How long do you wait between bites?

My doc says 10 minuted, but I am practicing right now and waiting 5 minutes is torture enuf. How do you all keep your food hot??

I'm sure it varies for everyone.  I still have trouble taking small bites, so I take a normal sized bites, chew chew chew, swallow a bit at time, chew more, swallow again, etc etc.....so far no problems.

 

 

I'm at a different point than you are since I have been banded quite a while.  I say that because, I would suggest you follow your doctor's recommendation when you are newly banded.  S/he knows more about you and your band than I do.

That said, the amount of time that I wait between bites varies by day.  It depends on how tight my band is (which generally means I am not fully hydrated), how hungry I am (well, I don't get physically hungry so that really means how hungry I think I am) and the setting (am I at home, at a restaurant, etc.).  On most days, I wait 2-3 minutes between bites.  But, seriously, there are days when it is 10-15 minutes.  It's a matter of knowing my band and my body.  That is something that you will learn as you go through your journey.

Ok, thanks for the info. I have 1 week and 5 days to go!!

OMG THIS IS PROBABLY MY WORST STRUGGLE....

Dr said 10 mins for me as well....

i take like 2 bites one after the other then wait like 5 min......if that!

And my food dose get cold!!!!!!!!!!

I always get up to re heat my food it is soooo anoying!


grrrrr.....................................................


today i had a half a turkey sandwich for luch and a half cup of diced peaches..............took me about 50 mins to eat and i was STUFFED.....i wanted to vomit.....

 

10 min seems like a really long time to me.  I'm supposed to spend 20-30 mins for meals; which would only be 2-3 bites.  I try to wait at least a minute.  I try to put my fork down and swallow and wait a little bit but well i'm still learning. 

something I was told for keeping food hot is to buy one of those coffee mug warmers put ur food in the mug and it will stay warm:)

I agree with the above post, if you waited 10 minutes that is only a few bites and after 30 minutes you are supposed to be done.  How could you get all your protein in?  I don't have any fluid yet, so it's not an issue for me yet.

I posted on this last week and said we are to take eraser/pea sized bites and wait three minutes.  Kristi pointed out that you wouldn't be able to eat the required amount in 30 minutes.  She was right.  We are told to use a 1 minute timer between bites and the 2 to 3 minutes was for meat.  So, this is the info from my NUT. 

Now my Psych recommended putting down the silverware between bites and waiting a couple minuted to get ready.  But, I took much bigger bites back than.

Personally, I don't time between bites.  I take small, pea sized bites and chew till applesauce consistency before swallowing.  As soon as a bite goes in my mouth, I put down my fork & don't pick it up till I've swallowed.  I give in a bit to make sure it's going down ok..you know pretty quick, then I'll start on my next bite.  I do know (for me) that if I let myself get really hungry, I eat too fast & get stuck.  So I really try to eat every 4 hours so I don't have issues.  Oh and I try to not eat anything with my fingers cause I take BIG bites that ways.  I also always use my baby spoons & ****tail forks to reinforce the size of the bites.

Good luck on your surgery!
Lisa

10 MINUTES between bites???  That is absurd!   That would mean 3 bites in the 20 minute meal time ideal for bandsters.

Put your fork down between bites. Wait 30 seconds, then more is fine.

10 MINUTES?????  sorry...

A bandster meal should take 20 minutes or so max. We should be easily able to eat our 1-1.5 cup meals in this time. If we eat longer, food is leaving the pouch as we put more in the top-and we can eat way too much and sabotage our loss. Grazing like this just does not work with the band.

As far as keeping food hot - try this:  I got one to check it out, and it's great!

hotsmart.blogspot.com/

It's a new patented ceramic plate that stays hot
for half hour and requires only one minute preheating in a
full size microwave oven.
The rim stays cool for safe easy
handling with the bare hands.

VERY neat!! I'll make a separate post about this again, for anyone else interested.

Also available on Amazon.com - check prices.

Sandy R, BSN, MN
Band Educator
at goal > 5.5 yrs