In the beginning of my journey as a bariatric surgery patient, I was encouraged to stay within a 30-30-30 guideline.

The 30-30-30 guideline is meant to keep you within the boundaries of weight loss success. Let's review the basics and find out why it's important. 

30 before, 30 during, 30 after.

1. Stop drinking 30 minutes before your meal.
2. Slowdown: Mealtime should be about 30 minutes: during that 30 minutes, chew your food 30 times (or until the consistency of applesauce) and don't drink any liquids during your meal.
3. Don't drink for 30 minutes after your meal. 

So why is it so important to follow this guideline? There are several reasons:

30 Minutes Before:  Proper Nutrition and Good Health

Weight loss surgery is not just about outward appearances—or getting into smaller size clothes, it is a medical procedure meant to improve health. But this procedure also carries risk as well as increased responsibility for health and nutrition.

During the day, you should be sipping water constantly—hydration is a must. However, it is important to stop drinking 30 minutes before you start eating. Our new stomach pouch restricts calories, but that also means restrictive nutrition. It is important to eat a healthy diet. Not drinking before meals will allow your stomach to empty of water—permitting you to eat enough food to fulfill your nutritional requirements and prevent malnutrition. 

30 Minutes During—Chewing Each Bite 30 Times:  Avoid complications, Dumping, and Hunger.

Slow down and chew more. Your new stomach "pouch" is much smaller than your former stomach, therefore, it does not have the same amount of digestive acids as it did before. The outlet to your new stomach has been changed also. Therefore, food leaves the stomach differently. In order for food to remain safely inside the stomach until it can slowly exit is important. Your mouth must do more work in the pre-digestion process. Chewing your food approximately 30 times (or until the consistency of applesauce) before swallowing will help things go a lot smoother.

If food is not chewed properly, it will be too large to exit, getting stuck, plugging up your stomach. This could result in pain, nausea, foaming, or vomiting. If the food does not dislodge quickly, severe complications could occur, requiring medical attention. Take it from me, no amount of drinking will dislodge food that is stuck at the stomach exit, and drinking will only make things worse. 

Again, because your stomach pouch is so small, filling up on water during the meal will keep you from eating enough food. Drinking fluids washes food from the pouch too soon and will also cause you to be hungry sooner, or over or under eat. This doesn't mean you can't have a few sips, but more than a few sips will get you into trouble. Believe me, it's painful to overfill your pouch and just a few sips could be enough to cause pain. Chewing well will eliminate the need for drinking.

Slowing down and not drinking while eating were probably the hardest habits to establish after I had surgery but soon it became a lifetime habit.  

30 Minutes After:  Avoid Overeating, Hunger and Dumping.

You should not return to drinking liquids until at least 30 minutes after a meal. This will allow your meal to leave your stomach. If your stomach empties too quickly, dumping could occur. Since your stomach will be empty, the temptation to snack on empty calorie or non-nutritional foods is greater.  

It sounds complicated, but it's really simple.These habits take time to perfect. Practicing them before surgery is highly recommended.

Yes, you can. You have many more miles to go!