Lately there have been some questions posed to me by patients and Diane LeMont, our program psychologist, about the recommendation that patients who have had bariatric surgery try to eat their meals very slowly, over at least 30 to 45 minutes. He has always recommended the adage, “one bite every 10 minutes”. Some patients are claiming that they have never heard this advice, or that the dieticians are not stressing this in class. I want to reiterate in this forum that the doctor still advises patients to eat in this fashion to preserve the size and shape of their pouch and anastamosis.

Remember, many insurance companies are not covering revision or second bariatric surgeries for weight gain. It is vital that patients eat slowly, chew their food well and stop eating when they feel full to maximally protect the pouch and stoma from stretching!