Having a really hard time learning to slow down my eating - HELP!

[MaryRN66 49]

I had my lap band surgery 6 weeks ago and lost 18 pounds so far - YAY! However, I am still struggling with eating more slowly and, yes, I've had episodes of PB (ewwww) but I've been gulping my food all my life and I'm struggling with this very important part of my new life post-lapband.

I welcome all suggestions and stories on how others have learned how to slow down their eating so I can be successful long-term with my own.

Thanks all!

Mary

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

People use phone apps to time their bites. For me I just try to really focus on fully swallowing one bite before putting my fork into the next one. For me this is really hard to do. I was a fast eater.

Also I find it really beneficial to interrupt my meal by physically getting up and walking. Like a bathroom break. About halfway into the meal. It helps my appestat recognize I've eaten something and that I'm not ravenous anymore. That five minutes helps me feel a satiety signal.

I don't always do these tricks, but when I do I eat less and feel better afterward.

Good luck!

[TheProfessor 378]

Yep, I hear you, MaryRN!

"Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew ... until it's a paste. ONLY THEN, SWALLOW." - best advice I ever got!

Like many banders, I was a CHOW-HOUND and bolted meals really, really fast. As a College professor, I have ten minutes between classes to get food down, so I would throw nutrition down my throat in record time as a matter of necessity and survival. Sometimes I would have 6 hours of teaching consecutively, with ten minute breaks, so this was all I could do.

One of my biggest fears about getting banded was the required post-surgical 'adjustment' to eating slooooooooooooowly. I thought I would have a problem with this, given my super-power of stuffing food down in seconds, but the transition into eating this way has actually been easy. The threat of negative consequences (food getting stuck, pouch dilatation, vomiting) scared me into slowing down. I just keep hearing my surgeon's words in my ears:

"Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew ... until it's a paste. ONLY THEN, SWALLOW."

I find it helps to take a moment before each meal to set my intention: "Ok now, slowly and mindfully". Only when I have said this, do I pick up my fork. Then for each little bite (no bigger than 2 blueberries) I hear in my head "chew, chew, chew, chew, chew... until it's a paste. Only then do you swallow".

This mindfulness has worked for me well so far, 3 weeks post-op. :-)

Your lap-band will be happy, you will not PB, and you will not have any problems with stuck food. Yaay! Add to that, your slowed down, calm approach to eating will allow that awesome feeling of satiety will happen more quickly because you are giving your brain time to catch up with your band.

[gowalking 10,790]

Small utensils..like baby forks and spoons.

DO NOT watch TV while eating. sit at the table and pay attention so you can eat slower

Use an app or just an old fashioned timer so you keep time so you can eat slower

It takes time, but you'll get the hang of it.

Good luck!

[zoeiyla 6]

I use one of my daughter feeding baby spoons other wise i gulp really fast, had my first fill today which is a relief

[TheProfessor 378]

Yes yes yes to small forks and little spoons. Buying small "jam/dip" spoons and oyster forks (three tines) at Bed, Bath and Beyond have been a big help, plus buying some really beautiful dessert-sized plates to have my meals on.

Makes the experience of eating more of a special event. The smaller, more narrow tines on the fork keeps me limited to those small bites. No vomiting or productive burps yet...!

[alexsisv 139]

Make sure you don't have distractions like TV or your phone. Focus on listening to your new tummy.

[Jugido64 78]

Seriously count 60 seconds between bites! It may feel foolish at first but it'll save you from slimeing or vomiting.

[B-52 7,113]

Eventually you will get tired of PB'ing...if you get burned every time you touch a hot stove, then eventually you learn your lessons and stop touching hot stoves.

The band, if adjusted, will bring about...FORCE...behavior modification, breaking bad habits...unless you like getting stuck and having everything come back up.

One can get Fluid taken out, and have their cake and eat it too. It's a choice with the band.

Of course, we all make mistakes, forget, and have accidents from time to time...bet we get better and wiser as time goes on.

When I'm at the gym working up a good sweat, I have from time to time grabbed the Water bottle and starting chugging it down...completely forgetting what is about to happen next.

[Dukeuni 2]

This is the one thing that has really concerned me. I am on day 13 (no fills on the band yet), and while on the liquid diet, I did try eggs one time and Pasta, and had pretty bad pain.

QUESTION: I can eat a 16 ounce bowl of Soup without really any pain now. I can also drink a normal amount of shakes, Water, etc. without pain. Why is it that just eating a normal size (too big probably) of Pasta caused a LOT of pain at my chest and made me think I was going to throw-up?

[gowalking 10,790]

This is the one thing that has really concerned me. I am on day 13 (no fills on the band yet), and while on the liquid diet, I did try eggs one time and Pasta, and had pretty bad pain.

QUESTION: I can eat a 16 ounce bowl of Soup without really any pain now. I can also drink a normal amount of shakes, Water, etc. without pain. Why is it that just eating a normal size (too big probably) of Pasta caused a LOT of pain at my chest and made me think I was going to throw-up?

alot of bandsters cannot tolerate pasta. you may be one of them. I'm presuming you are in the mushy stage at this point. try to avoid carbs...they are not good for you. eat Protein based mushies instead. refried Beans, hummus, yogurt, etc. much better for you than pasta or mashed potato, etc. good luck.

[TheProfessor 378]

Dukeuni - I'm new to this, too, just having been banded December 18th myself, but I'll take a stab at answering your question.

In my non-expert opinion, it may be both an issue with the quality of the food you're eating, (liquid, mushy, solid...) at the post-surgical recovery stage your at, as well as the quantity f food you're putting on your fork with each bite.

If you tried a solid food like Pasta (typically not tolerated well by a lot of banders in the first place) or egg, while you were supposed to be on fluids, the discomfort was probably your lap-band's way of saying "too soon"! Your stomach/ oesophagus needs time to heal, so you may have been a little quick to re-introduce solid food.< /p>

THAT SAID, and you were green-lighted to start soft food (or solid food) it could have been that you took too big a bite. Remember that there is only a very small pouch above the band, and no bite of ANYTHING solid should be larger than 2 blueberries. (I know, it seems so tiny!)

You say fluids are no problem, but experienced pain with solids, sounds like you had a food sticking incident. Getting a big bolus of food "stuck" above the band feels horrible - pressure in your chest, a crushing feeling... and no amount of lifting your arms up, jumping up and down, etc. can clear it. It just takes time. Get something good and stuck, and you risk having it come back up.

Small bites, make sure you chew at least 20x until everything is paste, then swallow. Put your fork down, wait 30 seconds or so, repeat!

Hope this long-winded answer helps a little.

[cheryl2586 3,053]

Well sometimes you just have to realize what will happen if you don't stop eating fast and pbing. Every time food gets stuck you are forcing your band into the stomach wall. Over time erosion will happen if that doesn't slow you down then I don't know what would. I was a fast eater but learned what the consequences could be if I continued eating that way.

[Dukeuni 2]

Thanks for the answers to my question.

I thought that after the surgery the band was not tight yet? I thought it only was tightened when you went in for your first fill? Is the band already tightened in my stomach?

[MarieMarie 346]

They have already filled the band to 3 or 4