drinking during meals

[looserwannabe 0]

Hi everyone, I had my band done Dec 12 2008 and have my first fill scheduled Jan 23.:tt2:

I am having a hard time not drinking during meals, and find myself able to eat more and totally blew my diet during Christmas holiday.:confused:

I have lost 4 lbs since my surgery so I am happy with that but am afraid that now that I know how to cheat I will continue doing so.

I do try to comply when I can but now see that I am still able to eat with little restriction.

Did I stretch out my stomach above the band? or is it just that the restriction is not enough for me? Or have I found the way to cheat?....if its the latter OMG.:w00t:...HELP..I soooo want this to work.

Getting worried now...no no no...I can do this..it will work...I will change my bad eating habits...I can do this.....:cursing:

Any suggestions?

[Bengal Fan 0]

You may not be restricted enough yet and the reason you don't want to drink liquids is because it helps push the food down and you don't feel as full and it could also cause the band to slip because it forces the food thru...that is what the nurse told me...not sure if others agree or have been told otherwise but I'm sure they'll let you know what they have been told...

[meg0880 0]

You just don't have enough restriction yet. I did the very same thing until I found my sweet spot and now I don't want to drink anything before, during or after I eat because it's VERY uncomfortable! Good luck!

[bigpapa2 0]

I'm almost six months banded and I don't drink 30 minutes before or after I eat. I was just telling my wife yesterday that not drinking during my meals is one of the things i miss the most. i hate going out to eat and the waittress asking me many times if I want something to drink or not. They look at me like I am weird for not ordering a drink.

[heartfire 4]

I'm getting much better about that. I don't think you have to worry about stretching your pouch this early BUT you do need to get in better habits for yourself now.

According to my surgeon, it's not so much that you can stretch your pouch, it's that you're washing your food through the pouch faster, so you end up eating more and you don't stay full as long. Again, that's what MY surgeon told me.

BigPapa, if you can do this without drinking it, order a glass of Water and just leave it on the table. That helps A LOT! Wait staff have a hard time with this as they are so trained to keep drinks coming and filled, they just don't know what to do with someone who doesn't want a drink!

[SweetP818 1]

I know where you are! I'm there, too. Banded on 11/19/08. Eating way too much. Scared silly that I have stretched or messed something up. I seem to try to "push" the limit every day. Crazy, I know.:biggrin:

[BgB9 9]

I'm recently where you are, just got my first fill last week. I was told nothing to drink 30 minutes before because it makes you too full to eat the necessary proteing. And, nothing for an hour after because (a) it tends to wash the food through the band enabling you to eat more, and (:biggrin: it can stretch the stomach and cause band slippage. I eat a lot of spicy food and it is extremely difficult not to drink. I do take some small sips, but am getting better about not really drinking. I order a drink with no ice to go and don't put a straw in it. It's not cold, so I'm not temped to drink it and wait staff leave me alone. I can also tell you that when you get restriction and someting suddenly gets stuck, if you are drinking, it just makes things way worse, at least for me. I found that if I had a handy drink, I'd try to wash it down. Not pretty. As I was advised, you are in a time for healing, not losing weight. Don't worry about it until your first fill.

[LSF 264]

My nutritionis told me to wait 1 hour afterwards but if I'm really thirsty, she said it would be ok to take an occasional sip during a meal.

[razberry*kisses 0]

Ohh I usually just order a Water but I have to put it far away from me to keep from drinking it. It is hard to do at first, but if you drink too soon after eating, it will not be pretty or feel very good. I have done this several times lately. So I do try and wait at least 15 min after eating to drink something.

[WannaBSkinnyB 0]

I know where you are! I'm there, too. Banded on 11/19/08. Eating way too much. Scared silly that I have stretched or messed something up. I seem to try to "push" the limit every day. Crazy, I know.:tongue2:

OMG! :cursing: SweetP, I could have written those exact words. And I to, was banded 11/19/08.

Let's keep in touch since were on the same page.

[WendyDawnn 0]

Wow, ya'll hit my insecurity on the head with this post! I have not yet been able to break my dependency on ice Water before, during, and after meals... and I'm nervous for my first fill, when I think this addiction will become more noticeable.

I was banded on 12/1/08, and have very little restriction at this point. In my post-op appt with the PA, I told him of my concerns (I had also stopped taking Adipex the day of surgery, so suddenly I had an appetite again after 8 months without)... he said that until my first fill (scheduled for 1/21), I would pretty much be "normal", so I should "Enjoy the holidays". UGH - I've done that for many years... which is why I'm now banded!! (He said I could stay on Adipex until my fill, if I wanted to continue to take it.)

My sisters are banded, and both have said that drinking after eating is bad news, they both can guarantee this will cause vomiting almost immediately. I would almost rather drink ice Water than eat!