Question:
drinking while eating???
what is the easiest way to stop drinking while eating? i am finding it so difficult to stop this. i am almost 6 weeks post-op & i am still drinking while i eat!! i try and drink a lot before i eat, but as i am chewing the food i crave even the smallest sip of water. what will happen to me if i can't break this habit? will it stretch my pouch? thanks for any advice and/or help! — heather S. (posted on June 29, 2003)
June 28, 2003
The biggest problem with drinking while eating is that you are washing the
food out of your pouch as you go so you will feel hungry again sooner. That
isn't a problem as a new post-op, but the further you get post-op, the more
of a problem it will be. Try to just not put anything to drink on the
table. When I do that, I am fine. It's only if there is something there
that I will drink it. Good luck. Kathy open rmy 2/10/03 215/155 goal 140
— kathyb
June 28, 2003
I just NEVER have a drin available while I eat. It is much easier to break
a habit that way. Besides washing food through your pouch too quickly and
causing you to be hungry faster, drinking with food can cause the food to
reflux into the esphagus and/or lungs and that isn't good as any of you who
have suffered form acid reflux knows. This surgery is a tremendous tool
but it does require us to work to use it effectively. I was always a big
drinker with meals, but I made up my mind from the beginning that I would
break the habit - and I've not strayed from it in 19 months. I try not to
drink for at least 15 minutes before meals so there is plenty of room for
my food and I don't drink for thirty mintues following the meal. The only
times I have varied from this is if I've gotten choked or have
inadvertently eaten too much and have taken a sip or to try to relieve the
pressure causing nausea. My surgeon has told us that if we do eat too much
and feel nauseated, to chew gum as it will speed up the digestive process.
He says that is much better than drinking.
— Patty_Butler
June 29, 2003
hey there.. i would agree ..just have no drink available..if i personally
drink with food..it makes me sick..thats what helps me..lol..but.. if ya
dont have it..ya cant drink it..huggles n bb..
— johanna F.
June 29, 2003
Be completely hydrated before you eat. Make yourself drink at least 2 cups
or 16oz of water before you eat any of your food. I never thought I could
do it but it is such a habit now I wouldn't think of taking a sip! Best of
Luck!
— ZZ S.
June 29, 2003
Recently the dietician told me no water for 30 minutes before, or 30
minutes after - forever. Also, one member posted that she drinks 16 ounces
before eating - I would be worried about that - seems like that would
stretch your stomach since it is only supposed to hold 1/2 cup and your
putting 2 cups in there pretty much all at once.
I also like to have a drink with just about each bite, but once I have my
surgery I know that I'll have to make the switch.
— bethybb
June 29, 2003
You cannot stretch your pouch by drinking fluid on an empty stomach. Water
flows right out of it like, well um water. Quick in, quick out.
— [Deactivated Member]
June 29, 2003
Yeah, you can't stretch your pouch by drinking on an empty stomach. It just
goes straight through. I drink a lot before I eat, and try not to drink
while eating, but I do take a sip if something is too dry. After a while,
it becomes second nature to not drink while eating, and to wait at least
half an hour after eating. But, you have to PRACTICE at it. Habits are hard
to break, but you CAN break them. Just keep working on it! :)
— Diana L.
June 30, 2003
Just like any other habit, it takes practice until you get it right. Use
wearing a seatbelt in a car as an example. Years ago, it was not law and
no one used them. Now, you get in a car and automatically buckle up
without even thinking. It will be the same with not drinking with meals.
Hard at first, but after a while, the habit develops and it becomes 2nd
nature. Try just having tiny sips at first with meals if you have too and
wean yourself off of drinking slowly with meals totally.
— Cindy R.
June 30, 2003
I drink when I eat. I try not to drink much, but today I had a whole glass
with almost a whole bowl of soup and one slice of pizza. Personally I don't
find that I'm hungrier afterwards when I drink, but we are all different. I
tried the water rules... don't drink so close to lunch and then so long
afterwards. Well, I ended up dehydrated as I'd get busy and forget the
time. So to heck with it. Now I drink "when' I'm thirsty rather than
watching a clock. I'm not saying that I'm right, it's only that I found the
rules did'nt work for "me". They may for you. I just could'nt get
it to work for me. ;)
— Danmark
June 30, 2003
i put a lemon wedge where my cup used to sit. when i get the urge to drink,
i suck on the lemon. it helps clear the taste of food out out my mouth, and
if you don't like lemon, it would be a good behavior modificattion for you.
as to the drinking while you are eating, it varries from person to person.
my doc says not to drink while you eat because it turn the food thats a
"paste" that takes longer to digest in your stomach to a
"soup" that slides thru, and makes you hugry faster. as to the
streaching the pouch, i don't realy know. i do know the few times i've
tried even sipping with a meal, i get that slimey feeling in the back of my
throat and everything comes back up. Good luck! 9 weeks out, down 44 lbs
— mellyhudel
June 30, 2003
I stop myself from not drinking and eating together by not having a glass
in front of me at meal times. If I'm out to dinner, I move it across the
table where I cant reach it. If I'm at a friend or family's house for
dinner, I ask them not to fix me a drink. You cant drink if you dont have
it in front of you. Another thing that helps is a piece of sugar free gum
right after a meal. It gets the taste of food out of your mouth and it
keeps it moist. Oh, and I like that lemon idea. Think I'll try that one
too. :) ~Sidney~ Open RNY 10-23-02 down 100+ and counting
— Siddy I.
July 1, 2003
Ok, OK, all the advice posted is excellent. Just don't have a glass in
front of you while you eat. BUT, here's another reason why you shouldn't
drink while you eat...liquids will help the solid foods pass out of the
pouch, into the small intestine faster than if there were just solids to be
digested. In doing so, you will have less of a feeling of satisfaction and
fullness, which means you will be hungry sooner. You see, when your
stomach is stretched and feelinm full with solid foods, it sends a signal
to the brain that you are full and satisfied. You will not want more food
for several hours. IF you flush that tummy with fluids, you WILL be hungry
sooner,and if you eat more you will be taking in a lot more calories than
you would have if you had just eaten your solid foods and skipped the
liquids. This can thwart your efforts, slow your progress and in some
cases for those of us who are able to eat more because we're a year or more
out, cause weight GAIN.. SO the nmoral of my story is this: get well
hydrated with zero calorie liquids no sooner than 30 minutes PRIOR to a
meal and do not drink again for 30 minutes to one hr AFTER you eat. Say no
the the waiter when he offers you water, and just relish in the fact that
you CAN control the way you eat and drink now...Good luck,
Diane N http://www. WeightlossSurgery.ws
— DianeN
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