I was banded on the 17th of September. Feeling great, recovered quickly- in the mushie stage now. I have lost 12 lbs already and Monday will start to go to Curves again. I am having one problem, the drinking water before after and during meals. Can you tell me the reason they do not want you to drink at those times? Is it because it fills you up before meals, and then washes it down, therefore allowing you to eat more? Or is it because it may cause you to get stuck? Thanks

Hello Todo. Welcome and good luck on your journey. The No drinking rule is because it will wash your food down then as you said you will eat more. This was a hard habit for me to break. But now I am good about waiting 30-45 min after to drink. I still drink up to 15 minutes before hand though.

Exactly.. when u dont drink about an hour after u eat it helps to keep u fuller longer... and what i have found out is when i try to drink something right after i have eaten it hurts going down... and that is not a good feeling.. but one thing i can say is that it is really hard not to drink while u eat but pratice makes perfect...

I am not banded yet, but have been practicing not drinking while eating, or for an hour afterwards. I don't worry to much about before hand because my Dr said that if it is just fluid it goes through quickly. The only time that I have a problem is when I eat fast food or go out to eat because the food is usually so salty that I am dying for something to drink after just one bite. When I cook at home I don't have a problem with no drinking. I will have to keep an eye on salt content when eating out. That's not going to be fun because my favorite food is Mexican, filled with salt. :bolt: Oh well I won't be eating much of that after banding anyway.

Hi Emilie - a fellow chile lover!!! I am from New Mexico and I cannot live without chile. One of the first questions I asked my surgeon at my initial consultation was, "Will I still be able to eat chile?" He assured me that chile was fine. I am in the clear liquid stage now and when I make my chicken broth, I take my strainer and put hot salsa in it and just the juice goes through. Makes it spicy and hot and yummy. Can't wait to get to the mushie stage so I can have scrambled eggs with chile. I love to cook so will be making things and freezing small portions, so I can control the salt. But I will never give up chile!! It is good for you and I call it my favorite vegetable. Good luck to you!!!!! Becky