I am fairly new to being banded; it has been 2 months for me. I know that I am doing something wrong and I need a little push in the right direction.

I get up in the morning and my band is tight, so I have my coffee, meds, and a Protein shake. I load the Protein Shake up with 31 grams of protein. I am full until about 3:00, but I am only a tiny bit hungry. I then have a can of flaked chicken which has 16 grams of protein and green Beans. Sometimes I do have admit I am lazy with lunch and I just eat some pieces of cheese, it is only because I am not hungry.

At 7:00 when I have dinner I am famished I can eat my 1 1/2 cups of food, and feel almost full. We normally have some sort of meat dish with veggies, or a meat dish with noddles and veggies. But about 1/2 later I am starving and I eat again! I feel like I didn't eat the first meal, I am even hungier the second time. I can't eat as much the second time because I do have restriction and my band does get tight, and a little cranky. (About 1 cup will go down.)

I stay full until about 11:00 and then I need another protein shake. This time it only has 23 grams of protein.

I don't think I need a fill because I have restriction until 7:00 pm. It is kind of like my band goes on a break during dinner. What's up? Dispite my best of intentions I have turned into a grazier and a monster dinner eater! My tummy really does hurt at 2nd dinner service. Has this happened to anyone else? How can I stop it and get back on track?

I did not get the band to skip meals during the day and eat two at night! I need some advice, because I think I am screwing up.

It wasn't clear - is that 1/2 hour later after the first dinner? Have you tried drinking Water instead at that time. It should be enough time after the meal to sip some water. Also, does the stomach hurt during the 2nd dinner or afterwards?

One thing I'm having difficultly with is head hunger and wanting to eat versus stomach rumbling hunger.

Evening is also my worst time. Before band, I would eat dinner - then continue to graze throughout the evening. Right now I'm fighting a similar pattern of trying to STOP after the meal. I've 'felt' hungry, but I don't think for me I'm really hungry.

Truthfully, I think you need a fill. You will still maintain your tightness in the a.m. but it should help you with your big meal consumption at night. That is just my belief. Good luck.

Dear cookielover, I am the exact way. I couldn't care less if I eat during the morning or afternoon. And whammo, at night I could eat anything. What I'm trying to do is force myself to eat during these times so I won't be so hungry at night. It is honestly working a little bit. Now, for the middle of the night eating, that's another story. I can't seem to stop getting up in the middle of the night to eat (cookies) I swear I say I am not going to do every night before I go to bed, but low and behold there I am at 300 am eating cookies and drinking milk. I'm so disgusted because I feel like I'm making progress in all the other areas where eating is concerned. I would just be mortified if my BF woke up and saw what I was doing, it's almost like an addict going to get drugs. Anyway, I saw an episode of You are what you eat today, and the Dr. on there said if you must eat something sweet in the middle of the night, make it a sweet potato. I'm going to try it and see what happens. She (Dr.) said it calms your craving for something sweet without doing so much harm to your weightloss efforts. I think it's cool that I saw that episode because it felt like it was just for me. Anyway I hope you can find something in my struggles that you could apply to your struggles.

My second dinner is 1/2 hour after my first. It feels like I haven't eaten the first one. Then 3 hours I need a protein shake. I was thinking that I would try drinking when my hunger hits. I usually try to wait an hour after I eat, but maybe an hour is enough time. Do you think some peppermint tea with warm skim milk would be a good choice? I was thinking it would give me the feeling of full, and warmness. Just a thought. Any feedback would be appreciated.

My second dinner is 1/2 hour after my first. It feels like I haven't eaten the first one. Then 3 hours I need a Protein shake. I was thinking that I would try drinking when my hunger hits. I usually try to wait an hour after I eat, but maybe an hour is enough time. Do you think some peppermint tea with warm skim milk would be a good choice? I was thinking it would give me the feeling of full, and warmness. Just a thought. Any feedback would be appreciated.

If you are hungry within 30 minutes of a meal than you need a fill. If you CAN eat another entire meal and not barf then you may not have good restriction. If your pouch is empty in 30 minutes, your fill is not adequate.

Are you actually hungry after eating a meal or is it just that the chocolate cake is calling your name? You aren't really hungry but you want to eat anyway?

I have a 9 cc band and I have 6.5 cc in it. My doctor said that I won't get anymore for a while, so I guess I will just have to suck up the hunger. He said that no one has ever needed or even gotten close to filling the band to capacity. I was hoping it wasn't a restriction issue. I will refrain from eating at all cost and see if that can be done. I am hoping this is a "head" hunger issue, because that can be solved. Convincing my doctor for more saline is another issue.

Not that I'm a successful loser or anything, but I usually have a yogurt for my 2nd dinner. I too can eat anything in the evening while in the morning my band is tight tight tight! I'm finding that instead of doing the 2nd dinner a yogurt tends to fill me up and help my sweet tooth.