So I'm a bit confused on how food goes through the pouch. I've read that our pouch is 15% of our whole stomach and that's where the food sits when we it. It fills up quickly being so small and that's why we stop eating. Then it takes an hour or so for all that food to squeeze through to the bigger stomach. But I also read somewhere, that the food we eat actually squeezes through during the meal, taking about a minute, and that's why we have to wait a minute between the bites.

Can anyone help to clear this up for me please?? Thank you

Depends upon how much restriction one has.....it takes me the longer side for food to pass through mine....I eat till I cannot eat anymore....and that is a very small amount...I have to stop.....giving me automatic portion size and control....another characteristic of the Greenn Zone..portion control.

Also, I have drank Water 20-30 minutes after eating and had it come back up with some of the food that was still in the pouch.

I cannot drink while eating, or for a time there after for that reason.

Other people will have different experiences....again, depends on the restriction one has.

Studies have shown that food is supposed to pass through the pouch in about a minute. This is why they say to take small bites and wait a minute between them, to allow food to pass through between bites.

Food piling up on top the band and not passing in the first minute or so is dangerous. It can not only stretch your pouch but lead to band erosion. You do not want the stomach acid necessary for food digestion sitting on your band.

This is also why many surgeons are changing their rules about drinking while eating.

I can't find it at the moment because I'm not on my lap top, but you can even find one of the studies proving this here on these forums. I believe Alex (board owner/founder) posted it about a year or so ago.

There are videos on youtube from Dr. O'Brien called the Eight Golden Rules. They are on LBT somewhere but I can't find them right now. All the videos are a must watch in my opinion. Dr. O'Brien is a leading surgeon in lapband. In my opinion, and others, LB patients don't have a "pouch". If you've ever done a barium swallow you will see that we don't have a pouch above the band. If you create a pouch that's called dilation and the beginning of a lot of LB problems.