ok i have had 1 fill.. and that was last tuesday... i got 1.5 cc... until then i felt NO restriction at all... i had such high hopes for the fill.. and i thought maybe it was working as it took me longer to eat sometimes.... and sometimes i couldnt eat everything on my plate.. but that is RARE....

since the fill i can still eat a FULL amount of food... all day long if i wanted...i can also report that i have lost no weight...i can eat anything and everything.

my question is about the elusive PB or restriction feeling... i have had the golfball many times... sometimes BAAAAD and sometimes just a minor pain... so i sit there and wait a minute or two (i learned not to drink cuz that makes it soo much worse)... but after a moment i can return to eating.... no problems.. and i am never full so i try to eat to get full... but no dice.

so... am i supposed to stop eating after this pain even though i am hungry? or.... what exactly? usually the pain is cuz i swallowed a huge bite without chewing... i still dont have to chew worth a damn either by the way.

not to mention that my mother is killing me emotionally... making statements like "i can see you still eat everything... you arent eating the right things" and on and on and on and on and on.. while she is eating an ice cream (she is no skinny mini)..

sorry for the long venting post.. today i had 2 pieces of toast for Breakfast, a piece of salmon and 3 bites of salad for lunch.... and a bologna and cheese sandwich for dinner... plus a couple low carb chocolates...

no weight loss.. no restriction.. and no clue about the golfball scenario. any ideas?

Have you spoken to your doctor about all of this? And if so, what has he/she said in response?

OK some tough love here. IT looks like you are eating the wrong kinds of foods. Too much starch and fatty foods and not enough of the "good" stuff. I will always ask "why is it the bad stuff goes down way to easily while the good stuff won't hardly go down at all."

If you want a sandwich then do a wrap. The Bologna isn't the healthiest sandwich meat but if you want that then do a lettuce wrap or a pita wrap. Tuna or Turkey (white meat only - dark has too much fat) as a subsititute is better.

Breakfast is the hardest meal for me personally. I usually don't do the breads at all. They just pack on the pounds and convert everything into stored fat. I stick to Protein first at Breakfast like eggs, I have the soft scrambled and then even mush them up and take small bites. Bacon I have ONE slice and that is fried till it is burnt so I can chew it well. Then a cup of coffee.

About the hunger. You have to ask yourself is it belly hunger or mind hunger. There is a difference. As bandsters we have to be MORE intune with our bodies. I had to learn the difference. If you belly is growling then of course it is "true" hunger. If your mind is saying "you can't possible be full therefore you must be still hungry". Pay attention to what is talking to you.

PB - if you get the golf ball thingy then stop eating and let all that is in the pouch pass through. NO liquids at this point either. IT will only make things worse. Just relax and let it pass. If it doesn't then set back and wait a little longer. It just has to do it's thing. It might come up and it might not. I always try to follow a PB or a golf ball episode with at least 8 to 12 hours of liquids. It gives the esophagus time to relax and not work so hard.

Hope this helps.

so basically i should be on atkins the rest of my life? hmm... why did i get the band then?

Doll, I'm experiencing just a tad of your frustration. We'll get it figured out...

I am also trying to get more "in-tune" with my body, but it is very hard. I was getting stuck, vomitting, them eating more. I am just finding out that I should not be doing that. Oh well, live and learn.

Ditto, Dallasdoll. I'm right there with ya.

DallasDoll, I know exactly what your saying..

I just dont get it, I have no restriction either...(I have a 1.1 fill and my fill doctor is refusing to fill me any more at this point)

and I keep being told to diet diet diet. UM that NOT why I got the band..

this all sounds depressing not banded yet you guys are scaring me.

From the way the band is being described here, it seems like dieting will be the same before and after the band. I am experiencing a lot of fullness. I can hardly eat anything (never hungry). BUT, I'm only two weeks out so it'll probably change for me.

About the bologna sandwich, my Dr told me no bread so I fully expected that. I hope things get better for you!

All right ladies, more tough love here. You all know your bands are not going to help you much until they are properly restricted. And we also seem to be hearing some people say that when they DO have restriction, they not happy either.

Restriction is what you have going on, Dallasdoll. Learn to eat with SMALLER BITES, and wait longer between bites. Let each one go down before taking another one. You will soon learn that you really are full by the time you've eaten for 15-20 minutes, even though you haven't eaten much.

Try this: eat your meal (Protein first, lose the bread altogether!) for 15-20 minutes with really tiny bites and slow dep breaths between bites. I'm talking a successful bandster meal with no golfballs or PBing, After about 20 minutes, stop and really think about whether you are still hungry. Explore the way you feel with that much food in your stomach. Give it a few minutes and see if you want more. Chances are, you won't. So pay attention to your body and observe: This is what full feels like, now.

