Ok...so I've been reading "the BIG book on the lap-band" and I'm learning so much from it.

As I read and read....they keep talking about "feeling restriction". Now I know from being all over these boards that you dont actually feel your band inside of your body (except the port) but can someone possibly describe what it means to "feel" restricted.....

Is it possible to put it into words.....

All of you are a great help...receiving such great ideas and support for whats to come....

Finishing up all of the testing needed and my 6 mos supervised diet...hoping for a sept date...seems sooooooo far away! Oh my!

Thanks!!

http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html This may help some.....

~~~Stephanie

PS Hopefully the link will work, sorry if it does not.

http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html This may help some.....

~~~Stephanie

PS Hopefully the link will work, sorry if it does not.

You beat me to it! I was about to post that link too! GMTA!

Good link... it explains how the band should work for most of us.

Thank you both...im not banded so maybe im not getting it....i understand the band is not restricting what you eat etc...i guess im asking is that "restriction" they talk about feeling over and over in the book.....is it a describable feeling or do you have to be banded to truly understand it...forgive my ignorance on this....

I have been banded since June 6th, and I can tell you what it feels like to me.

Normally I don't feel anything. I feel fairly normal.

I do feel hungry, but when I eat which is very very freaking slowly, I start to feel very full.

That's what my ''restricted'' feels like.

If you get very full you feel very restricted.

If you get over full you get sick, and it hurts.

I have never gone to that point, just to the point of feeling satisfied and not hungry anymore.

But I can tell you feel like you do NOT want to put another bite in your mouth. Not because you are overly full, not because you feel stuffed, I cant explain it but I just dont want to eat anymore. I feel comfortably full and saited.

For me it was feeling satisfied with eating less food from the git-go. With each fill I felt I could eat less and I was fine with that. Then, the 3rd fill and some foods struggled to pass through my pouch and stoma. I've always equated getting food stuck as a sign my band is doing it's job but I'm not following the rules. This is a signal for me to slow down, chew more, and that, to me is restriction.

BTW-It took 3 more small fills for me to find the green zone.

tmf

Thank you both...im not banded so maybe im not getting it....i understand the band is not restricting what you eat etc...i guess im asking is that "restriction" they talk about feeling over and over in the book.....is it a describable feeling or do you have to be banded to truly understand it...forgive my ignorance on this....

Well..for me, the band restricts the volume I eat. Provided i'm not drinking calories/thin Soups. That was my problem pre banding...i ate too much! Lots of times it was good/ok choices...just way, way too much! It also prevents me from being hungry for much longer periods. For me, the restriction part (amount of food) is a physical feeling. The lack of hunger for longer periods, I suppose thats a function of "restriction", although I don't physically feel my band shortly after eating....it just does it's thing.

I have been banded since June 6th, and I can tell you what it feels like to me.

Normally I don't feel anything. I feel fairly normal.

I do feel hungry, but when I eat which is very very freaking slowly, I start to feel very full.

That's what my ''restricted'' feels like.

If you get very full you feel very restricted.

If you get over full you get sick, and it hurts.

I have never gone to that point, just to the point of feeling satisfied and not hungry anymore.

But I can tell you feel like you do NOT want to put another bite in your mouth. Not because you are overly full, not because you feel stuffed, I cant explain it but I just dont want to eat anymore. I feel comfortably full and saited.

Thank you SOOOO much, that does help! Just trying to prepare and wrap my head around all that is going to happen and change but guess I REALLY wont know until I'm there.....thanks again!

For me, restriction is the tightness of my band, which makes it harder/slower for the food to pass thru, which fills my small pouch up and makes me feel satisfied from a small quantity of food.

For me restriction is not feeling hungry anymore. Restriction to me is also making better food choices because when I make poor food choices it hurts and I gag up about 3 lbs of spit. Restriction is no more big bites. When I take big bites it gets stuck and the inside of my mouth is at about 95% humidity lol. When you look up restriction in the dictionary it says "a limitation on the use or enjoyment of property". If you enjoy eating then restriction limits the amount of joy you get from eating. Food is no longer the temptress of my thoughts or the highlight of my day. It means something different to everyone. Restriction customarily governs behavior.

when i was newly banded, and my insides swollen

when i would sip and or eat my allotted amount, i felt full (like i had just eaten a huge thanksgiving meal)..that is what restriction feels like to me.....my band and plicaition give me that full feeling now and i listen to my body for signs/signals..even if i can eat more than i am suppose to, i dont...to me its not about restriction, its about me using common sense and letting the band work to help me feel full..

Thank you all so much for helping me get a handle on all this new information that will soon be a reality for me....i hope!!! You all are such an inspiration and I have learned so much from you!