Question:
Has anyone reached goal weight,drinking while eating,and stayed there?

I was curiuos to know how badly this effects weight loss and whether or not it was possible to do this and drink during meals,I find that I wanna choke when I eat if I do not drink in between bites.I am 14 pounds from goal.(6 months post op) Natalie 228/164/150    — natalie J. (posted on June 14, 2004)


June 14, 2004
I have drank with my meals since about 6 weeks after surgery due to throwing up being too painful without liquids. The few bouts of throwing up stopped, but I kept drinking to be safe. I am 8 months out, -100 pounds, and at goal. I firmly believe my food needs some liquids in there to do what it needs to do, so I'm gonna drink!!!
   — adasha

June 14, 2004
Have you talked to your surgeon about this issue? Each doctor has their own feelings about this subject. I encourage you to contact him/her on this issue. I hesitate to comment on this because I have it ingrained in me not to eat and drink at the same time. I will say that you will wash the food out of your pouch too fast by drinking while eating and you loose that feeling of being full for a longer time.
   — ChristineB

June 14, 2004
You'll just have to see what works for you. Personally, I can't drink with meals and maintain my weight because I have trouble with hunger, and get hungry much faster if I drink with or soon after meals.
   — mom2jtx3

June 14, 2004
I ALWAYS had something to drink with my meals. I hit goal, surpassed goal and maintained it for a year. Now....I have snacked my way to a 15 lb gain and am in the process of taking it back off. It comes off MUCH quicker if I don't drink with meals, and it curbs my hunger. It is just a good habit to get into. Stop now and it wont be as difficult later when you really need it. :)
   — RebeccaP

June 14, 2004
I've been drinking with my meals since surgery over 2 1/2 years ago. I was at goal in about 10 months and have maintained my weightloss.
   — Patty H.

June 14, 2004
Hi Natalie- I have found that it hurts if I drink while I eat. There have been times that I've needed a drink while I'm eating- the occasional times something went down wrong and needed a little sip of water and I've been okay. It was explained to me that you want your pouch empty when you eat to get nutrition from your meals and if you are drinking you may fill up on your beverage and not your meal (ie- protein). Growing up, my parents did not allow us to drink with our meals. Some people thought it was mean, but we all loved milk and would drink our milk and not eat our meals. This habit stayed with me and I'm 34. I'm not sure how it plays with weight loss- fast or slow, I just don't like the pain I get.
   — Kathy *.

June 14, 2004
I have a friend who is almost 9 years out. She drank with her meals from day one. She was at goal for about 6 years but now she is MO again and in bad health (all her co-morbs are back plus some new ones!) She can not stop her bad habit of drinking with meals. She has no problems with the surgery itself just with her eating habits. Since I saw first hand how bad habits will effect my long term success, I wait at least 30 minutes before I drink. I didnt have my guts rearranged to drop the weight just for a couple of years but I did it to change for LIFE! Even if I only have just a bite or 2 I wait. Besides, I took a sip one time to wash something down and it hurt so bad I'll never do it again.~Sidney~ Open RNY 10-23-02 down 140+ and under goal
   — Siddy I.

June 15, 2004
I'm not sure quite why this question is sort of 'stickis in my craw' so to speak. My answer is not what you're going to want to hear...so, if you don't want my opinion...please don't read any further. I suppose your question bothers me basically because your question is about if you can 'do it your own way' and still succeed. I am confused as to why you would choose to have surgery- in the most basic of terms, admitting that 'your way' doesn't work and has gotten you to be MO in the first place... and rearrange your insides... to then 'do it your way' again. Why do you think that some of your surgeon's orders are OK to be ignored? This is a simple behavior modification issue. iI can only assume you knew of the requirement before you had surgery. So, if you couldn't stick to it, you should have discussed it with your surgeon BEFORE you had surgery. So, go ahead and fire away the comments about how rude or harsh I'm being. But, if you post this on the main board, you're going to get the same answers. You're surgeon's guidelines are in place for a REASON. He/She has the long term experience rewquired to make those decisions. YOU do not. FOLLOW YOUR SURGEON'S ORDERS.
   — LMCLILLY

June 15, 2004
If you read Dr. Simpson's book, he says on page 3-65, "There is a growing body of evidence that sips of water with your meal will not wash out the food. This may be a myth that is slowing leaving the weight loss surgery literature. In a survey of 30 patients who reached their goal weight with RNY, and maintained that for at least two years, all of them sipped some liquids with meals. However, none of them "gulped" their liquids. None of them drank and ate at the same time during the first 12 weeks. The pouch requires different treatment during that time."...JR
   — John Rushton

June 15, 2004
That should have read "slowly leaving" not "slowing leaving"...JR
   — John Rushton

June 15, 2004
Well, if a person genuinely feels they're choking, that seems different to me. I don't think I'd want to choke my way through a meal, WLS or not. That said, I'm kinda blown away by that passage from Dr. Simpson that JR quoted. My cynic's heart wonders how they found *any* group of 30 WLS patients who (1) *all* got to goal (amazing 100 percent removal of 100 percent of their excess weight), and (2) *all* drank with their meals (were they ordered to do so as part of a study, or were they all uniformly uncompliant with orders not to, or what, I wonder), and (3) have all (100 percent) maintained all (100 percent) of their weight loss for two years. I wanna join that group, in whatever special dimension they live in, 'cause I haven't run across a group like that on this planet! ;-D
   — Suzy C.

