For those of you who have been banded a while could you please share with us what good restriction is?....And how do we know if we have it???....Thanks so much!

For me, I can eat any amoumt of chips, biscuits, ice cream or even Cereal that I want to. I can go out and eat fattening meals too - not much of them, but I can eat Pasta and stuff.

But I know I have good restriction when I eat well. When I eat healthy, Protein packed, vegie packed meals, I really struggle to get through 1500 calories in a day. I get my three meals in and that's it. when I eat that way, I lose even now, four years down the track.

Good restriction to me does not mean not being able to eat bread or getting full on half a cup. Today I had a huge Protein shake with a banana blended in (took me a while), a chicken schnitzel sandwich (bread, small schnitzel oven baked, baby spinach, tomato) and a bread and butter plate sized dinner - meatloaf, a spoon of mashed potato and some creamed spinach.

other days I can get through twice the calories with poor food choices - which doesnt mean I dont have restriction, it means I'm not using my band well.

Jacqui,

I'm glad you posted the above. In July I was having really bad acid reflux and it turns out I was quite irritated in my esophogus. The band doctor unfilled me for a couple of months until I healed. I gained weight and was quite upset. I was quite thin and loved it! I have been struggling with band fills and bandster hell back and forth. I am up a couple of sizes and about 20 lbs. I'm trying to find the right place for me with restriction. I want to eat all kinds of food, but, not overeat it. I don't want to be so tight that all I do is throw up. However, I have lost sense of that wonderful middle place. I hate that I am up 20 pounds, but, I have to say this spot feels "normal". I was getting anxious at the too tight place feeling. I probably could use a little more fill---I have 1cc in a 4cc band. I probably could go for 1cc more or .5cc. For now I will up the exercise and really watch what I eat. I have been banded for 2 years and am still down 40 lbs.