This question is for those that have had at least one fill. Do you still feel hungry after you've eaten to restriction?

I know it may sound silly but I am terrified of being hungry.

I can only offer what I've been told, what I've experienced. I have had two fills. I have 4.1cc in a 10cc band. After the first fill which put me at 3.6cc (they actually took me to 4.6 but had to do an unfill because I couldn't swallow water). I was told to eat the kind of meal I'd been instructed ... about 3/4 cup of food, protein first (at least 20 grams), steamed veggies and if I was still hungry a small serving of carbs. Then I was told that if I got hungry between meals, to eat 1 oz of low fat cheese or a boiled egg (i only eat the whites because the yellow is where all the cholesterol and fat are located). That has worked wonderfully for me. By the time you add all the liquids you need to drink (at least 64 oz of water a day), you have something in your mouth almost all the time it seems like. After my second fill, I realized I am getting very close to my sweet spot. But I have days where I do get hungry between meals, so I eat my little snack of protein.

This question is for those that have had at least one fill. Do you still feel hungry after you've eaten to restriction?

I know it may sound silly but I am terrified of being hungry.

This is what I've learned since being banded in October. I have had 3 fills already and then finally the 3rd time was a charm. But, let me tell you. When everyone says they are full, they dont mean "full" like we know it to be. But, now you only can eat till the band is satisfied. Listen, you really arent hungry much, it really is just something we are ll used to feeling.

My idea of being full is eating till I'm sick. That is what full is. LAP BAND FULL HAS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT MEANING!!

When I eat now, I PHYSICALLY CANT EAT ANYMORE TO GET THAT SICK TO MY STOMACH FULL. Now, I can only eat until THE BAND is full. I still want to eat, but this band wont let me. Thats the difference. And, it stays full for hours. If I try to eat more, I will end up throwing up ro relieve the horrible discomfort. So, that is what stops us from overeating:

1. You CANT eat anymore, even if you want to.

2. If you try to eat more, you will produce alot of saliva and it gets so uncomfortable, you will have to throw up or you get such pain in your upper stomach, that its just not worth it to overeat.

Get it?:thumbup:

How do you know when you're full to the band? Make enough mistakes and figure it out the hard way? Or is there a subtle signal to watch for?

Thank you all for sharing your experiences!

Lipstix, what you describe is the difference between "head hunger" and true physical hunger. Most of us who have been overweight ate a lot of food and usually ate much too quickly. We ran right past the sensation of fullness and hit head-on the OGM I ate too much. And that contributed a great deal to our weight problems. The band requires that you take the time to chew each bite well and that makes you take more time to eat your meals (and, I've found, more time to appreciate the quality of the food you eat, so it's turned me into a picky eater, LOL). When you get to "full" you actually have the chance to feel it. When you feel like you want to keep eating in spite of that, it's not true hunger. It's your head telling you to keep eating. That's "head hunger".

Doc, I'm not sure I can do justice to describing "full" but I'll try. If you eat slowly and chew your food well, your stomach (vagus nerve, I think) has time to tell your brain it doesn't need anymore. What does it feel like? We're a board full of former overeaters, so I'm hoping you'll know what I mean when I say it's like before surgery, when you'd get a plate of food and dig in....and before you were done you slowed down and maybe had a fleeting thought of quitting but you kept going until the plate was clean (or until you had seconds....been there, too). It's not that stuffed full like after Thanksgiving, no where close. And I've had to pay attention to really recognize it. My nurse practitioner suggested leaving a few bites of my recommended size meal on the plate and if I did feel like I needed it, perhaps I had not quite made it to full. I find I can usually leave a couple of bites on my plate and not find an hour later that I wished I'd eaten those bites. So I'm learning.

Cathy,

Thank you for that explanation - I think I understand. It will be a learning experience all the way around.

For the original poster, I'm sorry for asking questions on your thread, but it was sort of related.

I'm so grateful to all those who are sharing their real experiences with those us that are still trying to get banded.

I am like a few other people on this thread, I don't get it either! I have a 10cc band with 2 fills, first one was 1cc and the second one was 1/2cc, the doc wants to take it slowwww! OMG! My feeling is I can eat a lot to finally feel full from the band. My saying I eat a lot, I mean I can sit down and eat a 4oz burger (no bread, it gets stuck) and maybe some sliced tomatoes, pickles, fruit cup! Isn't that a lot for someone who has a lapband????? I have lost 30lbs since Jan. but I have been stuck at this weight for about 3 weeks, I am getting very upset. I want more of a fill and doc won't do it. My breakfast is 1 cup cereal, 1 cup milk and whole banana and then I am hungry by 11:00am. By 3:30 I am wanting supper after eating a good size meal for lunch, I am scared I have stretched my pouch out. Any ideas on what I can do about feeling so hungry all the time.

Relax, you haven't stretched your pouch out. The problem is simply (!) you have virtually no restriction with only 1.5cc so when you eat, it passes out of your pouch fairly quickly and (2) you are so eager to feel that mystical restriction that you're stressed out over not feeling it. Your description of a dinner isn't bad really...especially with no more restriction than you have. Maybe try changing up meals...for breakfast eat eggs instead of cereal. Change the type of exercise you are doing or increase it some. Make sure you are drinking at least 64 oz Water a day. And, as I posted on this same thread earlier:

"I was told to eat the kind of meal I'd been instructed ... about 3/4 cup of food, Protein first (at least 20 grams), steamed veggies and if I was still hungry a small serving of carbs. Then I was told that if I got hungry between meals, to eat 1 oz of low fat cheese or a boiled egg (I only eat the whites because the yellow is where all the cholesterol and fat are located)."

If you are so hungry, eat a snack .... but make it protein. Protein takes longer to digest than anything else you can put in your mouth, so it will stay in your pouch longer and hold off hunger longer.

This question is for those that have had at least one fill. Do you still feel hungry after you've eaten to restriction?

I know it may sound silly but I am terrified of being hungry.

I am at a pretty good restriction. I think I could use just a tad more...but...

Here is a great example. Last night for dinner I had about 1/2 a cup of pork sirloin and 3/4 mashed potatoes. I was not hungry after I ate that. Like everyone else says, you dont get that "oh my gosh I am so full I am going to burst" feeling anymore, but once I have eaten the right amount with my restriction I am satisfied and not hungry.

I am still physically hungry after Breakfast and lunch, but that's just bc I choose to eat small amounts to keep losing until I find my sweet spot.

To answer the other question about when do you know to stop? Well, the other night I had this wonderful chicken breast with ham, cheese, and tomatoe on top. About halfway through my chicken I could feel my body telling me to give it a few minutes. I ignored. Then, with about 1/4 of the chicken breast left, I could feel that my pouch was full...there was a slight feeling of being uncomfy...not really a pain, but a pressure. I again just wanted to finish my chicken (must clean plate when meal is yummy mentality), so I forced it down.

5 minutes later my body forced it back up.

Lesson learned.