Chew chew chew, who knew?

Chew Chew Train(ing)

 
I have been immersing myself in the world of gastric surgery and what life is like on the other side. Not because I want to be there right NOW, but because I want to know if I can live a life without 90% of my stomach.

Chewing. Chewing is apparently a huge part of this. Digestion occurs in the mouth with saliva. Your stomach secretes acid, but it does not secrete saliva. Saliva breaks down  the foot while it is still inside your mouth and your teeth are so important.

Dear Lord, I have to become a Masticator.

How much chewing? Well, apparently a lot -  I will get to that. I am a food bolter. This is how I typically eat:

Bite, chew, chew, swallow, swig of ice water (or used to be soda).
Each chew was one chomp of the teeth.
CHOMP, Chew, Chew, Swallow - WATER.
Faster, faster, like someone is going to GRAB my food away from me.
And I am done eating well before anyone else, having eaten more food than anyone else.

I grew up with five kids. If you didn't eat fast enough you were not going to get a second piece of mom's fried chicken.

So, how many chews? Some say 30, one said 42 Chew, I have found that chewing until the food is liquified is different depending upon what food it is. A baked potato is going to take more than pudding.I used to do my bite, chew, chew, swallow, rinse method with steak OR pudding. It was just my way. I never even thought about it.


Well. I chewed. I counted at first, but I can't count AND chew, apparently. So I started closing my eyes, feeling the consistency. I noticed two things:

1. Food tastes better with the eyes closed, concentrating on the food
2. You can't chew all the food if you take bites that are too big.

Small Bites are Essential

Taking a large mouthful means that some of the food is going to slip down, mid-chew, still chunky. I have had to cut my food smaller and then chew until the food does not have consistency to it. I mean, chew until it's liquid.

Next: Eating without water, I have been reading, is crucial with gastric surgery. I could not imagine doing that. How would I wash the food down?

Surprisingly, if the food is really chewed until it is liquified, I don't need the water. I don't feel like I am swallowing pills. I take a sip at the end to clear my mouth and then drink after an hour or so.

Water is important, I drink about seventy ounces a day, but I am trying to hold back on drinking anything with my meals. If I can't do it now, how will I do it then?

Here is the crazy part, for the past day and a half I have been eating the exact same stuff, but I have not had the constant diarrhea that I usually have. I don't have a gallbladder and foods just fly through me, but since really chewing and taking smaller bites and not drinking water with the meal, I am finding that I am actually having formed bowel movements without Imodium.

Who knew. I am also burping more. I never burped before except after drinking soda.

So, chewing my food until it is liquified (as gross as that sounds) tastes better, fills me up with less food AND helps me realize that YES, I can live out this part of the gastric sleeve lifestyle.

It feels good to slow down and I am getting less on my shirt now.