I am on a six month medically supervised diet prior to getting approved. One of the things my nutritionist wants me to do is space my food out with my liquids and not drink anything with my meals. I am REALLY struggling with this and is really the only thing I am concerned I won't be able to do. what has been your experience with this? Is it important to do this and if you do not drink with meals,d oes it get easier?

I am very much like you. It was very hard for me to not drink. What I did was make sure I had something cold to eat (applesauce mostly) and that really helped me. It gave me a wet feeling with out being liquid. Also, after I eat, if my pouch can handle it, I will suck on a sugar free candy to wet my mouth or go to the sink and rinse my mouth with out swallowing any of it. It took me about a month to not have to do any of that. Best of luck and know that it's something you have to learn to do if you want your sleeve to work right!!! Hope I helped a little.

I'm thinking this will be the hardest thing for me once I have my sleeve. What is the point of this rule anyway?

Drinking liquids with your meal will flush the food through your digestive system more quickly. You won't keep the feeling of being full as long, and you'll tend to eat more. At least, that's what I've read and been told

Drinking liquids with your meal will flush the food through your digestive system more quickly. You won't keep the feeling of being full as long, and you'll tend to eat more. At least, that's what I've read and been told

You are right for the most part. The other part is that it can cause some things to swell in your tummy and make it VERY uncomfortable!!!!! Trust me on that one. I didn't work on not drinking with food until after surgery. For some strange reason I thought it would be easy to just change 37 years of behavior over night. LOL

What about a bowl of cereal or soup?

What about a bowl of cereal or soup?

This is a debatable subject.

My opinion. If you measure and only eat the measured portion they are fine.

But be aware you will likely not feel satiated very long as the liquid content will allow them to pass throught the stomach rather quickly.

I think another reason is that with the sleeve, there is the "malabsorption" aspect and you need to give your system time to absorb some nutrients, rather than just wash it all down, as SpaceDust indicates.

This is definitely going to be a difficulty for me as well, so it's probably good that you are getting into that "habit" now. Come to think of it, I should probably start to work on that as well.

I am glad that you are practicing right now because I didnt think it would be a big deal and in reality it isnt, except when I go out to eat at a restuarant and everyone has a glass of soda, or tea or something and that surprisingly was the biggest problem I had. It had nothing to do with drinking, but the social aspect I guess. After it hitting me like that the first time, I took time to think about it and it was much easier the second time (Only been out to eat twice since my surgery) It doesnt bother me at home at all though. I dont think my tummy could fit anything else in it after getting in the protein I need.

Arcus, I don' t think malabsorption is as much of an issue with the sleeve as with the bypass / DS procedures since most nutrient absorption occurs in the small intestine, which remains intact with the sleeve.

But, for the original poster, like others have said, the most important things post-sleeve are to maximize Protein intake during meals and keeping hydrated throughout the day. Remember just how small your stomach will actually be post-op. ANY non-protein volume taken in during meals (whether its Water, breads, veggies, etc) will decrease the amount of space left for protein. From a satiety standpoint, protein keeps you feeling fuller longer relative to the other nutrients. As for Soups, like OTR sleever said, measure out the total volume and stick to the limits given by your doctor.

I agree this is really tough, and I've just started practicing this pre-op, since I used to enjoy a (large) diet soda with most meals..... Ugh, bye bye diet coke

It's easy post-op. I spent needless energy worrying about this before surgery. It's not a big deal at all.

I think another reason is that with the sleeve' date=' there is the "malabsorption" aspect and you need to give your system time to absorb some nutrients, rather than just wash it all down, as SpaceDust indicates.

This is definitely going to be a difficulty for me as well, so it's probably good that you are getting into that "habit" now. Come to think of it, I should probably start to work on that as well.[/quote']

Well I believe all of the nutrient absorption comes from the small intestine not the stomach. I don't think that has anything to do with it.