I don't remember what stage of the process you are at. But what about chewing on some beef jerk, and spit it out if your not at the stage where you can eat it.. Mind you I wouldn't want that do that to often in case it became a habit or it could turn into a binge purge type response. But if you are in a real pickle I guess you could try it. I am just answering the question that you asked not necessarily recommending it. Good luck, I remember what is was like, all I wanted to do was nah on something. Take comfort that you will be on to the next phase pretty soon.

Darn, thought I had some suggestions, but everything I began to write down would just replace food with a different habit that may be hard to break (chewing on a straw, toothpick, etc.).

What about chewing on ice?

i had to have celery at almost every meal the 1st 5 months to just get the crunch i craved. most of my snack back then was yogurt dip with celery or baby carrots. i would avoid any chewing between meals. we all have that problem of medicating with chewing for nerves or boredom. it is a habit we are supposed to be breaking. consider replacing it with sipping your fluids. at 8 months out i still feel the desire to crunch, especially while driving or being on the computer but i choose not to....and yes, it was very hard in the beginning to break that habit. it took a lot of prayer.

Chew gum! Seriously...chew gum! I'm not saying all the time but once in a while it's great just to give you some flavour early out. I do have to be careful about the sugar alcohols increasing my gas.

I was craving some flavour and ended up having a piece of sugarless gum a couple months out. I accidently swallowed it and started to panic. I went on OH and someone told me I would have to go to the ER and have my stomach scoped. I could die...it could get stuck...blah blah blah. I was beside myself.

My husband said to drink a bunch of water and just relax because I eat food that is much bigger than a small piece of gum.I was still freaking out so I emailed my surgeon and he got back to me right away. I figured he'd tell me to go to the ER...scold me...etc. NOPE...he told me to drink a bunch of water and relax. My husband was cracking up!

I started using Kale chips that I bake off to give me my salty crunch when I need it. But honestly, I chew gum, have swallowed it once and lived to tell! :-)

haha..that's classic! 3 days later.

Yup..I've broken that rule too. Just plain popcorn in a paper bag in the microwave. But...that's now that I am a year out. I didn't have popcorn early on. I have about a cup or two and it satisfies me when I am in a munchy mood. I figure it's way better than reaching for the potato chips!

Honestly, nothing has ever been "stuck" but I try to eat slowly. The stories people come up with truly make me laugh about what will happen to them.

Now..I am not advocating breaking the rules...just using some common sense. :-)

Don't chew and spit out food. That is not a good thing. I have been told it is very habit forming. I had the same temptation post-op, talked to the MD about it, and was strongly discouraged.

I don't have suggestions about chewy food, other than you should avoid chewy food if it is not on your diet. It sucks to crave something that you can't have, but controlling cravings is what the tool of WLS is supposed to be about.

Beef jerky. :-)

Also helps meet your protein requirements!