ckelleher

I started focussing on eating more slowly when I started on the pre-op diet. I had to make a concious effort to remember to chew thoroughly. I would find myself, at times, eating like I normally do - chew, chew, swallow. I kept reminding myself that once that band is in place, I will not have the luxury of forgetting to chew thoroughly. I am a counter anyway, so focussing on counting 30 chews before swallowing anything came naturally to me. There are some things that are soft enough that you just can't get to 30, but after a few days, I found that I did not need to count anymore but learned to feel how solid the food in my mouth was and chew it up real well before I swallowed. The thing I noticed about all the chewing was how much slower I ate and how those I was eating with would become restless while I slowly chewed through my meal. My husband is the worst - I always used to finish my meal before him, so he is used to asking for the check when he is done with his meal. He ended up asking for the check when I was only 1/2 through my meal and I had to keep slapping the waiter's hand from taking my plate! :thumbup: The thing I worry about the most is the fact that my mouth has not changed size at all and I tend to take big bites. I need to go buy some baby utensils and plan to use those to help me take smaller bites that are probably easier to chew more thoroughly. :thumbup:

Hi Everyone I just had my band placed last Thursday, October 29th. I live in Kingwood, TX (NE Houston) and Dr. Collier (in Conroe) is my doctor. Now that I am 5 days out from surgery, I am starting to feel back to "normal". :thumbup: I am looking forward to this journey and will be looking for all kinds of support. This seems to be a very active board, so I am looking forward to getting to know everyone. I know a few people who have lap-bands, but now that I am going through this myself, I feel oddly isolated. :thumbup: I was trying to read through some of the posts on another site and it was all horror stories that just scared me and made me wonder if I had done the right thing! I know that I have and that this will be a wonderful tool to help me reach my weight goals. I know that there are millions of success stories out there and I look forward to hearing about those. I look forward to sharing my journey with everyone! Carol

Hi Wanda. I am brand new here too. I was just recently banded last Thursday, so I am still in the healing phase. Love the quote and your sense of humor! Carol