I have a question about the drinking rules:

Firstly, can you drink anything up to the point of eating.. for an example, they always bring you out a full glass of Water before your meal comes at restaurants like red lobster.... can you drink that water and then stop drinking when the food comes? or is there a period of time both BEFORE and AFTER that you cannot have a drink?

DR Spiegel suggests to stop drinking 5 minutes before you eat and don't resume until 1 1/2 hours after...i've really tried to do this, but today was the first time I actually drank with my meal.

My doctor says 1/2 hour before and one hour after, but I have not followed the 1/2 hour before rule, because to me it does not make any sense. Usually I drink until a few minutes before. I have been very good about the one hour after rule though.

I have not been good about not drinking when I eat. I feel like I'm choking if I don't have a little bit to sip.

My doctor recommends stop drinking 15 min before you eat and no drinking 1-2 hours after you eat. The reason is that by drinking while you eat or soon after you eat is that you literally turn your food into a liquid sludge and allow it to pass through the banded part of your stomach more easily therefore defeating the band. You won't have that full sensation as long.

I sometimes drink right up to the point of eating, especially if I haven't eaten for hours and hours because when I watched my band under fluoroscopy I saw that Water passed right through the band. None was held in the pouch area of the stomach. I figure there's no water left in there to "wash" my food away. But I NEVER drink with meals. It's something I never started to do and I don't plan to.

I've had a hard time with this as well. My doc says 1/2 hr before and 1 hr after. I've been trying different methods to help me and the one I think helps me most is to drink a full bottle about 15 mins before eating. I feel hydrated and not so thirsty while eating. And I feel more satisfied when I eat. I also try to avoid salty or spicy foods that are going to force me to drink. If I just have to have a drink, I take the smallest sip I can just to clear my mouth and throat. I also try not to have a drink near me when I eat. But like I said, this has been my hardest challenge so far. Even so, I'm still losing right on track, so I guess I'm not completely failing at it.

I'm going to be banded April 17th. My doctor allows bringing right up to the time you eat. Then waiting 30 min. after eating to drink. I'm already applying this so that it will be second nature for me later.That's a lot easier than most of you who have to wait an hour or more.

Roberta

My dr says 30 min before and after. He said to drink a lot 30 min before because it 1) clears out your saliva so things don't get stuck, and 2) ensures you're not thirsty and therefore not misinterpreting thirst for hunger.

My doctor says 1/2 hr before and after. I always order a water at the restraunt but it never gets drank, at least not by me. I notice that if I drink something right before I eat, then my food doesn't go down real well, so I have just avoided it.

I honestly dont bother with this, it doesnt seem to make a difference to me. I mean I dont go drinking huge glasses of Water right after I've eaten but if I want a coffee half an hour later I have it. It doesnt seem to make me hungrier or anything.

My official instructions were not to drink half an hour before a meal and for 2 hours after.

My instructions were 30 minutes to 1 hour after a meal. I try to chugalug right before a meal so that I'm a little waterlogged and not thirsty during. But like Jachut, if want to, I'll have coffee or something shortly after a meal.

I have tried to not sip with a meal and I have a hard time. I know it is a learned behavior, but to change a habit it takes 12 weeks and I have never been able to follow the "water rule" that long. I think if I drank more water during the day, I would be less inclined to drink with a meal. I will put this back on my mini goal list as it is make sense not to drink due to the food going through faster. I had not really thought of it that way.

My dr says 30 min before and after. He said to drink a lot 30 min before because it 1) clears out your saliva so things don't get stuck, and 2) ensures you're not thirsty and therefore not misinterpreting thirst for hunger.

I think my saliva is more slippery than water. Washing away the saliva seems like it would make things stick more. Hmmmm.