Hi Everybody I will be having my rny in November but I am really trying to wrap my head about getting ready for surgery. I was not told to lose weight but but I am having trouble with the eating slowly. chewing and no liquid while eating thing. I need to get some discipline. Does anybody have any tips or ticks they used to get through this? I quit smoking 10 years ago and this is harder than quitting that habit! I have been mindlessly eating for 65 years and now am asked to changed everything. I really want and need this surgery to get healthy and happy but I really need some discipline here! Any suggestions or help you can give me will be very much appreciated.

I had the same problem. I switched to child utensils to help take smaller bites. I use timer apps on my phone (bariatric timer helps me alot) the drinking while eating was tough for me but again the timers helped. I also believe the 6 month program helped get me prepared. My last visit is tommorrow (surgical class) everything else is done and green lighted. Hope to get my date soon.

I am also waiting for my date.. I do know it will be in 3 months though. I am a fast eater , always have been. So what I do is have a 'egg' timer & take it with me, I leave my food in the kitchen, then go to the bdrm, get back online & when timer goes off, I go back to kitchen & take another bite. As for the drinking, that is very hard not to do! But what I do is put my water in the freezer, so that when it is time for me to drink something it is 'slushy' which i like very much.. hope this helps you..

I had my rny surgery on 7/3/2014. So far I have lost thirty pounds, but I am a HORRIBLE fast eater and it is the worst!! I know what to do, just not how to do it. It's making me vomit way too much. Any help would be much appreciated!

Just realized that this is the wrong forum for this...sorry!

Thanks for the advise I will look up the app for my phone and also get baby spoons (LOL) good luck to you both. Lori Dee could I please add you as a friend?

Joanne Yes , of course you can add me as a friend! I don't know how to do this yet..thank you....Lori

I bought appetizer forks, spoons, bowls and plates. I had my RNY over a year ago and still use them. Practicing helps but after surgery you might be very surprised at how little you feel like eating. Also, for me, food tasted bad the first month or two following surgery. I became a picky eater and still am. If you do eat to fast, too much, too dry, or don't chew well your body will punish you for it. It is a miserable feeling to have food get stuck, have the 'foamies', or throw it all back up. Once that happens it's a very good motivator to be more careful. Anything you do now to prepare yourself both physically and mentally will help you to be successful after. :-)

Thank you very much for your input.. That is why I am 'practicing' now..

As Terry mentioned above, it is much easier after surgery, but just like you, I wanted to prepare ahead of time. I had always inhaled my meals and chugged numerous glasses of milk while doing so.

What I did pre-surgery that really helped me was to change one thing at a time. I first started making my meals take longer. Then, once I was able to do that consistently for a week I then started working on the no drinks.

For after surgery I bought some tasting spoons and appetizer forks. This helped me keep the bites small and really extended the tiny meals so it wasn't as much of a challenge. After about 4 months I was able to switch back to real utensils, but even at 6 months I still need to watch the clock to ensure I take the 20-30 minutes to eat.