Hunger vs Restriction Argument

[HeatherinCA 10]

I'm just curious... in my opinion and personal experience (I've been banded about 3 months) I feel the fills are to keep me from being hungry all the time... I have 5.5ccs in my 11cc band(which was my first fill), and I can go a good 5 hours without eating, I still have to police what goes in, I can over eat if I chose to (within reason, obviously not pre-band amounts), and I haven't had any stuck episodes or problems with any food. But I'm not hungry so I feel the band is doing what it is supposed to. Losing steadily 1-3lbs a week. Yes, pre-banding I thought it would physically stop me from eating, but I view it differently now, and now I'm not so sure.

Then I see people posting about having and/or wanting "restriction" from their fills.. as to stop them from eating so much, and people that have their bands filled to the max,... I'm unclear which is correct, or is it a little of both?

I don't wanna start a fight, I'm just curious what everyones opinion is on each side of the argument.

[ansoninc 16]

I'm just curious... in my opinion and personal experience (I've been banded about 3 months) I feel the fills are to keep me from being hungry all the time... I have 5.5ccs in my 11cc band(which was my first fill), and I can go a good 5 hours without eating, I still have to police what goes in, I can over eat if I chose to (within reason, obviously not pre-band amounts), and I haven't had any stuck episodes or problems with any food. But I'm not hungry so I feel the band is doing what it is supposed to. Losing steadily 1-3lbs a week. Yes, pre-banding I thought it would physically stop me from eating, but I view it differently now, and now I'm not so sure.

Then I see people posting about having and/or wanting "restriction" from their fills.. as to stop them from eating so much, and people that have their bands filled to the max,... I'm unclear which is correct, or is it a little of both?

I don't wanna start a fight, I'm just curious what everyones opinion is on each side of the argument.

I am at the same spot you are, i am not sure what i am suppose to feel. After a few bites of Pasta I can feel some restriction and then it goes away. I can guzzle a glass of Water with no problems. A large salad causes no problems. It seems like the restriction comes and goes.l

[Dave_NW 92]

Bandsters who have had their band longer than me will probably have a different opinion, but in my case:

I currently have 7.2cc in a 14cc band. I feel some restriction some of the time, but I'm not cinched up tight like some folks report. I don't have any foods I can't eat, and I can certainly eat around the band, if I want to. If I eat fast, or take too large a bite, I get stuck for a few minutes, till the food passes through the band. If I take smaller bites, chew more thoroughly, and don't rush things, I can eat till the plate is empty. That may or may not be a lot of food. Even on those occasions where I stop eating because I feel I'm full, if the plate stays in front of me and I pick at it, I can eat everything on it. Nothing prevents me from eating all I want, if I want it bad enough.

But what IS different is the sensation of being hungry, and of being full. For me, if I'm feeling hungry when I sit down, and if I eat as a bandster is supposed to (small bites, chew throughly, and take your time), after a normal band-sized portion (a cup or so of food), the hunger is gone. If I stop and assess what my body and band are telling me at that point, I have no hunger, and I can stop eating. If I DON'T stop and think about it, I can keep going.

So in my opinion, the band doesn't prevent me from eating. My own awareness is what makes the difference. The trick for me is to remember that I'm banded, and eating is different for me now. This is especially true when going out with friends. Even if I order a small meal, I need to manage things, or I can easily eat more than I should. If I stop eating when I think I should, I'm good for several hours. The rest is only eating healthy, avoiding sweets, trigger foods, or empty calories.

Dave

[L12 13]

I've been banded a little over two years. I get both hunger suppression and restriction when I'm at my sweet spot--they seem to go hand-in-hand for me. I can tell I need a fill when I'm starving day and night AND can eat a great deal, like 2+ cups of food at a time. A slight fill gets both of those under control for me, though I'm pretty much in maintenance mode and am not really needing fills now. My normal amount of food is 3/4 to 1 1/2 cups at a time, depending on what time of day, how tight I am, what I'm eating, etc. My band does prevent me from overeating by causing discomfort or a PB IF I'm not paying attention to how much I've had, but I'm just used to the limitations now so I rarely have that problem. I don't really have "head hunger" anymore either, other than the occasional craving, but I do get a little hungry at what I would say are appropriate, normal times (meals, if I haven't eaten, when I'm PMSingm etc.).

