Fluids

I am 16 months out today.  I want to drink after I eat now.  Not with my meals and not right after I eat but about 15 mins.  I am also drinking before I eat. 

So my questions is for RNY, are you still following the 30/30 rule?  Do I have too?  Am I messing anything up by drinking?

I may get hissed at .. but Kristen , I still follow the rules . If you drink , you are doing nothing but flushing the food out of your pouch. It needs to be able to sit there , and go through the normal digestion process that we have . Otherwise , you will be wanting to eat again .

I do this though .. now not everyone yell at me at one time ..
I do water load. I drink about 4 glasses of water about an hour before I eat . This keeps me fuller longer, and I do not over eat . Say what you may .. at 4 years out I can eat more if I want to  . More than I could at 2 years . When I say more , I used to could only eat 2 ounces of meat , now I can do about 4 . I can eat an entire salad - 4 cups or more . With protein on it . I tell you I know that staying hydrated has helped to keep the weight from bouncing back ..

I would advise against it .. just me .. is how I roll

Ok what is your suggestion on grazing, that is really driving me ******g nuts! 

My problem is at night after dinner and maybe it is stress, So I need to go live on a island with no refrigerator?  I am sick of looking at food, I am worried about these old habits creeping back in and I am only 16 months out.

FUCK!~

They will creep bck if you let them . Recognizing this as stress eating is the first step .
You should not be hungry .. if you are it is in your freaking head ..
While they changed our plumbing.. they did not wack out our eating habits .

Here is what I do .. if i feel the need to graze .. I only graze on things like sugar snap peas , lettuce .. cukes .. carrots .. things that are good for me . If you come to my house , you would know right away , that I am a skinny gal now . When I say that .. I mean .. there is nothing in here today .. and I say today .. that is bad for me . The kids come over and complain there is nothing to eat here ..
But there is .. Apples, Celery , Yogurt , Nuts, Snap Peas .. Carrots .. Turkey bites , Chicken bites .. Turkey Pepperoni .. cheese sticks .. See the pattern here ? 

If I can grab a few sices of deli meat .. or a piece of cheese , this normally satisifies me .
But I do have my days .... days where I crave chips ... so what do I do .. I have a few .. I do not forbid myself to eat these things . I just only do a few .. and I am satisfied .

What are you snaking on ?

I was never very strict with that - I had to at least sip with meals; especially when I was only eating protein.  Otherwise, no matter how well I chewed, it felt like it was stuck in my throat.  I never understood the no water before, when everyone was telling me fluids run right through your pouch - how does it help you eat less?  But the no drinking after - that part I can see the sense of.  The longer you hold the food in your pouch, the longer you feel full.

I have pretty much let that rule fall by the wayside; maybe I should try it again.  Not because I think the "no fluids before" part works, but just because it's one of the Mental aspects of a post-WLSer and that may help me stick to the other parts.

Stick to it, Kristen.  That was the first rule I lapsed on and I have not turned it around yet.  Letting one rule slide leads to letting another slide :-(

Lisa