Bariatric Cookery

Just another WordPress weblog

TwitterFacebookInstagramUSA

Do You Know The 20:20:20 Rule?

5 Comments

 O

Over the weekend I met over 200 weight-loss surgery patients all at different stages post-op. We chatted about the information we had been given prior to surgery; what we had researched beforehand; what advice we were given to go home with; and what we had learnt since then.   It was more than apparent that some received much better information and support than others, and many felt that they had floundered somewhat at the beginning of their weight-loss journey.

There was lots of conflicting advice too relating to drinking water before, during and after eating with one bariatric team saying one thing and another saying something quite diffferent. All in all it made for a lively discussion!   There were however a few real nuggets of information that seemed to help everyone and are worth passing on…without running the risk of upsetting anyone’s surgeon and bariatric team…where there is generally a good consensus of opinion.   I hope to cover quite a few of these in the coming weeks and months…we’ve already looked at the question of fizzy drinks (see ‘Can You Blow Your Surgery with Fizz’ 28th August 2012 blog) to make this website more a place of reference not just a recipe and food fest (or feast?). We shall archive these in a Bariatric Basics category within the blog for easy referral.  

THE 20: 20: 20 RULE  

One of the best rules I was given and have been reminded of since is the 20:20:20 rule. Nothing like as complicated as the off-side rule in football it simply means:  

Aim (but don’t exceed) to eat 20 mouthfuls of food for a meal, over a 20 minute period of time, chewing each mouthful 20 times and putting your knife and fork down between each mouthful.

 

Other interpretations of this are:

The “20, 20, 20 Rule”

1. Take a small volume of food onto your fork or teaspoon (no bigger than the size of your thumbnail/a 5p piece).
2. Chew the mouthful thoroughly (20 times) before swallowing.
3. Put your cutlery down count to 20 before putting the next mouthful in.
4. Eat in this way for a period of 20 minutes. At this point, stop and walk away. Give yourself 5-10 minutes and then consider whether you are still hungry; if not – stop eating. Discard any food that is left or save for another meal. Only go back to the meal if you genuinely still feel physically hungry – try 3-4 more mouthfuls eaten in the same way and then consider your hunger level again.

In others words:  

Don’t:

*  extend your meal to over 20 minutes

*  under-chew…make sure each mouthful you swallow has been well masticated to the consistency of apple sauce

*  race through your meal without ‘mindfully’ eating it   I would add, eat at a table or without distraction, whenever you can too.   If you have any nuggets you’d like to pass on then do leave a comment or email carol@bariatriccookery.com  Likewise if you have a topic you would like covering then don’t hesitate to flag it up for discussion.   HOPING THIS FINDS YOU WELL…. CAROL    

Related Articles:

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. If you’ve been eating for 20 minutes and you still haven’t finished what’s been served up, do you just chuck it out?

    And what’s behind that part of the rule – not eating for longer than 20 minutes in one sitting?

  2. Hi Jiselle, yes ditch it or save it for another meal but don’t make the mistake of returning shortly afterwards and nibbling until it’s finished or you’ll set up a pattern of grazing throughout the day which isn’t the way forward. The rule about not eating longer than 20 minutes is for pretty much the same reason – eat until satisfied and ‘full’ but not uncomfortable. 20 minutes isn’t arbitrary – it takes the body 15-20 minutes to send signals from the stomach to the brain to say it is satisfied. If you continue to eat beyond those signals you’ll effectively be over-eating for non-physical reasons and if you eat too fast before that 20 minutes you won’t give your brain time to register that the body doesn’t require more food. Hope that helps … it’s a learning curve for sure! C x

  3. I had a gastric sleeve done in August 2015. I was 184kg. I am now 111kg, and still losing weight. I have not been “hungry” since surgery, and have had no, what I would call, “negative outcomes”. Certainly my diet has changed, but I could not go close to your 20-20-20 guideline. I can eat a MAXIMUM of 10 teaspoons of any food at any sitting – whether it be 7 minutes or 10 minutes – and I drink (about 30 – 50 mL) before and after eating. I find the fluid helps my digestion – obviously a personal consideration.

  4. I think the no drinking rule is one of the hardest to adhere to but one certainly worth trying to stick with if at all possible. Food provides the satiety and fluids just helps to wash that away if you get what I mean. I think we all interpret the rules according to our circumstances which differ wildly and then adapt them as time passes. You may well find that drinking just before, during or straight after a meal will hamper long-term results and that you can have more as time goes on. It’s still very early days for you so maybe in time you’ll revise these but it is personal as you say. Good luck with the new regime and make the most of the ‘no hunger’ honeymoon period most post-ops enjoy – sadly for many it doesn’t last forever but it’s great for a time. C x

Trackbacks

  1. […] tedious but it will save you the problem of food getting stuck if you follow the guidelines. Do You Know The 20:20:20 Rule? | Uncategorized | Bariatric Cookery Please click on the above link to read all about it. It is from our friend Carol Ball's wonderful […]

Leave a Comment