I see all these posts where people say they finally have restriction yet they have lost weight before getting restriction. Without restriction your still hungry right? Or am I wrong?

Can you guys explain it to me please?

everyones experince will be different. I'm 12 days post-op I've lost 8 pounds in that time. I force myself to eat 4 oz of food. I have an empty band! I'm sure I'm still swollen a bit inside and I'm waiting for bandster hell to arrive.

I will also tell you I have a realize band and I'm on the realizemysuccess web site I long in EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth so I can be 100% sure I'm getting 60 gr of Protein a day. From reading these boards I think many of us miss the mark in that area in the early stages. If you are sipping chicken broth and Jello you will NEVER get in the 60 grs of protein - I bought powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury unflavored Protein powder ( you can find it on the web) and added it to my liquid diet 3 x per day. It went in Chicken broth, no cream thick veg Soups like brocolli, squash and tomato. Now that I'm in the mushies I eat alot of canned meat like tuna, sardines, salmon, chicken. They can be ground up fine and I add unique spices like chinese 5 spice, smoked papricka, curry, tumreic..for brightness I use lemon and lime juice. These canned meats are high in protien and with the spices keep it from bland city.

Good luck!...this is the best thing I have ever done for my health!

I'm almost 4 months post op..

Restriction is the point where the band is tight enough that you can physically only eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food at a time. If you try and eat more then that you risk having a productive burp or sliming episode. Once you are at restriction, the number of calories you can consume plummets and the reality is that you lose weight steadily.

Losing weight pre restriction is about habit changes and making better food choices and being more active :smile2:

Hope that Helps

:bolt:

yes...restriction to me when I wasn't hungry all the time and could be satisfied with a very small meal(bites sometimes) and stay full for hours.

Restriction meant that I wasn't "dieting" anymore, more living. I can eat things that I wouldn't dare to eat when I was "dieting" and still lose weight and my blood sugar stays the same because I can't eat a lot of it, only a couple bites until I am forced to put the utensil away. Its the moderation diet without the willpower fight and the emotional feeling that I am missing out on something because now I either dont want it or my band says no, no, no.

I have lost almost 60lbs in six months. I had no preop dieting. This has been eating right, portion control (thanks band) and Jillian (the elliptical at the Y)

i was banded 4 weeks ago, and have lost 15 pounds despite having no restriction yet. i've been trying to stick to the type of diet i'm supposed to be following - lots of proteins, staying away from sugars, plenty of water, etc. right now i'm eating more than i'll ultimately be able to eat once i reach the right restriction level (i do still get really hungry!), but i'm not using no restriction as an excuse to just eat whatever i want. a big key for me has been to try to stop eating when i reach "not hungry" instead of going all the way to "full". i've also been better about keeping healthy snacks on hand so i don't let myself get to that point of being so ravenous that i knock the kids down on the way to the fridge to cram something in my face! :bolt:

I was banded on July 7, 2010 and right now I have very minimal restriction, if any at all.

I'm down about 17lbs or so. They key for me has been really sticking to the nutrition guidelines set for me. Today was the very first day I really strayed from the meal plan. There was an ice cream social at work and rather than have the huge bowl I normal would, I had about 3 small spoonfulls.

I'm trying my best to practice for when I do have restriction. I'm chewing my food really well and the most important thing I'm doing is listening to when my body says I'm full. I never did that before.

Without restriction your still hungry right? Or am I wrong?

You're right--before restriction, you're hungry. Depending on your doctor's recommended plan (and overall approach), the degree of hunger will vary. Some doctors approach the time before restriction as being a time to heal and not focus on loss. Others (like mine) recommending eating as though you have restriction--weighing and measuring foods, staying within certain parameters, and so on. I was encouraged to do this--and did it. It was hard---like any other stringent diet any of us has ever been on. But I told myself that it would be the last time I'd be hungry in the name of weight loss.

I started approaching restriction about 4 months out, and have good restriction now (at 6 months). I'm really glad I was super-careful during those first few months, though, because it really did give me a good jumpstart--both on weight loss and on mastering habits that made it easier when I did get restriction (taking small servings, taking small bites, chewing carefully).

But really, there's no one right way to tackle it. Either approach is reasonable, and you can choose which works better for your life.