I am getting banded on the 13th of February, and am trying to adjust some of my eating habits now to make the transition smoother.

I am confused by some of the things I have read, so I am hoping you guys can give me some clarification:

General recommendations I have heard say to take a bite no bigger than a pea or the size of your pinky nail. Take a bite, chew thoroughly, then wait a minute before taking next bite. You should stop eating after 20 minutes. This means you would be able to eat 20 peas. You are supposed to eat about a cup of food per meal. 20 peas do not equal a cup! I need this discrepancy reconciled!

Please explain to me the actual size of a bite you take, how long before your next bite, how big your meal is, and how long it takes you to eat it.

Cheers, Janna.

they suggest the 20 minutes to eat because thats how long it takes for your stomach to signal to your brain that you are full. If you are still hungry after the 20 mins keep eating your cup of food.

I think you have a really good grasp of it all overall, you're doing very well, especially for someone not banded yet! Nice!

I'm not sure if I'd go as small as a pinky nail, maybe more like an index fingernail. And I'm not sure anyone waits a full a minute between bites, if they did, as you pointed out you'd never get more than an 1/8 of a cup per meal.

What my nutritionist told me, and I still do even after a year of being banded, is I put my fork or spoon down between bites. So, I take a bite, put the fork down and my hand off it, chew thoroughly, and not reach for my fork again until I've completely swallowed the bite. This way I'm not accidentally shoveling food in mindlessly and not piling food into the pouch.

As for time, I was told 20-30 minutes max. After a half hour, you're done regardless of how much food you have left.

I hope that helps. Best wishes to you!

My doc and nutritionist gave me the same guidelines as Missy. I measure out my food, weigh my protein 3-4 oz and than add 1/2 cup veggies and 1/4 cup starch. I eat my protein first, than veggies and if still have room or feel hungry I eat startch. Rarely eat Startch. Meat and veggie fill me up. I eat for 20 minutes if not finished I stop and toss the rest. I eat off a small plate, I use a small fork and I never pour a drink with my meal. I do take bites larger than a pea but I chew and chew and chew. I tried timing a minute between bites and a minute is a very long time, Eating does take time and practice with the band.