Well, since I have only had one fill I am no expert but I have got to admit that what I am feeling must be restriction. Now mind you, I have no idea what kind of band I have. I did ask Dr. Lautz what size and he said a 10. Not sure what that means but he proceeded to put 1cc in my band. Anyone that might have a clue as to what band size I have let me in on the secret. I am going to ask at my next appointment as I feel stupid for not knowing.

My first fill was 1/3/08 and this past week I have been very full after eating. I have not felt hunger between meals except if I waited to long to eat but for the most part it has been about 5 hours between meals and no Snacks in between. The last few days I have been cutting my portions down because I don't like the overstuffed feeling. I am eating fine but full.

So my guess is that I have restriction. I do know that it will be short lived but I was wondering how many of you Nymphs are experiencing some restriction after your first few fills.

Cindy

Jill, OMG! I was no way close to that. Not only did a lean cuisine not fill me, I wanted a yogurt with it and then I was hungry an hour later!

You sound like you're there! If a lean cuisine keep me full for two hours, I would have delayed my fill.

I don;t want to be so restricted that I can't get things down, but I would love to feel satisfied for a couple hours after a lean cuisine!

I went back and forth about getting this fill but I just knew I wasn't quite there. I hope I didn't get it too soon. Everything is going down okay but there is a lot of gurgling. It is so weird. My calorie intake is going to be super low today. Maybe that will jump start the weight loss.

Well I took the bull by the horns and called for my 3rd fill and it's next

Tuesday morning. I couldn't wait another 3 weeks for a fill, I don't want to struggle through this... no point in having the operation if I have to constantly use willpower to get through. Hopefully another 1cc or so should get things going. In the last week & a half, I lost the 4 lbs I put on over the holidays, so I'm very happy about that. Need the restriction to get the next 10 lbs off.

I hope this one does it for you, Sades. It can make so much difference, it's unbelievable. I hope they get you to that sweet spot.

I'm struggling with this stupid thing. I guess while I didn't have restriction I didn't get myself used to the habit of SLOWING DOWN and chewing a ton and taking tiny, tiny bites and waiting between swallowing and taking my next bite. This sucks. LOL I am happy I have restriction, but at the same time, it is SO frustrating.

We went out to dinner last night and I ordered 3 different appetizers from the menu since I knew I wouldn't be able to get much down and I wanted to get several different tastes. I ate 2 chicken hot wings (you know, those little tiny ones), 3 mozzarella sticks, and about 2 tablespoons of corn chowder. Sheesh. Even what I DID get down was a struggle and I felt the pain and impending PB feeling several times. I didn't PB, thank goodness, since I had no clue where the bathroom was. I just really have to fight my food addiction, now. It's weird to me that NOW that I have restriction, this is when the TRUE work begins. Water still takes several seconds to gurgle through and my Slim Fast shakes are interesting to drink, too. It'll be nice if this lasts because I really think this is what's going to kick me in the rear end to face my demons when it comes to food.

This is quite a journey we have embarked on together... we band of sisters and brothers, gurgling, sliming, and pb - ing our way to health, freedom and happiness across 24 time zones and six continents. How wonderful that we have each other to share with.

I have restriction after one fill. I have decided to blend my meals, having roughly 3 cups of food a day, which keeps me satisfied; lately, the temptation to eat at night hasn't been there, and that is a huge relief. For today, Breakfast was cottage cheese with garlic and scallions blended with a little skim milk for consistency; lunch was a small plate of hoummous with a tablespoon of tehina topped with oilve oil and spices; and dinner will be 2-3 oz chicken with steamed carrots and a tablespoon of brown rice in the blender. For now I'd rather get the food into me this way rather than dealing with the frustration of sliming and pb-ing, no matter how long or how carefully I think I have chewed my food. This was very hard for me, and I found myself fighting back by pb-ing and then stuubbornly going back for more. I've felt really good over the last few days and I know there's been weight loss as well.

I try to have one fruit between each meal - apples and pears go down well but I have to be aware of my bite size. I try to bite using my four front teeth only rather than stick the whole fork inmy mouth or wrap my mouth around an apple, and I have to make a conscious effort to chew slowly. When I eat at the table, two things work for me. I try to put my fork or spoon down between bites. This is a fun little game - amazing how hard it is at first - and it really slows me down. Another trick is to pck out the slowest eater at the table and to eat slower than they do (also fun!). In all things, the amount of food I put into my mouth is key - no matter how well I chew, some of the food will go down unchewed if I put too mych food in my mouth. For me, a good band -swallow starts with a small bite.

