I was told not to drink liquids 30 min before, during and 30 mins after my meals. Is this something everyone does or just something my Dr. wants? That is the hardest thing that I have done.

This is a very hard habit to break. I have been working at it since august before banding. The reason for this is not to empty your pouch. You do not want to flush the food into the lower part of your stomach otherwise you will not be full. I can say that I have been really working hard at it and I know that I am full if I do not drink with meals. I think if you search there should be some older posts about this somewhere. good luck

My doctor doesn't require waiting prior to eating but I have to wait 45 min to an hour after I eat before I can drink again. I'm actually not having as hard a time with it as I thought..... so far

I have to wait 1 hour after eating. My body must know, because every time I drink while or shortly after eating I get sick.

JP

same here, I had my pre-op on Friday, No drinking with meals, have to wait either 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after...... Not easy, but do able... hard thing is going to be giving up Carbonation... LOL for LIFE

Not drinking with meals gets easier the more you do it. I found out quickly that if I have any liquid with a meal, it comes right back up

i struggle with this. i used to drink a liter of water,soda, etc with every meal. i do sip a little with some meals, but try not to.

I'm a big Water drinker with meals but had to stop when I was banded--it was tough. My dr. says I can drink up until the first bite but then no drinks until TWO hours after eating. It's tough but worth it--he explained it like Crispy2--you don't want to rinse or push the food through the pouch because you'll feel hungry afterwards.

I did learn quickly that drinking liquids is NOT the way to help when a PB is coming on--yuck. It makes it worse, believe me.

Start by not even putting a glass in front of you on the table and eat slowly and chew alot, you will realize that you can finish the meal without drinking. Then, the challenge is to stay that way for at least 30 minutes, so I have been taking a walk after dinner to avoid drinking.

taking a walk is a great idea...I am having avery hard time after i eat also not drinking the water.

I'm not having a really hard time during the meal. I can go without drinking something while I eat. It's AFTER that gives me the hardest time. I usually give in and end up taking a few sips before my 30 minute wait time is up...but it doesn't make me feel hungrier, it makes me feel fuller. *shrug* I must be built differently.

I thought this was going to be the hardest part about being banded. I was shocked when my doc said there was nothing wrong with taking small sips with your meal. Gulping will definatley cause problems but he said siping won't. I was so glad. So far it has worked well for me. I wonder why so many doc's are so different with their aftercare?

I've found it so darned hard to not drink liquid with a meal. In Weight Watchers years ago, they taught us to take a bite then sip water alternately. The things they've learned since then! My problem is I have a very bad habit of eating my food very hot and needing water to cool my mouth off. My husband thinks I will finally learn to stop doing that. He thought burning my tongue a zillion times would teach me too! I think the real learning curve will be the lapband. So far, it's working!

I eat a few ice cubes if I have to have something to drink during or right after the meal. Sometimes I even take a small sip just to clear my mouth.

i do not have problems with it now, unless i eat something really really salty or spicy, but try sucking on a sugar free (and low calorie) sour or mint. It really helped me in the beginning.

My doctor actually wants us to drink several sips before our first bite, but then no more to drink until 1 hour after we have finished eating. My doctor's belief is that drinking with our meals will sabotage our efforts.