Hi all, I am doing pretty good since my surgery on 10/18. I have been having one problem, not to drink anything for at least 20 to 30 minutes after I eat. I have always been a person who drinks with meals and I guess this is a real hard habit to break. Does anybody have any tips for me to stop doing this, did anybody else have problems with this too?

Side note: This is my first day back to work. I can't believe all the compliments I have gotten on my weight loss for other employees. I have lost 33 pounds thus far and I can't believe what a difference it makes. I am off of my blood pressure medicines and all my diabetic medicines. Even if I don't lose any more weight (which I know I will), the surgery has been well worth it just for reversing those issues.

I hope everyone has a great week.

Lisa

Congrats on the weight loss and the compliments! And getting off the meds, thats just super. I havn't gotten my surgery yet, so I can't comment on the drinking after meals... I have been trying to be conscious of not doing it now, before surgery. I look at the clock after eating, and it seems like before I know it, its 20-30 minutes later. Also, I drink a bunch up to 5 minutes before eating, so Im not really thirsty. (my nut says 5 minutes before, 20-30 after for drinking. I know this is different than some others...)

I was *just* talking about this with my husband. While I'm only on mushies, it IS hard to do. I find that distraction works the best. (This board is great for that...lol). I find that if I'm doing something (typing an email, coming here, folding laundry) that the time goes by much quicker. I also quickly learned to not even have a drink at the table when I'm eating. Because the habit of reaching up and grabbing a sip is so stronly engrained in our brains.

Congrats on your weight loss and getting off the meds! That is so exciting! Now everything will just be 'gravy' after those hurdles!

I broke this habit with the band because with the band, we had to wait 30 minutes before and after a meal to drink anything. The one thing that I did was just stop bringing a cup to the table with me, when I went out to eat, I would not order a drink, or if I did, I would order water, drink until I took the first bite then move the glass away from me so I wouldn't reach for it.

I drank with my band and I've been drinking with this. I tend to sip though so I feel like I'm drinking but really very little is gone out of the glass. As long as I'm continuing to lose weight I figure I will continue with what I'm doing. Some times I do drink more than sips. The point of not drinking is to keep you full and not wash the foot out of your stomach. I just make sure that I don't snack or eat if I get hungry because I drank after I ate or while I was eating.