Do you know if you are too tight?

[Kitt3000 757]

Obviously, if you can't get Water down, you are too tight.

If you can get a full cup of water down in one continuous drink- not sipping, are you too loose?

If your food goes right past your band with no stopping, but you can eat smaller portions and feel satisfied for two hours, are you too loose?

If your food stays with you for four or more hours, feeling satisfied and not hungry, are you too tight?

If all you can think about is food, are you hungry and obsessed ? Or just obsessed?

If you never think of food, but know you have ate very little that day, are you too tight?

What is a portion size? Is it 1/4 cup of dense Protein? One slice of deli meat?

Veterans of the band, please weigh in on the topic and feel free to add your questions and comments.

[ABLOND 92]

love this question..can't wait to see everyones answers

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@Kitt3000 You questions are great! Thanks for posting. My answers as just about everyone's answers are going to be subjective as the band and the way it works is different for everyone. The band becomes almost as much a part of us as our personality does and can vary as much from person to person with some similar traits.

Obviously, if you can't get Water down, you are too tight. 100% if you can't swallow Water or your own saliva get thee to the Dr. ASAP!

If you can get a full cup of water down in one continuous drink- not sipping, are you too loose?No you are not too loose. You should be able to drink normally, you never want to guzzle down water in one continuous gulp and even without the band you would not want to do this. It's not good for your digestion.
If your food goes right past your band with no stopping, but you can eat smaller portions and feel satisfied for two hours, are you too loose? No you are not too loose. This is exactly what the band is supposed to do. You should not have to struggle to have food pass the band. Or feel it squeeze it's way through, if you are too often that could be a sign that your a bit on the tight side.
If your food stays with you for four or more hours, feeling satisfied and not hungry, are you too tight? ​This is a double sided question. So #1 if your food stays with you and is not passing the band to the lower part of your stomach...and/or if you have upset tummy acid reflux or reguritation then YES you are too tight and need to see the Dr. ASAP. If you are satisfied and not hungry for 4 or more hours with no symptoms of food laying in your upper pouch, then your in the right place and our band is working optimally.
If all you can think about is food, are you hungry and obsessed ? Or just obsessed? This is a subjective question that for me has more to do with my state of mind at the time. Sometimes I am truly hungry and I will eat and sometimes I am ravenously hungry and I can eat more then I can at other times. There are also times when I am obsessed...or just looking for that "comfort" of food to soothe my emotions and these are the times you want to learn to distinguish from each other. If you are hungry you should eat, if you are obsessing about food then you need to find something to do that gratifies you without the extra calories. For me that can be reading, writing, meditating listening to music, or even calling a friend to vent.
If you never think of food, but know you have ate very little that day, are you too tight?​ No you are not too tight you are in the sweet spot eating little feeling good and not even thinking about food. It's the unicorn we all want to find.
What is a portion size? Is it 1/4 cup of dense Protein? One slice of deli meat? Portion sizes for the band should be the size of a tennis ball or the palm of your hand. A slice of deli meat is not enough. You want to ensure that you are getting in the correct number of grams of Protein, and that can vary from person to person. You can use tools like cups and grams to measure portion sizes. There are some bariatric plates you can use, to section out meals I love the Precise Portion plates and dinner ware because it's pretty and no one has to know what it is if you don't want them to:)

http://www.preciseportions.com

[labwalker 1,177]

LisaC is spot on... It would be hard to explain it better!

[SandyM 1,956]

Lisac, I agree with every word. The band is very subjective, but sometimes people look for the green zone to be something more commanding than it is able to be and pass right over it to the red zone. Problem is when they hit the red zone and lose wt like crazy they don't want to back out of it for fear of stalling. All kinds of problems like reflux, dilation, vomiting with slippage are possibilities. We all have to find our own sweet spot. Mine is green close to the yellow end. I can eat just about anything, but I'm restricted to amount. This also has drawbacks as grazing isn't restricted and neither is head hunger. This makes me have to practice a lot of self control.