Small Bites & Chewing

[di1138 8]

I will be banded on 8/22 (my 38th wedding anniversary!) My doctor does not require much of a pre-op diet so I thought I would try to change my bad habits starting today.. I bought a toddlers fork & spoons. So I used them to eat my scrambled eggs. Tried to remember two chew chew chew and took small bites.

I soon learned it wasn't as easy as I thought. It took so long that I actually lost interest in what I was eating. Now that is a first! I now understand why people post that you have to concentrate while eating or you will get in trouble! Please share your experiences. Thanks

[Jachut 487]

I think losing interest in what you're eating is half the success behind the band! It is not that difficult to do once the band is there becuase you learn pretty quickly the bad effects of NOT doing it.

[mtnman428 1]

So I have a question kind of brought on by this post. I start solid foods on Wednesday, and I'm just wondering what to try and start with and should I really buy a baby fork and spoon??? I''ve heard the take very small bites and chew, chew, chew advice; which, I will take, but what should I start with for my first day?? chicken, burger, eggs, toast, canned veggies, raw veggies????? I don't want to be PB'ing my first meal. Although does that even happen before any fills? Thanks...maybe I should've put this in a new thread.

[brandda 0]

Every once in a while I forgot and eat to fast and don't chew enough or I eat soemthing I shouldn't that gets stuck. It's uncomfortable till I get it out, but not the end of the world.

[wickedme 0]

I am working on the chewing, eating slower too.. its not easy. Last night we had flatbread spinach and feta pizza and I ate two tiny slices without even realizing it,, thank god they weren't burgers or something.. I always used to eat slow, but my husbands doesn't and I have picked up his habits. He said he was going to work on it with me.. I read somewhere to dim the lights when eating an you won't eat as fast either?? I bought a smaller plate to put on top of a regular dinner plate,, really need to start using it. I have stepped up my exercising which has not been easy because of leg pain and I don't want to jeopardize it by hoggin' down my food... I probably won't get a date till some time in October and it is a really a good thing because I have some things to work on!!!

[slim2be 0]

When I started my solid food I didn't have anything that would be too difficult or take too long to chew. I started using a cake plate, instead of my regular size dinner plate and the smaller cake fork. My kids asked me why I was using these and I said it just makes me feel like my plate is filled. It's all in the mind and I didn't want to feel that my food was such a small portion and got "lost" on my plate.

Lisa :thumbup:

[It's_Christine 0]

The best advice I got about how much to chew is this: pay attention to how pureed food feels in your mouth and then chew all of your food to that "feeling" before you swallow. If you work on that goal the amount you put in your mouth automatically changes. The other good thing about this is you can eat almost anything you want/like as long as you are willing to put the work into it :-)

Good luck.

[HeatherO 7]

Small forks and spoons are good for learning to eat small but you could forgo them as long as you are careful. Pay attention and fill your spoon or fork by 1/4'ths or something similar. When I was first banded the said my Protein should be cut as small as a kernel of corn.

However, a saucer is really helpful because without it, I was still overfilling my larger plate beyond my capacity. My mind was out of touch with portions and my eyes are always bigger than my stomach if you catch my drift.

One problem directly after banding is if you overfill your plate, it is easy to overfill your pouch and then there is a hefty price to pay. Six months out, I still sometimes take too much but I know better than to overeat so I end up feeding my garbage disposal. I now have internal signals that tell me "you must not take another bite" and I have learned to listen to them.

One of the biggest things to learn with banding is "mindful eating." Have you ever noticed that if you are eating something like a bag of chips that you truly "taste" the first few bites and as you move along you don't taste anything much anymore you are just eating to eat?

What is amazing to me now six months out is that I enjoy food now more than I ever did, and that is the last thing I would have expected. When you eat so little, you truly learn to appreciate the tastes and textures of what you are eating. If you are preparing for banding, you can also start this now as well. Take a bite of something and really discover the taste and textures of what you are eating.

[dacoz21 0]

I am getting banded next monday and was just curious on how do you get things unstuck, drink something or eat something or do you just wait??

Thanks

Chris

[HeatherO 7]

I am getting banded next monday and was just curious on how do you get things unstuck, drink something or eat something or do you just wait??

Thanks

Chris

Eating more just makes it hurt worse and puts more pressure on what is already stuck. Drinking something for me just makes me go from being uncomfortably stuck to a mad dash to the restroom to let it all out, which is not good if you want to avoid slippage. The only choice for me is to really wait it through.

[Emilie1 3]

I decided in June that I wanted to be banded and since then have been researching and practicing how to eat. I figured if I could not commit to eat right before surgery the band might not work for me. I chew and chew almost all of the time.(sometimes I forget, but usually not for more than a bite or two) After I have chewed it to death I start to swallow and then (this is gross) spit it back up and chew a little more. I see it like a bird feeding its babies.

One thing I agree with is that I tend to loose interest in eating or it is just not as enjoyable.

Oh also, since June(about two months now) I have lost 21 lbs. Yea:thumbup:!

[melboyd 0]

I have been reading a lot of these posts trying to get as much information as I can before my surgery and they have been great! I never knew there was so much info out there. I do have kind of a silly question however. I have read on many post and in this thread as well people referring to "pb-ing" and I have no idea what that is. I didn't want to sound like an idiot but figured I'd never find out if I didn't ask.

Thanks. :confused2:

[mtnman428 1]

A PB is a Productive Burp. It is when you swallow food that cannot stay down for some reason or another (ex: not chewing enough, too big of a bite, wrong type food, etc...) It regurgitates back up. I've had no fills or solid food yet, so I cannot describe how it feels, but it doesn't sound too exciting!:wink2:

[Leather 0]

PBing hurts like hell. Its tons of pressure in your chest until the stuff comes up. Ouch!

[melboyd 0]

Thanks for the info! I will be sure to try and avoid that!!