Until yesterday I felt that I had a perfect level of restriction but now I am confused.
- Portion size: I can eat 3/4-1 cup of food or less per meal (depending on the consistency of the food)
- I am satisfied for 5 hours after I ate, on Tuesday I went 7.5 hours without food (only had an oatmeal for breakfast) and was not hungry at all.
- I can drink thin liquids such as water, coffee, tea without any kind of restriction and I can drink them as fast as I like to
- I am not hungry nor do I have an appetite
- I have lost 5 pounds in one week since I got my first fill
So this sounds to me the way the band is suppose to work... but I am not sure any longer... because the info on Lapbandtalk is confusing at times.
I read on Lapbandtalk that some bandsters suggest that you should even feel a restriction when drinking water and to be able to bring it up even 20 minutes after you drank it. This sounds pretty disgusting and is not something I need to experience, do I? Others suggest that you should only be able to eat 1/4 to 1/2 of a cup of food and others even mention that you should only eat a couple of spoons per serving.
So what does restriction really mean? Does it mean that you limit your food intake to a couple of spoons per serving and to be satisfied with, lets say 4 spoons of oatmeal for 5-6 hours? Does it mean that even thin liquids sit in your pouch, or if you drink a lot in your throat and you have to feel that it goes down slowly? As written in my earlier post my "full" feeling changed. With the fill I have never felt that I stuffed myself... stuffed like after you ate a Thanksgiving Dinner for example... I have never reached that point... only when I got stuck. Am I suppose to feel that way? I put the amount of food on my plate that equals 2 decks of cards and I sometimes finish it and sometimes don't... again... depending on the consistency of the food. I stop when I am satisfied, the food just doesn't taste anymore and I get a signal that it has been enough so I stop and it satisfies me for many hours... it does not require any will-power!
My surgeon only told me that I should come in for my next fill as soon as I can eat more food than the size of 2 decks of cards. But what does "can eat" really mean...? Is there a point that you just cannot eat no more because you are too full? Do you experience this kind of "full"? I do not push myself to that limit and just stop when I had enough and do not feel any hunger...
I am really confused and would like to hear from you how you feel restriction and what full means to you and especially if you feel restricted while drinking water or tea.
