Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) patients have many "rules" to follow post surgery but the one that was hardest for me to understand until recently was the following.
Nothing to drink for 30 minutes before you eat.
Nothing to drink while you eat.
Nothing to drink for at least 30 minutes after you eat.
So that means, since you are supposed to take 30 minutes to eat, that for 90 minutes you may not have anything to drink.
Now I don't know about you, but drinking has always been a part of my meals. I mean, forever. That's when we make our children have a glass of milk...at least that's how it was when I was growing up. It's what we have done with our kids.
For breakfast, you have juice - some of you have coffee.
Some people have wine or other adult beverages.
It's a part of our culture - we drink when we eat.
So I asked the dietitian why it's so important. She talked about how it causes the pouch (my new tummy) to empty faster and can lead to over eating.
I asked, "What if I drink my milk while I eat, but I only eat what I am supposed to, I stick to the rules, even if I am hungry and want more?"
She was insistent that NO, I need the milk a few hours after my meals to regulate blood sugars and to get my protein and maintain satisfaction.
Last week, on another WLS person's facebook page she shared a link to the following youtube video. It's not very long, but click on it and take a couple minutes to watch.
Why you do NOT drink during and after meals.
After watching this, I will NOT drink...not even sip...during a meal or for 30 minutes after I finish. I admit, I was a sipper...I mean, come on, what could a little sip harm.
Well, this demonstration has cured me.
So how do you deal with this when our culture is so centered around drinking while we eat?
Waiters and waitresses are trained to make sure people have full drinks at all times, they kind of get thrown if you order nothing. So, when I go to a restaurant, I simply ask for a water and then I put it to the side. That way I don't have to explain to the server why I don't want anything. Servers already look at me goofy when I ask for a to-go box as soon as my meal is delivered. But that is how I do my portion control...leave my appropriate sized serving on my plate and put the rest in the to-go box and close it to take home.
The first time I tried that to-go box thing, I failed miserably. Luckily, or not, it was months before my surgery. We were out to one of our favorite places in the area, The Thirsty Camel. They have THE BEST meal...Camel Turds. Yes, you read that right, camel turds. Sirloin tips lightly breaded and fried. DELICIOUS!
So, I got a to-go box and put 2/3 of the meal in there and close it. Well, before we left, I had eaten it all. It is just so darn good! But on future visits I was successful - and that just meant that I got to have those delicious turds the next 2 days!!!
After watching the video - if you read my blog on dumping - you can see how drinking while eating or to soon after eating can also cause dumping. Dumping is the food getting to the intestines too quickly. You saw what happened when he simulated drinking just a half glass. That equals food passing through too quickly. And after my experience with dumping, I do not want to do that again.
I have yet to figure out exactly why the 30 minutes before are supposed to be drink free. On this fb page of the other WLS person, many of the people have said that they were not given that rule and they were told that they could drink right up til eating.
I, however, am not willing to risk it and I try very hard to not drink for the 30 minutes leading up to eating. I fail at times, but try to only have sips.
But I will no longer be sipping during my meal and will stick to those 30 minutes following the meal as well.
Very interesting, Molly!
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