How to know when you have hit the GREEN ZONE?

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

WOW! What I am gathering from this is it's "A MIND THING"!

Six months in and 1 # a week down...my Dr. is happy with my loss but I seem not to be quiet as happy.

THANK You each for you replies and tips...

I will start to listen to my body and try the 1 cup of food... Maybe I am to occupied with what's on my plate and try to finish it all regardless of how long it takes or how many bites its takes. aka-Mindless eating!!?!?!? YIKES!

A new year and a new attempt to get a real handle on this!

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Does your band seem different on diffefrent days? Somedays when the weather is rainy my band seems tighter???

IS this all in my head also?

Yes. In a sense, it's all in your head. Or most of it. But a lot of it is autonomic (like breathing, heart beating, blood circulating, etc.) and not within your conscious control. The (extremely simplified) way the band works is to press against the walls of the stomach fundus (the curved upper part), thereby activating the vagus nerve that passes through that area. The vagus nerve carries satiety messages (as well as a lot of other messages) to the brain. Your physical hunger ceases and your brain broadcasts that it's time to stop eating, via various stop signals. Your conscious job is to pay attention, notice those signals, and stop eating when they happen. That can be tricky because some of those signals seem to have nothing to do with hunger or eating. My nose used to run when it was time for me to stop eating. Weird, huh?

And yes, your sense of "restriction" can vary from one day to the next. Or when the weather changes. For example, I used to feel a lot tighter in the morning than in the evening.

I have to run now but will post a separate thread about satiety signals later today.

Jean

Edited to Add: also, the band's proximity to the diaphragm can trigger satiety signals, like a hiccup.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Jean McMillan

[Bandista 7,466]

Such a great thread! Last night we were at a neighbors for dinner. First I felt I could take it or leave it for the spread of hors d'oeuvres -- all kinds of fancy cheeses, olives, etc. That was pretty uncharacteristic of me and hopefully what the new me is like. Then there was a seafood stew for dinner. I was served a large bowl and it was delicious, but when my husband was going back for seconds I simply traded with him so he could have the rest of mine. I realized, "oh, I'm done." My challenge right now is that this doesn't last very long. But I can tell I'm getting there little by little as far as mindful eating, but I am having too much food right now and not losing weight. I tell myself it's okay and I may be losing inches, but of course that's frustrating. I gained a few pounds in the last week or so and of course that is scary. The mind game for me is to believe all is well, that I will be successful, etc. because deep down those fears are there -- fear that it won't work for me, that I don't have what it takes or that I'll be dieting forever. Eeeek. Must rewire that part of the brain!

[2muchfun 8,927]

Beach, no, not in your head. Our bands seem to have their own fickle personalities. Weather, TOM, illness, stress, altitude, sodium can all affect our stomach lining thickness which makes the stoma smaller or bigger.

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

Well, I know I promised earlier to post a list of satiety signals this afternoon or evening, but I don't think I'll be able to do that along with everything else I've got going on today (it's amazing how losing weight can fill your days up with fun and interesting things that have nothing to do with food!). So I will do my best to get that list out tomorrow.

[Lady VS 1,147]

Rarely hungry. Maybe eating 4 oz of food. Sometimes eating three meals other times one. Just not feeling hungry or having a desire to eat.

[Gary John 49]

Well now i know i am not totally crazy most days i eat because it is what most people do there been times that i would not eat just dinner even then i question myself why i am eating i know i am not in the Green zone yet but almost there i have had three fills and when i do eat to much i get the hipcups and lots of Water in my mouth.

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

Well now i know i am not totally crazy most days i eat because it is what most people do there been times that i would not eat just dinner even then i question myself why i am eating i know i am not in the Green zone yet but almost there i have had three fills and when i do eat to much i get the hipcups and lots of Water in my mouth.

Hang in there! You're not crazy, and you just need to keep on keeping on.

If you'd like to read more about the infamous Green Zone, click this link: http://www.bariatricpal.com/page/articles.html/_/support/post-op-support/get-into-the-green-zone-r97

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

Once again, I must apologize for tardiness in posting about satiety signals. I'm usually a get-there-15-minutes-in-advance person, but nowadays, I move more slowly (I'm almost elderly) and life tends to intervene (I'm way too busy).

Anyway...the whole topic of satiety signals kept me stewing for several hours this afternoon, and I finally decided to divvy up the topic into 3 articles. The first one is here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/293230-satiety-101-satiety-the-restriction-myth/#entry3308624. I hope it helps to at least begin to clarify things. Stay tuned for #2 in the series, which I will post as soon as I've had some sleep.

