Okay, before I launch into my question/issue, let me clarify that I know that many people don't really feel any restriction until they've received one or more fills. I know that the first six weeks is about healing, not weight loss, and the weight that is lost during this time is a "bonus". But I'm beginning to wonder if I need to change my definition of "restriction"...

I guess, going into this, I thought that "restriction" was a feeling that told me that I was "full", and it was time to stop eating. I NEVER feel this, but if I am vigilant about portion control, I do know that when I stop, I'm no longer hungry, and I can go quite a while before I am hungry again. I've had people (who haven't had the surgery themselves) tell me that I need to go by when I feel satisfied, not when I feel full. But I guess I can't help but sit here thinking that if I were able to do that, I wouldn't have gotten overweight in the first place, and I wouldn't have needed to get the surgery! So far, I've been pretty good, but I've always been good at diets AT FIRST. Based on the fact that I feel nothing like what I originally expected "restriction" to feel like, I live in constant fear of overeating and stretching out my "new" stomach. I just don't feel my body giving me ANY signs that it's time to stop eating!

So, here's my question: For those of you who DO feel restriction, how would you define the feeling? Is it a "Boy, I'm getting full, better stop eating now" feeling, or is it simply a matter of recognizing that your hunger has been satisfied?

Hi!

As I had my surgery in France, they do things a little differently there so I don't have a direct comparison for you! My band is a 9cc one, and during surgery it was filled with 4cc of saline which means that, for me, getting another fill seems way off in the distance. I have always had resistance because of this but have never felt actual pain or PB'd. My resistance feels really odd because it really is a battle with brain and band - I sit down to eat, sometimes pretty hungry - my brain is going "yum yum" and I'm really looking forward to the meal! So I eat away happily, chewing madly, but always about halfway through, I start to feel like my pouch is full and the food is in my windpipe! Sometimes I get hiccups if I haven't been careful and eaten too quickly! I have to sip a little Water to lubricate the way and wait until everything settles a bit - i then sometimes get angry or pissed off - i end up throwing down my fork and going "damn, I'm full!!!" My brain is still going "yum yum" and I am still technically hungry - so the brain is sending messages to my mouth - "hey, what's the hold up down there???" And the lap band is going "sorry Brain, I'm the new boss in town here......"

Ok sorry if this got a little (?) insane at the end - I got carried away - this is how restriction feels for me - and it's like this most of the day - but in the evening I seem to be able to eat more and that's when Ol' Willpower has to swing into town and take charge!

So to answer your question, I don't think I really do ever get satisfied psychologically but physically, ten minutes or so after eating, I know I really couldn't eat anything more. I am pretty much at the same stage as you , and I guess it wil just take time for our heads to learn what satisfied really is. Also I do make sure I eat Protein first and have avoided simple fats and sugars which I think really helps with the craving.

I don't know if this helps but wish you luck

take care xx

Good way of describing it Bright!

I'm the same way...I went out to breakfeast yesterday morning and ordered an omelette with some hash browns...it was huge...I ate about five bites and I was full...brought the rest home and will probably be eating it for another two days...

My head still wanted to eat more...I knew if I did I would get that stuck feeling...so...I had to stop...

The way I have learned to look at it is this...I'll eat this amount now...stop...if I'm still hungry in a half hour I can eat some more...it's been difficult because I'm used to eating everything on my plate but it's worked thus far!

Good Luck!

Great description, Bright!

One doctor told me that only obese people seem to have a need to be "full." I thought it was an interesting point.

So, speaking as someone with 0.00 cc's in the band at this point and who has gained several pounds in the past couple of weeks, I can offer you the following off-the-cuff definitions:

1) full--Pre-banding I ate until I got full. With restriction, I can't do that. I can eat only until I can't comfortably eat any more, but I am not "full" the way I used to be.

2) restriction--This is what keeps me from eating until I'm full. Now I can eat a limited quantity, which is certainly "enough" to sustain me, but is never enough to make me feel full, like I did before banding.

3) hunger, physical--I now wonder how many times in my life I have been physically hungry. I suspect it was just a few times.

4) hunger, emotional (aka "head hunger")--This is what makes me want to eat more, even though my body is experiencing restriction AND I know damn good and well that I don't need another morsel of food to survive. So this is how I know that--in my case, anyway--the fat bone is connected to the crazy bone. Now, before someone complains, I'm not saying y'all are nuts, just that I am. And, I'm also saying that losing weight, in my case, will require a lot of work on the emotional part. So, why the band? Because I would NEVER have been able to discover this part of what makes me work without the band. My current goal is to feed my "head hunger" with something other than food...so I can get "head full" or something.

You did have a question, didn't you? I experience restriction as a sensation that triggers the mental awareness that I have consumed sufficient food to fill the upper part of my stomach and that if I eat any more I will probably damage my esophagus. (In my case, I probably experience this a little too late, and I wish I got that sensation a little sooner.) It has nothing to do with "satisfaction." For "satisfaction," I have a husband and...well...he smiles more than he used to.

Sue

Well said Bright

There's the restriction in your mind that says " I'm ganna get sick if I don't stop now." I can only eat so much turkey, fish or chicken and feel it starting to fill into my esophagus.

I feel full before I feel satisfied.

My lap-bone is connected to my brain-bone, Sue your so funny!

For me, restriction is felt in many different ways. The less desireable ways are:

1. golfball feeling :think

2. "stuck" feeling and the resulting slime

Both of those feelings are signs of restriction, but are not what I'm looking for from the band (although I do admit that the "electric shock collar" of the the 2 feelings above have been very important in modifying my behaviour! lol)

For me the restriction feeling I value the most is what everyone else described. I am eating along my merry way, chewing madly, trying to go slow, and then at some point, before the portion has been fully consumed, I can feel that things are starting to back up down there. I usually end up taking a last bite that doesn't quite clear the esophagus right away - not a pain like stuck, exactly, just... well, I can feel it sitting there, waiting patiently to go down. At that point, I know I'm done. Sometimes I feel "full", but usually it is just the knowledge that there is no place for another bite to go. On a couple of ocassions I have had a mouth full of processed food just waiting for the ticket down, and I've had to spit it out because I can "feel" that it won't clear the bottom of my esophagus.

Believe me, it is NOT my head stopping me from eating more!! I definitely am letting the band tell me when I am done.

Your way is probably healthier, but as you point out, does require a modicum of self-control which can be hard to maintain. If you can eat and eat and eat, and you never get that backing-up feeling helping you to stop, you probably could use more restriction. As Bright points out, it does take time to align the brain with the new physical capacity, and the brain likes to argue because the mouth is going yum yum. But a full stoma is a full stoma, and no amount of brain arguing can get past that.

Well I FINALLY feel what GeezerSue and Donali described and although if I drink too fast it is uncomfortable, I needed the feeling because NOW I know I FINALLY have restriction... so far anyways. I just got my 3rd fill to 7cc's yesterday and I'm taking it very slowly. I drink sips of Water, etc. very slowly because if I don't drink slowly the liquid feels like it's going to come right back up.... so this is how it feels!!!! After 4 months of no restriction and wondering what the hell it was going to feel like I know! And I'm very excited because I know now that I will lose weight. My doctor has been really good about understanding and learning about this lap band stuff, I've been sending her emails and copies of posts from this group and she has been listening and I really appreciate that. It took some time but it's finally working out and I do believe that we are right where we are supposed to be... someone up there IS looking out for me!

Merry Christmas to all and to all lots of weight loss!!!!