This is quite a journey we have embarked on together... we band of sisters and brothers, gurgling, sliming, and pb - ing our way to health, freedom and happiness across 24 time zones and six continents. How wonderful that we have each other to share with.

I have restriction after one fill. I have decided to blend my meals, having roughly 3 cups of food a day, which keeps me satisfied; lately, the temptation to eat at night hasn't been there, and that is a huge relief. For today, breakfast was cottage cheese with garlic and scallions blended with a little skim milk for consistency; lunch was a small plate of hoummous with a tablespoon of tehina topped with oilve oil and spices; and dinner will be 2-3 oz chicken with steamed carrots and a tablespoon of brown rice in the blender. For now I'd rather get the food into me this way rather than dealing with the frustration of sliming and pb-ing, no matter how long or how carefully I think I have chewed my food. This was very hard for me, and I found myself fighting back by pb-ing and then stuubbornly going back for more. I've felt really good over the last few days and I know there's been weight loss as well.

I try to have one fruit between each meal - apples and pears go down well but I have to be aware of my bite size. I try to bite using my four front teeth only rather than stick the whole fork inmy mouth or wrap my mouth around an apple, and I have to make a conscious effort to chew slowly. When I eat at the table, two things work for me. I try to put my fork or spoon down between bites. This is a fun little game - amazing how hard it is at first - and it really slows me down. Another trick is to pck out the slowest eater at the table and to eat slower than they do (also fun!). In all things, the amount of food I put into my mouth is key - no matter how well I chew, some of the food will go down unchewed if I put too mych food in my mouth. For me, a good band -swallow starts with a small bite.

Great advice! Love the game you play to be the slowest eater at the table.

Now...I just wish I had restriction like all you people. Dang it! I have to wait a whole nother week....Not to mention I am on a business trip and not many good choices. I have done very well and have had only 3 meals and Snacks if I needed to but for the most part I have split all the meals in half and taken them back to my room. Thanks goodness for a microwave because we have saved a whole lot of money on our meals. I am a cheap date now.

Keep up the great work everyone!

This is what's great about our November Nymphs board -- we're all pretty close to the same stage and can really identify what we're going through. Some of us are a little "ahead" and some a little "behind" but we're all in the process of finding restriction and getting used to it.

I have not been as tight as Steph and bandpal (good to hear from you!) but it is still there. Every now and then, I'll think it's gone and then something goes down a little slowly and I realize it's still there. I'm not that hungry during the day but I do get hungry if I wait too long between meals (which is easy to do with my schedule!)

I'd be happy to stay at this level of restriction if it lasted and I keep losing weight. I've pretty much stayed at the same weight this week but that was after a four pound loss in just a couple of days so I'm not complaining. At this level, I can pretty much eat whatever I want and then I stay full for a decent amount of time. What could be better than that?

My next appointment is February 15. I probably would get a very small fill or no fill at all if I was going in right now. We'll see how things are in two weeks!

Keep pluggin' along, y'all!

Here's the update on my fill.

liquids went down yesterday, with no problem and I'm surprised that I kind of felt full after them. And really wasn't very hungry.

I mean it's just liquid which goes through the pouch anyway, but I think what I feel is some swelling from the fill. Question is will that tightness stay? If it loosens up right away, then I guess I'll be hungry again between meals. I'll know better in a few days, I guess. Bottom line is, I woul prefer not to be too tight, but I would love the feeling of being satisfied longer between meals.

Steph: Yes, I have that love/hate relationship with the fills, too! The learning curve after each one can be frustrating. Trying teeny, tiny bites of everything to figure out what goes down and what doesn't, all over again!

The best part of the fills for me is, being on the full liquids for two days, generally gives me at least two low calorie days that week, which results in weight loss and because I fear getting stuck, I am so careful with everything I eat once I start solid food, so that keeps my food intake low as well. Maybe this is really just weight loss thru FEAR! LOL.

I hope this one does it for you, Sades. It can make so much difference, it's unbelievable. I hope they get you to that sweet spot.

