what is the difference between....

[ValleyGirl]

chewing your food to smithereens and choosing softer foods? It doesn't amke sense to me that we are supposed to avoid soft or mushy foods if we chew everything to a paste anyway. Isn't it the same?

Sabrina:)

[CanadianBandster]

thats how I felt too - but I just followed the rules

[karenlynn79]

I THINK that when you chew more, you send signals to your brain that you are eating. So I am thinking that if you just eat easy foods, your brain doesn't think you chewed as much and doesn't signal you that you're full?? Kind of guessing here....

[dejongshy]

I think alot of it has to do with the make up of mushy foods, they tend to be high in carbs/calories, and we are supposed to be eating protein rich foods that require more chewing like steak, chicken, fish...

Just my take... But I love mashed potatoes with gravy....

shy

[ValleyGirl]

For me it is avacodos and refried beans (with no added fat)- love them both but they are both mushy so I don't know if I should stay away from them. They are healthy mushies, so are they okay?

[mona-camille]

For me it is avacodos and refried beans (with no added fat)- love them both but they are both mushy so I don't know if I should stay away from them. They are healthy mushies, so are they okay?

Bean are fine as they are loaded with protein and other nutrients. Avocados are loaded with fat, albeit good fat. Still very high on the calorie scale though. I'd limit avocados as much as possible but every now and then should be fine.

I too, never understood the concept of avoiding muchy food and liquids and at the same time being told to chew food until it is liquid. But, the brain signal thing would make sense.

[dejongshy]

Another thing that I kind of remember is that you need to have food stay in your pouch for 20min. at a certain level for a chemical reaction from your brain to tell your body that you are full. So mushy/soft foods go straight through and other tend to stay in the pouch longer... (Can you say run on sentences...) Wow... Not sure but I remember something about that.

[fatfreeme]

I have a totally different take on what "mushy" means. From what I have been reading, in the world of weight loss surgery (both GBP and LB), mushy means to be mushed/semi blended. So if you were to take a few avocado pieces I think you would be fine. If you puree the avocado and add a liquid to make it almost the consistancy of baby food then that would be a "mushy". Anything the consistancy of baby food or a bit thicker to begin with is a mushy and would go through your band straight away. When you chew the food 30 times it 1. it takes longer to eat giving your body a chance to catch up and tell your brain when its full (it takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the signal).2. Our mouths were ment to chew food that is why we have teeth, chewing food also helps regulate the gastric juices to break down food.

Dont know if this helped. Good luck. Beans and avo's are okay. Avocado's are rich in good fat...but high in calories as you well know. So eat in moderation.