet bowl throwing up; that is a HUGE no-no!

3) how soon after surgery did you dink alcohol?

I had a glass of wine on Xmas Day, which was 2 weeks after surgery.

[raedelicious 0]

I have come to the realization that I can not eat and drink at the same time...I can eat WAY too much. I revert to old behavior...stuffing my gob. My doctor hands out this sheet called the Prescription for Success After Weight Loss Surgery...#10 reads "Never, never, never forget where you started. Your old lifestyle got you to the point where you needed a weight loss operation and returning to it will get you the same result." So, follow your doctor's orders, it may be different for some bandsters, but believe it or not there is a reason for the "silly" rules. I don't want to be the fat girl...or the fat friend...or the fat anything.

Also, drinking alcohol is another trigger..for me alcohol equates to eating for me. I never drank without eating. For me, alcohol goes hand in hand with food. So, for now, I am not drinking. Maybe when I learn how to identify hunger signs and have a little more self control I can have a beer, gin and tonic, or margarita with my meal.

[Guest ZenGarden]

Everyone responds differently with the band, and for me, drinking doesn't wash the food down, rather it's a means of forcing food back up (especially if I've over-eaten). There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a few sips of a beverage while eating your meal. You will find that you will be able to do this more often early on, and as you get restriction, it will be limited. Enjoy it while you can :eek:

[Guest ZenGarden]

About the whole drinking while eating, it just depends on the person, like me I cant do it not because it pushes my food down or anything like the doctor sais but because if i drink while i eat it wont go down like ill have to spit it back up, so i save my self the embarasement and just dont drink untill after i eat probably 20 min after or so.

And about drinking alcohol I drank wine 2 weeks after my surgery and i felt no diffrence. Im young so I go clubbing alot and drink alot as well and I have not seen any diffrence and my doctor sais its not a problem.

So have fun and dont worrk about the band getting in your way of drinking because it dosnt hurt it =]

Yes, it absolutely depends on the person as well as the amount of restriction you have. Early on, I was able to drink with meals and I knew the food was being pushed down. However, since gaining great restriction about 4 months ago, anytime I drink after or while eating, I automatically PB.