I'm almost to 6 weeks post-op (yay me) and I am now on a regular diet. Now that I'm starting regular foods, I would like to know how long one should wait to take another bite?

Do you set a timer? Is there a feeling you get?

Any tips or tricks would be helpful.

Thanks ?

I still take a break between every bite. For me it can be about 2-5 minutes, just depending how I feel, between bites. I found putting my cutlery down & sitting back from the table helps. If with others I don’t eat while someone is talking - give them my full attention. When at home alone I’ll read or play a game (solitaire is my go to) & then might take a bite every couple of pages or after a game or two. Didn’t like setting a timer as I felt like I had to take a bite then. I only take the bite when I feel like I need it not just want the bite or ‘told’ to take a bite. Not uncommon for me to pick up a bite then put it down again either. Took me a while to learn to eat more mindfully & focus on what I needed & not just mindlessly shovel food in.

And don’t worry if everyone has finished their meal & you’re still going. Don’t rush to eat in time with them (this can be difficult). At a function yesterday I was still eating my entree while everyone else had finished, had had their plates removed & the staff were starting to bring out the main courses. There’d even been a speech between the courses LOL! (I barely ate half my entree & only a couple of bites of my main ?.)

Do you feel your restriction yet ? This is my account after the restriction. I did not get to real foods for 12 weeks and I really struggled with meat protein.

Depending on what the food was - yogurt, I would not wait anything like a minute. I took tiny spoonful's.

With other foods especially warm foods I would eat the few small bites I could and when the food was cold I would put my food away and come back to it later. I hated to eat food that had gone really cold waiting for me to eat. My surgery was in winter and I was frozen to my bones. A lot of the time my food went into the bin because I had eaten enough

Thank you both for the great info. I'm still taking things really slow (I had issues at the 3 week mark and had to get IV fluids). I'm still struggling on getting my proteins and water but it's slowly getting better. I just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly. I see my doctor this week for my 6 wk post-op so I'm sure they'll have some additional info for me.

Sounds like you're doing just fine OP.

I am almost 2 years post surgery. I have never set a timer to do anything (food or drink) but I know lots of us have benefited from that approach. I am a chugger and a gulper. I can see that this would not be good for lots of folks but it seems to have worked for me thus far. I eat what I think I'll be able to process (based on experience) and then stop. If I need more later then I will eat more.

At 6 weeks I was desperately trying to meet my fluid and protein goals. Nothing else mattered. I didn't do it every day. I never timed bites - not sure that would have been in keeping with my long term goals.

I used to set a timer and wait a minute between bites, and also chew each bite for at least 30 seconds. Eventually chewing everything really well becomes second nature (and you'll regret it if you don't). I also bought some tiny forks and spoons (search for cocktail forks/spoons) to help take small bites, but I'm over 3 years out now and use regular utensils. I take larger bites now but wait longer between bites (usually 3 minutes).

Some people believe that you should eat mindfully and focus on your meal, not work or watch TV or anything while you're eating, but I personally take the opposite approach. If I'm not doing anything else while eating, I eat too fast, so I like to multitask during meals. I usually eat lunch at my desk while working and it takes me about 45 minutes to finish a salad.

Thanks for the info. i've got my hands full with a 7 and 9 yr old. I usually take a bite and wait a few minutes and with thr kids Im usually multitasking while eating.