Learning what this feeling is takes time and practice. It does NOT mean you'll be on Atkins the rest of your life, or that life is going to be one long diet. It does mean that you and your banded tummy have to work together to explore the dimensions of your tiny tummy and find the right ways to fill it enough, but not more than enough.

PATIENCE! And practice. The right combination of fill and new habits is out there for us all, we just have to find it.

so basically i should be on atkins the rest of my life? hmm... why did i get the band then?

I am not on Atkins. Not on anything actually. Down 76 lbs in 5 months. Don't think I am doing anything wrong.

From the way the band is being described here, it seems like dieting will be the same before and after the band. I am experiencing a lot of fullness. I can hardly eat anything (never hungry). BUT, I'm only two weeks out so it'll probably change for me.

I had restriction from the get go for about 3.5 months (which was about 60 some pounds lost for me). It's possible that you won't have restriction, but you just might.

It ISN'T dieting. It's eating a healthy diet in the correct portions.

Dallasdoll, I have the same problem, except I don't have a fill yet.

I can eat anything....and the longer I chew and the slower I go the more i can eat. I am eatting less than before being banded, so thats good. And thats also because I'm not letting myself. it's only been 4 weeks but i could really use a fill.

Worst of all everyone is expecting me to have lost weight. And only two lbs gone. whoopee :-(

I don't want to "diet" either, I just thought I was going to eat "less" than before and loss weight. I haven;t been eatting junk either.

But i'm not giving up..................

since the fill i can still eat a FULL amount of food... all day long if i wanted...i can also report that i have lost no weight...i can eat anything and everything.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

but after a moment i can return to eating.... no problems.. and i am never full so i try to eat to get full... but no dice.

Full = not hungry anymore.

usually the pain is cuz i swallowed a huge bite without chewing... i still dont have to chew worth a damn either by the way.

Apparently, you do have to chew otherwise you get the golfball.

not to mention that my mother is killing me emotionally... making statements like "i can see you still eat everything... you arent eating the right things" and on and on and on and on and on.. while she is eating an ice cream (she is no skinny mini)

Gee...I didn't realize that this surgery was about what SHE is eating - let her eat ice cream. If she gets obese, you can give her the name of your surgeon. It isn't about what she is eating -- it's about what YOU are eating.

If you get the golfball, but it goes away quickly without a full blown PB, then I'd say you didn't chew well enough or took too big of a bite. Once you conquer that, you'll be fine.

My suggestions:

Eat a bandster portion -- 2-4 ounces of SOLID Protein and 1/4-1/2 cup of veggies for a meal. If you have to do this 5 times a day instead of 3, so be it. At least you'll begin recognizing the right portions.

Give your fill 2 weeks total. If it's not enough, get an appointment for another one. It can take 3-5 fills to get the right level of restriction.

jayme

People forget that this is a process: you didn't become obese overnight and you won't learn how to re-eat overnight either. You just have to become better at it day by day.

My suggestions:

Eat a bandster portion -- 2-4 ounces of SOLID Protein and 1/4-1/2 cup of veggies for a meal. If you have to do this 5 times a day instead of 3, so be it. At least you'll begin recognizing the right portions.

Give your fill 2 weeks total. If it's not enough, get an appointment for another one. It can take 3-5 fills to get the right level of restriction.

jayme

People forget that this is a process: you didn't become obese overnight and you won't learn how to re-eat overnight either. You just have to become better at it day by day.

Thanks Jayme. I don't know if Dallasdoll likes what you say but I do! Your post has helped me.

tonight I ate a Bandster meal. We grilled country style pork ribs (I know, high fat) so I ate about 4 ounces dipped in extra BBQ sauce, avoided the fat and chewed well. I also had lima beans/corn (1/4 cup) and some Pasta salad (1/3 cup) and I was FULL!! I haven't had or wanted a morsel since eating that. And I was Full=not hungry. I was NOT stuffed to the gills and uncomfortable. And I don't feel as though I have NO restriction when I eat this way, but I sure feel the no restriction when I eat Fritos, hello!!!

It is a learning process, and some days it simply feels like a diet, you know? But really, it's learning something new. The necessary chewing I had to learn quickly and most days it feels like old hand, no problems.

I like what you said about eating a Bandster portion, even if it means eating it 5 times a day for now, until I get it. I guess my problem is, i have gotten into the habit of eating many small meals, so that translates into snacking all day, not actually having a meal. If everytime I ate I ate a bandster meal, by the end of the day, you bet I'd be eating less. And feeling full/not hungry.

thanks for the help.

come on Dallasdoll, and everyone else, we can do this!!!