No eating and drinking at the same time??

So it's been over 5 1/2 years since surgery...Yeah, there was some weight regain (see profile pictures if you want). Anyways, over the years I (we) were always told not eat and drink at the same time, within about a 1/2 hour by our surgeons. Does that apply years out?? How do you know? Has there been any empirical data you can point to that requires it?? All my labs are fine...So does this still apply and why?? There is very little absorption going on in the pouch...So prove to me it's bad to do this after 6-12 months post op. Brian

I'm kinda new to this so I don't have the data you require but it's my understanding that the drinking pushes the food out of the pouch making you hungry again sooner thus eating more and regaining

Since you don't have a pyloric valve to keep food in your pouch, when you drink it washes food out of your pouch.   When your pouch is empty, you get hungry.  Most people prefer to feel full as long as possible.

It has nothing to do with your labs.

Yep, that's the reason. :)

 After a while, we tend to do what is comfortable and I imagine if most people are honest about it, they have gone back to eating and drinking at the same time.

I'm 7 weeks out and I cannot wait the full 40 minutes after I eat to drink (my md's office recommends 40 mins) I have to sip water immediatley after. Regardless of what I eat, I feel incredibly thirsty afterwards. Not sure how this will hurt me in the long run. I'm hoping it won't. But that seems to be the only rule I have a hard time following.

you DO have a choice. You are CHOOSING not to follow the rules.

I drank right up until I ate. Some people have "moist" foods to deal with thirs. I would look at the clock and say, "it's 12 after the hour, I can start drinking at 42 after the hour" and that would be my clock watchin. But if you get out a glass of liquid and start consuming it, that is a CHOICE you are making. Nobody is forcing you to drink, but it will mostly likely make it hard to get to goal, and harder to stay there.

Peel some cucumbers, and munch on those for a little bit after the main meal.. They're juicy. But make your mind up if you want this surgery to be successful. If you don't want it to be then contnue. But remember it is a CHOICE 

 I would suggest that you do everything possible to avoid drinking after you eat, because it likely WILL hurt you in the long run. Try making your last two bites of food something with a high water content (fruit, for example) or chewing a piece of gum after you eat.  Drinking after eating (or with eating) is HIGHLY correlated with regain.

Lora

It has nothing to do with absorption of nutrients. It has to do with HUNGER

If you eat a dense protein, protein-forward meal, it will sit in your pouch for a while. It takes a while for it to get through your stoma into your intestines If you drink, the liquid will make it pass quicker into your intestines. If you're drinking WITH your meal this will likely make it possible to eat twice as much or more of the food than otherwise possible. If you eat twice as much, you'll likely gain weight. If you just start drinking after the final bite, then start drinking, you might experience hunger sooner, because you've emptied your pouch.

I don't have studies or data. BUT when people come back and say "HELP, I've gained it ALL back" or "Help, 100 pound regain!" or "Gaining like crazy, up 40 pounds this month alone" invariably I see that those individuals admit to drinking with or shortly after their meals.

That doesn't mean that you can't regain while still following this rule, but I've never really heard of anyone who follows the rules *****gains a TREMENDOUS amount. I'm four and a half years out almost, and I don't drink with or after meals (and I wait until I feel empty to start drinking), ad YES I've some issues with regain but I was doing the calculation and realizing that in the last 6 weeks I'm down 18 pounds by just looking at what I eat slightly more carefully and moving my body a little better. I had a SMALL regain (up to 15 llbs over optimum, now I'm 3 pounds below optimum).... that regain is only about 10% of the total. Those with huge regains..... always seem to be breaking this cardinal rule. Again, it's about keeping the weight off not about the nutrition.

 It's still anecdotal, of course, but every single person that I know IRL who has regained more than just a few pounds went back to drinking with thir meals.  Every one of them.

Lora