Question:
Does water consumption stretch your pouch?

   — Myrna E. (posted on September 24, 2003)

September 24, 2003
Yes. Our dietician said if you consume water with snack food or less than 30 min. before and up to 60-90 minutes after (Dietician at Jewish Hospital Weight Loss Management) and the doctor with her agreed--a pouch can stretch.
   — who A.

September 24, 2003
I have always drank right up to my meal and 30 minutes after and have had no problems stretching my pouch. How do I know, you ask? At almost 8 months out, I still can't get down more than 1/2 cup of food without being miserably, painfully full. I usually don't exceed about 1/3 of a cup because of it. I have even, on occasion, drank so much so fast that it has started backing up my eshophagus...talk about a strange feeling!
   — eaamc

September 24, 2003
I agree with Andrea. Liquids do not "stretch" the pouch in the sense of overfilling it (remember that the pouch is designed to "stretch" to accommodate food, and shrinks back down when we're not eating; it's made of stretchy material anyway). Drinking up to the time you eat (or maybe stopping 30 minutes beforehand), and then waiting 30 minutes after eating to drink again, should be fine. Given that I eat 5-6 small meals a day, I'd have a hard time getting all my water in reliably if I waited 60-90 minutes after each meal to drink. Thirty minutes on either side of a meal works for me. :-)
   — Suzy C.