I have a band that is supposed to hold 4.0 cc's. Right now I am filled with 4.2 cc's! I am tight in the morning, but in the evening after I work out I have to really try not to eat too much. I usually get up at 6:00 am. I don't try to drink anything until about 11:00 am. I stand us and sip slow. That is usually not a problem. At lunch I have a smoothie (low cal/low fat). I stand up and drink slow. The smoothie is very thick. That is usually not a problem. At dinner, about 6:30 pm, I can pretty much eat whatever I want and as much as I want if I chew very well and don't eat too fast. I am in the habit of standing up. I know the restriction would probably kick in if I ate sitting down, but I am in the habit of standing and I am afraid of PB'ing and slipping my band. I just can't believe that I can get that much food down even standing up with 4.2 cc's in the band! Maybe I need to start eating more of a variety. I usually stick to the same things and I count my calories so I don't eat too many. That would be so easy to do considering that the band lets it go through so easily in the evening. I haven't really been trying to eat any meat. I get my protein from yogurt, cottage cheese and protein powder. I know those are soft foods, but I am on my second band and I am afraid of PB'ing too much and slipping my band! Does anyone else out there experience what I am going through with the looseness in the evening and the standing up? I am so confused! With my first band I had the same exact size and all that. I never got a fill above 3.0 cc's and that was too tight. It didn't matter what time of day it was or if I stood up. It was tight! Maybe this band is different because I was only 134 when I got the old band removed and the new band put on. Any thoughts out there?

I think you should try sitting at the table and eating. I think you will notice a big difference in the ammount of food you are about to consume at a time. You are doing yourself a disservice by not letting your band work for you!

Good luck! :confused:

I think you are having soft-food syndrome due to being too tight.

Did you talk to your doc about this?

I don't think that having a smoothie for lunch is enough... you should be having some solid food, your stomach needs it, your band needs it, your body needs it, on the long run a soft food diet doesn't work out.

niki

My doctor suggests drinking liquid in the morning if I feel too tight, it helps loosen it up. Maybe because you're having so many drinks throughout the day (and standing up) it makes you too loose?

I think you are having soft-food syndrome due to being too tight.

I agree with you. I made a decision yesterday to really make an effort to change my habits. I am having my band loosened in a few weeks to have breast implants and I was thinking that I need to really make a decision about whether or not I am too tight so that when I go back to my fill doctor after the surgery I can tell him to either fill me back to where I am now, or fill me a little less. So I decided last night to just test it out. I sat down at the dinner table with tomato Soup first. Yes, I know that's a liquid, but if the band really is too tight to eat what is normal for a bandster, then I wouldn't be able to get the liquid down. The soup was fine. I really tried to take in small bites and to wait between each bite. I love the Lean Cuisine Brick Oven Style pizzas! So, I cooked one. I cut it into fourths. I was able to eat 1/4 of it taking very small bites and counting each chew. I made sure to chew each bite 30 times and wait in between bites. It took me half an hour, but when I finished instead of trying to eat another piece I decided I was satisfied. I had the last piece of banana bread on my mind! I warmed it and put spray butter on it and I sat down with my tiny fork to eat it. I only ate half of it and decided to put the other half in the fridge for another time. I was so happy! I felt like a light bulb had finally come on over my head! If I sit down, take my time, take tiny bites and chew well I can do this! The only draw back is that if I want to cheat all I have to do is stand up. I don't think there's anything I can do about that. I have 4.2 cc's in a 4.0 cc band. I guess I have a small stomach. That could be a blessing in disguise for special occasions or holidays. I am just going to have to get into the habit of doing the right thing and sitting to eat instead of standing. Now that I have realized what I am supposed to be doing I think I am just fine. I can't expect the band to do all the work. Besides that, it's not like I have a ton of weight to lose. I weighed 136 this morning. I really appreciate all of the input here!

After your surgery your doctor will probably not just fill you right back up to where you are now. He'll probably bring you back up slowly.

I do stand up when I eat sometimes, but not all the time. What types of things are you eating for dinner?

After your surgery your doctor will probably not just fill you right back up to where you are now. He'll probably bring you back up slowly.

I do stand up when I eat sometimes, but not all the time. What types of things are you eating for dinner?

I hope he will fill me right back up since we already know what fill level I need to be at. It has taken me 9 fills to get where I am right now. Plus, I am self pay. He's pretty aggressive with his fills and he always does them with a flouroscopic x-ray.

As far as what I usually eat, I have gotten into a bad habit of soft foods. I love to eat Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal and cottage cheese with fruit. While cottage cheese is a soft food, I do think it's a great source of Protein. It has 12 grams in 1/2 a cup. Since I have made the decision to really try to change my habits I will probably eat normal food like meat and vegetables. I will just be eating much slower, chewing much longer, and taking tiny bites. Doing that I am sure that I can eat almost anything I want. I won't be trying to eat a cheeseburger from McDonald's or anything like that. I always try to make healthy choices.

What kind of things do you eat? With my first band I really got into the habit of standing up and maybe that's why I am doing it again this time. The only difference this time is that so far no matter how tight my band is filled, food still goes through easily if I am standing. With my first band, it didn't matter if I was standing up. When my pouch got full, that was it for a few hours. Most of the time, because I ate too fast or took big bites and didn't chew enough I would end up PB'ing. If I had only taken the time to slow down and do it right I am sure I wouldn't have had that problem. Hindsight is 20/20!