I have had 5 fills, just called to schedule my 6th. I am wondering if I am expecting too much from the band. Should the band physically restrict how much food you eat? Or, should you fix yourself one cup of food and stop? I am working on stopping eating when I begin to feel full, but years of making sure I cleaned my plate (after all, there are starving children in Africa!), that is a hard habit to break. I see other people losing weight much quicker then I am, and at support group meetings I hear people talk about how little they can eat now. I can eat a foot long sub if I wanted to (I don't want to, but you get what I am saying here.) I need some feedback from people who have had the band and can give me an idea of what is a realistic expectation. I think that I am an exception to the rule. It would be nice to know that another fill or two, and I will have what my mind thinks I should have for restriction. What do you feel with restriction? Do you get sick if you eat more than your band will allow? Do you simply make yourself stop after eating a cupful? What should I expect from my sweet spot?

I have had only 1 fill, due for another in a week. I too have been dissapointed in how hungry I have been. The good news is I have stuck to the diet prescribed by the nutritionist and have lost 27 pounds so far. I am hopeing future fills will be more effective and last longer. Anyone out there who has found that "sweet spot" please respond.

I had 3 fills and the last one is the first where I finally started to feel something. Prior to I too could really eat anything. My doc told me a story about a woman who wanted the band ripped out and gastric bypass because she felt it wasn't working for her. He advised her to be patient and some people take longer to get going than others but it will happen. He gave me this advice because I too was feeling like it wasn't working. Since my last fill I lost 9lbs and I'm finally on my way. Hang in there, it will happen for you. I too am at 4.5cc's.

I was just as frustrated as you, long story but my port had a leak and I just could not get restriction going.

Finally had my port replaced in late October, and now have good restriction. What a difference. For me restriction actually prevents me from eating too much, if I do it comes right back up. I stay satisfied for about 4 hours and that is really good. I have a protien shake for Breakfast, about 3/4 cup at lunch and by dinner I can eat almost 1 cup. Any more and I know I have gone too far. So hang in there, most people seem to average 5-8cc before they are feeling restriction so you are probably just not there yet. There is no way I could eat anything close to a foot long anything after I had about 4.5 - 5 cc in my band. I am almost to 6 now and am in a really good spot.

I haven't found a sweet spot yet either and I've had about 3 fills and 2 unfills so far. For me, it's a case of either a) not being able to eat at all and :rolleyes2: being able to eat too freely. There doesn't seem to be an in between.

My problem is that I can't really eat during the day - breakfast is very difficult and I simply don't have the time to spend 60 minutes trying to eat, so I substitute with a shake. Same thing with lunchtimes - I only have a 30 minute break and can't seem to get anything down in that time frame. Yet, when it comes to the evening, I can eat pretty much anything and given that I spent the day with little food, I'm generally starving.

*sigh* I'm hoping it'll get better

I am at my sweet spot now, 5 cc's in a 10 cc band. My doc started with a 4 cc fill, but I could barely swallow, so one unfill and several small fills later, I am finally to a point where I can only eat a little at one time. I do a shake pretty much every morning for breakfast and lunch is usually a 4 oz fish filet (grilled Gorton's tilapia) and a 1/3 of a Green Giant frozen veggie. This usually keeps me full until dinner. If I have to have a snack it's a string cheese or a handful of goldfish. At dinner if I can I eat 3-4 oz Protein and some green veg and a little starch, but many nights I cannot. I still have a problem where I think "one more bite" and then I end up regretting it and PB or have to feel that stuck feeling until the food goes down.

I'm trying to limit myself to 1200-1300 cals a day and since my last fill in the middle of December, this is much easier. The holidays were rough though because I didn't exercise for two weeks, and it was too easy to "graze", but January is here and I'm back on track! I maintained though, I didn't gain, but I didn't lose either...

i got banded june 2007, i am up to 8.5 cc in my band, and i can eat alot still. meats will cause me to go to the potty, or a heavy lunch. the mornings are tough cause i am so tight. but i have seen that after pbing i can sit back down and eat normally again. i am not sure if i have ever found the "sweet spot" everyone talks about. I just know there are times i can eat alot and then there are times i cannot not eat hardly at all. i get food stuck alot.

I will have my first fill tomorrow and my experience is that I already get VERY FULL from the tiniest bit of food. I usually have the 30 gram protien low cal (140 cal) shake for breakfast and once I ate a package of instant oatmeal instead and it made my tummy overly uncomfortable and full feeling for most of the day... Today at 12:30 I ate 1/4 of a turkey avacodo sandwich and a couple nibbles (to me A nibble is about the size of bite you would give a 6 month old baby of rice cereal) of cottage cheese and a couple nibbles of my BF's shepards pie (we were at Marie Calendars celebrating his Moms 80th birthday) and about 4 small bites of birthday cake and here it is 5 and a half hours later and I am still uncomfortably full... I'm terrified of throwing up so I will be even more cautious and eat less once I have the fill...

Should the band physically restrict how much food you eat? Or, should you fix yourself one cup of food and stop?

If that's how the band is supposed to work, most of us are screwed because if we could stop after 1 cup, we wouldn't need the band. The band, when you have restriction, should give you the stop signal.

I am working on stopping eating when I begin to feel full,

Now that I have restriction, I don't have to 'work' at it. If I take that one more bite, I'll pay for it with immediate feedback. I almost killed myself laughing one day when I made a mental connection between how I felt taking that 'one bite too much' and a clogged toilet.

I can eat a foot long sub if I wanted to

Then you don't have restriction. That's where I was a couple weeks ago. If I had wanted to, I could have eaten to excess the same way I did prior to banding. Now, it doesn't matter what I want. Hilda (She Who Must Be Obeyed) tells me to stop and if I don't, I get immediate painful feedback.

What do you feel with restriction? Do you get sick if you eat more than your band will allow? Do you simply make yourself stop after eating a cupful? What should I expect from my sweet spot?

I'm finally at my sweet spot with 7 cc's in a 12 cc band. I can finish my 1 cup of food in 20-30 minutes but I have to eat slowly, take small bites and chew *well* (to mush). I do not drink with my meals, 30 minutes before or 60 minutes after. I stay full (meaning I don't feel the need to eat) for about 4 hours but I also drink a low carb, low cal Protein shake (25gm protein) about midway between my meals and after my last meal of the day.

*Can* I graze if I wanted. Yep and that's where our own self-control has to come in. Whenever I get the urge to graze, I drink a glass of Water or crystal light. That usually makes me feel full enough that I don't want to eat anything else. If it's a sweet craving, I drink a cup of sugar free hot chocolate. To be honest though, I think that extra Protein Drink between meals helps because I rarely get the urge to graze or eat between meals.

When you hit your sweet spot, you won't be able to eat that sub even if you wanted. That's the beauty of the band.

Thank you all sooo much, and sorry for the typo in the subject line - oopppss :smile2:. I am going to have my surgeon check the amount that is in my band, I am worried that there may be a leak. I should have 9cc in my 11cc band. If I am not restricted now, what will happen when my stomach shrinks? This is all great info - thanks for the support!