I am literally two days into my first week of 'normal' food, following a week of liquids and a week of mushies. I am two-weeks post op, and if I was honest, a bit scared about eating. I keep thinking my stomach will burst, or god knows what...even though that's clearly not the case. In the past, like most of us, I wasn't particularly conscious of the speed I ate, or how big my mouthfuls were but now I am super conscious and I am trying to figure out when and what my body is doing to let me know it's full. At the moment, I think it's gas pain still, but after a meal I get neck and back pain. At the moment it's down my side.

I am curious to know how other people can tell they are full. Is it by feeling stuffed, or do you go by how many mouthfuls you can eat, or do you make sure you take at least 20 minutes to eat a meal...I imagine full is full, but being new to this "eating when banded" thing, i'm just wondering if there is a common signal to look out for that's telling me enough is enough or how other people listen to their body telling them they are full?

I love all these replies. Its clearly a topic which varies person to person. Today I grazed all day rather than have set meal times and far prefered it. I don't like feeling full or stuffed and I could go for quite sometime between meals as work is so busy already but I guess it's just adjusting to a new way of eating. Its always good to learn and be aware of how you eat regardless of what stage were at post-op, it sounds like everyone is still learning.

I have to say one thing I haven't done before but have found myself doing now is visually recognising my new portion sizes and knowing when it's too much. All good practice for when the first fill comes!

I know several people who graze all day, or at the least have 5 tiny meals a day.....I always look at the big picture...how much did I actually eat in a single day? Which adds up to how much in a week? and so on...and realize, as a whole, I eat considerably less that what I did before surgery...adapting a new lifestyle.

HealthyNewMe: For me, it's that first burp!

When I was researching doing the band, I went to YouTube before finding this forum. Several people on YouTube discussed "Soft Stops". The most common "thread" was that first came a burp but if you continue to eat then hiccups and if you don't stop at the hiccups, WATCH OUT!

I am literally two days into my first week of 'normal' food, following a week of liquids and a week of mushies. I am two-weeks post op, and if I was honest, a bit scared about eating. I keep thinking my stomach will burst, or god knows what...even though that's clearly not the case. In the past, like most of us, I wasn't particularly conscious of the speed I ate, or how big my mouthfuls were but now I am super conscious and I am trying to figure out when and what my body is doing to let me know it's full. At the moment, I think it's gas pain still, but after a meal I get neck and back pain. At the moment it's down my side.

I am curious to know how other people can tell they are full. Is it by feeling stuffed, or do you go by how many mouthfuls you can eat, or do you make sure you take at least 20 minutes to eat a meal...I imagine full is full, but being new to this "eating when banded" thing, i'm just wondering if there is a common signal to look out for that's telling me enough is enough or how other people listen to their body telling them they are full?

well, i have the plication, so that helps me (feel fuller quicker).....it does give me a full feeling very similiar to eating a thanksgiving dinner.......but i also know this feeling can be very uncomfy if i continue eating past that feeling.......i stop eating at my allotted amount which is 1 to 1 1/2 cups of food (sometimes its eyeballed when i am out and about and its salad) but i do listen to my body.....a small baby hiccup, or a baby burp or a (fullness).......i am a total believer in stopping even when you can and you want to eat even more...i truly believe the signs are there for us to use......up to us whether or not we listen to them..

Edited January 21, 201412 yr by ☠carolinagirl☠

I have been keeping a notebook to record everything i eat and drink. This is the only way i keep track of calories, protein, and fluid ounces. I think after doing this for a period of time i will get used to what i am supposed to have.

BillieG - I do too! I also keep it so I don't have to guess how long meals hold me. I plan to carry it to the doc office with me as well.

It isn't easy to decide when I've eaten enough because my stomach and my brain sometimes send me different messages.The forner says: "I don't need more food", while the latter says "More! More!"

I've been banded for 2 years and 8 months, but I still find it difficult to know when I shoul stop eating.

Nevertheless I've lost 50 kilos..

50kg is amazing congratulations!

I've started using myfitnesspal again and now furiously scan everything I am eating!

I think you are getting very good advise here. Nothing more to add. Just remember it takes time...

if i feel anything i know i did something stupid. and likely stuck a bit. i only make enough food that if i finish it , it is my alloted amount. now most of the time i never finish a meal. i suddenly just get the feeling that i am bored with the food. no longer want to eat slowly, or little bites, its just not worth my time. i than know i have had enough. and i get up with my plate and throw away the food left on my plate because from bad expierences i know one more bite and i will have pain coming up my sternum. my nose runs and i get hiccoughs. so that is the sign i look for. bored with food.

if i feel anything i know i did something stupid. and likely stuck a bit. i only make enough food that if i finish it , it is my alloted amount. now most of the time i never finish a meal. i suddenly just get the feeling that i am bored with the food. no longer want to eat slowly, or little bites, its just not worth my time. i than know i have had enough. and i get up with my plate and throw away the food left on my plate because from bad expierences i know one more bite and i will have pain coming up my sternum. my nose runs and i get hiccoughs. so that is the sign i look for. bored with food.

I know exactly what you mean...it is not physical with me, but more mental...I have no interest in food, and most times I do not feel like eating...and when I do, I simply come to a moment when I do not want to continue....

My Dr. described it to me this way...the mere presence of the band, where it is, how it is adjusted, is stimulating the correct nerves telling my brain that I have just eaten, I am satisfied, full even, but Physically I may not have had anything to eat all day... it is with me 25 hours a day, not just between meals as some people experience...

Here it is 4:30am, I have not had anything to eat in just about 12 hours, and if I try to think about food, something now and perhaps what am I going to have throughout the day...like you, I find it boring! I am not interested.

See, I don't have that bored with food thing, and maybe never will- I know ymmv. I have eaten til I'm full and paid a price in super uncomfortableness (in the case with a slider food) to super stuck (ick). But just recently (and I've been banded for 2 years this month) I get a soft signal that I feel stuffy- like, my sinuses and nose stuff up. I stop eating and the feeling goes away. Weird, but I think others have this too. I've had it since my last fill in December.

I don't know if maybe I still need adjusting since I do feel like eating if I haven't eaten in awhile, but I feel like I'm in my sweet spot as far as restriction- have to eat small bites, and chew, and really can't eat anywhere near what I used to. I also never ever ever drink with my meals, that's a recipe for stuck disaster!

Nicki

Oh, and I keep wanting to mention that B-52, you must have been a teenager when you went to Vietnam! You look way too young for that War!

Edited January 23, 201412 yr by JustDoIt130

I have two signs that I have eaten enough.. my nose will run and/or I will hiccup.. I try to stop eating before either of those things happen. sometimes the hiccup is from eating too fast. Most of the time I can weight out my 1 cup portion and feel satisfied with that. eating dinner out is trickier but I have gotten pretty good at knowing when to stop. I have gotten a few pressure reminders in my chest . I think you are too new to worry about any of that. when I was newly post op I was lucky to be able to eat much of anything.

In the beginning I had hiccups, but now that I'm at green zone, I get shoulder pain. Weird I know...