I'm now doubting my long term success. I am in my 2 week post op liquid diet and I'm dying to chew on real food. I put a piece of chicken in my mouth, chewed and chewed it for satisfaction, spit it out and rinsed my mouth out with water. It was weird and not as good as I thought it'd be. I feel so ashamed right now. LOL Just wanted to vent.

I guess I’m not the only one. I did the same. SHAME

Thank goodness I'm not the only one!! Maybe we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves. Maybe it's a totally natural reaction to being cut off from what we've done our entire lives at least 3 times a day...eat, eat, eat.

Overall....chewing on stuff and spitting it out...is a huge no-no.....food disorder wise. You're also running a risk if you accidentally swallow. Ouch.

That said...I did the same thing with a piece of steak at about two weeks. LOLOLOLOL

Chewed it up, savored the juice, tossed the "pulp" to my doggo.

I'm back on regular steak now, and regular everything...and as of yet I don't have any weird eating disorders. So maybe this is just something people do who are dying to chew something.

It's been talked about at my support group meeting in real life too:)

Hi @logicwand. Thirteen years ago I did the same thing 2 weeks post-op. Confession: I still do it from time to time now. Last week is was a bite of cheesecake.

We have an ingrained need to chew. The process of chewing release enzymes that help to break down food.

The last time you had something to eat, did you give any thought to how long you chewed? Most likely not, as chewing is done, for most people, almost as a habit or unconscious reflex. As soon as a piece of food enters your mouth, you chew and swallow, probably far too quickly.

The chewing process, also known as mastication, is actually extremely important, however, and serves as the first step in your digestive process.

Saliva contains digestive enzymes, so the longer you chew, the more time these enzymes have to start breaking down your food, making digestion easier on your stomach and small intestine. One of these enzymes is lingual lipase, an enzyme that helps break down fats, for example. Saliva also helps to lubricate your food so it’s easier on your esophagus.

Long story short - You have a subconscious need to chew. It may not be the food that you really miss but the act of chewing that is driving you crazy.

No need for shame. That’s how we learn. As you get to eating real foods, it will all be that kind of experimentation. I made a mistake tonight (8 mos out) eating out of a normal bowl so I took too much in, stomach ached so much. I enjoy this. It teaches me, when I mess up, not to mess up!

u are fine,u are going thru something u have never gone thru before & trying to cope.u will do better as u get to eat normal food again.this is all so opposite of what we are use to.give yourself some credit,u know this is a learning process & u are crawling right now & then u will walk & then run & finally sprint.u will get there.[emoji6]

I'm 11 days post op and my husband is 5 weeks post op so he can eat chicken now, I am the cook so I made him some roasted chicken he can shred, and add to recipes. The sight of juicy tender chicken fresh from the oven HAD ME DYING FOR A BITE. But I dipped my finger in the juices and licked it "to check for seasoning" LOL.

The struggle is real. But it's all going to be so worth it. I am down 20 pounds already. TWENTY. I did that once before... yeah, true, same weights as well, you know how long it took me? Not 11 days. FOUR MONTHS. It took me four months. Diligent meal prepping, constantly feeling hungry at 1200 calories, feeling like I miss out... The sleeve is amazing, I feel no hunger, I know it will slow down a lot, but it will be consistent loss as I can't undo progress as easily as I did pre op.

I kept asking BF to go to the store and get crackers for me yesterday because all I wanted to do was CHEW something CRUNCHY. And then he lovingly reminded me pre-surgery I could eat a whole sleeve at one time and did I really want a whole box of crackers in the house (answer: NO) I think chicken is the most I've had to chew up in my entire 4ish months post op and it's still not the crunch my head wants.

Head hunger is real and sucky. But the now -55lbs is worth it. Figured out if I continue -10 a month I'll be at goal in July. I totally get thinking early on (and I'm still early on too) "can I do this?" or "I want to EAT something" since I had those thoughts. But let's tackle that head hunger!