Met with the nutritionist and she gave me the blow by blow. I'm finding most of it surprisingly easy to follow (swearing off carbonated fluids and caffeine, I don't really need them), so I've basically been drinking all Water. The thing that's hard is not having water with my meals because I'm so thirsty. It feels stupid waiting around for the 45 minutes to pass just so I can have a drink, and I often can't do it. I found myself eating more once just because I was thirsty and trying to get fluid/etc. out of the food. How solid is this rule for "no water during meals"? If you have water with your meals, will it stretch out your stomach and will you regain all the weight? This just feels horrible not to at least be able to sate my thirst that the food brings on...

My plan says no fluids 30 minutes before or after, BUT........if I eat something a little spicey I will have a small sip of Water just to rinse around my mouth. One of my issues pre-op definitely was drinking a pint of soda or sweet tea with a meal which does extend the stomach. I do not want to extend Miss Tummy because I want her to stay tiny and easily satisfied. Yeah, I don't like adjusting to some of the rules either, but you gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Just from my understanding drinking Water during or before eating will fill your stomach quicker and not allow you to get the nutrients that you need out of the meal. From personal experience if I eat and have a sip of water shortly after (not waiting the full 45 min) it feels like I am Overfull to the point where it's uncomfortable. I don't want to stretch anything out so I haven't pushed it,I generally wait. However, with that said, if I have having Soup or something I can have a few sips of water with that because that's really all that the soup is anyway. Just go with small portions and you need to retrain your brain that small portions are OK. Another thing to think about is eating S L O W L Y...the slower you eat the more your brain will receive the signal that you are getting full and that you should stop. I hope this helps!

I am no expert, these are just what has wroked for me! I am about 2 1/2 months out from surgery and I am down 65 lbs so far so it seems to be working

For me the not drinking while eating was difficult at the beginning. I've always drank during meals, but as time went by it got easier for me. Now it really don't bother me not to drink during or after meals. I have to remind myself to drink something to make sure and get my fluids in.

I found it difficult at first, but like everything else in this process, practice helps.

Looks like you have a little bit of time before your surgery, so practice in your mealtime now. Practice taking smaller bites (I started using appetizer forks and spoons before surgery - this helps you slow down and take smaller bites). Also practice chewing your food - 20-25 times per bite. Doing these things may lessen your need for water/drink during your meal.

I will take a SIP now and then if I need to, but it's rare. I stop drinking 20-30 minutes before eating and will wait 30 minutes after. It's one of the rules we agree to when we go into having the surgery! (If I don't wait 30 minutes, I get hungry faster...thus eating more calories)

I live in Texas and all of my meal (starting with breakfast) can be spicy. It is hard and I do sometimes take a sip.

The reason to not drink with your meals is not because it will stretch your stomach or make you more full. It is the exact opposite. Liquid will flush food out of your sleeve quicker than food alone. This means your sleeve will be empty and you will get hungry sooner and end up eating more. You won't damage anything (as long as you aren't over eating/over drinking) but you will be hungry more and may end up snacking or grazing. This was one of the hardest things for me to do, but after awhile it became habit. Now I don't drink until I can't feel the food in my tummy anymore.....usually at least an hour.

What Kindle said is exactly what was explained to me. Fluids will rinse the food out of the sleeve more quickly, causing you to be hungry sooner than if you abstain from fluids for 30 minutes before and at least 30 minutes after each meal.

This goes hand-in-hand with the rule about eating dense Protein first at each meal - it takes a long time to be digested, so keeps the feeling of hunger at bay.

Not drinking with meals was hard for me at first too, but I've adjusted. If I'm feeling very dry after a meal I might rinse my mouth, or brush my teeth, or chew some SF gum.

So would you say Water with meals slows down the rate of weight loss, or stops it all together?

Another thing the nutritionist said was to strain the water out of Soups (and, newsflash--if you strain the water out it's not soup, it's soggy vegetables so you may as well never have soup again)

Do any of you, post sleeve, have anything like fruit smoothies or ice cream (which are impossible to separate from their water)?

It doesn't have anything to do with your rate of weight loss...unless you end up eating more because you are hungry.

A lot of people are told no soups because it is essentially drinking with your meal. But I eat soup all the time. Not so much now in the summer, but I sure did last winter and I will again when it cools off. I just know this particular meal won't keep me full for as long as say, steak or chicken and veggies.

Drinking while eating is the least if your worries with fruit smoothies and ice cream...they are both loaded with carbs. I make my own Protein ice cream and sometimes add a few berries or peaches or 1/2 a banana to my protein smoothie.

It really doesn't have to be as complicated as what the nutritionists make it out to be. Just get in all your Water and Vitamins, eat protein first, then veggies, fruits and whole grains. Don't overeat (no one says you have to eat until you're full) and stay away from carbs and junk food.

@@Skywalker,

I don't eat Soup - It's not dense enough. I will eat chili (Wendy's chili was a favorite once I was allowed). It's thicker and I don't get hungry quickly after I eat it. Once you're farther out, you will be able to eat soup if you wish, but like I said, it doesn't fill me up, so I stay away from it.

I still drink my Protein shakes (not smoothies that you would purchase at the mall or something like that). I mix my Protein Shakes with about 1/4 cup of berries and ice cubes to give them some bulk. I'm 8 months out and still use shakes.

Ice cream is not a good thing for me - it's a trigger food for me. I can't eat just a little bit, I'll want more. I may take a bite of my husband's or son's treat, but I rarely get my own - it's not worth it.

I too struggle with the now drinking thing. I admit to a sip now and then. I set a timer fir 30 minutes after i eat

I had VSG. I have drank water with meals since the beginning without harm or pain or any other issues. The official word is not to because that is what was true for other weight loss surgeries previously. Talk to a knowledgeable surgeon off the record and see what they have to say. This does not apply to banders or to bypasses, only VSGs.

I had VSG. I have drank water with meals since the beginning without harm or pain or any other issues. The official word is not to because that is what was true for other weight loss surgeries previously. Talk to a knowledgeable surgeon off the record and see what they have to say. This does not apply to banders or to bypasses, only VSGs.

That's truly interesting! I wonder how much else they keep "off the record".

gogogirl--Interesting. I was wondering how something could be a "slider" when your new stomach had a finite amount of space anyway. And like I mentioned, when I get so thirsty during a meal, I often keep eating the meal just hoping to get some Water out of it. The fullest I've ever felt (prior to surgery) was when I would have two California rolls/sushi and several glasses of water--very full feeling.

McButterpants (and anyone else)--in regards to smoothies, I know there are the homemade kind, and then the sweet kind (like you might have made for you in an ice cream shop). Usually when I say smoothie I mean when you take home ingredients and mix them--such as milk or water, fruits, and some Splenda. Is this the kind of thing you guys eat?

There are two ways I make my smoothies. If I want something creamy, I will use chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla Protein powder and almond milk.

If I want something lighter, I will add a fruit flavored Syntrax to Crystal Lite lemonade. The grapefruit with lemonade tastes like Fresca (my favorite which I drink when I am in a deep funk about soda pop).

Instead of lunch today I had a shake made with almond milk, chocolate protein, 1/2 banana and one tablesoon of Peanut Butter, but the weather was cool here today, so the shake did not feel haevy. On a hotter day, I will have a lemonade based shake. Somwhere soon into my post-op, I came across some cranberry-grape Protein Powder which I mixed with sugar free cranberry juice. This and the lemonade based ones are a lower calorie choice for me.