How do you assess when you should stop eating? I am talking particularly about restaurants where they give you way too much food. Like yesterday when I was having breakfast and I ordered 2 scrambled eggs and wheat toast. I had about half the eggs and I felt a twinge of restriction. So I had 1 bite of the toast and then quit. But when the twinge subsides do you eat a little bit more? I didn't and I think it was the right decision because I felt restricted for a few hours afterwards. That is really all I can eat these days. I heard Dr Sanjay Gupta say lately on TV that once you feel 60% full you should quit eating, because in 15 minutes the rest of the food will fill your stomach. I am a lifetime overeater so this is of course difficult for me. How do you assess how much to eat when you sit down to a meal?

I really like the restriction I'm at, I just have to adjust to it. Anyone have any thoughts?

You stopped at the appropriate time. It's a hard thing to learn. heck, I overeat sometimes even now (almost 8 months post-op) even when I know better. I'm learning, and it happens less and less, but I still do it.

You've been eating the same way for most of your life. It's a tough thing to change. My philosophy changes per day... because my band changes from day to day.

Some days? I get full after three bites. At that point, I give myself a few minutes and if the feeling passes, I will eat a little more. Restriction doesn't help me if I can't get Protein and nutrients into my body.

Other days... I eat and NEED my band to tell me when to stop. I stop when I begin to feel uncomfortable, and know better (mostly) than to go beyond that point.

Most days (though just recently I can say that), I eat until I feel satisfied and I stop. I don't let myself go to that point of uncomfortable/restricted feeling, because it's actually too far. It's taken me a long time to learn that, and there are some days that I don't do the best job of it, but for the most part, I'm learning! While you're learning though, keep a mental count in your head and aim for somewhere around a cup of food. If you've had that much and are still going, I'd put the fork down and wait and see how you feel. if you're truly hungry after a few minutes, I'd say take a few more bites.

You're not going to change your eating habits overnight, but if you're paying attention when you eat, it's a lot easier. I used to just plow through my food (we're talking 2 double cheeseburgers and a large fry), eat it all, and then feel sick later (but still probably opted for a few Cookies or something). Now I think as I eat. And I can tell a huge difference.

Kudos to you for stopping when you did. That's a pattern you want to keep up! :w00t:

I think you handled it extremely well.

I never leave margin for error in a restaurant, I'd rather be starving an hour later than overeat and deal with the consequences. I've gotten over the embarrassment it can sometimes cause - I was craving a good old fashioned burger a while ago - not McDonalds crap, but a good toasted bun, a proper home made pattie etc. I ate literally a tenth of the thing, I was tight that weekend anyway (had been on a plane) and the waitress wouldnt believe me that it was fine, i just couldnt eat more.

Other days I do find I'm tight after literally 3 bites, and I too wait and then tackle some more.

Its a fine line, doing this. For me, I find I dont want to eat at breakfast time, and I fill up quickly on things like salads, but if I dont eat well, I pick on crap in the afternoon. So I carry breakfast round with me nibbling on it for an hour in the mornings and I work on my lunch over time too when I can.

The 20 minutes and then stop thing, I'd be constantly eating because I wouldnt get enough down to keep me going.

Thank you two for writing. I will implement your tips. The last two nights I have been coughing most of the night and it has me concerned. I have been down that road before. So I am going to try to get in to see the surgeon today and get a slight unfill. It hurts to do it because the weight is coming off, but I don't want to take a chance of slippage.

good luck today with the doctor. I hope you find some coughing relief at night. You need to get your sleep and the coughing all night must make sleeping miserable. It has been proven that you (and spouse?) need to get some rest at night. Makes you a better person and a happier man to be with.

I have also been wondering about the full signal too. Especially when I eat out. When I go out to eat, I know I over eat. But I also get that uncomfortableness, but if I wait a few moments, it subsides and then it seems like I can eat anything. :-(

Ive just started eating regular food the last few weeks and eating out made me nervous at first. When i get my food I decide then what I 'want' to eat of it and try and just focus on that... sometimes I have packed up the rest right away. If I'm still hungry after sitting there I eat a little more.

I felt pretty full at lunch today and then just a little while ago I was STARVING, so I went into the box for a couple more bites and now I feel really full again. It's an every day learning experience.

I'm trying to find the right balance too. And what I've learned is that it's not just about 'how much' but also about WHAT you are eating.

I want to eat in such a way that I feel satisfied for a few hours after. I don't do well when I eat too little and then am prowling around looking for food 2 hours later. When I have the right sized meal of the right kind of food, it really holds me over and that's my goal.

When I start feeling full, I stop. Nowadays, eating is like cooking bacon - even when you take the heat off, it still progresses a little further. So if I don't stop at the first sign of being 'satisfied', I'll regret it. If I eat to fullness, then I'll feel discomfort in a short amount of time.

I don't eat like a bird, though. I still have a small meal. THAT holds me over and that's what I'm looking for.

Until I hit the green zone, I was told to eat a meal that consisted of 3 oz of Protein, a vegetable and a single serving of whole grain carb (that's 15 grams). Until you hit the green zone, you will get hungry before 4 hours. I was told when I got hungry to eat a small snack of PROTEIN ONLY....a boiled egg, a small amount of low fat cottage cheese, an ounce of low fat cheese, that sort of thing.

Now that I've been in the green zone for a bit, I seldom get hungry before 5 hours after last eating. However, because of work restrictions I have to eat lunch at 12:30 and I don't even get off work until 5:30 and have a 90 minute commute home so I get really hungry if I don't have that small bit of protein late in the day before I head home.

Really, until you are solidly in the green zone, you have to sort of just stop. And that's hard. I did well with eating the meals that were about the size I should be satisfied with once I could get to the green zone and supplementing with small amounts of protein along the way. The reason your Snacks should be protein is that solid protein (not protein shakes) takes longer to digest than, say, a piece of fruit or vegetable. So it gives you a feeling of satiety for a longer period of time than eating something else could give.

Hope this helps!

Sometimes I feel full after just 3 bites, but it's more a function of eating to fast, and I'm actually a little stuck. If I pause between bites I do better, but that's hard to do when you've gone 7 or 8 hours between meals. So you need to determine if you are "stuck" or full. I have a few signals that happen to me. If I am full, I find I get the hiccups. If I continue to eat, I'm uncomfortable and even ease into a state of mild misery, so I've learned to listen to the hiccups. My other signal is a faint feeling of discomfort under my left rib cage. That also means I'm full. Not really pain per se, but an odd pressure on my ribs. My third signal is I began to make the most horrendous and LOUD gurgling noises. Doesn't even sound human. (I know my secretary thinks I'm strange) But that also means, PUT THE FORK DOWN!!!

I'm still learning this process as well, and I've been banded for over a year! I'm still trying to get used to my CHEST feeling full, and not my stomach ... Does that make sense to anyone?? I tend to eat too fast, then it bites me in the ass , usually by making me barf it back up. Or, I too will eat a meal slowly, and be conscience of it, but It will also take me an hour or so to eat it! If I eat that slow, and that small of amounts, I don't get full !!

It's all just a crap shoot from day to day .... :-(