Learning How to Eat Slowly After Weight Loss Surgery

[BaileyBariatrics 617]

It’s often quite a surprise to learn how slowly you really need to eat after surgery. For those of you that have had surgery, you know that even one very small bite too many can be painful or lead to vomiting. Before surgery, we encourage you to eat slowly to learn that it takes about 20 minutes of slowly eating before your brain recognizes your stomach is full. After surgery it may only take a few bites to begin feeling full.

It’s often quite a surprise to learn how slowly you really need to eat after surgery. For those of you that have had surgery, you know that even one very small bite too many can be painful or lead to vomiting. Before surgery, we encourage you to eat slowly to learn that it takes about 20 minutes of slowly eating before your brain recognizes your stomach is full. After surgery it may only take a few bites to begin feeling full.

The first step in slowing down your eating is to chew your food to applesauce consistency. A lot of our patients find success by making each bite last 25 chews. Chewing to applesauce consistency works better when you take a very small bite. Think of a bite of food being about the size of a pencil eraser or the size of the tip of your pinky finger. Use smaller utensils like the salad fork or teaspoon or even toddler or baby spoons and forks.

Speaking of utensils, put them down between bites which helps you slow down your eating. A lot of us already have a bite of food loaded on a fork or spoon ready to put in our mouth immediately after swallowing bite of food. Use a saucer or salad plate to reduce portions so you have less food in front of you.

No seat, no eat. Sitting at a table without distractions around you will help you focus on business of chewing. Remove distractions from your eating area. Eating while standing at the sink, driving, watching TV, working on the computer, answering texts or e-mails, reading, making “to do” lists or doing another load of laundry are common distractors in our busy lives.

When you are able to start eating food you can chew foods like cottage cheese or scrambled eggs, start with eating 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) every 10 minutes. Discover your “I’m just about to get full” signal. Our patients report they will hiccup, sneeze, sigh quickly or just realize that next bite of food really isn’t going to work. Focus on the enjoying the few bites you are able to have. Concentrate on the flavor and texture of the food. Many of our patients discover that chewing food well often results in finding out that the foods they really liked before don’t taste as good as they remembered.

If you are eating with others, focus on the conversation and people at the table. Many of our post-surgery patients report that the focus of the meal becomes the conversations, enjoying the company and socializing rather than the food. Learning to slow down your eating will be a difficult skill to master, but is an essential skill to have successful surgical outcomes.

[Jordan861 124]

Great sharing. I am still looking for that "I am about to get full signal". I have worked on an ambulance my entire life so slow is not in vocabulary when it comes to eating. My worse times is when I am unable to measure food.. ie restaurant. I always eat 1 - 2 bites more than I need to be full. It seems like the full bite doesn't get to the stomach before the too full bite gets to the mouth no mater how slow I eat.... I am a July sleever ... so I am still learning.

[2muchfun 8,927]

Eating small, chewing to applesauce consistency is vital if you're banded. Not following these rules can cause major complications. We see many failures and band slips from forum members who can't cope with this rule.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I have always been a fast eater. As I am preop I have been practicing slowing down and chewing my food. The upside to chewing thoroughly -- I actually get to enjoy the flavor of my food longer. Who knew?

[motherof5 364]

Thanks for the article. I was always a fast eater. it is still a struggle being 5 weeks out. I must say that some distractiosn help me to eat slower. I do enjoy my food more and learned to add more flavor to my foods as well. But i find that the longer I take to eat something, I quickly lose interest in eating it. I will belch or sometimes just satisfied when it is time to quit and tell myself that the next bite could be uncomfortable.

[Kitt3000 757]

Once I slowed down, I noticed how fast my spouse ate. I think part of my speed eating prior to banding, was to finish as quickly as he did. Since being banded, I actually bought a minute timer hour glass to keep turning over between bites. It's been fun and funny. We joke and laugh about it- but he is eating less now that his brain is making the time connection!

[Bryan Graeve 50]

Great article. I was educated on this during my pre-op visit with my dietician, but didn't sink in all the way. So, after a few weeks postop when I could re-introduce soft foods again, I ate my food like I always had before. That did not work out well! I would get bad gas pains, even threw up a couple of times. After a few bad meals, the light finally came on.. I was eating way too fast.

Bottom line, listen to your dietician and train yourself how to eat with your new stomach!

[RiskyGirl21 19]

These are some great eating behavior modifications I can use. I am currently a fast eater. It literally takes about 10 minutes for me to finish a big plate full of food. My family always tells me to slow down and take my time but I never do. I am going to need to start now.