Water, Water Everywhere...

One of the most important rules for good weight loss (especially with the band) is:

No Eating or Drinking at the Same Time.

This is the hardest rule to get used to and the easiest rule to break.  Maybe if it was explained a bit more, one would likely work hard to follow this rule.  When you drink, you flush food through your band or stomach.  Therefore, when you flush, you can get more food down.  Mary McNeill, registered dietitian, compares it to tuna in a sink.  If you dump a can of tuna in the sink, it will sit there.  If you run water in the sink, the tuna goes down the drain.  We want the food to sit in the upper pouch for awhile as it will help you to feel full. The goal is to lose weight, so it is best not to flush.  At TLCEdge, we ask our patients to stop drinking a few minutes before they sit down to their meal.  We also want you to wait 30 minutes to an hour after the meal before you drink.  This sounds so hard to do.  We do not need moisture to enjoy a meal.  This is Texas, and we are all used to the 3 glasses of tea lunch.  When preparing for weight loss surgery, I often ask the patient to start to train oneself to not drink during a meal.  It is more of a mental thing than a physical need.

Often, patients follow this rule for a period of time, and then somehow, get off track.  They start drinking with their meals, then they wonder why they are not losing weight.  If your weight loss is at a standstill, you might want to re-examine what you are doing during mealtime.  Have you "let it slide" a bit and are now washing everything down?  Don't let the water drown the weight loss!