Tip for Newbies and Pre-Opers - EAT SLOWLY

[Wanda247 908]

Hello guys,

I am 4.5 months post op and I still have a problem with eating too fast at times, I just wanted to suggest if you are pre-op try practicing eating slowly now so that you can get used to eat and newbies please continue to eat slow,

I said all of this because eating too fast can literally mess up your whole day, I'm speaking from experience. I ran to the store on my lunch break so I didn't have much time left to eat and I was all tuned up for my smoked salmon, 7 multigrain crackers and 5 grapes...I ate a few bites so fast, all of a sudden a feeling came over me, the food was just sitting at the top of my stomach I started feeling bad, lost my whole appetite and still feeling pretty crappy. I KNOW BETTER but it happens.

I wanted to share this so that you all do not have to experience this

Hopefully I will feel better by dinner time.

I wish you guys all the best on your journeys.

[anonbaribabe 236]

I just started on soft food and it's sooo hard to eat slowly. One thing that's helped me is making sure that I'm hydrated, so that my hunger doesn't escalate. The hungrier I am, the faster I want to eat. Making sure that I'm drinking Water frequently has helped.

[Samantha T 41]

This is one of my biggest fears once I have my surgery. I'm always in such a hurry so I eat fast and when I drink I gulp. I've been trying to start chewing more and taking smaller sips but sometimes I just completely forget until I finish what I was eating or drinking.

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[Wanda247 908]

21 minutes ago, anonbaribabe said:

I just started on soft food and it's sooo hard to eat slowly. One thing that's helped me is making sure that I'm hydrated, so that my hunger doesn't escalate. The hungrier I am, the faster I want to eat. Making sure that I'm drinking Water frequently has helped.

Yes my day is kinda off today and I think that's what happened to me...I was really hungry.

[Wanda247 908]

18 minutes ago, Samantha T said:

This is one of my biggest fears once I have my surgery. I'm always in such a hurry so I eat fast and when I drink I gulp. I've been trying to start chewing more and taking smaller sips but sometimes I just completely forget until I finish what I was eating or drinking.

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I was the same way before surgery, but practice now because it's not a good feeling. I wish you all the best on your upcoming surgery 😉

[GradyCat 3,695]

That's good advice. I think I've done it twice already just in my 2 weeks since being on real foods at 5 weeks post-op and it was like I got too much air in my stomach and I ended up feeling yucky and full and spit up some foam because I ate too fast. Now I'm trying to be more careful and eat more slowly.

[Jean9 57]

I'm 3 weeks out and yes eat and drink slowly! I forget sometimes and will take a couple big gulps of Water and omg...I start to feel sick to my stomach. It goes away but not a good feeling to have. Also i have been eating slowly but i dont like it cause my food gets cold lol

Jeannine

[SteveT74 359]

I am sure everyone of us eats too fast at times. It happens--and it sucks. At least twice in the past two weeks I ate to fast and then had to run to the garbage pale or toilet to throw up. Only usually not much in the way of food comes up, but the foamies--ugh. It can suck for an hour or so for me. It's not always predictable either. I can eat to fast at one meal and feel totally fine--but a few meals later the same pace will have me bent over the toilet. What can ya do??? You can practice all you want, but unless you have 45 minutes to an hour to eat every meal (which I certainly don't!), you just have to take it in stride. Break up your meals, so you have a few small meals instead of two or three big ones. Make sure you weigh out your food (which becomes more important when you're eating solids [I was just approved for solids]). This will help ensure you're not eating too much volume.

For me, the biggest issue isn't with overeating--it's freakin' Constipation. Eating too fast is my fault and the consequences last an hour or so, but the constipation can last a couple of days!! Even so, I'll take all the issues and then some because the weight loss results are totally worth it!!!

[walleyecrazy 120]

Definitely eat slowly, and when you thinking you are eating slow enough then slow down a little more lol. I have concentrated on eating my food slowly since my surgery, and in the 15 months since have yet to throw up from eating. I concentrate on keeping it slow and generally know about how much I can eat now. Shortly after surgery though where you are still learning your new stomach it is a little more difficult. I found for me that I just concentrated on staying slow, and at the first sign of any discomfort I stopped eating. What I found was that the discomfort was generally a small amount of gas trying to work it’s way out of my stomach as the stomach became full. Following this method has worked great, and as I said I have been lucky enough to have not thrown up since my surgery. I read all the horror stories of people constantly throwing up while eating, and that was all it took to make me really concentrate on this part of my recovery and new eating habits.

[angie_is_losing_it 90]

Sometimes reading everyone's experiences makes me super nervous for surgery. I am actually pretty scared. I just finished all my requirements and now it will get submitted to insurance...so it's getting closer.

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[Wanda247 908]

13 hours ago, wreckitangie said:

Sometimes reading everyone's experiences makes me super nervous for surgery. I am actually pretty scared. I just finished all my requirements and now it will get submitted to insurance...so it's getting closer.

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Don't be scared, there is just a lot of information on this site that folks are kind enough to share but can be very overwhelming, everyone's experiences are totally different. Follow what your doctor says and you will do fine. Look at a lot of the advice as worst case scenario. Make it work for you.

I was so overwhelmed when I first joined this site and started reading but you take what works for you and what doesn't then look at it as " just good to know information"

You will get into your groove and be just fine.

Congratulations!! you got this! ((Hugs))

[Boldilocks 312]

Thank you for posting this! My nutritionist brought it up last week too at a group meeting. It is really hard for me to take small bites and chew well. The mushier something gets in my mouth, the more skeeved out I get. But I know that I'll have to be very careful with this. It must be so hard when you're hungry to eat tiny amounts. It is so counter-intuitive even though you know how small your stomach is. I hope you're having a better day today!

[domi 237]

@SteveT74 try adding benefiber to your Water. It is flavorless and helps tremendously.

[SteveT74 359]

16 hours ago, wreckitangie said:

Sometimes reading everyone's experiences makes me super nervous for surgery. I am actually pretty scared. I just finished all my requirements and now it will get submitted to insurance...so it's getting closer.

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Honestly, any complaints you read on here, with few exceptions are nitpicks. I am sooooooo glad I had the surgery!!! It was the best decision I ever made!!! Yeah, there are some sucky parts to the process, but the rewards outweigh the sucky parts by such a huge margin that it's really a no brainer. If you're at 360, you have more to fear remaining at your current weight than you do having the surgery. Just do it!!!! Honestly, the surgery was a piece of cake.

[november11 970]

On ‎1‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 4:37 PM, SteveT74 said:

Honestly, any complaints you read on here, with few exceptions are nitpicks. I am sooooooo glad I had the surgery!!! It was the best decision I ever made!!! Yeah, there are some sucky parts to the process, but the rewards outweigh the sucky parts by such a huge margin that it's really a no brainer. If you're at 360, you have more to fear remaining at your current weight than you do having the surgery. Just do it!!!! Honestly, the surgery was a piece of cake.

yeah what he said.....