SO Excited. I am finally dropping. I think I have it the green. I am at 5.4 cc in a 10 cc band after my last fill.

BUT I am really struggling with getting things stuck. I know part of it is eating too big of a bite, but it really happens without me thinking; Esp. for my evening meal. But I also struggle with eating too fast esp. during my evening meal as well. But I have managed to get stuck several times since my fill last Wednesday.

I don't want to go back and have Fluid taken out until I know that I am just too tight. But does anyone have suggestions for remembering to cut food up really small, and chew really thoroughly and eat slow, especially when talking or trying to operate on a time line?

Re-educating yourself to slow down, eat small and chew big is one of the hardest things for bandster's to do. I was in the green zone 7 months post op but thought I too was too tight so I had a small unfill. Mistake. I just needed to learn to eat like we were told to eat from our nutritionist.

It took me 10 months to figure out how to eat right and I still get stuck at least once a week. Not nearly as bad. Most times I feel the pressure and back off for 3-5 minutes to let the food pass.

Same problem I had but learning to a slower, also stress has a lot to do with no6t eating slow, I have 7 cc in a 14 cc band I am almost there but time will tell it takes about two weeks to see how much food you do eat. Also I did the unfill at first mistake very discoveging because youeat twice as much. you remmber the band is a tool

I have a small spoon with a longish handle and a shrimp fork that seem to help me eat smaller portions, and I try to actually put down the implement between bites. This is so hard for me it is absolutely ridiculous, makes me laugh at myself. That stubbornness you refer to in your title really resonates with me. I think it takes a while to retrain our instincts to shovel shovel shovel.

Having an episode definitely leads to learning to really notice the tightness that comes on just before and then hopefully heading it off at the pass -- this, for some anyway, is the behavior modification. Mindfulness. I know that feeling in my solar plexus and it sure slows me right down and gets me chewing the next bite (a few minutes later) so I don't enter the real zone of getting stuck.

Gary John you are so right about the stress! food has been my coping mechanism for tamping down that whir of anxiety inside. Now that I don't have that habit to lean on anymore (and let's face it, it didn't even really work -- talk about temporary!) I'm noticing the anxiety and stress are not really so bad if I just let it all come forward. I notice it, acknowledge whatever it is and if I'm really freaking out over something of course exercise and/or big hydration works a lot better than food ever did anyway.

As for bad habits, I just noticed on another thread a very successful bander who changed up evening habits by getting out to swim a couple of nights a week rather than being home and facing the snack TV trap so many of us struggle with. I want to get to that place and hope spring will help as evenings can be so hard. Good luck to all -- we are getting there!

Thanks for the insights. So I may not quite be at the green zone yet. It looks like as I cut smaller, chew more and slow down, I can still put a good bit away, I have now gone 2 consecutive days without a stick ( knock on wood), and realize that the stuck episodes just really make me not eat. So as I focus on the habits i need i am eating more than I think significant weight loss will allow. I will just have to see.

I love the idea of the small spoon and cocktail fork Bandista! and can really relate to how ridiculous this slow eating is!

Wow I hope I can learn in less than 10 mo.... but who knows. The stubborn runs deep!LOL

SO does anyone ever get in a hurry to eat and go? If so do you just skip the eat or what ? I had no idea I did so much squeezing of meals into my schedule. If I don't have a full 45 min to 1 hour its pretty hopeless for me.

Are you feeling the satiety signals yet? If you're eating too much, you may be missing the signals to stop eating. Signals like:

hiccups

yawning

cough

runny nose

food is no longer appealing

Try stopping at 1 cup of food. You don't need to eat everything on your plate. I've learned how much food I can eat before I'm feeling satisfied and try to place only that amount on my plate. It's a learning experience and you have a lifetime of bad eating habits that must be undone, so be patient, it will come.

I try to cut all my food up into small bites before I even begin to eat. That way I don't have to keep trying to make the conscious effort throughout the entire meal. That leaves the biggest thing for me to fight is not getting into a hurry and trying to pick up TWO pieces of food on my fork to cram into my mouth.

I am not getting much of the signal until a few minutes after I stop. Then I almost always get burping hiccups. I'm guessing that may mean I have gone too far?

I am cutting things up really small to eat. but just last night I put a piece in my mouth, began to chew, then felt a large portion slide down my throat, and yes it got stuck. I really have to make sure the food stays forward in my mouth. If it gets past my back teeth, its gone!

This is quite a learning curve.

I have found these comments so useful. I too eat too quickly sometimes and don't chew properly and have got stuck which makes me feel like I am dying!!

I am at a place now where I am being tempted by so many things and feel guilty, I am starting to get those dieting feelings back which scare me a little. I think I may be ready for a fill, as I think about food all the time again.

This is certainly a journey, but getting the support on here really helps

2muchfun,

You may be a genius! I had really not considered this as a possibility before your post last week. but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if that was a lot of my problem. So I started really trying to determine, not hungry v. full v. overfull. And I had a whole weekend of no sticking!!!! I have found that I am to a point that not hungry is pretty much 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of whatever. But when I stop at that point I don't last but a little over 2 hours. Full is usually around 1 c to 11/4c. And when I stop I am still comfortable but I tend to last about 3 to 4 hours. I also found that when I over do it by a bite or two I get that tickle at the base of my throat that comes just before I feel stuck. And then the burps set in. I have also discovered I have about a 2 bite tolerance or range between full and too full.

Thanks so much for your post! It has really helped!!!

I love the idea of the small spoon and cocktail fork Bandista! and can really relate to how ridiculous this slow eating is!

Wow I hope I can learn in less than 10 mo.... but who knows. The stubborn runs deep!LOL

I remember when I first had my surgery I purchased cute baby spoons and forks to make myself eat smaller and slower.