I'm almost shy of a month out & I still am trying to get used to taking small bites & chewing food completely. Sometimes I think I'm all healed & start to chew like I used to & boy do I pay for it later...is anyone going through this as well? I hate throwing up!!!

I think everyone struggles with this until they figure out chewing and eating slow prevents discomfort. I never really caught on to the eating slow part and suffered through what you are experiencing. However, by the 3rd month, my sleeve was a little more forgiving and puts up with my fast eating better now. I never over eat though because I always measure the food savings to 3 oz size. Good luck!

Oh I never overeat, but I was always such a fast eater so it's sooo hard to slow it down. Some days are much better than others... I guess it's all a learning process. Thanks for you input...

I have always been a fast eater. I am so goal orientated that I'm like on automatic pilot. It's still difficult but since I can only eat so much, I find myself drinking my protein shakes a lot slower now. I love it and am really working on slowing down my eating of food in all ways. I love it. It feels so much better and I don't feel so deprived.

I am almost 7 weeks out and am struggling with this as well. It's almost as though I know I can only eat so much, so I'm trying to pack as much in as I can. And I pay every time. I have a constant feeling of something being "stuck" in the middle of my chest. So I am working consciously on slowing down at each meal...the discomfort/pain is just not worth it.

At first I felt like I was swallowing a lot of air and burped a lot. It caused brief discomfort or pain until the air bubble shifted. I don't know what I'm doing differently now but the air isn't getting trapped as much, but I'm drinking wayyyy too fast still. Sometimes when I pick up a bottle of water I'm gulping and it is going down too easily. I have to make myself present in the moment when I put something against my lips, and that isn't always easy to do. I guess it is just going to take us a lot of practice!

Totally! Drinking is much easier for me & I've noticed that I can take bigger sips now. I definitely am at the same mindset that I'm trying to get in as much as I can because I know after 4 bites I'm full so I try to "race the clock" & get in as much as I can. I will be working on this to change that behavior!

Try putting the fork down in between bites. Also, if you eat alone, try to count your chews -- play a little game with yourself to see how many times you can chew that scrambled egg or cottage cheese. It's pretty amazing how many times you can chew something. If you eat with others make conversation more important than eating. Remember we need to change how we think about food -- it is NOT the most important thing at the dinner table or the Holiday Feasts -- people are.

I now use a small fork (meant to be a dessert fork) and a small spoon and very often will put my utensil down for a full minute or two between bites because I'm talking or counting my chews .

Good Luck!

Imgonnaloseit,

Those are great suggestions. My Surgeon's office suggested I start this process as my first visit. That was in January. Why am I two months away from surgery and believe I should really put this into practice. Don't get me wrong, I did for a could of weeks but then...that went by the way side.

I'm gonna lose it: My surgeon's office wants us to wait 10 minutes before each bite. I tried, but I couldn't do it. So I wait as long as I can between bites and I'm happy with that. It's not a problem anymore.

Wow, I was sleeved on the 2nd of Oct. and Im glad I ran across this post. I was starting to feel like a failure because Im still having a problem drinking and eating slow. I'm learning quickly to slow down but sometimes I forget.

At first I felt like I was swallowing a lot of air and burped a lot. It caused brief discomfort or pain until the air bubble shifted. I don't know what I'm doing differently now but the air isn't getting trapped as much' date=' but I'm drinking wayyyy too fast still. Sometimes when I pick up a bottle of Water I'm gulping and it is going down too easily. I have to make myself present in the moment when I put something against my lips, and that isn't always easy to do. I guess it is just going to take us a lot of practice![/quote']

I seem to be gulping way to much. I'm so afraid that I've already undone any positive things from the surgery.