The nutritionist I have been to has a difficult time sharing with me exactly how to eat. as a thin person, I'm not sure she 'gets it', although I know she tries. I am not getting the help/support and answers I need from her...

Knowing that you all have the best answers ever, I thought i'd pose this question to you:

:hungry:

How do you eat?

Do you place good options of food on your plate, as much as you want, and eat slowly, chewing until you're satisfied?

Do you only place 4-6 oz. on your plate and make that last for 20 minutes until your brain kicks in?

What is your method, and how is it working for you?

I am very interested in your answers!!! come on and talk!!!

Thank you!

My banded DH fills his plate, eats what he wants, then too often works on the food until it's gone, even if it takes a long time. He's learning, but from watching him, and knowing myself, I'm planning to just measure out what I think is a good bandster protion. Eat as much of it as is comfortable, but if I do get caught up in the "clean plate" mentality it will be OK. If that makes any sense.

I basically put on my plate what I think I can eat and then eat it slowly to avoid a PB. If I'm still hungry, which is rare, I'll have another bite or two.

while i am not banded, i have adopted some bandster style changes to my eating.

I use a salad plate for all of my meals. I also used a large coffee mug instead of a regular bowl for my Soups, etc. and i use a set of kids utensils for eating with. I have found these special silver smallish type spoons and forks that i use when i go to restaurants.

when I do fill my plate I make sure that it is only the good stuff i am allowed to eat. no sense in putting it on there if i shouldn't be eating it. I also try to not "pile" my food on there. With the soups and bowl type foods, the same rules apply. I don't fill to the rim.

as for drinks, i have this little plastic orange juice glass I stole from our hotel room at disney world one year for anything other than Water. Water comes in bottles that I refill with filtered water everytime I drain one and put it back in the frige to chill.

I chew really well, and I put my utensils down after every bite. The bite must easily fit on the utensils. And DH and I talk a lot at dinner. that was the other change. We eat dinner as a family now. no ifs ands or buts about it. I have found that I am becoming really really satisfied with my meals, and really enjoying how they taste.

And no more eating in the car. ever. doesn't matter what is going on. we will stop for food and eat it in the restaurant. even if the family eats and I just get a water.

Sounds good to me. I do the salad plate but haven't moved to small utensils yet. I know I am taking too large of bites still so the small fork will probable come after I get my first fill on July 6. I am definitely feeling hungrier lately! I don't get filled up as quickly.

I use small plate, I need to use small fork big bites get me in trouble

I eat what I feel like eating. I take more pleasure in cooking because I know I'm not going to "waste" it by scarfing down 4 persons portions. I enjoy eating like a lady now and not a pig at a feeding trough.

If I eat something naughty, I really enjoy it, I dont shove it down hidden in my car and hide the evidence. I just eat it and enjoy it.

We always use small plates for dinner anyway, now I just put a bit less on it than I did. I use regular cutlery, I just eat more slowly and carefully than I did before.

I use a smaller plate than the rest of my family, sometimes it's a salad plate and sometimes it's more of a saucer. I serve myself what I believe to be adequate bandster portions. I used to measure it, but I found that lately I've been doing pretty good and even short change myself sometimes.

I eat slowly until I'm satisfied beginning with the Protein portion of my meal. Sometimes there's still food on my plate. I'm a reformed "clean your plate" syndrome sufferer. If, for some reason I'm still hungry I'll have a few more bites but that's rare. Eating slowly not only helps you tolerate your food, it helps you recognize the feeling of being satisfied.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and help. I had my first fill Tuesday, and before that was finding myself still eating a smaller portion, but back to the 'old way' of eating.

You are all doing amazingly well...and Funny, well, you're just one of my heroes...that will never change.

Back to the recreate and instruct drawing board!

You have asked a really good question, and it reveals so many approaches to living life as a bandster. I have tried to approach the whole thing as learning to eat "normally." This is not a smooth process, LOL! I have learned to judge, pretty much, what is a portion size for me, and take just that much. Then, if I am still hungry, I can get some more (you know, like a normal person). Do I overeat sometimes? Yes. Do I succumb to the charms of the siren, ice cream? Oh, yes. And, I notice the same effects that Jack mentions...it messes up my whole system and how hungry I feel for days afterward. Yet, I do it at times. As you go, you will learn what works for you. If you have trouble doing that, keep coming here and getting feedback. I have learned so much from the friends here at LBT. Good luck to you! Cindy

Do you place good options of food on your plate, as much as you want, and eat slowly, chewing until you're satisfied? I use a small side plate, or the tiny "piece of cake" sized paper plates. I take one of whatever I've made, e.g. one chicken tender, one spoon of Beans, etc. Chewing comes natural, but I still have to ficus on eating slow & bite size. What happens more often than not is I take a normal bite, but swallow it in portions - hope that makes sense. If I'm no longer hungry before my plate is clean, I stop. If I'm hungry after it's clean, I gp back and get a half of something - half a tender, half a spoon. I've only had to go back... once or twice.

