Is there a grey zone?

[onikenbai 33]

So I had my second fill a week ago, and I'm still not feeling any restriction. What did start to happen is stuff has started to get stuck. It was totally my fault: I was eating and somebody asked me a question so I instinctively swallowed to answer and ! Stuck. The piece was bigger than I should have swallowed.

So is there a grey zone between the point where stuff starts getting stuck and starting to feel restriction? Does this mean I may start to feel restriction with the next fill?

[Jachut 487]

You dont FEEL restriction in the sense you're meaning and if you do, you're probably too tight. I find this is the biggest misconception with the band, people are pusing it to get that I cant eat a bite more at half a cup feeling and they're just way too tight. No wonder there's such a high incidence of band problems. I find that doctors dont seem to recognise and explain this, my doctor was very clear in that I should not feel the band in place, that I would have to work hard to learn to use my band.

You have to stop looking to feel FULL and learning to recognise satisfied. Waiting for your band to give you a hard stop is not the way its supposed to work.

If stuff is getting stuck, you already have restriction. You just need to learn how to work with it.

Eat half a cup. See how it feels. If you're now not hungry, dont eat anymore. If you really are still hungry, have another 1/4 of a cup or so. Work out your satiation level - it doesnt matter if it takes a cup or a cup and a half of food, if you're losing weight, then that's the right amount of food for you, and you dont need another fill till you stop losing on that amount of food. You have to learn to recognise the difference between your head saying it wants you to eat more (because we're used to big plates full of food) and your body actually needing more.

But waiting for your band to say an unmistakeable STOP at half a cup, you'll probably be getting things stuck and pbing long before then, and you could even have things like heartburn and reflux.

Edited December 24, 2009 by Jachut

[adagray 1]

ITA w/Jachut. The way I understand it, proper restriction is when you feel satiated w/a small amount of solid food and stay satiated until your next mealtime (so you don't need to snack). Of course, this assumes you are not eating slider foods or drinking your calories in shakes and juices. And, losing 1-2 pounds per week (although who would complain if you lost more LOL).

I think a lot of people think they will use the band as a type of aversion therapy by making themselves so tight that they physically can not get down certain foods. But, that's really not how the band is intended to work. I think maybe a lot of us are just used to the idea that losing weight has to be painful or self-punishing in some way, but once adjusted properly, it should not be this way w/the band.

[onikenbai 33]

The only reason it got stuck was that I swallowed a big honkin' bite. I am, quite possibly, the slowest eater ever and always have been, so it's not a case of me inhaling the food and eating too much before I realise I'm not hungry anymore. I eat a bit, and I'm still freakin' starving. I'm not looking to feel full, because then I feel like I'm going to puke. I just want my stomach to stop growling! At the moment I can still easily eat more than two cups of food without feeling not hungry anymore, even if I take more than half an hour to eat it. I was just hoping that stuff starting to get stuck occasionally if I swallowed a big bite by accident meant that good restriction was on the horizon.

I don't drink shakes or smoothies because I'm completely repulsed by the texture. Thick drinks squick me out.

[L Boogie 0]

You dont FEEL restriction in the sense you're meaning and if you do, you're probably too tight. I find this is the biggest misconception with the band, people are pusing it to get that I cant eat a bite more at half a cup feeling and they're just way too tight. No wonder there's such a high incidence of band problems. I find that doctors dont seem to recognise and explain this, my doctor was very clear in that I should not feel the band in place, that I would have to work hard to learn to use my band.

You have to stop looking to feel FULL and learning to recognise satisfied. Waiting for your band to give you a hard stop is not the way its supposed to work.

If stuff is getting stuck, you already have restriction. You just need to learn how to work with it.

Eat half a cup. See how it feels. If you're now not hungry, dont eat anymore. If you really are still hungry, have another 1/4 of a cup or so. Work out your satiation level - it doesnt matter if it takes a cup or a cup and a half of food, if you're losing weight, then that's the right amount of food for you, and you dont need another fill till you stop losing on that amount of food. You have to learn to recognise the difference between your head saying it wants you to eat more (because we're used to big plates full of food) and your body actually needing more.

But waiting for your band to say an unmistakeable STOP at half a cup, you'll probably be getting things stuck and pbing long before then, and you could even have things like heartburn and reflux.

Thank you for this explanation. I am 1 week post op and am starting to feel really hungry and was able to eat 1/2 cup of tuna salad. Started to get nervous, so thank you again for your post.

[tarajim 20]

You dont FEEL restriction in the sense you're meaning and if you do, you're probably too tight. I find this is the biggest misconception with the band, people are pusing it to get that I cant eat a bite more at half a cup feeling and they're just way too tight. No wonder there's such a high incidence of band problems. I find that doctors dont seem to recognise and explain this, my doctor was very clear in that I should not feel the band in place, that I would have to work hard to learn to use my band.

You have to stop looking to feel FULL and learning to recognise satisfied. Waiting for your band to give you a hard stop is not the way its supposed to work.

If stuff is getting stuck, you already have restriction. You just need to learn how to work with it.

Eat half a cup. See how it feels. If you're now not hungry, dont eat anymore. If you really are still hungry, have another 1/4 of a cup or so. Work out your satiation level - it doesnt matter if it takes a cup or a cup and a half of food, if you're losing weight, then that's the right amount of food for you, and you dont need another fill till you stop losing on that amount of food. You have to learn to recognise the difference between your head saying it wants you to eat more (because we're used to big plates full of food) and your body actually needing more.

But waiting for your band to say an unmistakeable STOP at half a cup, you'll probably be getting things stuck and pbing long before then, and you could even have things like heartburn and reflux.

If there was an award for the best poster on this site, you would win hands down.

You are an inspiration, and a sage.

Thanks for being here Jackie.....

TJ

[ElfiePoo 109]

So I had my second fill a week ago, and I'm still not feeling any restriction. What did start to happen is stuff has started to get stuck. It was totally my fault: I was eating and somebody asked me a question so I instinctively swallowed to answer and ! Stuck. The piece was bigger than I should have swallowed.

So is there a grey zone between the point where stuff starts getting stuck and starting to feel restriction? Does this mean I may start to feel restriction with the next fill?

Oni,

If you have restriction, you will need to take smaller bites, chew your food thoroughly and eat slowly...and it should take you about 20-30 minutes to eat. Otherwise you'll get stuck or feel that pressure in your chest. My doc says the goal is 1 cup of food at a meal focusing on Protein and vegies with just a small amount of carbs.

You should also not be hungry for about 4 hours...or so they say. I don't know as I've never been hungry...not even when I've gone all day without eating so I can't help you on that one.

[LollyMoe 1]

I agree! Thanks Jackie for all your advice.

[barbie1978 22]

oni, you HAVE restriction! If you didn't, then swallowing a bite of food that's too big wouldn't have caused you to get stuck..it would just have gone down...

And something else you said, about taking a certain amount of time to eat? It should take you 20-30 minutes to eat a meal...if you take LONGER than that, you're basically grazing, which defeats the band....

It's tough to figure out your own personal signals to when you are done eating...i've heard people talk about burping, hiccuping, runny noses...i didn't get any of that until about 2 weeks after my second fill....i would feel fine eating and i then finally started paying attention and when i burped, i just stopped eating for a few minutes...THEN i realized that i was satisfied (not hungry but not in pain of being too full). I had been eating through that until i felt a pang in my chest, which is not good.

It's different for all of us, and you'll find your cues! Goodluck!