Help how to slow down

[jackie's journey 18]

Hi I'm three weeks postoperative and for the first time experienced pain from eating too much Soup. How do you all know when to stop eating? The pain happens after I've finished eating and not during eating. My brain thinks of dinner as a full meal. I have to get it rewired somehow.

[jackie's journey 18]

Did it again. One too many bites and I feel like my throat us being strangled.

[mlm28 27]

Hi Jackie, I am nearly 3 months out and still have this problem..I try to eat 2-3 spoons and take a break and start again. I have huge issues with chewing...not chewing enough and get sick soon after I swallow the food.

[gahannagal 31]

Check with your program. My program suggests eating with a baby spoon, and put the spoon down between bites. I had someone suggest chewing 200 times between bites. I think it is exaggerated but the point is it will slow you down and your food will do down much easier. I too have had to learn to slow down. They want us to take 20 min to eat. Since I am still eating about 1/4 cup of food at a time it doesn't take long to eat it. I am 6 weeks out and there are only two items I can eat more than 1/4 cup. Maybe you are like me and can't go to the higher amounts yet. I wish you luck in slowing down because you will feel so much better! Oh and one time I figured out it was the food I was eating. I suspected an allergy before surgery and after I got really sick so I confirmed the allergy. You can do this!

[jackie's journey 18]

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. I will keep you posted.

[fezik23 240]

I have an app called Eat Slower.

[Cupcake 801]

I agree using a baby spoon helps you control how much you eat and perhaps only putting 1/2 cup of Soup in a bowl at a time u used a. Baby bowl and this help me a lot good luck and congrats on your choice to be healthy .

[AmyC65 34]

A few of those "too full" incidents really helped me to be aware of my eating. I stop before I'm done, sit for a few minutes then wait and see if I'm full. It definitely hits me after I'm done eating, so I've been in a lot of discomfort a few times. Everything I read says to eat slowly. For me, I hate to really pay attention. Especially if the TV is on, I zone out and can keep eating then be in trouble.

[Doxie Mom of 3 6]

I concur with the above posters. When I eat I use a small bread plate or my small child sized Mickey Mouse bowl or ramikin for Soups etc. small bites and put your utensil down in between bites. Small utensils I have not tried but my Dr. Did mention it now that I read the above post, I had forgotten about that. Love this board

[Jonathan Blue 311]

The baby spoon suggestion above is absolutely the best suggestion I can give you in terms of avoiding taking in too much at a time. Typically even if you are taking one bite after another, you should not be able to take too much. The other thing that worked really well for me was to divide my meal into three parts and eat them 10 minutes apart. That way I was sure to spread it out over the course of the full 30 minutes and then using the baby spoon helped tremendously. I am one eyar psot op and I still have a fond attachment to eating icecream with a baby spoon lol.

[alibye 14]

I measure my food before I put it on my plate. By doing that, I can reassure myself I won't over eat my pouch. Then, when I find I am 2/3 of the way through my meal, I take a break. Ask myself, do I want the rest of that? A lot of the time, my little dog gets the rest. Sometimes I finish. My pouch seems to be comfortable with 2.5 ounces Max right now.

[Marathongirl 106]

In the beginning I would take a small bite, put my spoon or fork down, then count to 60. So, I would wait a minute in between bites. It really helped me. I'm 8 months out and sometimes I still do this so I know that I am taking 25 mins to eat my meal. Good Luck!

[Beni 1,484]

The best suggestion someone gave me was to read while eating. Eat a bite - read a page. Repeat. I have to find something to occupy my mind while I eat or I will try to race to the next thing I have to do. I think that's the main reason I eat fast.

[Larly109 19]

My doctor advises chewing a minimum of 20 times before swallowing. Your food should be the texture and thickness of baby food before you try to swallow. Stop every 2-3 bites and think about how you feel - are you satisfied? If the answer is yes, then stop eating. You want to stop eating before you feel full. You can always have a little more to eat later if you didn't eat enough - so much better than eating too much and being miserable!

[charsa99 2]

I was having the same problem even though I chewed my food well then I heard someone say they timed 2 min between bites. Now I don't have the pain if I stick to doing it. Just set your timer on your phone then i restart just before the alarm goes off. Good luck.