I have had the hardest time not eating and drinking at the same time. I don't do it consciously and if I do drink during my eating time it's only a sip at a time. Is this going to stretch my pouch quickly? I was told not to do this because you are taking up precious room for your food but could this cause long term effects?

I'm so afraid to do something wrong that I'm not going to be able to fix it.

Also, do y'all sip liquids only, or are you sometimes taking larger gulps or continued sips without breathing?

Am I over-reacting? Help!

You are not alone with the drinking fluids. I have to be really conscious of not drinking 30 min before i eat. My husband suggested a timer so as soon as I finish eating I set the timer and just keep busy until it goes off then i usually drink my liquids for the next few hours or so. I am only 7 days post op and still taking smaller sips as bigger gulps seems to make me belch. I know that because it is hotter and the summer after being outside I want to just come in and gulp. I think the trick is to keep hydrated so all you really want to do is sip. Good luck to you.

It just takes some getting use to, at home I just never have it around me while eating, when we go out I will sip on it until the food comes and then my husband will put it on his side of the table.

As far as stretching the pouch I heard the same thing too so I just don't take chances. Good luck

Stretching might be true, but what was explained to me was that fluids help wash the food outta the pouch sooner, therefore making you hungry sooner.. and then you dont lose weight as fast as you would if you didnt eat and drink... But I wasnt told anything about stretching if I did drink, I was told stretching would happen if I over ate....

Wish me luck, cuz I know this is gonna be a problem for me too....:tongue2:

Makes sense you might stretch it...liquids take up volume and if your stoma is closed or slowed with food, then the liquid will trickle through...but so would food, so who knows?

I just know my doc told me not to, and I don't. If you "forget" then move your beverage to another area, or cover it with a plate or something.

Personally if I drink while I'm eating it hurts like a son of a gun (I'm well restricted) so I don't.

I just posted the same thread in the post op forum...I am so interested to see people's responses!

Liquids are supposed to make it easier for food to slide through, which of course isn't good.

Before my first fill I used to gulp water a lot.... its so bad, but its a tought habit to break. Now if I'm super thirsty, I'll take a tiny sip while I'm eating.

This is my downfall. I get soooo thirsty when I eat! My Dr said drinking will not stretch your pouch, but it will wash the food down and you wil stay hungry, totally defeating the purpose of the band. I struggle with this constantly.

You are not going to stretch your pouch by drinking while you eat. What you are doing is defeating the way the band works! Liquids pass right through the opening created by the band (the stoma) (like water through a funnel). Food stays in the pouch to digest, it takes less to make you feel full and it stays in the pouch a good while so you feel full longer. If you drink while you eat, some of that well-chewed food washes through the stoma with the liquid so less of what you eat stays in your stomach so you get hungry sooner.

your so not alone!!! I found this to be the hardest in the begining so what i would do was, put my water/crytal light in the freezer right before eating, so 30 minutes after i was finished it was nice and cold. at almost 6 months out I still do this, and watch the clock the second i'm done eating.

another "trick" i found is combining Hot and Cold foods for my meals ex. Fish and applesauce for lunch or chicken and salad or cucumbers. my favoriate is a few small pieces of watermelon with my food.. the "cold" food takes the place of a drink and i'm adding a little more variety to my meals. this time of year bring on the fruit salad!!!

Hope this helps,

My doc used to say to not drink anything 30 minutes b/4 meals and 1 hour after. He now states that a bandster should drink right up to the meal and wait 1 hour after. He states a person is less likely to break that 1 hour after rule if they drink right up to their meal.

I know it can be difficult to stick to this rule but believe that it's self-defeting to drink while eating due to the fact that food washes through. Just give a good try for a couple of weeks and try to break this habit. Set a timer to see if it helps, find things to do to take your mind off of that hour wait, etc.

I've really had to work at this. I'm at the point if i'm eating and then I drink something it will make me uncomfortable. I just don't bother with beverages while eating lunch or dinner. Breakfast is usually a granola bar so I wait about 10 minutes or so before drinking again. Lunch and Dinner I definitely wait the full 30.

This might be a silly question... What about if your eating spicy foods? Usually I enjoy spicy hot foods but have to have a drink handy... Can you still eat spicy foods after bandage or is that something I will have to give up:crying:

Makes sense you might stretch it...liquids take up volume and if your stoma is closed or slowed with food, then the liquid will trickle through...but so would food, so who knows?

I just know my doc told me not to, and I don't. If you "forget" then move your beverage to another area, or cover it with a plate or something.

Personally if I drink while I'm eating it hurts like a son of a gun (I'm well restricted) so I don't.

I don't get HOW people are able to drink while eatign in the first place it has to have something to do with the sweet spot I guess because I am not able to even attempt it! SO I am like you it hurts like a dickens I can tell you that or it will just come back up food and all, so then you have pain and you have to start over again not what you want to do! I agree you will wash the food down and in turn be hungry again only an hour or so later...

eyez.... liquid isn't even the best thing to cut spicy heat! bread (even a tortilla chip) or something oily. Now, I know that neither of these is good for you.

I eat tons of spicy food. Grilled chicken with hot wing sauce, mexican, horseradish with prime rib. Doesn't bother the band. I do have a high tolerance for heat so it's not a big deal to not have anything to wash it down with.

What actually cuts the heat in things like red peppers is salt. However you don't want to keep the salt shaker handy, either. :thumbup:

I live in San Antonio, I still eat really spicy foods, I just don't drink when I do. You really do adapt.

I don't know about the heat in other ethnic foods but I'd think you could just tough it out.