Can someone please tell me if it's really true that you don't need to drink while you're eating after you have the sleeve surgery? I have NEVER been able to eat without having something to drink, so this is really bothering me. I mean...if I have to then I'll just deal with it somehow, but I'm hoping it's NOT true! Please respond! :laugh0: Thanks!

It is a habit that needs to be broken. You really won't have room for liquids early out. Over 85% of absorption for nutrients/calories etc etc occur in the intestines, but when we eat, we need the food to stay in our stomachs for as long as possible. Drinking flushes the food through faster, and you may find that you are hungry after drinking with your meals. It might not be true hunger, but you might feel an "empty" feeling.

Now with all that being said, I do sip with my meal occasionally. There is a big difference between taking a couple of little sips, and full on drinking with a meal. I only sip if I'm eating something super spicy, or salty and it's just enough to wet my whistle.

It's also a way to eat around your sleeve. If you eat, and drink, or don't wait 30 minutes after you eat to resume drinking, you can fit more food in. All of this kind of defeats the purpose of the sleeve. It was a very difficult habit for me to break, but I did it with the band. At least with the sleeve, I can drink right up until I take that first bite. With the band, you have to stop drinking 30 minutes before eating.

Also, if you eat and then drink too soon, it can cause discomfort especially within the first couple of months post-op.

My understanding is that you need to wait till about a half hour after eating so you don't fill up on liquids, and undermine your eating.

Dave

That is the general direction given to pretty much everyone that I know of. It is something that I just knew was going to be difficult for me. Part of my meal time was the drink that I was having with my food. Milk in the morning and pretty much Pepsi (NO DIET) the rest of the meals. I picked restaurants based on if they had Pepsi vs Coke and if they kept my cup filled.

That said I have dropped the soda (tastes a little funky anyways, yes I had to try it lol). I drink tea, crystal light or apple juice. I do take a few tiny sips when I eat. I went to lunch today and had half a charbroiled chicken taco and took 5 tiny sips of my iced tea. The cup didn't even look like I had drank any.

Others are totally against it. Some just suggest chewing the food longer is the key. I say it is not about the size of the food particles I am eating. It is part of my eating experience so I log those tiny sips of juice on my food log. The rest are all calorie free.

That is my experience thus far.

This was a BIG concern to me preop also. I was the type of person who never sat down to a meal or snack without something to drink - the sweeter the better. I tried to practice preop, but I couldn't give it up. I did give up the high calorie drinks and switch to diet preop.

But, I had pretty much accepted after my research that I would not be able to eat and drink at the same time. It was actually way easier to stop this habit than I thought it would be. I think it was easier for me because I had so much difficulty drinking early on that it wasn't something I enjoyed doing. By the time I started solids, I didn't want to do anything to add to my discomfort so I didn't even attempt to sip with my meals.

Now, at almost three months out, I'm in the habit of not fixing a drink with my meals. I don't even keep any liquids near me while eating because I know it would be easy to unconsciously reach for the drink. I also don't order a drink with my meals when I go out. (I could always order one later if I'm there long enough.) I have found that this is the best way to break the habit. I don't fix a drink for myself until my 30 minutes have passed. I focus on chewing my food well and have no problems swallowing - not even with chicken.