Banded on February 13th, but I have questions for when I get to the soft food/solid food phases.

If your bite size is the size of your pinky nail, and you take a minute to chew your bites, then in theory you should only be able to eat 20 bites that are about the size of a pea (if you eat in the recommended 20 minutes). This would be less than a 1/4 cup of food.....

So my question is, do you really take bites that small? Do you really wait that long in between bites? And what volume of food do you eat per meal? It just seems like there is a discrepancy between what I am told, and how much people are actually eating (based on posts of what people ate for a meal).

Any help would be appreciated.

I really do take bites that small, but I was never told to take a whole minute to chew. A whole minute between bites seems like overkill to me. Your food would be cold and you'd never get more than 20 bites of food.

I was told to take a bite, physically put the fork down, chew until mush, then swallow. When I've swallowed completely then pick the fork back up for another bite. I've done this since I was banded (13 months) and it's always worked well for me.

EDIT- oh and I never eat more than a cup of food per meal. Usually, it ends up being less because I'm just not hungry enough for a whole cup of food anymore.

I don't take a minute to chew but I do wait around a minute in between bites. In the beginning I would eat breakfast near the cable box, lunch on my computer and take a bite and wait for the clock to hit the next minute. I don't do that anymore now that I am used to my band. Also, I was never told to finish my meal in 20 minutes but I have read that many times. I also thought to myself there is no way I could get all 3 to 4 ounces of protein and veggies and any starches down in less than 20 bites.

Luckily my husband has always been a slow eater and we take about 45 minutes to eat dinner.

I personally am not a pea biter. I take a bite, chew it, swallow it. If it seems that it went down I take another bite. If it feels kind of tight I wait. It does take me 30 minutes to eat and I consume about a cup or less of food per sitting. Three meals a day and two snacks that is all I eat and about 80 ounces of water.

In order to get used to eating very small bites, try using a baby spoon. It helps a lot. Best wishes.

Semi-small bites (a little larger than a pinky nail) and I chew 20 to 30 times. I once told my doctor I could not finish a cup in 20 minutes taking such small bites and chewing 20 times each bite. His response was... Learn to chew faster.

lol. So I've been working on it since.

Thanks for the insight everyone!

In order to get used to eating very small bites, try using a baby spoon. It helps a lot. Best wishes.

I bought baby utensils prior to surgery. Disney princess set

Semi-small bites (a little larger than a pinky nail) and I chew 20 to 30 times. I once told my doctor I could not finish a cup in 20 minutes taking such small bites and chewing 20 times each bite. His response was... Learn to chew faster.

lol. So I've been working on it since.

Do you wait to take another bite after you have swallowed? Or take another bite right away, and swallow after another 20-30 chews?

Thanks for the insight everyone!

I bought baby utensils prior to surgery. Disney princess set

Do you wait to take another bite after you have swallowed? Or take another bite right away, and swallow after another 20-30 chews?

I take a bite right away as long as I'm not feeling stuck. If I feel even a little bit of pressure, I wait till it passes.

I was told the size of my finger tip. I do not take tiny bites or count

My chews but I do use a baby spoon to help me regulate and I take 20 to 30 minutes to eat. If I feel I am very hungry take a small break half way. I also do not drink during or after for 60 minutes.

It has been my experience, that they did not teach these things as though they were strict rules you mus abide by....they teach us these rules as "techniques" that you may, or may not have to use once you get to that place of restriction.....

I remember when I was first banded, going through the motions of all these (silly) little rules about size of bite, how many ties I must chew, time between bites..a timer was mentioned.

Same held true for measuring your portion sizes...NONE of it made ant sense as to why I needed to do it, because I could get away without doing it....

Then one day, after my final fill....BAM....I needed to follow these rules OR ELSE....suddenly I needed to take tine bites, and CHEW, Suddenly I NEEDED to put the fork down between swallows and wait OR ELSE....It all began to fall into place, and fortunately I had all these little techniques stored away in my memory,,,to survive....

I still don't follow the rules to the letter of the law, but I have adapted my own way eating based upon these rules and my comfort zone with the band....including automatic portion sizes....

I was told the following:

1/2 to 1 cup of food

Eat Protein first, veggies second, starch last, if at all.

1/4 inch bites

Chew 15-25 times per bite

Put fork down between bites

Meal should take at least 20 min, but no more than 30 min to complete

Avoid drinking for 30 min after meals.

I started eating this way months before my surgery, that way it wasn't something I had to learn the hard way post op. Even with an empty band, I continue this practice, though many veggies and whole grains are off limits right now.

Exactly what leave me alone said is what has worked for me for almost two years. I used the baby utensils for the first 9 months

I find that eventually you figure out what works best for you.