Well I had to go get a small unfill on Monday. The Doc removed .25 cc. I am now at 1.25 cc instead of 1.50 cc. I had been Pbing to often for my taste. About every three days. Penni can attest all too well to that :0) I was very scared that it still wouldn't be enough restriction & am still not sure. However, I already Pbed today & its only Wednesday. It was brocolli-raw & Humous too fast.

So I am still learning after all this time ( 5 mnths Nov 3rd)- I need to slow down. I need to know I will never have an actually HOT meal again ( at least not after the 3rd bite) I also need to still realize I can get full & not die if I only eat a tiny bit.

I can eat more w/this smaller amount of cc - But will try & deal with it for a few weeks before I change anything. Its so hard to really get the hang of this band. But I have heard from many pro-bandsters that once you really get it the weight will just drop off.

I can't wait till I get this thing down pat but I know it may be awhile.

Good luck to alll the newbies & don't get discouraged -

There is definetly a HUGE learning curve:0)

Christina, you did the right thing and were a very responsible bandster...Yes this is a learning experience, once you get it, it all comes together. I have learned I will not die with the small ammounts of food I now eat. When restriction is good ..food is not even a thought for me...I too though find myself eating to fast and then the dreaded PB..

You wil get it, it takes time..

It took me 18 months to finally get it, even tohugh my weight loss has been good..this past month is when I really got it I think ! Dont know how or why but I did..the same will happend for you. Use your head along with the tool of the band and you will succeed!

OH yes....I'm still learning too. Really learning. Eating too fast? No. Big bites? No.

I'm also really beginning to understand this stop BEFORE you are full notion. It seems by the time I "feel" full...it's too late...I'm TOO full.

And yeah, small is good. Still a really hard lesson.

Thanks for saying this I'llsucceed! You are right on!

Im right there with you...still learing. Its a little over 5 months for me. I am at 2.25 cc's in my 4cc band. This is the hardest adjustment for me to get use to~~ Between getting stuck and PBing once...Lessons learned the hard way.... I scream my montra at myself in my head when I eat, and that seems to help...LITTLE BITE, LITTLE BITE, CHEW CHEW CHEW.... I tend to eat waaayyy too fast and am having a hard time changing that. Always was a fast eatter. Now if there was just a band to put around your mouth....humm did I just create a new surgery???

CHEERS TO LITTLE PORTIONS~

My biggest problem is taking a big FIRST BITE. You all know how the first bite can make or break the meal I'm sure, lol. I'm hungry, I take a BIG bite, and chew it to mush, but it's still too much to be swallowed at once, so I just sit there and wait like an idiot until it gets down. I hear you on the not having hot meals too. My sister joked she was going to get me a mini microwave for my desk at work. Whenever I go out, or eat at my mom's house, I try and have a bite or two of something about 30 minutes before the meal so that I can get by that first bite-itis thing.

15 months out, still learning here. I hope that I can get it to 'click' soon like La Madam did. Cuz I sure want my weight to start falling off!! lol.

I'm so glad you got that unfill. It seems to be one of the hardest things for some bandsters. I was stubborn for a while, thinking I needed an unfill, but also thinking that thinking that was just self defeating thought, you know? Like I was just telling myself that I NEEDED an unfill when I really WANTED to eat more. 2 weeks on Soups got me to the doctors office, lol.

So to go on and on, lol

Brocolli, cooked or raw always comes back, unless it's brocolli and cheese Soup, then it has to be like itsy pieces of brocolli.

I know so well about being overfilled, it's absolutely miserable. You did the right thing getting a bit taken out. You may still be a little swollen from all the pb episodes.

Well "even though I did the right thing" I am so pissed. I gained 2 pds in only 3 days. I seriously have zero disapline. I just don't think I want it so bad some days(to be smaller) & other times I would kill to be thinner.

I will tuff it out for 1 week or maybe 1 1/2 weeks & try & stick to proteins-BUT & thats a big BUTT!;0) I will go back & get that .25 put back in if I continue to gain.

Your right Pat I may still be swollen.

I really think alot of my problems were the mind games when I was at 1.5cc.

Now that I have less of fill, I don't think I was too tight before- I believe it was b/c I couldn't or hadn't wrapped my mind around that fact that 3 bites is OK & too really/truely slow down. I mean really really slow down.

This I will say is a good learning curve for me & I will see how I do another 3 days from now- before I go making any rash decisions.

Thanks for all your support!!!

You mean we're supposed to stop learning at some point??

I felt you were eating way too fast and taking too big a bit while you were here. I think I even said as much to you at one point. It is really hard to change that mindset. EXTREMELY hard. Like Michelle I learned that little trick late in the game as well.

Smaller bites, chew longer, and eat slower.

Another trick is to use a saucer instead of a plate to eat off of.

Use a small bowl instead of a larger one.

Set your fork or spoon down between bites.

Sit back and enjoy the flavors from your food.

All easily said and wrote but incorporating them into your habits is another thing altogether.

We will get there. Eventually.

Hi Christina!

we all have to learn the rules again n again! even if we are old or new..

for example i still learn that WHEN WE TALK WE DONT EAT!

i had to learn this also the hard way (PB) ..only a bite of calamar in a restaurant..

and i didn't want to pause gossiping ... God punished me and i had to visit

the ladys room and stay there for 30 min.. uf uf

btw i keep a PB diary!!.. like:

20 Oct: food: calamar reason: talkin when i was eating

12 Sept: food: pasta reason: eating too fast

just in order to learn what i did wrong :)

Smaller bites, chew longer, and eat slower.

Another trick is to use a saucer instead of a plate to eat off of.

Use a small bowl instead of a larger one.

Set your fork or spoon down between bites.

Sit back and enjoy the flavors from your food.

Smething to add to Penni's list

Get yourself a small crab fork they give you when you order crab, it works very well to make you take smaller bites carry it in your puse, I do

and the best thing of all is to journal your food, there is something to be said about seeing what you eat on paper in balck and white, after day one or two tou will find yourself making better food choices and eating less. It really does work, so many of us think those little bites we take here and there all day long do not affect us, they do..also when journaling write down what you were doing while eating, what your hunger was on a score of 1-4., 4 being the wrost..and write down what you are feeling at the time you eat..you will be amazed at what you write down..I found I was eating out of boredom, sadness etc...once on paper it is easy to distinguish and change a few things..it's all about being accountable to yourself....

We have been banded for just over 1 year. We are still learning. I have always had problems with vomitting. All my life. After banding PBing is just part of life. With or without a tight fill I pb every day. Most of the time several times a day. Sometime I pb after one bit. I keep trying different ways to eat without pbing, but nothing works all the time for me.

I just want to stay as I am..

7 months out.. good fill, loosing fast...

i love it

Who knows what the next stage will be like.... all one can do is wait and see...

My plan is to get a fill in January and it provide good restriction and all goes well...

I wanna lose the 100 pounds in 1 yr.

but the loss may stop in november or december? I wish it was more in our control

Michelle, I think sitting your fork/spoon down between bites is very important and definitely influences the pbs.

You know--speaking of small bites, I can remember, (and not that long ago) when I had taken my grand daughters into Taco Bell for lunch. Sitting there were a couple of mom's with their skinny bodies and I remember wondering--HOW CAN 1 TACO FILL YOU UP??? Well now I know and now I also know that is how they eat and stay slim. Small portions eaten with small bites. ( cause not only could they get by only eating 1 taco--they were so dainty and did it in 15 or 20 minutes. I could down a taco in 2.3 seconds! Oh those were the days and I am glad they are gone!!