I want to know how many of you actually wait 3 minutes in between bites of food. I had my banding November 18, 2008 and am down 56 lbs. I think the reason I have not lost more is I am eating too fast. Would love to hear from those that do and those that dont wait the 3 minutes to see if there is a big difference in weight loss.:smile2:

I'm not sure where you get your 3 minutes from. I'm assuming it is from your physician. Eating too fast can cause you to physically stop and take a rest, but I don't subscribe to any time period between bites. The more fill I have, the slower I have to eat overall. I let my body tell me when it's okay to take another bite. I've never had to wait 3 minutes unless I feel like I've eaten too fast and need to wait until the food goes down.

I never wait 3 minutes between bites. I don't think they told me to wait. I was told small bites, and chew well. If I do that, then I am eating slow enough. I am a teacher, if I wait 3 minutes between bites I won't ever get any lunch in me! If you think waiting for 3 minutes between bites will help, then try it! You probably will eat a little less if eating takes you longer.

I never wait 3 minutes and this is the first I ever heard of that requirement. I chew well, and eat slowly...but thank god am not expected to time each bite. I wouldn't do it!

I've never heard of that either. Your food would all get cold I'd think. I could probably eat slower but I do chew well.

I dont wait 3 minutes but I learned early on that for me, its the waiting between bites that's the important bit, that does far more for me to prevent getting stuck and pbing than small bites does. Chewing is probably equally as important, but yep, waiting between bites, letting it settle, go down, being aware that EACH bite has been handled OK, that's what stops me having episodes.

I'd wait maybe 30 seconds between bites, to a minute though, 3 is a bit ridiculous.

I'd also have to say that the rest of the world tends to view the American habit of cutting up food then switching the fork to the right hand and eating like that as incorrect table manners :smile2:(ducking for cover!) but it IS a problematic habit. When you eat like that, it does tend towards mouthfuls one after another after another, with a pause seeming "forced" or obvious. When you cut a piece of food off with your fork in your left hand, eat a bite, then cut another, you dont eat so fast. I find the pause easy becuase the way we eat, there's natural pauses to cut anyway.

Edited August 4, 200916 yr by Jachut

The printout I rec'd from my surgeon mentions using an egg timer. It suggests setting it for 2 minutes so you can time your eating. Also, it suggests putting down your utensil and waiting a moment between bites. I think this is only meant for when you're starting on mushies...or at least that's how I'm reading it. I think you just have to get into the habit of eating slowly and chewing well or you'll have discomfort. It seems all the docs give different info. Eventually, I guess you figure out what works best for you. :smile2:

Happy Banding,

TPG

My surgeon advises to put the fork down after every bite, chew thoroughly, and wait 1 minute afterwards. I'm still having problems with waiting more than about 15 seconds. Hopefully that will improve.

I will start out by saying I'm not banded yet, so I don't have the personal experience everyone else here has. However, my surgeon uses the 3 minute thing to, so there is more than 1 doc who recommends that. I will ask when I talk to someone at his office again.

Joan

3 minutes is an awful long time to wait - especially when you are hungry.I agree with eating slowly but this doesn't seem practical.

It's one thing to eat slow, and another altogether to eat in slow mo! :smile2:

I always say trust your doc but I think we have to be able to live with what we do. Waiting 3 minutes between each bite is something that I think would be problematic. Especially since I was told to stop eating at 30 minutes, that would mean I'd get, what....10 bites? LOL I think we need to use our own good prudent judgment...eating slowly, chewing well.

I have also read/heard to take SMALL bites the size of pencil erasers. I find bites that small harder to chew! I do well with a bite about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of my "old" bite. My point...we have to do what works for us. To me it isn't even the time between bites that's the problem but how long I spend on each bite that counts.

I have also read/heard to take SMALL bites the size of pencil erasers. I find bites that small harder to chew!

I agree. If the piece is too small to start with it is harder to get your teeth into to chew so you end up swallowing by mistake which causes problems.

I agree. If the piece is too small to start with it is harder to get your teeth into to chew so you end up swallowing by mistake which causes problems.

Yup. I've accidentally swallowed things tons of times. I thought I was the only one it happened to.

I thought the 3 minutes was standard kind of glad to know that it is not. I do chew,chew, chew as they say and put my fork down between bites, but I thought since I was not waiting the 3 minutes that maybe I was eating more that I should be. So I guess I am probably right on track. I get full fairly quickly and eat off a childs plate so I think I am probably doing everything just fine

The thee minute wait between bites is a good thing! I have had to learn to do that without the Dr. telling me to. I find the slower I eat the better I do. At work it's easiest. I can take a bite, do some work and then take another bite. The other day I timed myself. I took 1 hour to eat 3/4 c of cottage cheese. I suffer when I eat at home cause I used to sit on the couch, watch tv and eat. I always end up sliming when I do that now.

I have to eat and clean house in between bites now. I really take a long time to eat! Tonight was tacos. I had one, and it took me 45 minutes. I did LBT, FB, and surfed the internet in between bites. I need to get a hot plate to keep my food warm. I also tend to eat more cold food, like salads. I have a very hard time at restaurants and usually get Soup.

The thee minute wait between bites is a good thing! I have had to learn to do that without the Dr. telling me to. I find the slower I eat the better I do. At work it's easiest. I can take a bite, do some work and then take another bite. The other day I timed myself. I took 1 hour to eat 3/4 c of cottage cheese. I suffer when I eat at home cause I used to sit on the couch, watch tv and eat. I always end up sliming when I do that now.

I have to eat and clean house in between bites now. I really take a long time to eat! Tonight was tacos. I had one, and it took me 45 minutes. I did LBT, FB, and surfed the internet in between bites. I need to get a hot plate to keep my food warm. I also tend to eat more cold food, like salads. I have a very hard time at restaurants and usually get soup.

That is something else my Dr says not to do. He says you need to set down and eat and not get up and do stuff cuz when you do that you are grazing. I tried to time 3 minutes in between bites and it is way to long. If I wait about 1 minute I am good. It also depends on what I am eating. If I am eating meat I have to wait a little over a minute but If I am eating something soft like potatoes I dont have to wait at all.. I guess we are all really different