I love to drink water with my meals so I am still trying to adjust to this new eating where I have to wait one hour after eating to have a glass of water. This by far is the hardest part of the diet, I think planning my meals daily is not as hard as this. Is anybody else experiencing any difficulty waiting to drink your beverages after you eat? Any advice that you can give me will be appreciated.

I wished I had the magical answer but for me it was just time and a tight till. I mean now, I'm very restricted and I know as well as the writing on the wall if I take a sip while eating I WILL PB, no if ands or buts about it. It was really hard for me but it does eventually happen. Now I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I'm one of these that did it from day one because I didn't. I drank with my meals for a long time and then when I finally got tight I just couldn't and so now I dont. Don't worry, it will happen.

Hugs,

Sherri Jo

It for me was just another habit to break, and get used to---it was VERY difficult! I always had tea with my meals, it was normal! And often to fill it in the middle of the meal again! Same as going out, they always had to bring a refill. I just had to remove it, or I would drink it without thinking, and it too caused me to hurt, it felt like it caused the food in my pouch to float up into my esophagus, and hurt--the infamous burning golf ball!!!

Just keep working on it, and eventually not having it feels normal... just take time to break the habit. Sorry I have no magic answer either!!!

Good Luck!!!

Kat

This was one of the hardest things to get use to. And I still find it hard. I always drank diet coke with each meal. I sometimes cannot wait until the hour has finally gone by so I can drink something. But I'm down 24 pounds so it is well worth it.

My surgery was 10/2006. It has taken time, but it has been worth learning to drink less or not at all with meals. I was a non-stop iced tea drinker. Now, I order a cup of coffee w/ my meal. Sip on it before my food comes(about 5-10 mins right after I order) then I usually do okay. If I feel I absolutely have to have a drink, I take small sips. Then, I take the rest to go and can enjoy it awhile later.

I have pb'd, I have stressed through those early months of not drinking. It will get easier. Hang in there. The results will be worth it! Anything is better than pb'ing!

This was the hardest thing for me to get use to as well.

I was banded on 7/16. What I do is if im at home is I got some of those glasses that have the liquid in them that you freeze, sort of like beer mugs but they are plastic . I got them at crate and barrel outlet .

Anyway , what I do is I put one of them in the freezer ( I dont keep them in there ) By time im done eating and its time for me to be able to eat the glass is cold and I poor what ever I want to drink in there and let it get cold. Its kind of an informal timer. Its just another habit i started to get myself out of drinking while im eating.

When i go out i order a drink and sip it while im waiting for my food, when my food gets there I ask them for a to go cup w/ no straw. So its kind of closed off dont touch ... then I take it with me , usually by time i get home its time for me to drink it. At first if i had a hard time i would ask them to remove my drink from the table. The waiters looked at me like im nuts but it worked.

You will get the hang of it , I personally just think ya have to find something else that " works" for you . Another routine .

HTH

Mindy

It is somehow comforting for me to read this - I'm 10 days away from surgery and my single biggest fear is how much I will miss drinking my diet 7-up/diet coke while I eat. I'm having nightmares about it! I was too ashamed to post what seemed like such a "trivial" worry, but I see that it is hard, after all.....

Danielle

Not during the meal, but right after if I had something spicy. It's hard to wait a whole hour when your mouth is burning. Unfortunately, I have not found a solution to this problem ( except the obvious don't eat spicy food!).

This is one of the things I am most worried about, to be honest. I drink during every meal and am scared of one of those times when I need water to help it go down. I'm trying to lessen my drinks/sips during meals, but it is difficult. I will get there though!

I was banded on 3/16/07. I, too, had always consumed lots of Water with my meals. Since I knew this was going to be a challenge, I started the "no water 30 minutes before, during, or 1 hour after meals" routine even before I got my surgery date. I figured there would be enough challenges and changes to deal with after the actual surgery, so I made as many changes as I could before surgery (like no carbonated beverages, chew, chew, chew, etc.) I found it very helpful once I had my surgery that I had started forming those habits early.

Once you get used to it, it just becomes second nature. But, as soon as that hour is up, I've got a full glass of something in hand! :-)

I'm the same way. I always drink with my meals. When I was younger, I had a (psychological) problem swallowing food. It was like it would get stuck at the back of my throat and I would start to feel like I was choking and had to slam down my drink to make it go down. Thank god I don't have that problem anymore. One less thing to worry about.

I have had a problem remebering lately what time I finished eating.

SO I bought a time that sticks on the fridge. I set it for 60 mintues when it goes off I will then get something to drink.

I have a horrible memory thanks to some meds that in on for my migraines so the timer really helps

Mindy