I have been reading the post here and I am a little confused now, with what I am feeling.

With each fill our goal is to feel restricted while we eat. What does that feel like you you?

I had my surgery May 11, 2011, my first fill June 28th. After the surgery I could eat whatever, as fast as I wanted without any problems. Since my first fill, there has been two times when I have eaten to fast and not chewed my food up, because I wasn't thinking and forgot. Right after I had to immediately throw it up.

I am wondering is this what restriction is( not throwing up, but not being able to have large pieces of food pass)? I feel like I can eat a lot of food and not feel the feeling of being full. I don't eat a lot because there is not enough time and I want to lose weight.

I'm only 3 weeks post op but the Doc put a small amount of saline in my band during surgery. For me: When I eat too fast I get a pain in my right shoulder. It's my signal to slow down. I also feel a lump near my diaphragm if I'm eating too fast. Again, I get a pain in my right should when I am full, I stop eating. I've yet to experience hunger between meals but the Doc said that may change as I lose weight and need a fill. I think everyone has a different experience with restriction. I know I can't take big bites.

Restriction is being satisfied physically on smallish amounts of food for 4-5 hours. Not " full" mind you, in the sense you may be used to and it probably will not stop the "I'm not hungry but I want to eats", though some lucky folks lose interest in food.

I would stongly suggest you not rely on the band to force you to stop or to eat slowly because it might get very frustrating. Instead, practice the behaviors of small plate, slow eating, good food choices no matter what and start listening to your body and trying to figure out what satisfied feels to you (not an easy task!)

Restriction is being satisfied physically on smallish amounts of food for 4-5 hours. Not " full" mind you, in the sense you may be used to and it probably will not stop the "I'm not hungry but I want to eats", though some lucky folks lose interest in food.

I would stongly suggest you not rely on the band to force you to stop or to eat slowly because it might get very frustrating. Instead, practice the behaviors of small plate, slow eating, good food choices no matter what and start listening to your body and trying to figure out what satisfied feels to you (not an easy task!)

Nothing to add ... Stateofzen ... I like your screen name !

The big thing I had to learn after surgery was that during all of my pre-banded life, what I considered "full" was really OVER full. That feeling of being stuffed, of having a heaviness in my stomach, like I had to lean back and stretch out my abdomen because it needed more room- that's not full, that's TOO full. That's over eating.

With the band and a few fills, I eat for a while and then no longer feel hungry, but I am not what I used to think of as "full". Your full stomach holds up to 6 cups of food. I still could eat that much, even with the band, but after the first cup the band tells me I'm not hungry any more. Can I keep eating past that? Sure I can. And I have to work really hard to continually ask myself "am I still hungry or do I just want to eat more?" when I'm having a meal or snack.

I hope this helps...

I had my Realize band 6 days before you! I feel the same way you do about the "full" feeling. My doctor said you shouldn't feel full - you should feel satisfied. I have only had 1 fill so far (2 cc). I don't feel any restriction at all.

The big thing I had to learn after surgery was that during all of my pre-banded life, what I considered "full" was really OVER full. That feeling of being stuffed, of having a heaviness in my stomach, like I had to lean back and stretch out my abdomen because it needed more room- that's not full, that's TOO full. That's over eating.

With the band and a few fills, I eat for a while and then no longer feel hungry, but I am not what I used to think of as "full". Your full stomach holds up to 6 cups of food. I still could eat that much, even with the band, but after the first cup the band tells me I'm not hungry any more. Can I keep eating past that? Sure I can. And I have to work really hard to continually ask myself "am I still hungry or do I just want to eat more?" when I'm having a meal or snack.

I hope this helps...

I just had this problem and I asked the folks here about it and I got so many great responses. I for one never feel satisfied and ( I'm at 9cc in a realize band) so I would keep eating and then was so bloated and painy. I was overeating at least 2x what I should've been and my weight loss was stalled. I've lost 5 lbs this week and cut my portions by half. I'm still not satisfied but I'm not hungry either. It's a fine line to walk but I didn't have weight loss surgery for the fun of it I did it for my health and it's my built in will power now. I hate the band when I want to emotion eat but I'm glad it's there or I'd be back to pigging out. Remember we get by with a little help from our friends!

I had my Realize band 6 days before you! I feel the same way you do about the "full" feeling. My doctor said you shouldn't feel full - you should feel satisfied. I have only had 1 fill so far (2 cc). I don't feel any restriction at all.

Everyone's different... I felt some "restriction" at 6 and more now, but I still think I could use another fill to get at a better spot.