I'm struggling with this stupid thing. I guess while I didn't have restriction I didn't get myself used to the habit of SLOWING DOWN and chewing a ton and taking tiny, tiny bites and waiting between swallowing and taking my next bite. This sucks. LOL I am happy I have restriction, but at the same time, it is SO frustrating.

We went out to dinner last night and I ordered 3 different appetizers from the menu since I knew I wouldn't be able to get much down and I wanted to get several different tastes. I ate 2 chicken hot wings (you know, those little tiny ones), 3 mozzarella sticks, and about 2 tablespoons of corn chowder. Sheesh. Even what I DID get down was a struggle and I felt the pain and impending PB feeling several times. I didn't PB, thank goodness, since I had no clue where the bathroom was. I just really have to fight my food addiction, now. It's weird to me that NOW that I have restriction, this is when the TRUE work begins. Water still takes several seconds to gurgle through and my Slim Fast shakes are interesting to drink, too. It'll be nice if this lasts because I really think this is what's going to kick me in the rear end to face my demons when it comes to food.

Thanks Steph. I still eat too fast as well and occasionally certain things get stuck.... no PBing though. Despite those moments, I can eat everything and large amounts if I let myself. I just want to be satisfied on small amounts again and it sounds like you are there.

Update on fill #3. I stuck to liquids yesterday because I knew that solids would not go down. Today I am not gurgling as much as I was yesterday but I can tell the restriction is still there. Solid food is going to be interesting.

Hello all

Houma, LA here

banded 11/28/2008

I have had three fill now totaling 5 CC

I have great restriction almost to much I quite often find myself over the sink due to bad decisions I guess (trying to get that last bite in) I will be learning the hard way. All I can say is when you get that restriction right stop at satisfied not full or you will be sorry.

No matter this was the best decision I could have ever made.

P.S. What ever you do don't get drunk and even think about fried food its a major NO.

Jill, I'm finding I'm not very hungry again today after fill yesterday. My Dr. wants me on full liquids for two days. Usually I do that the day of fill and then by dinner the second day, I try something soft for dinner, but this time I'm not sure I'm ready to do that for dinner tonight. I might have to stay on liquids all day.

I don't feel very hungry. I had one Atkins shake and one bottle of Water. It could be just swelling around the band from the fill OR

Maybe I'm at my first sweet spot!

WENDY: I'm at 5 cc's, too, since fill yesterday. Still on liquids, so we'll see tomorrow when I try soft food first, how it goes down!

I'll remember not to eat fried food when drunk! But if I'm drunk would I remember to remember?

______________________________________________________________

I am finding that the first few bites I take are the most important ones to go really slow with and the next few get a little easier. It's almost like I have to "prime" the band to open and expect food to come in. Anyone else notice this? If i mess up the first few bites, I'm more likely to get stuck and then the meal is over. So, the first couple bites are tiny, chewed well and slow.

Really cool we were filled on the same day and are at the same restriction and almost the same weight loss I really need to try the first couple of small bites thing I think that might be a good thing I for sure don't need another fill yet. I'll tell you this if you forget about not eating fried food while your drunk this time you will rember the next time.

Really cool we were filled on the same day and are at the same restriction and almost the same weight loss I really need to try the first couple of small bites thing I think that might be a good thing I for sure don't need another fill yet. I'll tell you this if you forget about not eating fried food while your drunk this time you will rember the next time.

What was your surgery date? I looked back and found it, you were banded one day after me!

For the ticker, go to ticker site and copy the ticket itself and then go back to lap band forum and at the top tabs pick the one that says "my account" and then you can paste it into your signature. Each time you update the ticker, it will update on the forum. OH, YOU GOT IT. I JUST SAW IT POP UP!

Delete the ticker code from your avatar...it won't turn up there. Paste that code into your signature. Then make sure when you post that you have "post signature" checked as one of your options.

shortgal: I understand eyes being bigger than my stomach in the worst way, now. LOL I've had it happen before, but good heavens - this is ridiculous. I got some boneless buffalo wings today (craving hot stuff all the time) and I LOVE these kind so thought I'd be able to eat at least half of them. They gave me 10, I ate 3. :| I should be happy, but I'm trying to make today a high calorie day to throw my body off when I go back onto low calories tomorrow and I can start losing again. I'll have to get my higher calories today from a Bolthouse Protein shake. It really still surprises me how little I can eat. This takes a lot of HEAD adjustment. But I am getting to like it. It makes my choices easier if I don't want to be in pain.