I was banded in Oct. of last year. I have 8.2CCs in a 10 band. I'm very curious about that "Comfort-Zone, Safe-Spot" feeling that everyone refers to. I think that I'm serious missing my body's new fullness clues with the lapband. I can eat much, much more then1/4-1/2 cup. Tell me what I should be feeling! What does your full feeling exactly feel like! Do you measure your food? How much do you eat at one time? How long does it take you to get hungry?

Any and all suggestions are so greatly appreciated! Thank you for your support and best of luck to you! Let's win the war, not just the battle!

Suz

Sounds like you don't have restriction yet. I would keep working with your doctor to get you to that sweet spot you've heard about. As far as your eating, get in your protient- at least 60gms a day. Watch your fat as well. I eat lots of lean protien, chicken, fish, lean pork loin. I snack on berreis, low fat cheese and nuts. Are you excersising. If not, I highly reccomend you start. It sure works wonders for weight loss never mind the other benefits. Start out slow and gradually increase your duration/intensity. Oh yeah, make sure you are getting at least 64 oz. fluids a day. Hope this helps and good luck.

I realized I was at my sweet spot when I was comfortably full at about 1/2 cup and could space my meals apart at least 4 hours, I have breakfast at about 9:00am lunch about 1:00pm and dinner about 5:00pm. If I follow that and don't miss meals I find little need for snacking. Most of the time if I want a snack it"s more in my head then in my stomach. I also have a 10cc band but my fill for the last year has been at 6.2, You can't really go by what others fills are at when they reach their sweet spot because it:s not gonna be the same for everyone.

I was banded in Oct. of last year. I have 8.2CCs in a 10 band. I'm very curious about that "Comfort-Zone, Safe-Spot" feeling that everyone refers to. I think that I'm serious missing my body's new fullness clues with the lapband. I can eat much, much more then1/4-1/2 cup. Tell me what I should be feeling! What does your full feeling exactly feel like! Do you measure your food? How much do you eat at one time? How long does it take you to get hungry?

Any and all suggestions are so greatly appreciated! Thank you for your support and best of luck to you! Let's win the war, not just the battle!

Suz

Try going on liquids for a day or so. This is not my idea but I've heard it from others and done it myself. It might help tighten you up again. I'm 7.65 in a 10 band and I'm fine. Not losing weight like crazy but I'm going to stay here for the while. I don't know how much you've lost but if you are feeling that hungry then you are and a little bit more might be all you need. I went from 7.4 (so hungry) to 8. (lasted a day) and then decided to split the amount to 7.65 where I am today. If I needed to I would go higher. What if 8.5cc is perfect for you? or 8.6?? My doctor said you can go to 11cc in the 10cc band. Let me know how you do.

I don't shoot for full- I shoot for "not hungry". In other words, I stop before I HAVE to about 95% of the time (i.e., I could take another bite or two, but I'm not hungry, so I stop).

I consider myself in my green zone because I am consistently losing weight and I do not have any issues associated with a too-tight band (i.e. getting stuck, PB'ing, sliming, acid reflux). I still struggle with making healthy food choices all of the time, but that's a head thing, not a band thing.

Today I ate a Protein bar for breakfast, 5 chicken nuggets for lunch, four whole-grain crisps with spinach artichoke dip for snack, and half of a hamburger patty (no bun) with 1/2 cup fruit for dinner. The hamburger and fruit have made me uncomfortably full-- I should have stopped with the burger, but I wanted to get something other than protein in.

I do not weigh or measure my food. I do eat off of small plates and out of tiny "fruit" bowls. I eat every 5 hours or so, I'd guess. I think I eat around a cup of food most of the time-- and I lose on that amount so everything's good.

The idea of eating till full just doesn't work for me and my band. I could eat alot more than I should if I was to eat till I was full.

I measure out 3oz of Protein and 1/2 cup of veggies. I eat that and usually that satisfies me. IF I'm still hungry in 20 minutes, I'm allowed more veggies.

My nurses say eating only 1/2 a cup of food is more for a RNY patient, that a band patient is expected to eat up to a cup of food. Of course this will vary from person to person, but I wouldn't stress if you aren't satisfied on 1/4 or 1/2 cup. Try going to 3/4 or 1 cup and see if that will hold you for 3 to 4 hours.

Are you waiting at least 30 minutes after eating to start drinking? If you are, try extending it to 1 hour to see if that will help.

Another strategy.. if you're getting hungry 2 hours after eating.. start pushing fluids. Drink Water and other very low calorie drinks (I try to keep it to 10 calories/16 oz or less). if pushing fluids isn't doing the trick.. have a high protein/low calorie snack. Wasa crisp & light with light laughing cow, carbmaster (kroger brand) yogurt, 1/2 an apple and a weight watcher's string cheese stick, things of that nature.

Sometimes when I'm just a little bit hungry between meals, taking my dogs on a walk will push the hunger back a bit.

Keep trying different things until you find what works for you. And you might just need a tiny bit more fill. I've gotten as little as .2 ( point 2) cc's and it has made a difference. I know others who get point 1 (.1cc).

Best of luck to you.

I was banded in Oct. of last year. I have 8.2CCs in a 10 band. I'm very curious about that "Comfort-Zone, Safe-Spot" feeling that everyone refers to. I think that I'm serious missing my body's new fullness clues with the lapband. I can eat much, much more then1/4-1/2 cup. Tell me what I should be feeling! What does your full feeling exactly feel like! Do you measure your food? How much do you eat at one time? How long does it take you to get hungry?

