Chewing vs inhaling

So, I tried to eat a little chicken yesterday. I was so looking forward to it. Wee bite sized pieces of marinated chicken breast. I know I really should've pureed it ... but I figured my mouth is a built in blender, so why spend 2 minutes doing something with an appliance that I can do with my mouth! Uber uber big mistake!

First slice (less than thumb size), I chewed and chewed (25 times .. yes, I actually counted!). It was kinda disgusting. Sooo sloppy you can barely believe you're going to swallow it! And taste? Well, after 25 chews it was the equivalent of chewing gum that's lost it's taste. But it went down without incident. Just as I popped the next slice into my mouth, I was slightly distracted by my malfunctioning washing machine. I have no idea how many times I chewed but I'm guessing it was probably less than 5. I swallowed without thinking. Almost instantaneously, I got a pain in my chest - just between my boobs. Oh. My. Gawd. It bloomin' hurt! The kind of hurt that brings tears to your eyes. The pain passed 30 seconds later.

I realise I have a lot to re-learn about eating. Put simply .. I need to learn to chew versus inhaling! Attend to my food when eating rather than mindlessly stuffing my face. Hopefully I will only be as thick as to require minimal uncomfortable experiences to learn. Gawd, I hope so!

Today, I visited my favourite Italian restaurant. I thought while I was in town I might treat myself to a bowl of soup for lunch. This whole eating out thing with friends is going to be bizarre! I mean, today for example, in the time it took me to eat 1/2 bowl of soup, the women sitting beside me had polished off a glass of wine, 2 glasses of water and a bowl of pasta each! Previously, I would've beaten them hands down (twice!) had I been eating the same thing they'd ordered let alone a measley bowl of soup!

After 1/2 bowl of soup, I was content. Not stuffed. Not hungry. Just nice. This feeling was followed up by a small burp (which apparently is a 'soft' sign that you're full ... if you ignore this and keep eating, you could cause yourself to puke).

You know what the best part was?! When the bill came it only cost me 5 GBP! That was for soup and a bottle of water (which I stashed in my bag after only taking two sips during lunch). My bill used to be around 18 GBP before I had the band! This funky little thing is going to pay for itself just by slashing my grocery and eating out bills!