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My number one issue so far.. at 6 weeks post op, just started recently as i am adding new food to the plan and can now eat real foods. My issue and struggle is the time between bites. I tend to eat bite after bite and then by bite 3.. i cannot handle anymore. I have counted the bites before swallowing, and somebody recommended on one of the threads the bariastic app.. I have tried that and the timer is for chewing. I have a timer on my phone and could resort to that also. Most of the time when at work i am fine because i dont ever actually take a lunch break. I eat while working and so that helps to space out the bites. My issue is more when i am home. I sit down at the table to eat. So unless i dont do meal time and do something while having dinner.. i still eat too fast. Tonight i was here.. LOL Posting while I ate my Real Good snack Pizza.. so it was ok.. But i am looking for other ideas because if there are people around or i am in a restaurant it can be rude to constantly be on your phone or not paying attention to the people you are around. Most people in the resturant setting, eat, eat, eat LOL.

This happened the other night when i went to dinner with my daughter and her new boyfriend. ( It was meet the boyfriend time) and after 3 bites (real small ones ) of the grilled chicken, i was done.. could not eat anymore. I know i will need to start to up my calories, but if i am struggling to get in 2 to 3 ounces of protein.. then how am i ever gonna get to the veggies LOL..

Anyways.. I am brainstorming here to see what i can come up with. It may take me a week or so to figure this out.. each stage seems to do that.. by the time you figure it out.. you are on to the next one lol

AnyAll suggestions and Ideas are welcomed.

Thanks

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Hi there! So I struggled with this too. My family is kind of a jump in before it's gone type of family, and I kid you not everyone is usually done eating less than 10 minutes at the table. Crazy. I could never do the whole timer thing. I felt like it forced 30 minutes of my life to be dedicated solely and completely to food. So instead of practice mindful tactics. In between each bite, I PUT DOWN my utensil. That simple thing slowed my consumption down significantly. It also gave me time to chat and talk with the people at my table. When I'm alone, it gives me a moment to think about something else. It becomes a relaxing time instead of "Did I chew 32 times for optimal time allotment?" or "Is my pouch too full, what serving size will fill the space?"

I guess it seems kind of simple, but it really worked for me.

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^^^This.

Also, cutting your stuff up into super small bites and putting the fork down after each bite. I didn't count, just chewed until it was puree consistency.

Early days, don't try to get veggies in until you are routinely getting your Protein in. If you can only do 1oz of food, then it has to be only protein. When you mature to 2oz you can choose if you want to do 1 1/2oz of protein + 1/2oz of well cooked veg. It's very simple. Also in the early days, I would use meat lube: pre-made gravies and sauces that were super low cal/low carb/low sugar. It made getting the protein in much easier.

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I eat with a tiny fork and cut things into small bites. I also put my fork down between bites. I'm able to chew a lot without thinking because if I don't, I get a stomach ache. I also find that having fewer distractions helps me enjoy my food and feel the fullness sooner. But that's me. May or may not work for you.

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I have the same problem, only i haven’t had the surgery yet. I found a pretty good app that has a timer for chewing each bite, its helped me so far. The app is called Baritastic. It’s pretty cool!

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I have this problem, too. I eat 3 or 4 bites really quickly, I immediately feel overfull (because I'm probably not chewing enough either!), and leave the table. Then within an hour or so my stomach is empty and growling again, so I find a probably less-than-optimal snack (light swiss Laughing Cow cheese and Wheat Thins was last night). I'm continuing to lose despite this, which worries me, because developing poor habits right now will set me up for failure when I'm out of the honeymoon period. My support group is having a speaker come talk about mindful eating in January, so I'm looking forward to that!

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On ‎12‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 6:36 PM, Jazzy1125 said:

My number one issue so far.. at 6 weeks post op, just started recently as i am adding new food to the plan and can now eat real foods. My issue and struggle is the time between bites. I tend to eat bite after bite and then by bite 3.. i cannot handle anymore. I have counted the bites before swallowing, and somebody recommended on one of the threads the bariastic app.. I have tried that and the timer is for chewing. I have a timer on my phone and could resort to that also. Most of the time when at work i am fine because i dont ever actually take a lunch break. I eat while working and so that helps to space out the bites. My issue is more when i am home. I sit down at the table to eat. So unless i dont do meal time and do something while having dinner.. i still eat too fast. Tonight i was here.. LOL Posting while I ate my Real Good snack Pizza.. so it was ok.. But i am looking for other ideas because if there are people around or i am in a restaurant it can be rude to constantly be on your phone or not paying attention to the people you are around. Most people in the resturant setting, eat, eat, eat LOL.

This happened the other night when i went to dinner with my daughter and her new boyfriend. ( It was meet the boyfriend time) and after 3 bites (real small ones ) of the grilled chicken, i was done.. could not eat anymore. I know i will need to start to up my calories, but if i am struggling to get in 2 to 3 ounces of protein.. then how am i ever gonna get to the veggies LOL..

Anyways.. I am brainstorming here to see what i can come up with. It may take me a week or so to figure this out.. each stage seems to do that.. by the time you figure it out.. you are on to the next one lol

AnyAll suggestions and Ideas are welcomed.

Thanks

This is so me right now! My sister and wife both say I'm 3 bites and done. I know its because I am doing too big of bites, not chewing enough and then eating too fast. Its so hard for me to change this bc everyone I'm around eats super fast and here I am like well hell. So 3 bites and done! I am going to follow this to see recommendations as well! :)

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So seriously, it may seem stupid, but I swear...the only thing that regulates my bite size and slows me down is using baby spoons, or appetizer size utensils.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using BariatricPal mobile app

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

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        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
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