Just wondering what exactly is meant by "restriction" and what should it feel like?

I wondered that, too when I as first banded!

The band is not about restriction. It's about SATIETY. To a lot of surgeons 'restriction' is a four-letter word. :-) What you want, what the goal of WLS surgery is, is a sense of satisfaction and satiation after a small amount of food.

A lot of people when they are first banded will find to their disappointment (and panic!) that they can still eat quite freely - that they are not 'restricted' in the amount they can pack away.

I was like that, until I had my 5th band adjustment (fill). Only then did I find I was incapable of eating large portions. This is what is commonly referred to as 'restriction'. I just finished writing a lengthy post on another thread about this (if you search my contributions you'll find it).

I realize now, 7-months post-op and 6 fills later, that it is not the restriction that makes you lose weight. It's the length of time you can comfortably go between meals without hunger.

@@mmartin3 where are you in your process? Your profile says you had WLS in November 1999?