June 15, 2004
Hi, I'm three years post, have always drank with my meals. Never found it to be a problem I do have food issues, but drinking with my meals hasn't been a part of it. I'm a sugarholic, so that is where my problems lie, not volume at any given meal (theoretically you eat more at a meal if you drink with it....I still get stuffed pretty quickly) I work really hard to curb my sugar cravings and I exercise a lot, I eat very well probably 75% of the time...it's the 25% of eating crapola that keeps me from loosing that last 15lbs, not drinking with my meal....just my 2cents. -Kim open RNY 7/17/01 282/145/130
   — KimBo36

June 15, 2004
That was interesting to hear that a surgeon found good results in people who sipped water. I got into the habit of not drinking with meals at home, but tend to do so a bit when I'm out. Truthfully, though, I suspect that drinking with meals or not won't be a major factor for people who have problems with regain or not getting to goal. While waiting to drink may help us feel full longer, it probably isn't true physical hunger that's the biggest problem. It's more the head hunger, grazing, bad habits, carb cravings, all those old demons, and having true physical hunger return sooner (if you drink with meals) or later (if you wait to drink) may not have that much effect on the bad habits. At least that's my theory, based on personal experience! As an example, I eat breakfast about 7:30 and have lunch about 1:00. I get truly hungry by 10:30 or 11 and so have a snack. I also usually have a snack in late afternoon, but have to admit that I'm not really physically hungry then, it's more that nudgy, nervous feeling of wanting to distract myself with food. It's a bad habit and one I need to curb. It's not hunger. On the other hand, fluid loading CAN sometimes help stave off BOTH physical hunger AND the nudgy wanting-to-stuff-my-face feeling. If I have a cup of tea or other liquid I can sometimes avoid or delay the urge to graze. Finally, following your doctor's advice is always a wise way to start, but ultimately you have to live in YOUR body. We're all different, and what works for one person may not work for another. You have to be honest about analyzing your own problems and figuring out what works or doesn't work for YOU. Good luck.
   — Celia A.

June 15, 2004
Natalie, you have done well but are still a new post-op. The not drinking with meals is a general rule that will serve you well in the future when it becomes difficult to maintain, usually around the 2 year or longer time frame. Fluids wash the food out of the pouch and you become hungry much faster. I know this is the case for me at 2 years 5 months post-op. When I do not drink with or right after meals, I do stay full longer. Sometimes I will eat a spicy meal and HAVE to drink soon after I eat. When I do, I note that I start snacking way too soon after the meal. So, this general rule works for me. I think some (a minority) post-ops can drink with meals and maintain their weight as a few have posted here, and taking tiny sips with your meal will not wash the food out, so if you have to drink with meals (choking is not a good thing- eat slowly, little bites), sip slowly.
   — Cindy R.

June 15, 2004
I guess a lot of the answer to this will vary from person to person. For me I couldn't drink early out with my food. It was to uncomfortable, it hurt so I didnt do it. After though..well food has always made me thirsty so i drink pretty soon afterwards. That was okay at first because I'd be so full or close to full that I couldn't drink much more then a couple sips. Now I'm going on 2 years post op and when I drink after my meals I can tell that my pouch is empty sooner. Am I hungry? No not really. Head hungry sometimes but not physically hungry. The problem though is now when that head hunger hits there is room again in my stomach for it. I'm alomst 2 years post op so my stomach is larger then a year or a year and a half ago. If you have good self control and can just not eat for any other reason except true hunger then you'd probrably be fine. Since I have gotten to this stage I try to hold off on drinking after my meal as long as I can. I don't want to put back on the weight I have lost. Oh and I am at goal and thus far maintaining.
   — Carrie D.

June 15, 2004
Natalie ~ I have always drank with my meals. I found, for me, it helped tremendously with the 'stuck food' problem. It has not deterred my weight loss at all. 18 months post op, at goal, holding and happy! Labs come back great regularly. Remember, we're all different, so follow your instincts and listen to your body. Congratulations on your wonderful success!!
   — chelle3081

June 15, 2004
I agree with Michelle....I have to sip with meals to avoid the painful "stuck" problem. My surgeon says it's no problem as long as I am getting the right amount of meal with it. I just reached my 2 yr anniversary and have been at goal for months (and had a baby in between there!). Actually, I am below goal. It's not like I drink antyhing like I did before, but I will sip water with a meal especially when I am at a restaraunt.
   — emilyfink




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