Well I got 1 ml taken out as I was told I was severely restricted having 7ml in a 10ml band.....I have gone from throwing up and taking 2 hours to eat my dinner....to being able to clear my plate within 10 minutes ....I do not feel sick or full but just content and happy I can eat....is this the way I should feel ....or should I feel a little restriction and tightness in my chest to signal stop eating....little confused as now I feel like I have no band fitted.....oh will I ever get it right with this band!!!!

If you are satisfied on a meal with 2-3 oz. of solid Protein some veggies and some starch if there is room, then don't worry. Does a meal hold you for 3 to 4 hours? Then you are good to go.

Being banded does not mean pain or pressure when eating. My done signal is that I am no longer hungry. If I am in pain, I have eaten too much or not chewed well enough or done something else not quite right.

re: "should I feel a little restriction and tightness in my chest to signal stop eating..."

you should stop eating before you are 'full' ...there is a nice place we've never known before, it's the 'not hungry but still eating' mode .....learn to appreciate the nuances of 'satiety'. We have never learned the MYSTERY of why thin people stay that way.

Here it is:

They eat until they are NOT hungry; then they stop, regardless of what's left or who entices them to eat more.

We of the TOTMOs [Tribe of the Morbidly Obese] eat until 'full' and then keep eating. For an astonishing variety of reasons, we do not stop eating regardless of hunger. Most of us eat until whatever it was is gone. We have to find a way to make our Brain overcome our Belly, and train it like any other semi-domesticated creature. We need to make our Brain direct our eating habits, not our Belly.

Personally I failed for decades at the 'stop when full' nonsense was the theory.

We have to learn new sensory cues about HUNGER not 'fullness' or 'tightness', IMHO.

Sometimes a few bites is all you will want, and then consider....why keep eating?

Over the long haul of 8-12 months, we need to find a way to reprogram our eating behavior...for me it is to not eat if I'm not hungry...

In the beginning, I had to rely on the Band to get a sense of what 'too full' was.

Sounds like you know that one. Do some reading on appetite, satiety and eating behavior, it may give you some ideas.

cheers on your journey

To me, it is not a feeling of being full.

Today, my Wife and I went into the city to see a Braodway Show.

I went to the gym at 6am, had a Protein shake when I got home around 8:30am.

We got on the train to NYC about 10:30am. Walked around times square for a while before the show which started at 2pm, and ended around 5pm.

It was cold, so we decided we would get something to eat later when we got closer to home.

It's now 9pm, and I still have not had anything to eat yet today, other than the shake for Breakfast.

I did have a few drinks at the show.

THAT'S THE BAND! Normally I would be fit to be tied by not eating, but frankly, I'm just not interested, or hungry. NOT a feeling of being full. Just a lack of interest!

There is no other explanation for this other than the band is telling my brain I don't need to eat.

Thank you so much for taking time to respond....I think I was expecting to be like my sister who got by pass surgery...she lost 7st in a year and is now very petite....she threw up or 'dumped' when she over did it on sugar etc....I on the otherhand was about 5st overweight I am down 2st 7lbs since July 2010 however I was hoping to be more....as a comfort eater I tend to eat when I am busy at work or at certain times of the month....I think I have confused the band and what it is support to do....I equate pain / tightenness with the band working instead of seeing it as a tool....to aid me in making the right food choices....thank you