Can anyone tell me what being full feels like?

[windycitywids 5]

Hi All,

I was wondering if you might not want to share what your "full" feelings are and how you know when to stop eating? I can eat my portions but literally my stomach is still growling and I inevitably end up eating more. I have a realize band and am about at 9cc's currently. Any help would be wonderous!

[jennifer1 180]

Hi,

I am on my second fill. i now hae 7.5 cc's in my band. I'm not sure why people say that cuz my doc says that number doesnt matter since every is different. Any who....i was waiting for the big fullness to happen and it never has. Now instead of feeling full I feel satisfied. Sometimes i can feel a slight tightness(for lack of a better) word in the middle of my chest, which is where i was told I would feel my "new full". For some reason I was waiting for the "if i take one more bite i'll throw up". ummm yeah never happened! LOL I think I probably would be able to eat more if i physically tried, but i know i'm only eating till am satisfied. Once I got my 2nd fill i burped more and heard a lot of gurgling going on in my stomach. Kinda weird. But I'm gonna see how much I lose with this next fill. It does take me about 5-6 hours before I am physically hungry again. Ok let me stop rambling. Hope this helped some. LOL! Best wishes

[Rachel412 116]

Hi All,

I was wondering if you might not want to share what your "full" feelings are and how you know when to stop eating? I can eat my portions but literally my stomach is still growling and I inevitably end up eating more. I have a realize band and am about at 9cc's currently. Any help would be wonderous!

I think of "full" as like, Thanksgiving dinner full. And that's not what the band is supposed to give us, it's supposed to help us feel satisfied. Not overstuffed! That's so hard for me to remember. I'd say eat your portion, then wait 30 minutes. If in 30 minutes you're still growling and feeling hunger- not "I want to eat more" but HUNGER- then eat more Protein.

[Wheelchair 13]

On my 'off' days when I find myself indulging myself.... I might take a bite or two more than I really should...and usually I begin to hiccup very badly. The hiccup sometimes hurts my chest so it makes me stop eating right away.

[vickyd 24]

Ditto with the "satisfied" feeling. If I eat until I feel full (what I have always called full) then I have over eaten and will feel horrible later. From the beginning, I have weighed and measured my food (if I'm at a restaurant I portion it out by eye) and just eat that amount...when I'm finished I am no longer hungry - that is my new "full"

[Jenn1214 120]

I have a few "full" signals. Sometimes I will hiccup, other times I get shoulder pain, and still other times I feel a slight pressure under the left side of my rib cage. I try not to rely on them too much, instead deciding what portions I will eat ahead of time and not eating after that unless I'm absolutely starving (though that rarely happens). If I get one of these signals before I'm done with my predetermined meal, I will stop.

[Cindy C 150]

If I eat to "full" I get that left side pain too. It's horrible! I no longer eat to that point. I eat very slowly, taking several moments between bites. As soon as the hunger pain goes away, I stop.

[Janiece 64]

I don't really feel full the way I expected. It's more like I've run out of room. I get a feeling of pressure just under my bra line and I know no more food can fit. If I overeat, I get really hard and loud hiccups which make my tummy hurt worse! and it's embarrassing...

[stateofzen 46]

Satisfied is what I shoot for, and I have to pay attention sometimes to catch it. It just feels like. . . eh, I don't need anymore. I may want more, but I just know I don't need another bite. Last night when I was eating leftover roast/carrots/etc. it literally happened mid-chew on my last bite. I swallowed and put down the fork that was carrying the next bite, then pitched it

If I eat past that point to full, because I'm not paying attention or I'm being obstinate because I just *want* to eat more, then I feel gassy and uncomfortable in my chest (lots of belching) and sometimes get left shoulder pain. I HATE the way this feels so I try really hard to never get "full".

It's so subjective. I encourage you to try eating without any distraction (no people, no tv, no nothing), only paying attention to your hunger cues, until you get the hang of what your satiation feels like as it is really hard to describe.

[windycitywids 5]

Ok, I think it is pretty much the same for all of us. I was in a bit of pain for the last couple of days and it just dawned on me today that I WAS OVEREATING! You'd think that after 11 months I would know when I was full. I do now though. Thanks to all of you for sharing.

This is a looong journey and it helps when others along the way stop and say hi! It is easy to feel alone and discouraged. I was hoping to be a lot further toward my goal weight but joining this site has really been a Godsend and I think things will be smoother for me now. You all rock!

[Cindy C 150]

Ok, I think it is pretty much the same for all of us. I was in a bit of pain for the last couple of days and it just dawned on me today that I WAS OVEREATING! You'd think that after 11 months I would know when I was full. I do now though. Thanks to all of you for sharing.

This is a looong journey and it helps when others along the way stop and say hi! It is easy to feel alone and discouraged. I was hoping to be a lot further toward my goal weight but joining this site has really been a Godsend and I think things will be smoother for me now. You all rock!

Don't feel bad. Sometimes I do the same thing and it's been 3 years!!

[xavier 153]

I have my band pretty tight right now which is right for me. If I eat about 3/4 c of food I feel like I ate a giant thanksgiving meal back in the pre-band days. I feel REALLY full. If I eat one more bite because I am not paying attention...I will get pain. If I have my band a little less filled I get the satisfied but not full feeling and I do tend to overeat.

Oh, also I can be stuffed to the max and my stomach growls like a rampaging bear...I used to think the growling was a weird hunger (and I guess it was hunger before I got banded) but now I know its just food moving around or whatever but it is NOT hunger...weird!

[dk4k 15]

After 6 months, I had recently gone back to serving myself a portion almost as big as the rest of the family was eating (basically, it was how much I wanted). I would eat it all and be really uncomfortable! Now I'm back to serving myself what I think I should eat (I eyeball the portions), and I feel satisfied when I'm done. I'm also trying to pay attention to whether I even need to finish what I served myself.

I sometimes hiccup once or twice right after dinner. I haven't figured out if that means I stopped at the right time, or just barely over-ate.

It's good to be reminded of this stuff occasionally. Really changing the habits instead of just being on a diet, will help keep the weight off in the long run.

[Rachael 4]

I yawn and get a pain in my left shoulder if I over eat. I try to eat slowly and do measure out my food. I just had my second fill yesterday. I am hoping that I will have satiety for a longer amount of time. I try to eat until I am comfortable and not hungry anymore. It is hard to pitch the rest of the food...but I know I have to do that or be in pain.

[brbm6 6]

I have a gurgle gurgle in my throat when I am at my "done" point. If I take another bite I am doomed!