Jean

[carlak 59]

Jean why did u remove band

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

Jean why did u remove band

My band was removed because of esophageal damage from several decades of "silent" reflux whose symptoms I managed to ignore because I was never aware of any acid. My symptom was a persistent cough, and I didn't believe the ENT doc I saw for the cough when he suggested my problem was reflux. My band probably aggravated the problem. And to illustrate what a contrary person I am, I later revised to the sleeve despite knowing that reflux is extremely common in sleeve patients. So it looks like I'll be taking omeprazole for the rest of my life, and I hope that PPI (omeprazole is a proton pump inhibitor) use doesn't cause me the problems it causes other folks.

[terrydumont46 1,954]

Be careful of sliders. sliders are different for everyone. salads are a slider for me. i can eat salad all day long. it just slides through. thats why eat Protein first no matter what. it will take longer to go through. eat your vegetables next. likely you will not be able to eat a whole cup of food than. the Protein is taking up the room. how do you do on, say, a piece of meat. can you eat like you mentioned in your post if you were to have a solid piece of something. that sounds dirty but you know what i mean. it won't kill you to have another fill. if it's to much you can have it removed. that is why this is called a adjustable band. thank God we have this option. i also think i am nearing the green zone. on the 23rd i will get a small fill. i want to see if it will help keep me satiated between meals better. if it doesn't than i don't need it. good luck

I feel like I'm getting close...... Only hungry enough to eat twice a day......Not snacking....Not thinking about and obsessing over food....., But, I
Know I'm not in green zone yet bc of the quantity of food I can eat..... Much more than a cup of food at a time. For example, yesterday's New Year's dinner... I ate 1 1/2 cup of smothered cabbage, a cup of sautéed mushrooms, and a cup of black eye peas...... Then, I got my hiccups..... My signal for not one more bite! I'm hoping another fill (Jan. 13) will get me there!

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

i cant tell you how often jeannie and me discussed this esp in regards to me..

how do i know about the green or (pink zone) as its called...i have no earthly idea..

like with all things, depending on whom you talk to, their wls, their journey progression,

a persons zone is their own...hard to explain to someone..

i know when i had enough to eat..and i know when to stop

and i just work the band/pliction as best i can by helping it by eating as clean as i can..

so maybe i am in the zone after all..

[B-52 7,113]

Thing about sliders......after a while, due to eating so little for so long, our regular stomachs shrink, abbs and tummies get flatter and harder, etc.....

So we..or at least for Me, I cannot hold that much volume in my stomach anymore...that is a REAL feeling of getting full, very fast....

I have to pace myself even with Water....if I am very thirsty, say at the gym and I need to Hydrate...there is no way I can drink an entire bottle of Water as fast as I used to...I would get a good old fashioned "Belly Ache"

So if something is a slider that passes right through the band easily...my stomach will also prohibit me from over eating just as the band does with solid foods....

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

Excellent insight and advice!

Be careful of sliders. sliders are different for everyone. salads are a slider for me. i can eat salad all day long. it just slides through. thats why eat Protein first no matter what. it will take longer to go through. eat your vegetables next. likely you will not be able to eat a whole cup of food than. the Protein is taking up the room. how do you do on, say, a piece of meat. can you eat like you mentioned in your post if you were to have a solid piece of something. that sounds dirty but you know what i mean. it won't kill you to have another fill. if it's to much you can have it removed. that is why this is called a adjustable band. thank God we have this option. i also think i am nearing the green zone. on the 23rd i will get a small fill. i want to see if it will help keep me satiated between meals better. if it doesn't than i don't need it. good luck

I feel like I'm getting close...... Only hungry enough to eat twice a day......Not snacking....Not thinking about and obsessing over food....., But, I
Know I'm not in green zone yet bc of the quantity of food I can eat..... Much more than a cup of food at a time. For example, yesterday's New Year's dinner... I ate 1 1/2 cup of smothered cabbage, a cup of sautéed mushrooms, and a cup of black eye peas...... Then, I got my hiccups..... My signal for not one more bite! I'm hoping another fill (Jan. 13) will get me there!

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

CG,

There you go, over-thinking again. Yet another reason we're soul sisters! But I think you're just on the verge of knowing that the infamous Green Zone is, after all, a RANGE and not a single point, and you've been roaming that range for a while now ("Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play, where never is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day"). Your next assignment: giving yourself credit for recognizing that.

Jean

i cant tell you how often jeannie and me discussed this esp in regards to me..

how do i know about the green or (pink zone) as its called...i have no earthly idea..

like with all things, depending on whom you talk to, their wls, their journey progression,

a persons zone is their own...hard to explain to someone..

i know when i had enough to eat..and i know when to stop

and i just work the band/pliction as best i can by helping it by eating as clean as i can..

so maybe i am in the zone after all..