I was wondering if it would help to cut food up as much as possible before even putting it in you mouth would help with the chewing. I am working on the whole chewing concept and am hoping I will eventually get used to it and it will become habit..

Yes, you will need to cut your food into small pieces so that you can take small bites. Believe me, you will get the hang of it.

For meat, I also cut it across the grain to make it easier to chew and get through the band. My meat pieces are probably about an eighth of the size of my pre band pieces.

Hi. Thanks to Restless Monkey, I now have a little (3 cup) food chopper that I ordered from JC Penny's online. It is very cute and bright red. It chops my food for me - The other day, I put my turkey and cooked broccoli in there and made a yummy mix... didn't look too yummy, but it was. It is a bit harder for me when dining out - I do cut my bites pretty small and then chew, chew, chew. Good luck to you. Becky