So I'm not banded yet (go in 8/23 ) and trying to chew chew chew chew and take small bites and not drink while eating. I'm doing decent on the chewing and small bites but the not drinking anything while eating is HARD ! I am SO used to doing it and don't even realize when I'm reaching over to grab my drink (even though it just water) after several bites!! I'm currently eating my lunch and want a drink SO stinking bad. I haven't had one yet but I'll be counting down the minutes til 30 minutes after last bite for a big gulp!

Does anyone have any suggestions for tips on this? I can't think of any.

I still do it, but I don't gulp. Just take very small sips to rinse my palette. It hasn't really posed a problem for me. It's just learning not to take those large gulps. At first I avoided straws because I have a tendency to drink faster through a straw, but I've adapted to that as well.

So I'm not banded yet (go in 8/23 ) and trying to chew chew chew chew and take small bites and not drink while eating. I'm doing decent on the chewing and small bites but the not drinking anything while eating is HARD ! I am SO used to doing it and don't even realize when I'm reaching over to grab my drink (even though it just water) after several bites!! I'm currently eating my lunch and want a drink SO stinking bad. I haven't had one yet but I'll be counting down the minutes til 30 minutes after last bite for a big gulp!

Does anyone have any suggestions for tips on this? I can't think of any.

i dont have any tips other than (dont do it).

dont have the glass/cup or whatever near you when you drink is something i read. but to me, just dont drink. (i have sipped a smidge if i felt i really really needed too) but otherwise, nothing until about 30 min afterwards.

its a mental thing. get the positive mental vibe going now. you can do this. (make it happen).

Best advice is don't have a Water sitting there. After you are banded... it will be easier to remember... because you don't want to flush your lunch quickly through the band. And sometimes... it can be uncomfortable to add liquid on top of the food.

Good for you for practicing!!!

I also do what the previous poster does... sometimes I take a very small sip to cleanse the pallet.

My best advice is don't even have your Water available. When I'm at work, I make sure to leave it on my desk before I go into the breakroom. At restaurants, I don't order anything and move the water to the other side of the table if they bring it.

I only have 4.5 cc in my band, and am able to gulp water still without any backflow, but I'm trying to drink slower. That being said, sipping 60-80 ounces a day would not be fun for me at all!

I have a hard time with this too. I rinse my mouth if necessary, but then seem to gulp after! UGH! I am going to try the suggestions here, to not put any drink on the table.

Good luck!

So I'm not banded yet (go in 8/23 ) and trying to chew chew chew chew and take small bites and not drink while eating. I'm doing decent on the chewing and small bites but the not drinking anything while eating is HARD ! I am SO used to doing it and don't even realize when I'm reaching over to grab my drink (even though it just water) after several bites!! I'm currently eating my lunch and want a drink SO stinking bad. I haven't had one yet but I'll be counting down the minutes til 30 minutes after last bite for a big gulp!

Does anyone have any suggestions for tips on this? I can't think of any.

The best advice I can share is to plan ahead and get yourself properly hydrated before you begin eating, and that way you are feeling no thirst when you begin your meal.

We have to be aware of what we are doing while we are eating...just ask the veterans on this forum who attribute many of their stuck episodes with getting distracted during a meal. Same principles apply to drinking during a meal...just don't have a glass of anything at the table. That way, you may want to drink, but you would have to make the effort and take the steps to get anything to drink.

I have found that waiting an entire hour post meal is much easier for me to do when I begin the meal properly hydrated.

Best wishes...

Let's look at the reasoning behind the no fluids during a meal. I don't pretend to be a scientist or doctor but this is what I've read: As you eat, food fills your pouch and is massaged through your stoma in about 1 minute. Sometimes faster and sometimes slower depending on the type of food. Slider foods go through in seconds.

There are nerve endings near the top of your stomach/pouch. Food touching this area activates some kind of response to your brain that you are no longer hungry after so many bites of food. I'm sure it takes longer for some of us. If you are aiding your food to slide through the stoma, you may be cheating your pouch from sending that all important signal to your brain that you are no longer hungry.

Some new studies have shown that it's OK to sip Water 1 minute after you swallow your last bite of food. I've tried this but I have to admit I'm a failure since I can't seem to wait 1 minute and I also have a hard time sipping as others have testified. So, no fluids for me at the table. Satiety is the Holly Grail behind losing and keeping weight away.

tmf

Drink a large glass of Water before you sit down to eat and then don't put a drink for yourself on the table. The other major thing is making sure to reduce the amount of salt your are consuming! This is what makes you thirstly. Prebanding I used to drink non stop during the meal. Now I don't really have a problem not drinking. The only time I really want a drink is at a party where the food is unhealthy which means it is also salty.

Take a good look at your food choices and note their salt levels.

You just might get lucky and end up like me: I physically can't drink while eating until the food is into my stomach (about an hr). As soon as I take a sip, up comes what I just ate. Its called the "cork effect". When food sits plugging up ur esophagus and u add liquid, it has nowhere to go.

Its been almost 3 yrs for me and Im finally comfortable with it. Do I WANT something to drink while eating? Sure. Especially when I eat spicy foods. But it isnt worth it to me. I can tell now when the food is settled and I can drink. I dri. Nk all the way up to the minute I eat also.

good luck

Marci

I never thought I could get through a meal without a drink, but it is something that you get used to. I have had a sip before a meal comes out...but because we are only getting a cup of food, I sacrifice the liquid!!!!!

I do drink plenty of Water between meals:)

I never have water at the table with dinner! That has been the hardest habit to break! After a meal, I pop a piece of gum in my mouth to keep me occupied from drinking! That has helped me considerably! Good luck!

Six weeks out and this has been the toughest part for me. I had left a bottle of water on the table and later when I started eating my dinner, there went my hand, reaching for it! I stopped myself, and I know it is getting a little easier to get used to this. My doc says I have to wait 90 minutes to be able to drink, and since I've been successful, I will follow my doctor's orders. I make sure I get my liquids in 15 minutes before my meals.

Super glad I never have had a drink with a meal!!!!! After banding should be a breeze.

It is hard at first. You just gotta break that habit of having a drink at your meal.