[u2band 1]

Hi! What does PB mean? I'm a newbie. I got my lap band surgery on January 3, 2011. I am managing but the times that are really bad for me is during the menstrual cycle. I can't over eat. One time I came close to vomiting and I felt that band when the stomach lurched. That episode frightened so badly that now I have to plan ahead what I have to eat (which I probably should have done originally) and the hunger and craving during that time has subsided. I think when we overeat, we don't think about eating. We get to a point that if you want something I'm going to eat it or whatever. But the lap band restricts you, but like someone said earlier, they can eat around it. If someone wants something bad enough and eats it, that just means the person hasn't learned why they overeat. Before the band I ate whenever, and whatever I wanted. But now, I have to learn to only eat when I'm hungry, let my eyes see the food, see me eating the food and feel myself eating the food. I mean, I don't know how someone else does it, but that works for me. I wait 30 minutes after eating, and sometimes, I still want to eat, but, I'm not hungry. That's when I start drinking my Water because if I don't, I won't stop eating. My two cents.

[HeatherinCA 10]

Bandsters who have had their band longer than me will probably have a different opinion, but in my case:

I currently have 7.2cc in a 14cc band. I feel some restriction some of the time, but I'm not cinched up tight like some folks report. I don't have any foods I can't eat, and I can certainly eat around the band, if I want to. If I eat fast, or take too large a bite, I get stuck for a few minutes, till the food passes through the band. If I take smaller bites, chew more thoroughly, and don't rush things, I can eat till the plate is empty. That may or may not be a lot of food. Even on those occasions where I stop eating because I feel I'm full, if the plate stays in front of me and I pick at it, I can eat everything on it. Nothing prevents me from eating all I want, if I want it bad enough.

But what IS different is the sensation of being hungry, and of being full. For me, if I'm feeling hungry when I sit down, and if I eat as a bandster is supposed to (small bites, chew throughly, and take your time), after a normal band-sized portion (a cup or so of food), the hunger is gone. If I stop and assess what my body and band are telling me at that point, I have no hunger, and I can stop eating. If I DON'T stop and think about it, I can keep going.

So in my opinion, the band doesn't prevent me from eating. My own awareness is what makes the difference. The trick for me is to remember that I'm banded, and eating is different for me now. This is especially true when going out with friends. Even if I order a small meal, I need to manage things, or I can easily eat more than I should. If I stop eating when I think I should, I'm good for several hours. The rest is only eating healthy, avoiding sweets, trigger foods, or empty calories.

Dave

Right, I think I feel the same as you. I eat, then I'm full, but I can still eat more, I have to restrain. It's never to the point I can't physically eat anymore. If I over eat sometimes I get a little gassy, but nothing really stops me. It's almost strange, because I'm never really hungry, so it's hard to gauge when I'm full, but I know I have to eat. I do the same, eat what I want, then I pick at my plate. Or sometimes I eat when I'm not hungry, to eat for the sake of eating.

I was just curious, because we see SO many posts everyday, people wondering why they can eat so much, and when they will have "restriction" or they have 9ccs in their band, and can still eat... I know everybody is different, but my hunger would be gone forever if I had 9ccs in my band! I barely have any now. It doesn't seem healthy to me that people can't eat Breakfast, and are eating maybe a granola bar and 1/2 cup of tuna a day...

