So I am almost at my phase 3 (starts Dec 28th) that includes eating soft to regular food. I tried a soft food meal today, just a trial lol.

Anyhow, question is how long do you wait between each bite? I went back to my instructions that mentions chewing 25 yikes before swallowing but doesn't mention the wait on between except that put your utensils down while chewing.

So how long should I wait between each bite?

If you are slowly chewing the 25 chews I would start with that. Swallow, pick up small amount of food, put in mouth, chew slowly for 25 chews. If it feels stuck, take a break for a few minutes. Then start again take 30 secs to 1 minute from time of swallowing before taking the next bite. Some people need longer initially, It won't be long before you determine the timing that works for you.

Exciting times ahead As a bypass patient, be very curious about the satiation your bypass will induce. Best case scenario is you learn to recognize what 'satiated' means in a way we didn't before. This will come in handy for the longer term.

"I know when I'm full", say most. Yet for most, especially for those of us who've been on a million diets, there are two problems with this statement:

1. We're experts in not listening to our body's signals (every single statement like 'I just gotta get back on track' actually simply means 'I just have to start ignoring my emotional and/or physical needs')

2. Being 'full' isn't the same as being satiated

I can't, obviously, speak to the specifics of RNY. Your pouch is (quite a lot) smaller than mine. I will say though: it comes completely naturally to me now to stop eating when I'm satisfied, satiated; that feeling of my body having gotten what it needed. It took at least 6 months to really get to know those signals.

It varies from person to person how much time you will have to wait to avoid any pain. I actually can eat pretty fast without pain but try not to. It is better to eat slow to feel satisfied with the tiny meal you are eating. It’s most important that you chew well. In the beginning I used the clock and waited one minute between bites. Some people on here have said they waited five minutes. But, In the beginning I say go as slow as you can. Better safe than sorry. Many people have to eat much slower than they did pre surgery or they regret it. Your body will tell you though. I think the main reason for this is so you don’t overeat so if I find myself having eaten faster than I should I take a break to let my full feeling catch up and then go back to my food if I am still hungry. Usually I realize I was actually satisfied already. It’s best to measure our food to track it, but I find it’s also important to measure it so that i don’t overeat in cases like this.

Edited December 27, 20214 yr by ShoppGirl

Thankfully I never had to do that excessive chewing thing. If your food is soft & moist enough & you take small bites (use a teaspoon) you shouldn’t need to chew 20+ times before swallowing. But most certainly your body will tell you what you need to do.

Personally I wait 2-5 minutes between bites. That is between swallowing & taking the next bite. Sometimes I go longer. I often distract myself between bites. Wait for an ad break. Read a couple of pages. Check social media. Read this forum ?. Have a conversation. Play a game on a device… Not only put your cutlery down between bites, but also sit back from the table. It takes time for the message to get through to tell you you’ve had enough hence us being told to eat slowly. I still do - anywhere from 30-60+ minutes.

It will take time to work out all your signals & cues & what strategy will work for you.

All the best.

Edited December 28, 20214 yr by Arabesque

8 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Thankfully I never had to do that excessive chewing thing. If your food is soft & moist enough & you take small bites (use a teaspoon) you shouldn’t need to chew 20+ times before swallowing. But most certainly your body will tell you what you need to do.

Personally I wait 2-5 minutes between bites. That is between swallowing & taking the next bite. Sometimes I go longer. I often distract myself between bites. Wait for an ad break. Read a couple of pages. Check social media. Read this forum ?. Have a conversation. Play a game on a device… Not only put your cutlery down between bites, but also sit back from the table. It takes time for the message to get through to tell you you’ve had enough hence us being told to eat slowly. I still do - anywhere from 30-60+ minutes.

It will take time to work out all your signals & cues & what strategy will work for you.

All the best.

All of this. Listen to this clever woman.

... in the lighter department:

I've always put in my meals in MFP before I eat them. That way it's 'this is my food, now I can enjoy it' and then I've kinda made it ... last? ... for a while. I figured that was a way to motivate me to eat slower (big meal eater previously, and boy could I finish a plate).

More often than not, this has resulted in me re-weighing food that I was about to throw out, so I could subtract the damn calories again from MFP. This was more of an issue in the last month of 1400 cals/day, 80 calories mattered, darn it!

Edited December 28, 20214 yr by Guest