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Do you drink with your meals?



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I drink right up to mealtime but try to wait 45 min to an hr afterwards. It is a very hard habit to get into but I am getting better at it. When I am really thirsty and it is spicy I may have a sip but mostly I just try to concentrate on how good the yummy food tastes!:hungry:

Liz

Banded March 10th, 2006

Dr.Ariel Ortiz

237/214/150?

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No, I do not drink with my meals. On very rare occasions, I have taken a sip maybe to take a pill that I forgot to take before the meal but I can honestly say NEVER drink with my meals. I drink right up to the meal, as my schedule allows and my thirst requires. I wait at least an hour, usually more to drink afterwards.

Beautifultina's right. If we drink with our meals we literally wash our solid food out of the smaller, pouch-like portion of our stomach and into the larger portion of the stomach. Picture it like a funnel. If you have solids that are going down slowly then add liquid to it to form a kind of slurry, it goes down quicker. On the same note, if you have solid particles they could "clog up" at the narrowing caused by the band and back up. This explains the examples of the individuals who PB after drinking Water with their meals.

The purpose of the band is to keep that food in the smaller part of the stomach longer because that's supposedly where the neuro-receptor is that tells us that we're full or satisfied. If you're washing the food out, the receptor doesn't get activated and you won't feel full...........thus defeating the purpose of the band.

This is one of the most difficult rules for many bandsters to follow for some reason. I personally believe it's mind over matter. I kind of trained myself before I was banded so that I would be prepared to deal with it. I even carried around a timer with me so I'd be aware of the time before and after meals. At this point, I can even set with a full glass of Water in front of me at my meals and have absolutely no desire to drink it even when I'm eating salty or spicy food. Other's would never be able to do this. It's personal and something you must work through yourself.

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I try to stop drinking a 1/2 hour before sometimes it's 10 minutes before. I do not drink with meals unless it's spagettti then I sip a little milk. I don't drink for 45min to 1 hour after.

I didn't think that drinking right up until the meal would be a big deal but my Dr said it is very important not to.

It would be interesting to see the difference in WL with drinker and non drinkers..

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I am supposed to stop for an hour before and not drink for an hour afterwards. So far, I do not at all follow the "waiting one hour before" rule. I do, however, always follow the "no drinking during or for one hour after" rule and have not have a problem with it. Rarely, if I eat something very salty (Chinese food) or spicy, I will sip a tiny bit to rinse my mouth out before the hour is up. I thought that not drinking with meals would be the hardest rule to follow and have been very pleasantly surprised that this has been quite easy for me. I do wish I could be better about the drinking before rule. I do tend to drink right up to my meals alot. For example, I really like having a nice glass of wine and sometimes it is not possible to have wine 1/2 hour before the meal. Espcially when eating out, it is always served right before the meal. So I'm bad about that rule but then again I don't see why my doc wants me to stop drinking an hour before meals anyway.

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I drink right up until I start eating, and try and load up on liquids right before so that I don't feel thirsty during my meal. Only rarely do I drink during my meal and right after. It usually causes big problems for me.

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I'm glad to hear about the drinking right up to the meal. I've thought about that and wondered because that's my hardest thing. I forget to drink and find myself sitting at a resturant dying of thirst and know I can't drink until 1 hour afterward. If I could drink before then I think I'd get more Water in per day.

My doctor said 1/2 hour before but I don't see that it wouldn't pass if I did it a few minutes before the meal. (Expecially when I'm really thirsty)

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Yeah....I honestly think that this is the reason why I've lost so much weight to start (about 45 pounds) and then stalled, but I have also started a habit of drinking a little when I eat. No, it's not the same as before. I haven't gained weight and I haven't binged. It's always been a little bit of liquid. But deep down I KNOW that it allows me to eat more. It seems stupid to try and "buck the system", but I guess that's the essence of a food addict. I have never had a PB or "backup", but I also stopped my weightloss by not being diligent.

So there...I admitted it. Now I have to try and do something about it. I've had a good week of getting back to the basics. Who's with me? No H20 with a meal...but plenty when you're not eating a meal.

Go Fight Win Team!!!

Jon

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Dr. Joya says not to drink with your meal, and to wait 30 minutes after your meal to drink. I have no trouble waiting 30 minutes.

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yep, all the time. It seems to make no real difference to me. My band seems to work more for me by restricting how hungry I get in the first place, more so than restricting how much I can eat. It certainly doesnt mean I can eat more but sometimes I think the band has worked more on my head than physically on my stomach. I think I should be able to only eat a certain amount so therefore that's what I eat kind of thing and I just dont think about eating more. I dont need to feel "stuffed" full to not eat, so I dont really worry about liquid washing things through.

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Jacqui

me too. i have done great with my band, and do not drink during meals to get more in, i drink because i am thirsty. if it became a problem for me, i would stop. i talked to my doc about it, and he said it was fine as long as i am not chugging down Water to get more food in. little sips are fine (for me anyway) : )

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This has been a great concern of mine since I started researching. I did see another thread of the stats of the members here - things like do you drink with meals, so you exercise etc. and it did not seem to be a big factor about drinking with meals...maybe I read it wrong?

I drink with each and every meal I have, I drink about 80+ ounces of Water daily <floats away>

anyone else drink this much pre-banding but after being banded not drink with their meals? this part of the process scares me.

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Unfortunately, I do drink with "most" of my meals. I don't drink nearly as much as I used to before banding, nor do I chug it down but I can't seem to get away from it. Helps me to clear my throat, but I do make sure I "balance" it with the food I am eating.

I only drink enough to keep my throat "clear" and can't remember the last time I had a carbonated beverage {and don't even miss beer - haven't been a big beer drinker since I got out of the service anyway}.

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I will not say "never", but I try to not drink with my meals. I will stop a little while before the meal and wait a little after the meal. If I am eating something hot, I need a sip with it.

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I'll have a glass of no ice tap Water incase I need a sip thru the meal and if we're out I order water no ice. I just dont drink it all and I dont feel bad about leaving a whole glass of water at the table if it was tea I'd need a to go cup LOL

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