Chew, Chew, and Chew Some More!

Hi all,

I am relatively new to the board and have started the process to get an RNY. I have dieted (unsuccessfully) every day of my life since I was about 12.

Today was my first nutritionist's visit. She discussed changes in my eating technique that I need to change. I used to waitress, so I got used to: 1) eating fast 2) taking big bites and 3) only chewing 3 or 4 times before I swallowed. 

This week I must eat one meal per day over 25 minutes (with no distractions), take small bites using baby spoon sizes (I bought 6 of them), and chew my food to an applesauce consistency.

Since i have been taking meditation classes per my physician's suggestion at seminar, I thought that eating would be a breeze. I am good at clearing my mind and doing nothing for 40 minutes.

Boy was I wrong!    At 20 minutes in I was so BORED with chewing and bored with my food, that I threw away the remainder of my lunch to be able to "finish the experiment."

I shall try again at dinner. But I thought chewing, measuring my fullness, and just sitting there would be a breeze.

I was sooo wrong!

I am still looking forward to surgery. 9-out of -9 people that I know that have had it (mainly family members) have told me that they dont regret it at all and to "go for it."

Best wishes!

Man it doesnt take me 25 mins to eat, but Chew Chew chew is a good habit to get into. I started by taking away my drink while I ate. since post op you dont drink while you eat or 30 mins after. Then take normal bites, but put down the fork and chew, 20 time. I physical used to count it out to myself. Then do it again. After a while it becomes habit but its take 'training" to get there.

I can totally relate. I have been trying to chew thoroughly and not drink with my meals. It seems like it would be an easy task, but boy is it hard. I wish you the best of luck and if there are any tips or tricks that you come up with to make this easier, please post.

You won't want to take quite that long to eat after surgery (because it can actually lead to overeating: the food you ate during the first few minutes has already slipped out of the pouch by the time you are eating the end of the meal... so if you aren't measuring food (and most people don;t measure forever) and are relying on feeling full, you can eat way too much before you feel full if you are eating it at about the same rate that it is emptying).

Chewing thoroughly, though, is really important.  It doesn;t ahve to be quite applesauce consistency (some foods just has a texture that will NEVER get to that point), but it is going to be important to chew to "mush".  Doing so consistently will help keep anything from getting "stuck", will help limit the noisiness of your intestines, and (allegedly) helps combat constipation (I haven't seen any medical articles on this, but it is what my surgeon said and I don't have much trouble with it).

Keep in mind that you will be eating FAR less after surgery (and it more likely will be more like 10-15 minutes for a meal very early out, and will include several minutes of waiting between bites)... so the experience post-op will be very different from doing it now.

Lora

I learned hard way that chewing is very important. I used to take a bite, give it a chew or two, and have another bite in my mouth before I was even finished with the first one. That came to a screeching halt!!! I mindlessly did that one time after surgery... The pain - oh my, the PAIN! 

Applesauce consistency. That's now my motto!:)