So what exactly DOES good restriction feel like?

[CaraRose 0]

I think we all feel the same way as this post at one point and I am no different. I have had 2 fills and I am still waiting to feel the 'bubbles' when you drink something carbonated..that doesn't happen, nothing gets 'stuck' and I feel like I can eat more than I should. I have 3 cc's in an 11 cc band...I just feel like its not enough. I go back on the 25th for another fill but part of me wants him to give me more than the standard 1.5 cc's per fill...I just want to be tighter rather than loose because I feel like I am failing at this as I have not lost any weight this past 3 weeks and was losing at least 1 lb a week for all the others.

Whats the secret? I know everyone is different but really, how do you find the secret to to your own success with the band?

[OneYearLater 14]

It's all so new and hard to read..and confusing. I know everyone is so different. I feel like I DEFINITELY can't eat the normal amounts that I used to....but I look at the amounts that some people say that they eat and are full and WOW....I'm no where NEAR that small of an amount. Nothing gets stuck..I haven't had anything come back up or felt like I had to slime anything down. I look at the sites that say how many calories I should have to lose 2 pounds a week..and it sounds like so much! I know that some people need a much smaller amount of calories to lose (600-800), but I KNOW that the sites that say the calories you need are NEVER going to say that low of an amount. I'm working on trying to get to that "not hungry" stage to stop..I'm getting more used to it. Part of me wonders how much of that is because I have cut down the carbs so much and from just getting used to the smaller amount of food instead of it being from the band itself actually giving me any restriction at all.

[Brighton Belle 0]

Well, my experience was that you get an inkling of restriction when you are post-op because you are not hungry for hours at a time, not even thinking about food, and you are full up on a bit of yoghurt.

Then your band settles down and you end up with NO restriction, and it make take quite a few fills to get to your green zone.

It took several fills before I got to full restriction and then I hardly thought about food. I enjoyed it when it was time for a meal, but I did not think about it the rest of the time and I was satisfied with small amounts and I lost weight easily and steadily.

However learning to stop in time before I got too full-that took a long time.

I had my last fill in April and it lasted for ages. However I knew I was due again in July as I was getting hungry again but put it off as we were going away and I did not want to be overfilled when out of the country.

Since we have been back I am thinking about food all the time, eating too fast and getting stuck. I have a fill booked for later this week and I am looking forward to getting back to how I was.

So, that is my story. Remember the lack of interest in food immediately post surgery-that is what you are aiming for. And good restriction tends to come after a quite a few fills but that time is well spent learning to listen to your body so you can stop eating in time!