Drinking and eating or eating and drinking??

Hi all,

Just wondering how everyone is coping or has coped with not drinking liquids with your meals/solid foods. I am 2 weeks post op and already struggling with not being able to drink while I am eating or after. I know the post op instructions are to not drink while eating in order to save room in your stomach for nutritious solid foods. Recommended to take liquids 30 minutes before meals or 60 to 90 minutes after. I am following the instructions, however finding it difficult. I tend to get very thirsty after I eat.

Is anyone else finding this difficult? Is this something that gets easier? Does anyone drink with their meals after months/years after VSG?

Make the mistake once of drinking while eating, and you won't do it again. :-)

While I haven't been drinking during a meal, I have made the mistake of drinking too soon after. It was very uncomfortable for me, and I won't do it again.

The toughest is when you go out to eat. First tough part is finding something on the menu you CAN eat (I deconstructed a tuna melt the other day). Second is getting the wait staff to understand you really, really don't want a drink. No, not even water, thank you. :-)

It's not just about the liquid taking up more room in your stomach.   It's actually a much bigger deal than that.  When you drink with eating, you force the food to travel MUCH faster through your stomach and out the pyloric valve.  And guess what happens?  You get hungry again...quickly.   We must learn to work with our new anatomy to reduce hunger and increase satiety. 

The trick is to fill your tummy with dense protein (when it's time according to your surgeon's plan) and then let it sit there for 30-60 minutes.   I always wait at least an hour.   Then you can drink.  I'm not such a stickler on the 30 minutes before thing because with nothing in my stomach that liquid is sliding right through.  It certainly isn't taking up any room in there. 

I get thirsty too but you'll find that drinking with meals is really just a habit and one you can break with lots of practice.  DO NOT BE TEMPTED!   Drinking with meals or too soon after meals is a fast way to stretch out the part of your stomach that opens up into the intestine....and that really wrecks the whole point of your surgery. 

I'm...hmm...how far out am I...I am 9 weeks out I think..lol.  Anyway...last week was the first time I actually didn't order a drink with my  meal..the waitress did look at me like I was an odd duck but made no comment...it is hard...I make a point of, at home, not having anything next to me to drink while eating...I also make a point to get in at least a couple of cups of water in a couple of hours before meal time and then at least a cup just as I start to make dinner (dinner usually takes 45 mins or so to prepare)..stopping the 30 mins before it's ready.  It is a hard habit to break...but worth it since you'll stay full so much longer than if you did drink just before and/or after. :)

 

I know it's probably not the best solution, but I after I eat solids I chew gum and spit it out right away. It curbs my desire to drink water right after eating, and changes the taste in my mouth. Another option would be to brush your teeth after eating solids. This has been the toughest thing to get used to. I used to always drink water after each bite before surgery.

yes really not the best solution at all.  chewing gum makes a lot of saliva that you swallow.  not sure how much volume total, but it's definitely more than taking a few sips of water.

During a meal and for 45 minutes afterward, I don't even want to think about drinking... I know there is no room!

BUT, I do drink right up until eating. I don't worry too much about that because the water moves right through the stomach.

I often HAVE to wait more than 30mins after eating to drink....there just doesn't feel like enough room...there's a "sweet spot" I find, when my stomach is nice and empty, when I am able to super-comfortably drink LOTS of water....which is how I have always been able to get in all of my water plus some!

Definitely don't drink while you eat...you will learn the hard way why you shouldn't. 

As for the waiting afterward...I always wait about 45 minutes.  I learned the hard way once when I thoughtlessly took a pill with a big swallow of water right after eating. 

I learned not to drink while eating long before I had surgery because I knew I'd have to get used to it post-op.  Now, it doesn't bother me.  I do make sure that before I eat that I've had plenty to drink so that I don't get the urge to drink while I eat though. 

My urge was something fierce, but left me at about 5 months. It's my new habit to wait, without even thinking about it.