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 always drank when i ate but i just drink before now and if my mouth is dry i take a very tiny amount of water and swish it in my mouth it hasnt hurt me yet just dont take anything more than what wets your mouth and i think youll be ok also after awhile of having the band you can pretty much "feel" when its ok to drink after eating you can feel the food go down

I'll look forward to comparing journeys Maria! Let's do this thing!

Jen

I guess it is really a habit drinking with our meals. It will just take something drastic like the band to know we cant do this anymore. Also I guess just not putting a glass on the table at all might make it easier. I have found that eating and drinking is so mindless though that the minute I am not concentrating on chewing longer and no drink I take one.

Thanks Cosean and Danielle for the tips and VERY true Valzie - mindless, that's a good word for it!

Yes Jen - we ARE gonna do this thing!

Maria

When you get the band you've no choice but to eat slow or it gets stuck

I purchased several sets of baby/toddler utensils pre-op and used those to eat with when I was at home, I would take a small salad fork to work to use.

I read on another thread where someone was having great difficulty with the no drinking rule and their surgeon suggested putting a glass filled with ice CUBES on the table right when they sit down to eat. HE told her that whatever melted from the CUBES (I stress cubes, not crushed ice, melts too fast) was what she could sip on. Cubes don't melt that fast, so it was tiny amounts but it helped her. And I tried it, works.

Oh You Will Learn To Take Small Bites And Chew, Chew, Chew...once That Food Gets Stuck In Your Chest And You Experience Your First Pb And Slime. You'll Learn Real Quick!!!

Thanks for asking this question.....it is a concern of mine -- BIG concern...but I hadn't thought to ask here.

I'm not worried about not drinking with meals -- I've been able to do that all my life, so that won't even be a problem -- unless I try to eat something heavily spiced.

But I noticed the last few weeks, I've been trying to eat more fruit and vegetables. Cherry tomatoes, grapes, cherries, clementine sections -- when I get one that's more tart than sweet, I just crunch it once and swallow it hole. I guess I'll have to take a knife to those things to prevent that, huh?

I have thought about this as well. I figured what most have said you learn quickly or you suffer the consequences..

im still having a hard time eating slowly, just the other day i ate something and it hurt going down and i havent been banded yet so i can imagine how it will feel when i do get banded. i am trying to be aware but its such a habit. even though it was painful i still eat fast. when will i ever learn?

andrea

I got banded in August, and I think I've been going about it all wrong. I've had 2 fills totaling 7ccs in an 11cc band. I've been eating very fast (like I always did) and washing my food down with big gulps of fluid. For a week after the fills, I was PBing a lot, but then it started going down. My weight loss hasn't been progressing. I think I need to learn to a)small bites and chew food thoroughly and b)avoid drinking while eating. I really need help with this because I have such an instinct to eat food fast, especially if it's savory.

Yeah this was my biggest concern, becuase I was a gulper and a fast eater.

But really with the band now in place I'm about to start my fourth week and haven't gotten stuck yet, granted I'm still pre-fill, but still proud of myself.

Just take small bites and chew until it is mush. Really it helps make the meal last much longer.

The drinking during meals was hard at first, and while on liquids didn't seem important, but now that I'm on mushies, I been able to plan my day accordingly and make it work.

Really it's one of thoses things that I guess you can't plan or practice for and just have to do it once the band is in place.

I started focussing on eating more slowly when I started on the pre-op diet. I had to make a concious effort to remember to chew thoroughly. I would find myself, at times, eating like I normally do - chew, chew, swallow. I kept reminding myself that once that band is in place, I will not have the luxury of forgetting to chew thoroughly. I am a counter anyway, so focussing on counting 30 chews before swallowing anything came naturally to me. There are some things that are soft enough that you just can't get to 30, but after a few days, I found that I did not need to count anymore but learned to feel how solid the food in my mouth was and chew it up real well before I swallowed.

The thing I noticed about all the chewing was how much slower I ate and how those I was eating with would become restless while I slowly chewed through my meal. My husband is the worst - I always used to finish my meal before him, so he is used to asking for the check when he is done with his meal. He ended up asking for the check when I was only 1/2 through my meal and I had to keep slapping the waiter's hand from taking my plate! :thumbup:

The thing I worry about the most is the fact that my mouth has not changed size at all and I tend to take big bites. I need to go buy some baby utensils and plan to use those to help me take smaller bites that are probably easier to chew more thoroughly. :thumbup:

I've been thinking about this too, how to start making these changes. I've become more aware of what I'm eating, I've been trying to take smaller bites and chew chew chew. Sometimes I'm successful, other times, I'm not.

But I guess the first step is awareness of what you're doing and then the change.

I've always been a big drinker during meals, not unusual, especially if out to eat, to drink two or three glasses of iced tea or diet pepsi. Those days will soon be gone.

My only concern is what happens if you eat something really spicy! Am I going to have to give up my Mexican food, especially the salsa? I'm not concerned about making it healthier, as I think that will be easy to do, but I don't want to give up the flavors. I guess I'll just have to adapt.

Hey Y'all,

I actually started practicing this when I discovered that this was part of being WLS patient. I have been been eating like a WLS patient for a few months with little bites, no drinking and chewing well. My surgery is in 10 days and I hope all of this practice helps me. :thumbup: