I was banded in 11/08 and up until recently only lost about 20 lbs. Restriction up until very recently was hit or miss. I just had my third fill in 7/09 and am finally experiencing a good deal of restriction. I have 5 cc's in a 10 cc band and I'm definitely seeing more weight loss now. Here are a couple of questions now that I'm finally seeing some progress:

1. Is it normal for restriction to "kick in" or feel more pronounced after a couple of weeks of getting a fill? At first I definitely felt the restriction, but it feels even more pronounced a couple of weeks later.

2. How much is a typical amount of food to eat in one sitting? I'm finding that I can only tolerate say a few spoonsful of tuna salad. (Of course prior to having this great restriction, I could eat a lot more...and crackers....so I feel that these "basics" are sort of new to me 9 mos. later.)

Thanks in advance for your insight!!

Everyone is so different with this....I have never felt restriction even though I am up to 8cc. With me restriction comes when I feel like I am going to throw up. I then know I had better stop or I am in trouble. To prevent this I have started to use smaller plates and just try to tell myself to stop as I have had enough. But I really feel I could keep on eating as I think I need more ( I think that its part of the psychological impact) I just dont mentally feel one plate is enough and I think it overrides any physical sensations. Goodluck and all the best.

silly me ...forgot to give you the info you were requesting...my doctor said that I really should not eat more than one cup of food at each sitting ( I find I can tolerate I heaped cup...and I mean heaped ...in the evening and less than 1 cup in the morning and lunch. Snacks are usually 1/2 cup.

cheers and best wishes

Meiko, my prescribed diet is 3 oz of lean Protein and a vegetable (raw or steamed). If I eat that and 15 minutes later, I'm still hungry, I eat a serving of low fat whole grain carb. Most times, I can't eat the carb serving.

"Restriction" may not be what you expect it to be. A lot of people seem to expect that they will feel "full" like they are familiar with from before they had surgery. The problem is that most overweight people never really experienced "full" because they ate right past that sensation to "stuffed to the gills". What I've learned by eating the way I was told is that if I walk away from the food I am no longer hungry nor do I feel hunger for 4 hours now that I'm at my sweet spot. That's what restriction means to me. Before I got to my sweet spot, I was told that if I got hungry in less than 4 hours I should eat a small amount of protein like an ounce of low fat cheese or a boiled egg or even some cottage cheese (which is packed with protein).

thanks for that Cathy. My main problem is with meat - no matter how much I chew and chew it doesnt go down. I have been trying fish (cant have tuna unless steamed not canned seems to be too dry) and cottage chesse (not a big fan reminds me of too many diets) but you know you really are right I can now walk away from food after a meal couldnt do that before band. My problem is I am hungry a couple of hours later thats why I have the snack.

If you get hungry in less than four hours, you may still need a little more fill. If you get hungry in less than four hours, it's certainly not realistic to think that you can ignore it for hours and hours. I was told that if I had to snack, to snack on Protein....an ounce of low fat cheese (Kraft and Sargento put up pre-wrapped 1 oz servings of cheese other than string cheese (which I absolutely refuse to eat because it has no taste!), a boiled egg, some low fat cottage cheese....Heck, I've even eaten 3-4 steamed shrimp left over from dinner the night before. Protein takes longer to digest than anything else you can eat. That means it stays in your stomach longer getting digested and therefore gives you the feeling of satiety for longer than other things you could eat.

meat....lots of people complain that they have problems with it. The problem is that usually cooking dries it out too much. So, you have to change how you cook it. Here are my suggestions:

1. Steak....cook only to rare or at most medium rare. That way it keeps more of its natural juice. Use meat tenderizer. You may have read a comment from Restless Monkey somewhere on here about papaya enzyme...well, meat tenderizer is usuall made from papaya enzymes. I even sawy Iron Chef Michael Symon (if you watch food Network) cook with papaya enzyme tablets to tenderize a protein. He just put a handful of the tablets in the pot.

2. chicken....stay away from those expensive, tasteless boneless, skinless chicken breasts! They are so dry! Buy the much cheaper bone-in, skin on chicken breasts. Grill, poach, bake, whatever. Just don't eat the skin. The skin and bones will flavor the chicken and help keep it moist. Cook it in chicken stock or broth in a crock pot.

3. Pork....stick with pork tenderloin. Marinate it in lowfat italian dressing and then grill it. Cook only until it is just done. Let it "rest" for a few minutes before you slice it so that it can re-absorb the juices.

4. Fish Fillets....I do this with any fish.....take a piece of foil and place the fish on it. Season with whatever seasonings you like. put a couple of curls of unsalted butter. Seal up the foil, put the package on a pan and bake until the fish is done....the thicker the piece of fish the longer it takes to cook. You can grill your fish and make a topping out of a box of frozen chopped spinach...just boil the spinach, drain it, season with a little salt, a little pepper and lemon juice, zip it through the food processor quickly and spoon over your fish.

And maybe these suggestions will help you think of other things you can do! You can also letme know if you have any other questions I can try to answer!

If you get hungry in less than four hours, you may still need a little more fill. If you get hungry in less than four hours, it's certainly not realistic to think that you can ignore it for hours and hours. I was told that if I had to snack, to snack on Protein....an ounce of low fat cheese (Kraft and Sargento put up pre-wrapped 1 oz servings of cheese other than string cheese (which I absolutely refuse to eat because it has no taste!), a boiled egg, some low fat cottage cheese....Heck, I've even eaten 3-4 steamed shrimp left over from dinner the night before. Protein takes longer to digest than anything else you can eat. That means it stays in your stomach longer getting digested and therefore gives you the feeling of satiety for longer than other things you could eat.

:ohmy:

meat....lots of people complain that they have problems with it. The problem is that usually cooking dries it out too much. So, you have to change how you cook it. Here are my suggestions:

1. Steak....cook only to rare or at most medium rare. That way it keeps more of its natural juice. Use meat tenderizer. You may have read a comment from Restless Monkey somewhere on here about papaya enzyme...well, meat tenderizer is usuall made from papaya enzymes. I even sawy Iron Chef Michael Symon (if you watch food Network) cook with papaya enzyme tablets to tenderize a protein. He just put a handful of the tablets in the pot.

2. chicken....stay away from those expensive, tasteless boneless, skinless chicken breasts! They are so dry! Buy the much cheaper bone-in, skin on chicken breasts. Grill, poach, bake, whatever. Just don't eat the skin. The skin and bones will flavor the chicken and help keep it moist. Cook it in chicken stock or broth in a crock pot.

3. Pork....stick with pork tenderloin. Marinate it in lowfat italian dressing and then grill it. Cook only until it is just done. Let it "rest" for a few minutes before you slice it so that it can re-absorb the juices.

4. Fish Fillets....I do this with any fish.....take a piece of foil and place the fish on it. Season with whatever seasonings you like. put a couple of curls of unsalted butter. Seal up the foil, put the package on a pan and bake until the fish is done....the thicker the piece of fish the longer it takes to cook. You can grill your fish and make a topping out of a box of frozen chopped spinach...just boil the spinach, drain it, season with a little salt, a little pepper and lemon juice, zip it through the food processor quickly and spoon over your fish.

And maybe these suggestions will help you think of other things you can do! You can also letme know if you have any other questions I can try to answer!

:smile:Thanks cathy will try all suggestions ....they sound yummy

If you get a fill and feel tighter two weeks later, just wait it out, it will change. There are a couple reasons for this that my doc told me about.

1. There was Fluid in the tube that worked it way into your band from your last fill.

2. Emotional changes. Monthly flo, stress, etc., will change your restriction.

See, I know I am due for a fill because I can eat anything, though in limited amounts, but had my monthly this week and still felt no restriction. For me, my sweet spot is restriction in the am, less in the pm, very little at night, and restriction during period time.

hmm.

I eat my steak well done. If it's less well done it gets stuck. I have no issues with any food. I can eat about a cup of food at a time and I am losing well.

To my way of thinking you're a little too tight. What you can eat (cottage cheese) is slider food...mushie. According to my surgeon and his lovely chart, that's not good.

And yes it is common for some people, for their fills to take a couple weeks to really "work".

I think you should call your surgeon; you may be too tight. He can help you navigate this; but eating a few bites of food is no way to live, nor to lose in a healthy way.

Edited August 7, 200917 yr by RestlessMonkey

Fish in general always gives me problems. I love fish and this is unfortunate for me. I think I may start putting it into a food processor first or learning to eat really slowly and chew ...I'm sure you've heard this somewhere before? :wink2: I'm on my 3rd fill as well and not tolerating chicken or fish. I eat alot of Greek yogurt, cheese can tolerate egg white omlettes with cheese and spinach though spinach isn't cutting it lately.

Also ...after my 3rd fill I can definely say my appetite has totally dimmed. I just don't get that "have to eat or I'll die" feeling at all, before.. well you know. That is liberating!! I have so much more time to do the things that really have meaning in my life now...instead of always thinking of food! However I have to start eating on a regular planned out way. I was never a big "Meal" eater and it's not going to happen over night. Patience is in order now. Be gentle on yourself....you are getting healthier by the day. Watch your protein and iron tho. I have to take iron supplements now. I make sure I get protein in yogurt form now for sure. keep working it out...

I find that some meats are easier to get down if I cut them up and put into a salad like steak & chicken.