If you drink water while eating, what happens?

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I am 3 weeks out and told I no longer eat pureed foods. The only thing I have eaten without pureed so far is cheese squares and cauliflower (steamed). What will happen if I drink water while eating? I know it may wash food out but what happens if undigested food moves into your intestines?

One more question - how many ounces of food do you eat per meal on average? I have found I can eat (pureed) 6 ounces without pain (2 oz salmon, 2 ounce cauliflower, two oz refried beens. Is that too much? My friend said she couldn't eat but a few tablespoons. Nurse said everyone is different.

Not much pain and no nausea. I'm feeling good so far. Walking on tread mill but looking forward to Pilates in another week and some Julian Michaels tape.....well maybe not Jillian....LOL I have 70 pounds to loose.

Replies

  • Latse
    Latse Posts: 61 Member
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    Two reasons I can think of for not drinking while eating.
    1. washes the food out of the smaller stomach so you can eat larger quanties of food, goes against the restrictive properties of VSG. The food that gets washed out will just be digested as it moves through the bowels.
    2. If the liquid doesn't push things through the stomach faster you can't eat the 2-3 oz of protien you should be aiming for because your stomach is full of water.
    oh yeah and #3 because your doctor told you not to.

    The reason you can eat larger quanities of pureed food is because it slides right through like liquids. Solids should only be about 2-3 oz this far out maybe less depending on swelling, maybe more depending on how large your surgeon made your sleeve.
    Don't force your self to eat quantities of food that over fill your new stomach.
  • murphyraven
    murphyraven Posts: 163 Member
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    My Nut told me drinking water with your meal will sometimes push the food through and make it so you don't feel full thus allowing you to eat more then you should, but it can also fill up the limited space you have making you too full to eat what you need to, it can also mix with the food already in your stomach and make you vomit it back up, or the water can just sit in your esophagus and make you really uncomfortable.
  • RicochetRabbit
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    Thanks for the replies. I wondered if this was dangerous or would just be overfilling. I was having pain low in my abdomen today and thought I may have drunk water too soon after eating.
  • katematt313
    katematt313 Posts: 624 Member
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    It feels uncomfortable, like super full and burp-y.

    Don't do it! I did it once and immediately regretted it.
  • katematt313
    katematt313 Posts: 624 Member
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    Also try to stay nder 1/2 cup food by volume so you don't stretch your pouch.
  • RicochetRabbit
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    I asked the nurse on my follow-up visit about the quantity of food. She said everyone was different and all they told anyone was don't eat more than 30 carbs per day.

    So a 1/2 cup is max. Thank you. I couldn't find anything in my notes about stomach capacity.
  • aavamavaa
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    I think with RNY's the problem is more that water will wash food through the stoma and allow you to overeat.

    With the sleeve, the pyloric valve really does change things. Our new stomachs are tiny and you need the available space for nutritious food. Once you've eaten about 2 oz of dense protein, you do NOT want to add some water on top of that. The food is sitting above your pyloric valve, taking its sweet time to go through. If you add water on top of that, I imagine it will come up the way it went in.
  • an6elic
    an6elic Posts: 2 Member
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    When I drink something while eating or right after eating it actually HURTS. I avoid it at all costs!
  • SimplySusan63
    SimplySusan63 Posts: 88 Member
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    Another reason (and the most important, I think) is that when you drink right before, during or right after you eat your body doesn't absorb the nutrients it needs. The liquid pushes the food through more quickly and the nutrients can be lost. We are already eating very little so your bodies need all the nutrients it can get.

    I've seen many people on MFP reference the 30-30-30 rule. That's nothing to drink 30 minutes before, during and after eating. My doctor said he really prefers that his patients wait 60 minutes after eating to drink anything.
  • bikrchk
    bikrchk Posts: 516 Member
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    For me, it makes my food "float". Floating food on an already full stomach is uncomfortable at best and causes reflux for me. For this and the many other reasons given my my surgeon and echoed by memebers here, I avoid liquids near meal time.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
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    We have really small tummys now and you want to fill it with food not liquid. That's why they say no liquids 15 minutes prior to a meal or during a meal. Waiting 30-45 minutes to drink after the meal is to allow your body to absorbe all the nutients it can from your food before it gets washed away.

    Pat
  • amylb0822
    amylb0822 Posts: 69 Member
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    For me, it makes me feel burpy and uncomfortable if I drink more than a tiny sip during a meal ...
  • SibylDiane
    SibylDiane Posts: 177 Member
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    Yeah if I drink during or immediately after a meal I also feel bloated, uncomfortable, in pain. It's definitely something I try to avoid just because it makes me feel awful. Blech.
  • DJRonnieLINY
    DJRonnieLINY Posts: 475 Member
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    When I drink something while eating or right after eating it actually HURTS. I avoid it at all costs!

    My experience as well - very uncomfortable, feels like I am backing up.