Hi! What does PB mean? I'm a newbie. I got my lap band surgery on January 3, 2011. I am managing but the times that are really bad for me is during the menstrual cycle. I can't over eat. One time I came close to vomiting and I felt that band when the stomach lurched. That episode frightened so badly that now I have to plan ahead what I have to eat (which I probably should have done originally) and the hunger and craving during that time has subsided. I think when we overeat, we don't think about eating. We get to a point that if you want something I'm going to eat it or whatever. But the lap band restricts you, but like someone said earlier, they can eat around it. If someone wants something bad enough and eats it, that just means the person hasn't learned why they overeat. Before the band I ate whenever, and whatever I wanted. But now, I have to learn to only eat when I'm hungry, let my eyes see the food, see me eating the food and feel myself eating the food. I mean, I don't know how someone else does it, but that works for me. I wait 30 minutes after eating, and sometimes, I still want to eat, but, I'm not hungry. That's when I start drinking my Water because if I don't, I won't stop eating. My two cents.

PBing is when food gets stuck and you vomit it back up, but i think it comes up like slime and in one piece. I do that too, I'll eat my dinner, and then I get up, if i'm still hungry later i'll have more, but it's usually never the case that I need more. I eat around it too, or after an hour or so after a meal I could eat again which I do sometimes.

[Jachut 487]

Personally, I think its a little of both. Or meant to be,anyway.

Now that my band is unfilled after five entire years, I can make a bit of a comparison - I am NO hungrier with no fill in my band. I eat more at a sitting, but not much more but the main difference is the variety of foods I can eat - I could always eat anything if I really wanted to but my tastes changed as it was unpleasant or difficult to eat some foods. I've just had Breakfast - blackberries and strawberries with yogurt and some muesli sprinkled on top. I would never have chosen to eat that with fill because the coldness of the yogurt would cause me problems, berries were sometimes hard to eat. I am actually eating much healthier now. But my band definitely restricted portions. I eat three smallish (but bigger than bandster) meals a day, I dont snack and the only real hunger I have is just before dinner time.

Who knows though, if I had had to unfill four years ago, I may have had a lot more hunger. My body has obviously adapted to its new weight as I've maintained it for about three years and it only wants to eat enough to maintain that weight - it doesnt seem to be striving to get back to 113kg. Early on with my band I certainly had the lack of hunger and appetite, and would forget to eat, but I think the body adapts to that over time.

Even the experts dont really know how/why the band works - they cant explain the mechanism that leads to lack of hunger for example. I think just work with it, however it works for you. But I really think ultra tight fills are asking for trouble.

[HeatherinCA 10]

That makes sense Jacqui. It's just hard for me to physically understand it! It's all a little strange. Yea for me the lack of hunger is full force, but I don't have much restriction (I can eat anything). I guess it does work differently for everyone. But in my mind, I see the band has a hole.. food is gonna go through, I can't see how it would ever stop the eating completely. Seems like a lot of the sensations and feelings are different now. I was so used to being full to the brim after I'd eat, now it's just a light feeling. Which takes some getting used to.

[catthegrape 0]

Just had my first fill today and I am STARVING! I am PMSing and I have had huge hunger sensations all day, but now can't eat enough to really satisfy my hunger. So it looks like I am the opposite of you, Heather, in that I have restriction but also have hunger. This has been my experience thus far with the band. Two days after surgery my hunger pains were ferocious, worse than the surgery pains. It was only when I was back on solid foods and able to eat at least a cup of food every 2-3 hours that the hunger subsided to a "normal" level. I am hoping as time passes that my body learns not to be so dang hungry all the time.P.S. You gave me encouragement on a post last week when I was in tears over the non-budging scale. Happy to report I've now lost a total of 12 lbs, which is an average of 2 lbs/wk. Yay me!!!

[DebbieH 0]

Ive had my band for over 3 years and thought i was at a good restriction. Certain foods i couldnt eat but I felt hungry often. Just had a check up and got a small fill. Wow. I eat a small amount and dont feel hungry till the next meal. I think i hit my sweet spot and was going around before without enough restriction. Now i can continue my weight lose where I left off. Im thrilled. So this restriction is curbing my hunger and i havent had this before. Yeah!!!

