Since the surgery I have been tuning into my body and paying close attention to everything from my chewing to the new feelings that come along with my band.
We didn't really have to start chewing until we entered the mushies stage last Sunday. The food tasted so good both MS and I found ourselves savoring every last bite. (I'm sorry if this grosses you out) I've even noticed myself moving the food around my whole mouth while I chew so I can enjoy the taste while it's in my mouth. That made me notice something.
I noticed that when I chew for a bit my mouth starts producing a lot more saliva. It's almost like a rush of saliva that just turns on. It seemed like it was almost on queue. So I started counting my chews to see if something triggered it. Just as I thought, when I put food in my mouth and chew it 14 times, my mouth seems to turn on the hose.
I googled it of course and read up on the advantages of chewing longer and actually learned how important saliva is in the digestion process. Here's the article if you're interested: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=36
Now as we are continue to eat 2 - 4 ounce portions, I'm going to challenge myself to chew my food 14 times or more until it just becomes a habit! I'm guessing that the more solid our food becomes the chewing will increase.
I'll leave you with an appropriate quote that I hear people at work say a lot. The use of "gotten" really gets on my nerves but it's a fun quote:
"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten."
Cheers to changing our lives for the better!
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