Eating Slowly

[downsizingdiva 459]

Hey ya'll. I'm still pre-op. I know post op it will take long periods of time to eat and drink and get that all in. But months down the road can you ever eat faster? Just a little concerned because I'm just a fast eater and a fast drinker. I just don't want to have to spend an hour and a half per day eating Slowly.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Hey ya'll. I'm still pre-op. I know post op it will take long periods of time to eat and drink and get that all in. But months down the road can you ever eat faster? Just a little concerned because I'm just a fast eater and a fast drinker. I just don't want to have to spend an hour and a half per day eating Slowly.

You will eventually be able to eat a little faster, but the point is to slow down. Being a fast eater is not a good thing. It doesn't allow time for your brain tell your belly you are full. It's why we are overweight to begin with.

However post op it is also important because you body is healing from having 85% of your stomach removed. Eating to fast can not only be painful, it can cause you to vomit which can be harmful to your still healing stomach. It also can cause dumping or stacking; both of which are painful and uncomfortable.

Practicing slowing down my eating helped me to become more mindful of my food and made it easier to eat slowly post op. Remember, you are embarking on a new life style. Old you raced through your food. New you eats slowly and appreciates each bite.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Blerdgirl

[EmmaKathleen 28]

Still working on this myself! I am a very fast eater as well and re-learning how to eat slower has definitely been a challenge. You really notice a difference when you take a full 30 minutes to eat. One thing I've found helps is multi-tasking while eating. I take a small bite and then read a paragraph of something before taking my next bite. I know some people will say multi-tasking isn't great while eating since you aren't as aware, but I think everyone is different and if it works, it works. Good luck!

[KMCarlson 30]

I tried to practice this pre-op and found it difficult. Now, I am nearly 3 weeks post op, and I find that it's not that difficult at all. Eating a single scrambled egg easily took me 30 minutes. I literally look at a clock and take a bite every 2 minutes. I also agree with EmmaKathleen, doing something else during it definitely helps, even if "they" tell you not to do that. haha I think you'll find it easier post op.

[Zane's Mom 184]

There is an app for slow eating.

I tried pre op and I wasn't really successful.

I still eat faster than I should. And yes the discomfort is always there.

I would encourage anyone pre op to work on it.

[alwaysvegas 702]

I am a fast eater, but am working on it. I am just now moving from mushies to solids this week and mushies were a great learning experience. I found that weighing my food helps tremendously a a fast eater so that I don't overeat. My max meal is about 4oz total. I find that dryer Proteins like ground turkey require much more chewing than Proteins in broth or mixed with a sauce.

When I do overeat it's because I wasn't paying attention to my chewing while eating out with friends. I've ended up with the slimes twice while eating out. But I love the negative reinforcement!

[Wendyfm 494]

I tend to eat too fast. It is only taking me about twenty minutes to finish. I always have trouble with pork, which sits pretty heavy in my stomach. So I do have to chew that a lot, or it sits like a rock in my stomach. I've only foamed about three times and I have thrown up once. I am working on getting slower with my eating.

[Crystal88 85]

I'm a fast eater as well, and it's been a work in progress. I've gotten some stomach aches as a result of eating too quickly, and they aren't aches I want a visit from again. I seem to also struggle with the 30/30 rule; no drinking 30 minutes before or after eating.

Struggles all around for this girl!!

[motherof5 364]

This is my topic. I am a fast eater. At 3 months out I can defintely eat faster. That is the worst thing you can do. The food has to travel and a few times I overate. Not a good feeling. I multi task, like one poster stated. That is the only way for me to slow down. Majority of times, my food will be cold, lol.

[old_rn 110]

I am a fast eater too. I did get the app "eat slow" and it worked great. Bad thing was I have a cheap phone and the app crashed it. Had to do a factory reset. I have slimed 3 times due to eating too fast and you know the instant you swallow that you just crossed the line. I make a point of putting my fork down between bites, eating with childrens silverware and not talking when it eat. It seems to help.

[alwaysvegas 702]

I slimed again yesterday. Darn ground turkey. I'm getting much better, but I still chomp a meal down a bit too fast at times. No harm done. I looooooooooooooove my sleeve!

[ChavaBling 145]

At six months out, I still eat too fast. I throw up several times a week because of this. It is exhausting, makes me feel terrible, and I constantly worry about damaging my sleeve. I'm fine during Breakfast and lunch but dinner is always a struggle. Sitting at the table and removing all distractions really helps me. Also, I struggle to even admit this, but if it is a food that I really like, I have more trouble with eating slowly. The old tendency to "scarf" comes back!

Also- WATER! You have to slow down, and you will, because sliming Water all of the time will get real old, real fast. Little sips at first, but I still can't take more than 1-2 decent sized sips of Water at a time without getting nauseous.

So, at 6 months, I am still struggling with the mental part of all this, but I still feel it was worth it.

[mnmlst 249]

I'm a month post-op and still struggle with this. When I eat too fast, I'm in pain. Most days I do fine, but sometimes I just forget. It's hard to break years and years of habit. It's a learning process. But even on the days that I do really well, I never feel like I spend all day eating slowly. 20-40 minutes per meal, 3x per day. No big deal.