If I go out, I order a regular dinner. Most appetizers are fried or full of cheese and I try to avoid both... unless they have buffalo wings. Usually when I order I will also ask them to bring me a box. Then when the meal comes, I portion it and box up the rest before I start eating. I've found that if I don't do this, I will "pick" at my food and eat more than I need. If I'm at a place that doesn't have boxes, I'll push my napkin down into my food once I'm no longer hungry.

Like I said - eating slow I need to watch. I generally chew so much that a fair amount of time passes between bites, but I tend to swallow all that I've chewed vs. the "portions" I mentioned above. This has lead me to PB before.

Do you only place 4-6 oz. on your plate and make that last for 20 minutes until your brain kicks in? It's more like - I take the portion, and by the time I've chewed and swallowed it all, more than 20 minutes has passed. This is part of why I focus on foods I have to chew, vs soft foods that can pretty much go down on their own. I'll down cottage cheese in no time, but a piece of grilled pork tenderloin will last me much longer. (Actually what I usually do is combine them, put a little cottage cheese on my pork - helps to lube it up)

What is your method, and how is it working for you? It's working ok. I still have concerns over how I will do when I get more restriction - whether what I'm doing will be alright, or if I'll be in for a rude awakening and have to readjust behaviors.

:biggrin1: i try many of the same things as everyone else. i use a salad fork rather than dinner fork, i use a divided plate or a shallow rimmed soup bowl. i try to eat 2oz chicken tenders or whatever meat, 1 large spoon veggie, and i have a tomato, cucumber, lettuce salad about twice a day. one of those times, my salad has added kidney beans(love those), and i will add 1 oz light mozzarella cheeses to it. my salads are only 1/3 or 1/4 lettuce--the rest is the veggies. i try to eat whatever super low calorie veggies i love,that way i can use "regular" ranch dressing--never more than a tablespoon. that way, i enjoy my salad,instead of just tolerating it because of "diet" dressing. i used to drink about 32 oz of 1%milk a day, now i have a teeny 4 oz glass once or twice a day. i try to only have potatoes, rice, pasta, 3 or 4 times a week--then a very small portion. i eat crackers or maybe toast only about every other day. because bread and potatoes are my downfall, i try to limit them a lot.

i have tried every diet dressing and margarine known to mankind--do not like any. i use blue bonnet margarine in the tub--only 60 cals--have eaten it my whole life--use it sparingly,even though, and i do not buy the light one. HOWEVER, the other day at walmart, i saw some spray parkay margarine. i bought some, and it was GREAT!! i put it on a hot 1/2 ear of corn-5 sprays--it was so good..0 CALS. i will try it on green limas or potatoes next time. those are 2 things i always will want some butter on.

it is made from buttermilk--but it was just like eating my regular margarine.

i also eat about half of a can of pintos, large limas, blackeyed peas for lunch a few times a week--i love beans,good source of protein and they fill you up. luck's brand beans are great...some of them are fat-free. so anyway, i guess i pretty much dish out what i should be eating and try to put the rest away right away. i make much smaller portions of meat and we have always eaten our supper together, but i eat small portions of leftovers if my family is having hot dogs, hamburgers, something i do not want to eat. i try to keep snack size baggies with 2 chick tenders in the freezer, cooked and ready for those times. i also have sooooo many of those itty bitty storage containers (1/2 cup) that i put in fridge or freezer just for me-------ME-SIZED portions. that really helps me stay on track with what is readily available to eat, then i have no excuses.

IS THIS A LONG POST OR WHAT? OMG:biggrin1:

Does being full feel like something is stuck?

I've just had my second fill and am having a hard time knowing when enough is enough. I don't feel anything, then all of a sudden I have to PB because it hurts so bad.

Now I'm scared to eat. I think I'm going to do liquids a few more days to be safe.

To me being full and being stuck - completely different. Being full feels no different than it did pre-op, I just get there a lot sooner. Being stuck hurts and makes me feel generally crappy. The only relation between the two is - if something gets stuck, and passes - no matter how little I ate before the stick, I'm full for about 10 hours.

Wow, again, thank you all for your insight. Obviously what I've been doing hasn't been working right.

So, I've learned that golf ball, pain, and PB's are NOT supposed to be a normal thing. If I take a smaller portion to begin with i won't feel the need to eat everything I see. Think about food before I eat...hmmm...have to work on that. And Jane likes to talk (long posts...i loved it, Jane!!!) You are all a wealth of information.

That's great! See why i ask the experts??? And to think the nutritionist got a bigger check than you did.

Tomorrow I will begin to put all of your insights into practice. Look out, Skinny, here I come!

This is a great thread. Even though guidlines are laid out, it seems everyone has a little different take on it. I have not had a fill yet. But what I'm finding is that if I do graze a little (on good things) which your not suppose to do, I have a easier time at my meal because I don't have the tendency to eat so fast and stuff. I'm still having trouble controlling the bingeing at times. Even if I'm bingeing on mashed potatoes. Apparently I'm still losing weight, I'm not to sure why, at times I'm very full, but bottom stomache full, not pouch full.