I was banded 4/24 and have since had three fills, the last being 8/22. Now I'm paranoid I have a slip.

I have a tendency of eating too fast and then PBing for relief. Since my last fill I've noticed a lot more restriction but here lately I'm wondering if it's too much.

Last night I ate about a half cup of Chef Boyardee spaghetti & meatballs and was satisfied. About 3 or 4 hours later I was able to get down a 1.5" x 1.5" piece of thin crust pizza then I was full.

About two hours later my stomach was growling so I ate about 2 forkfuls of meatloaf & maybe a 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes. I was full up.

Is that how much I should be able to eat? Maybe because pre-surgery I used to eat such huge portions I'm just having trouble getting used to eating so little. I haven't experienced any reflux or nausea. I have had brief moments of light-headedness but I just figured it was from lack of Protein.

For lunch today I ate about two forkfuls of beef taco salad and I'm completely stuffed.

Sorry for the boring, rambling post but any input would be much appreciated!

The band should keep you satisfied on a cup or less of food for about 4 hours. Satisfied doesn't mean full, nor does it mean physically unable to eat more. It simply means no longer physically hungry.

"Able to get down" shouldn't be what you're striving for. You should be eating when physically hungry only.

It doesn't sound like you're too tight at all. You seem to be able to eat anything you want without issue.

I was banded 8/6/12, and it is a month now. I struggled at first with snacking, but healthy snacks, no carbs just greek yogurt, or cottage cheese, etc only protein. I got the carbs from the yogurt and cottage cheese. I was not losing weight for about 10 day, and when I did a follow up with my doctor i realize they meant no snacking between meal but I was so busy trying to get in carbs and protein, that i was eating too many calories. I have nothing in my band until hopefully the 19th of September. I am now eating 1 cup of food each meal, and i am losing weight. I am not eating between meals which allows me to get in my 64oz of fluid, ex: water, tea, etc and i am not hungry. My dr. said to only focus on the protein and fiber, not the carbs and fat but be mindful to make low calories, low fat choices, not pizza or canned processed foods. She explained to me that i will not feel full after my 6-8 ounces of food, but wait the 20 minutes and let your brain process the food and i should not be hungry for at least 4 hours. I could eat more, but i don't, i wait and i find that i am not hungry. I would not beleive if it didn't happen to me. She explained that it is very important to have the 4 hours window of not eating, because what i don't take in with carbs and fat by not eating between meals your body will use your body fat to get the carbs, fat etc and burn the fat and you lose weight. If you do eat between meals, your body does not need to burn the fat because you are feeding it more food between meals. It was so profound when she said that, it all clicked and i tried it and it worked. Remember I have nothing in my band yet, and i can eat more, but i stop at 1 cup and wait the 20 mins. I was talking on the phone today and went 6 hours and still did not feel hungry, and all i had this morning for breakfast was a 6oz greek yogurt with fruit, a cup of coffee before breakfast. Unbelievable. I may not get a fill if I keep up this way. I do want a fill, because my doctor said once i get a fill, it will be hard to eat more than 1/2 cup of food and then i really need to focus on protein and fiber. Try not eating between meals and if that does not work, don't eat the white carbs because it is not a healthy choice, and i may be filling you up but not keeping you full (carbs make you hungry and that may be what is happening to you) and you need to have high protein with each meal. I have been on a ground turkey homemade chili for 1 week and loss 4 pounds. I have only followed this meal plan for 1 week and it works, where I did not lose any weight for 10 days before my dr. set me straight. Hope this helps.

Mycelia, be very happy! This is exactly what happened to me. You have to break yourself of old habit. I was not hungry after eating a cup of food from the get go and still am not. I eat two times a day now and am very rarely hungry. I usually eat around noon and 7 pm each day. Sometimes I have an egg for breakfast on the weekends when I play golf. If you are not hungry then don't worry about a fill. My doctor had me get only the first fill because he did not put anything in at the time of surgery and said that if you are losing at a good pace he wanted something in the band as your stomach will change as you lose weight. I am 7 months out now, down 111 pounds and have only had the one fill. I go 8 hours between meals during the day and nearly 16 at night. I do usually have a snack before bed, about 40-60 calories. So my total intake each day is around 500 calories.

Congratulations! Keep it up.

I think you may be a bit too tight and are unable to get enough down at one time to keep you going fr a couple of hours. Two forkfuls of meatloaf and 1/4 cup of potato is not much of a meal, wouldn't get me from lunch to dinner!

Thank you all for you're input. I'm happy to say I found out what the problem was. Between allergies and getting over a cold my post-nasal drip must have been (sorry, this is gross) filling my pouch up with mucus that wasn't draining.

I drank some hot tea and now I can eat again. My next phase is making better choices :-)

Glad you figured it out!

Thanks, me too!