Hi Everyone-

I have a question. I have had 4 fills and am at 7 cc in a VG band. I don't feel that I am at the point I need to be yet, restriction-wise, but my mind is playing games with me.

The situation is that I have done well chewing and eating slow, and I am feeling a sense of 'tightness' with the first few bites at each meal, but then it seems as everything gradually opens up and I can continue eating a full meal.

Am I supposed to be just stopping after the first couple of bites? Will the band eventually keep me from continuing past a certain point if I get it filled even more? Or will there always be the feeling of having restriction initially-which is the point at which I should stop and not continue eating? Also, I also am MUCH tighter in the morning, and feel like I could eat the kitchen sink in the evening. Will this also go away when I hit my sweet spot, and will I ever get restriction in the evening?

I guess I'm just confused as to whether or not to continue being so agressive with my fills since I AM actually feeling restriction with the first few bites. Any advice would be much appreciated

I'm curious, are you following the lap band rules, lean meat, then veggies, then good carbs if you have room? This combination in this order has been really helpful for me, though I know every one is different. Things like that lean lunch meat, ham, turkey, roast beef, are all very low in fat and calories but I can only eat just a little of it and I feel full for hours after. Are you remembering to wait at least 30 minutes before drinking anything? If you are, maybe you could wait a little longer, just to allow that full feeling to last. Salads with everything but the kitchen sink, all kinds of raw veggies, can also be very filling for a long period of time, just becareful of the dressing you put on, the lower fat or fat free ones aren't bad and you can even put in an ounce or two of cheese or some hard boiled eggs. Try to get creative with mixing and matching and see if that doesn't help out.

I hope some of this information will be useful to you. Good luck.

Cindy

It is so hard to advise someone on what fill is right for them...like for me, I asked about a 2nd fill, and hesitated quite a while, even after others encouraged me to go ahead. I think my head wasn't "banded" enough, then, I decided to go for it. That was only 3 days ago...I don't know if it is possible for fills to give us restriction in our heads...we are still going to have to take charge of it and work the band. Your weight loss looks really good...so maybe just learn to work the fill you have now for a little while, and rethink it in a couple of weeks? It is just so personal to your own experience, I'm not sure what kind of advice to give...or maybe I'm too new, too! Good luck, Cindy