Hi Everyone,

I'm still pre-op / without a surgery date. After the seminar I tried to implement some of the tactics of "how to eat" in my life now - pre band. I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT CHEW MY food THOROUGHLY BEFORE I SWALLOW! Is this something that I will learn over time? I know once the band is in and filled - I physically CAN'T take big bites and not chew - is there any exercises to re-learn how to chew and eat slower? This is my BIGGEST fear - PB's and Slimes! Has anyone gotten hypnotized? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Maria:help:

i can relate, this is my biggest fear, i eat fast and i dont always chew thoroughly. i have a friend who just had the bypass and she used to eat as fast as me and she said that it just happens when you have surgery, if you dont chew all the way or you eat to fast you may throw it back up. i am trying to be more aware of how fast im eating but i have conquered it yet. good luck to you

andrea

Some lessons are harder learned than others. If you're not taking your time, taking small enough bites, and chewing thoroughly, you WILL know it. And you WILL pay for it. If food gets stuck, you'll have some fairly intense pain in your sternum area, and you'll be pretty miserable until it passes through, or comes back up. The length of time it takes for this to happen varies from person to person, and depends on what it is that's stuck.

For a time, I switched to using a saucer for my dinner plate, and a very small salad fork. I don't have kids, so there were no baby spoons in my house to dig out and use, or I'd have probably used one of those. When you see such a small portion, you will instinctively want to make it last, so it's easier to take smaller bites. And chewing thoroughly, that's a little harder, a lot of times, I just have to tune everything else out, and concentrate on eating.

Trust me you CAN chew your food thoroughly before swallowing. You just have to force yourself to do it. It will be a bit easier for you to do once there are consequences in place for not doing it.

Above all else, TALK with your surgeon about this BEFORE being banded. A good relationship with your surgeon (I believe) is one of the KEYS to being a successful bandster.

Good luck

Thank you for some good, sound advice... I will definately discuss my fears with the surgeon and keep contact with you guys for support. I guess I will learn either by self discipline or THE HARD WAY! LOL

Thanks again,

Maria

hello. I have been banded for 6 weeks now, and had my 1st fill a week ago. Once you swallow a few times without chewing properly, you will learn quickly. It hurts to have food stuck in your chest so much that you figure it out very quickly.

I am also pre-op and a fast eater also. I too am concerned about the chewing thing. I realize now that I am paying attention that I hardly even chew before swallowing.

How about Water. No water while eating is going to take some getting used to also. I have been trying to do this with little results. I guess I am just going to have to not put a glass on the talble. Is there anyone else that has a problem with this?

Thanks again for all your comments... Thanks for sharing Valzie, I also feel I will have a problem with not drinking while eating. I'm hoping and I'm guessing breaking these habits will become easier over time. I think I will also have a hard time saying "Goodbye" to certain foods. But according to some of the posts, some people can manage foods others cannot. I have to keep looking at The Big Picture....or The Smaller Picture!! Lol

Maria

I keep Water next to me to help me when I forget to chew properly. It helps unstick the food.

I am also pre-op and a fast eater also. I too am concerned about the chewing thing. I realize now that I am paying attention that I hardly even chew before swallowing.

How about water. No water while eating is going to take some getting used to also. I have been trying to do this with little results. I guess I am just going to have to not put a glass on the talble. Is there anyone else that has a problem with this?

Be careful about trying to "wash" down food, some people find that it makes the situation worse instead of better. I'm one of those people. I can't even swallow my own spit when I'm stuck. I have to spit into a cup or something until it passes or comes up. Everyone is different, you'll have to find what works for you.

I've been banded for 2 and a half months now and this is by far the hardest thing to train myself. I still don't chew enough, and still eat too quickly. The food then gets stuck and it's really uncomfortable. What I do then is I drink so soda and it can go one of two ways. Either it goes down (with a big gulp) and it hurts like HELL OR it just won't go down but then I gotta run to the bathroom cuz it all comes flying out.

I just got another fill yesterday and I've only been eating mushy stuff for now till tomorrow or so. I'm hoping that the liquids will no longer push the food down, that way I'll learn once and for all how to eat slowly.

I'm presurgery as well, and I have been trying to chew each bite 30 times, like I saw on a lapband website somewhere, and I can hardly make it past 10! lol I try to do a little "practice" at every meal so that it wont be as big a shock after the surgery. I don't know if this will help me, but since I have to COMPLETELY change my eating habits forever, I want to try to get used to some of the smaller changes now, if that makes any sense.

I also notice that I really do wash down huge bites of food with beverages at meals. I can see how eating meals without any liquid would make eating slower a must! I need to try practicing this also, but I am drinking tons of carbonated beverages right now to get them out of my system.... I will miss sparkling water!

I am so inspired to read posts by those of you that have successfully made these changes in your lives.... thank you! :-)

Jen

I think once you have the surgery it helps you chew. I was scared that I would hurt something so I am now an avid chewer. I can't do 30 though. I go for 20 unless I've hit absolute mush before then.

I'm still getting used to no liquids. As soon as I take the last bite, I'm looking at my watch to find out what time I can drink again :-)

I'm right there with you VegasJen. I can't get past 10 chews either and even 10 is like & "Hurry up and get this food down my throat!" I think it depends on how hungry you are too. If I'm totally famished, I eat really fast and hardly chew. Oh, wait a minute, I'm always famished! Jeez, I got a lot of work ahead of me. SCARY

Maria

PS - VegasJen - we are about the same starting weight (I'm a few lbs. more) and I'm hoping for a Sept surgery too! Whoo Hoo!

well i had the same problem but after the surgry it just worked out now i dont even like to eat meat cuz it takes to long to chew lol but im still happy

I think we all go thru it! I am not banded yet either, but my nutritionist made me go out and buy baby utensils, and said from now on it's all I will ever use, along with saucers instead of plates.

He actually said " We all end up like we begin, you are just starting the process a little earlier." OK...

And I also got a small timer, and set it for 30 seconds, and instead of counting bites I watch the timer count down. A bit strange I know, but is so hard to counting how many times you are chewing something.

Before the surgery I could not imagine taking small small bites and chew chew chew. Now, I have paid the price for that way too many times and dread the next time it happens. If I eat too much, I get hiccups (painful hiccups - not at all the cute kind of hiccups). If I don't chew well, I get chest pains that can take up to an hour to pass. If I try to drink while eating it is really really painful until the liquid comes flying out. Then I am still left with the pain of not chewing well. I didn't think I would learn things like not gulping liquids, chewing well, small bites etc... You do learn when you have no choice.