Suz

Don't look for full. Look for cessation of hunger...and of course you can eat more than 1/4-1/2 cup of food. That's enough food for a toddler...not an adult. Try 3 oz of Protein and 1/2-1 cup of vegies at a meal and see if that holds you for 4 hours. If you get hungry sooner, it's time for a fill.

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I was banded in 2008 and have pretty much lost all the weight and then some. To be honest, I have yet to hit the "green zone" or "sweet spot". I'm either too loose or too tight. I got kind of a big un-fill before the holidays so I could enjoy the food more. Then I gained weight. After the holidays I had too much of a fill and was way too tight. I have been having it loosened a tiny bit at a time, hoping to finally get to that just right place. Everybody's different, but you will find your way.

I don't shoot for full- I shoot for "not hungry".

I LOVE that statement! It makes perfect sense! I'm going to incorporate it into my self talk. Thanks!

I was banded in Oct. of last year. I have 8.2CCs in a 10 band. I'm very curious about that "Comfort-Zone, Safe-Spot" feeling that everyone refers to. I think that I'm serious missing my body's new fullness clues with the lapband. I can eat much, much more then1/4-1/2 cup. Tell me what I should be feeling! What does your full feeling exactly feel like! Do you measure your food? How much do you eat at one time? How long does it take you to get hungry?

Any and all suggestions are so greatly appreciated! Thank you for your support and best of luck to you! Let's win the war, not just the battle!

Suz

I was banded last May and I too am looking for the "holy grail" of banding...the sweet spot! Let me know what you find out!! Good luck with your future as a healthy person!! I just made it to under 200...I go up and down a pound or two. I'm not able to workout, so that makes it hard for me to lose as much as I would like, but I getting excited for the journey!!

God Bless

Thank you for writing this. I'm in the same boat. I had my surgery on 10/8/10 and went down 20lbs by november. At thanksgviing I was down a total of 30lbs. I went up 10lbs and lost 9 of it. I have no restriction. I have a 11cc band and I'm supposedly filled 8cc. I recently went for a upper G.I. and it shows everything was ok. He did ask me to lean towards my side to see how my stomach empties and it didnt! He asked if I had diabetes. I told him only gestational and he said oh. What does that mean? I see my dr. on the 12th and I am asking him to fill again (he didn't last time) bc this is ridiculous that I can eat anything and everything in sight with no restriction nothing.

I also work out 5 days a week, watch what I eat and drink plenty of fluids (min of 70 oz a day). I'm tired of people telling me muscle weighs more then fat bc at my weight I have too much fat to lose. It just doesn't make sense.

Keep me posted on how you are doing and i'll keep you posted as well!!

Good luck.

Tara

I was reading in my lap band book the other day (the one they gave me before my surgery that was written by the inventor of the lap band), and it said something to the effect that you would know when you hit the right spot by recalling how you had restriction in the days following surgery. The day of my surgery, I could drink water easily but a few days later when my stomach was swollen, it was a little harder. Then I can remember how I could eat just the perfect amount of food and I wasn't thinking about food all of the time. That is the feeling the book said you should be searching for. I have 3 cc's in my 10 cc band and while I think I am almost at my perfect spot, I am not there just yet. I just keep remembering what that feeling was like right after surgery so I will know when I get there. I just keep remembering to listen to my body and trust the process...................and to enjoy where I am and where I am going. It's not always easy, especially if I weigh and the scale hasn't moved. That's when I shove the stupid thing back in the cabinet and just concentrate on doing my happy dance. I've stalled out but I'm not defeated. The scale shall move again and we will find the sweet spot.

We were taught that a fill should keep you satisfied for about 5 - 5 1/2 hrs..

When you start getting down to eating every 2 - 3 hrs.. It's time for a fill.

love your doggie pic shirley!

We were taught that a fill should keep you satisfied for about 5 - 5 1/2 hrs..

When you start getting down to eating every 2 - 3 hrs.. It's time for a fill.

With me the sweet spot was identified when i finallly, actually felt restriction...that meant that when I ate too much...ummm....I got stuck, or overfilled, if you will. The biggest adjustment for me was to learn the NEW feeling of full. In the old days, full was a feeling of my lower stomach---stretched to capacity---and downright uncomfortable. You know that feeling...think of post-Thanksgiving meal...laying on the couch with the load of insulin your body just juiced you with and now you are tired The post-band feeling of full is higher up in your stomach and frankly, just not as satisfying. I went through a bit of withdrawal for that old feeling of full to be honest. Now it's like clockwork - I eat enough and my band sends signals that I have had enough..."soft stops" are what they are called. For me, it is small little burps. For others it can be a runny nose or a feeling that food is "not going down." Make no mistake: it is a long time to wait for the holy grail of restriction. Once you get it...it is a long time to "mourn" the sadness of not being able to EAT everything you feel like eating. In the beginning, you still feel like your old self...like you WANT to eat it all, however, now you have a band that is "turned on and functioning" (i.e., filled to the appropriate level) and you cannot eat anymore. There is an adjustment period to that phase...it's a "letting go" of your old self. Now I am content (and proud of myself) for being able to stop and be SATISFIED with an appropriate amount of food. Being "satisfied" is a head game at first...then it turns into a physical reality. Hope this helps