I tend to inhale food in front of the tv & not taste what I am eating.

Is anyone else trying to slow down how fast they eat & reduce the amount they put in their mouth at one time, before surgery? I have started cutting my food very small & eating it with chop sticks.

What I am having trouble with is not taking a sip of liquid after almost every bite.

I too did it in stages. I started practicing my chewing (and even typing it, it looks strange) pre-banding. I removed my glass from the dinner table as step 2. Smaller plate - Step 3. Dessert fork not regular fork - Step 5. Since banding I have had my first (and I hope only) painful reminder of the 'chew chew chew' mantra.

I am still working on putting my fork down between bites. I am a work in progress, I guess.

Chew chew chew.

I love the chopstick advise.

Here is my tip for you conserning drinking AFTER meals. I have a timer. On my desk at work. When I come back from lunch I set the timer for an hour. When it dings I can drink to my hearts content. but as long as it is ticking I cannot drink. It helps me...at least while I am at work. At home. ( I live alone) I just dont fix a drink for dinner.

I was a slow eater before compared to others. Now I have to take it in a slow pause motion. bite, pause pause pause, bite. I also try to eat away from tv/computer/distraction and just focus on eating. I get full so fast, so its really hard.