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Can you eat and drink at the same time?



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Hi,

I am a pre-op patient and my dietician said that sleeve patients are not to drink any liquids about an hour before a meal and about an hour after a meal and definitely not anything during the meal. They want me to practice this now before the surgery so that when I get to the solid foods stage that I will be prepared. I am really having a hard time not drinking any liquids during or immediately after. Does anyone else's doctor say this is what you should do and if so what are your tips and tricks? I am struggling big time with this part!

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It is my surgeon's cardinal never-ever-ever rule as well. The liquid mixed with the food can flush the food through your sleeve quicker and cause you to over-eat.

Note: When there's no food in my stomach, liquid passes through really quickly, so I only wait 15 minutes after drinking before eating. On the other hand, food stays a long time so I wait 45 minutes to an hour after (until I no longer feel food in my tummy - which doesn't mean there's none there, just a lot less).

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It's very painful. My food doesn't just move along when I eat and drink.. The Water just gathers around in my stomache and it hurts.. It's like eating way too much.. Not worth it...

Hi,

I am a pre-op patient and my dietician said that sleeve patients are not to drink any liquids about an hour before a meal and about an hour after a meal and definitely not anything during the meal. They want me to practice this now before the surgery so that when I get to the solid foods stage that I will be prepared. I am really having a hard time not drinking any liquids during or immediately after. Does anyone else's doctor say this is what you should do and if so what are your tips and tricks? I am struggling big time with this part!

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I do just because that is what I am used to- I measure out my food- and when I drink I usually don't even eat all of it- but my paper does say don't do it- but only cause of the reason listed above about over eating

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Initially, no I couldn't eat and drink simultaneously. But, after the residual swelling goes down, taking a few sips with my meal doesn't hurt, or cause me to be "hungry" any faster. I broke the habit with the band because with a pouch you have to stop drinking 30 minutes before the meal too. With the sleeve, since liquids go in, and go out, drinking right up until that first really makes things easier.

There is a huge difference in drinking with a meal, and taking a few sips to wet your whistle. Also, with the sleeve, I am able to drink right up until I take that first bite, eat then wait 30-40 minutes to resume drinking. I typically suck down a bunch of Water or tea before my meal arrives then start eating.

All it does is keep the food in your stomach longer to prolong satiety. Very little absorption of nutrients from food occurs in the stomach, 85% of absorption occurs in the intestines.

Some people find popping a sugar free hard candy(mint) or a stick of gum after their meal to help with the dry mouth issue.

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Hi,

I am a pre-op patient and my dietician said that sleeve patients are not to drink any liquids about an hour before a meal and about an hour after a meal and definitely not anything during the meal. They want me to practice this now before the surgery so that when I get to the solid foods stage that I will be prepared. I am really having a hard time not drinking any liquids during or immediately after. Does anyone else's doctor say this is what you should do and if so what are your tips and tricks? I am struggling big time with this part!

I'm 14 months out and I do have a small sip if I need it.

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I do exactly what Tiffykins does. I can drink right up until I eat. I do not take any sips or anything during a meal. I try to wait as long as possible after eating. As soon and I am finished eating, I do pop in a piece of gum. That helps A LOT!

With the amazing results of this surgery...this minor inconvenience is sure worth it!!!

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Brushing teeth immediately after a meal will help as well. And belive it or not, not drinking while eating will help you learn to eat less at one sitting. But yeah, it is pretty necessary. It is heavily stressed by most surgeons. I had to do that with my band and it just became something I adapted to. You will form new habits too :)

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I have been really good about waitin 30 - 45 minutes after eating before drinking anything. Today at lunch I was eating while working and got distracted and took a few sips just a couple minutes after eating and man did it hurt! I hope there is no adverse effect to my stomach after doing that but I sure learned to pay better attention. Ouch!

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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