[melzie_99 22]

Heather, I'm having the same problem. I just had my first fill about 2 weeks ago, and I don't feel much different from before. Sure, the first couple of days I wasn't really hungry, but I have not reached a point after swelling has gone down where 1/2 c of food (as recommended by my dr) is enough to keep me full for 4 hours. I have had no problems eating anything, and I think that's gotten me in trouble this week. Sure, I still feel like I get fuller quicker than I did preband, but there are very few foods I've eaten where I'm full after a few bites, and most of those foods aren't pure Protein. I've actually gained weight since this last fill, which is very discouraging. I don't want to be to the point where I'm sliming or PB, but I would love to know what true restriction feels like. My dr said if after 3 weeks I wasn't noticing a difference then to come back for another fill; I'm afraid I might have to. Trying to remain positive, but kind of feeling like this was a waste of money at the moment if this is all going to rely on my willpower...

[HeatherinCA 10]

Heather, I'm having the same problem. I just had my first fill about 2 weeks ago, and I don't feel much different from before. Sure, the first couple of days I wasn't really hungry, but I have not reached a point after swelling has gone down where 1/2 c of food (as recommended by my dr) is enough to keep me full for 4 hours. I have had no problems eating anything, and I think that's gotten me in trouble this week. Sure, I still feel like I get fuller quicker than I did preband, but there are very few foods I've eaten where I'm full after a few bites, and most of those foods aren't pure Protein. I've actually gained weight since this last fill, which is very discouraging. I don't want to be to the point where I'm sliming or PB, but I would love to know what true restriction feels like. My dr said if after 3 weeks I wasn't noticing a difference then to come back for another fill; I'm afraid I might have to. Trying to remain positive, but kind of feeling like this was a waste of money at the moment if this is all going to rely on my willpower...

You will never be full with a 1/2 cup of food, that's just nonsense! There is no way you would be getting enough nutrition that way, or even if it did, it wouldn't be mentally satisfying. I eat 1 to 1-1/2 cups a food per meal. It's supposed to be like 3oz Protein, and some veggies and a little starch per meal. 1200 calories a day. Fills take a couple weeks to get in your system anyways.

I did have a different view of the band before surgery, and I did expect the 1/2 cup of food thing to be true, but now living with it, I know that isn't the case. But the band does keep my hunger at bay, I'm just learning to work with that, and to not eat, when I'm not hungry. I think for me, if I got another fill I would just start getting stuck, but overall it wouldn't help me eat less.

[wilson350 0]

I am still in the process of learning with my band. I was done on Jan 10th and have had two fills. Including pre-surgery, I am down 30 pounds. I feel a little disappointment in the amount of weight, but also happy that it is happening. I haven't hit the sweet spot yet I guess with my fills. I am not really feeling much restriction after a few days of the fill and find that I am forcing myself to only eat a certain amount but feel I could easily eat more. My stomach still growls at me almost constantly. I did have one stuck episode with a small piece of chicken and it was no fun at all. I guess I had hoped to feel restriction to the point I could only eat a certain amount, but I have found it is still more willpower and discipline than actual restriction. That's my 2 cents worth.

I'm just curious... in my opinion and personal experience (I've been banded about 3 months) I feel the fills are to keep me from being hungry all the time... I have 5.5ccs in my 11cc band(which was my first fill), and I can go a good 5 hours without eating, I still have to police what goes in, I can over eat if I chose to (within reason, obviously not pre-band amounts), and I haven't had any stuck episodes or problems with any food. But I'm not hungry so I feel the band is doing what it is supposed to. Losing steadily 1-3lbs a week. Yes, pre-banding I thought it would physically stop me from eating, but I view it differently now, and now I'm not so sure.

Then I see people posting about having and/or wanting "restriction" from their fills.. as to stop them from eating so much, and people that have their bands filled to the max,... I'm unclear which is correct, or is it a little of both?

I don't wanna start a fight, I'm just curious what everyones opinion is on each side of the argument.