How much do you chew?

I still chew my food into a gazillion pieces. But, now I'm thinking...............if I chew it up until it dissintergrates in my mouth, how is that gonna feel my pouch?? Are you not chewing as well as right after surgery? Should we not be pulverizing our food? I know if I don't chew enough, it lays on my chest and I hurt, but, maybe I chew too much. What do you guys think?? Shar

I meant to type..........how is it gonna FILL my pouch ? (not feel)

Shar Can you chew too much? LOL I eat about the same as right after surgery. Like you if I eat too fast or if I don't chew my food enough I get a heaviness in my chest also and usually end up throwing up. :barf And I hate that. I think it is best to continue doing what we are use to. Jan

Hi Shar, I still chew, chew and chew my food. We were just talking about this last night at our post op class. We still need to chew everything really well because our stomachs can't break down the food like it used to. So I think it is still a very good idea to chew everything up till it is really small. I can sure tell the difference when I accidently swallow a piece that is not chewed up. It hurts going down. I would continue to do what you are doing.

I chew chew chew or I just end up becoming a volcano .. .. my pouch is only 3 oz .. after that I am soooooooooooo sick Lisa

Great question! I actually don't chew as much as I did when I first had my surgery. But I still make sure I chew things pretty well. My problem isn't so much chewing than eating too quickly... I often forget and start to inhale my food.... then my chest starts to hurt which is a quick reminder to slooooowwww down!

This is a great question! If it's dense protein, I chew the hell out of it so I won't barf. But, if it's cereal and bananas or something like that, I don't chew it that much because it keeps me full longer. I've noticed that if I chew everything to a liquid, it doesn't stay in my pouch.

It seems like a gadzillion times! Actually I chew most dense proteins at least 20+ times. Smoother and mushier things don't get the same attention and time, but those dense foods sure do! OR ELSE...I pay for it.