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How much is too much or too little restriction? That's the $1,000,000 question, isn't it? I read a lot of blogs wheneverr I have a spare minute and it is abundantly apparent to me that we all define good restriction differently. Sometimes very differently.
For example I often read people saying that they've felt their restriction loosen up (or they've gotten an unfill) and can now eat bread, pasta, rice, or whatever food was previously out of the question. I would consider myself too full if I couldn't eat those foods. I consider good restriction to be being able to eat ALL foods while having very clear "Full" signals when I've had enough.
The weird thing is that I have a hard time imagining having more restriction than I have. I have had times when I was tighter for various reasons and it was a real problem. I had to have an unfill after my second fill and I was can't-swallow-my-own-spit miserable. Even though I have good restriction now, sometimes I tighten up randomly due to TOM or the weather or stress or the full moon or whatever causes random tightness. I've had days and even weeks where I was really tight and fairly miserable. I've also had issues with acid reflux which is associated with band restriction.
So I'm curious how YOU define your "sweet spot"? What do YOU consider good restriction? What would YOU consider too much restriction?
16 comments:
I'll be checking back to see what kinds of responses you get. I've only had one fill and am nowhere near my sweet spot yet. I agree though...I think ideally I'd like to eat whatever I'd like, just a lot less of it. Already, I have issues with some buns but it's not a big enough deal for me to worry about.
For me my sweet spot (or green zone as my surgeon calls it) is where I am satisfied with small portions and don't get hungry again for 4 or 5 hours. My experience is that at that spot I can't comfortably eat soft bread and I don't tend to try pasta or rice as I would rather eat protein and veges to get my calories in. Unfortunately even at this spot I can still eat potato chips and chocolate with no problem at all!! The green zone/sweet spot is not a remedy for head hunger.
I've had only two fills and stay full about 3 hours which my doctor's nurse says it about normal. I am afraid to get another fill because right now I enjoy being able to eat a turkey burger on a wheat sandwich thin or wheat pasta. I just ate a cup for lunch. Now my head & eyes which I could have more, but right now I'm not hungry anymore. BUT if I let myself I definitely could eat more.
I agree, you should be able to eat all types of foods (so says my clinic as well). I would say good restriction would be to be able to eat anything, but just a small amount of it. And I wouldn't feel hunger for 3 to 3.5 hours after eating. Right now, I don't think my restriction is good, I feel like it might be too much. I seem to get stuck on almost everything (except chocolate!) so I can only eat a little before I have to stop, then I'm hungry again in an hour or two.
I would agree at Maree, I was at my sweet spot for about a monh (I'm a little loose now) but while at that spot where I could eat a small amount and STAY full, that meant that soft breads and rice were out of the question. I mean I COULD eat them, but I would have to go VERY VERY slowly and concentrate very hard....just wasn't worth it.
Yup - the girls above have it, I think. Great restriction or the Green Zone means - for me - that I can eat pretty much what I want bar soft breads, and I can only fit a cup of it in at a time. Provided I eat slowly and sparingly and I don't worry about WHAT is going in my mouth then I'm a happy camper. Oh yeah, and that bitch hunger disappears too.
Feeling full for hours on end is magic.. that time when you get the focus off food and don't go chasing it, even missing meals - gasp - because you 'forgot'. It really does happen if you get to that perfect spot.
I'm with you. I was too full at one point and it got nasty. I feel crazy if I CAN'T eat. Sure, there's the upside that most women are craving - no appetite - but that's unrealistic. It's more important to identify where the "hunger" is coming from. Learning this is individual and personalized, I know. I choose not to eat much (it's pretty much non-existent, honestly) pasta or rice, but when I go to a nice restaurant, I want to be able to eat a small piece of the good fresh bread that they have. I don't eat it regularly, so why shouldn't I be able to eat it as a special thing? At this point I'm able to eat anything that I desire with the full feeling (or the slow feeling if I eat too big of a bite or too fast). This is where I should be, I'm feeling really certain of it.
I could have almost written what Maree wrote. I feel that I have the perfect restriction when I can stay full for 4-5 hours at a time. I can eat some breads but I avoid them as well as pasta and rice. And like she said, unfortunately I can still eat chocolate, chips, etc. The evil "slider" foods!
I have not had the experience where I've been too full. It doesn't sound pleasant, but
sometimes I feel like I can still eat too much, even with 8 ccs. However, when I read the above, it sounds like I'm fairly close to my sweet spot.
Like MandaPanda, I'm also just here to read the responses. I haven't even had a fill yet, so I'm happy to see that finding the "sweet spot" does not equal not being able to eat bread and pasta and other foods.
What DASH (Cara) said! Absolutely, having the hunger gone, not looking for food in between meals - that is the sweet spot. I want it back! I am a little too loose right now, so fill next week for me.
I am able to eat a little pasta even at my sweet spot. More difficult than pasta, for me, is chicken and beef (other than ground). Right now, I can eat an entire burger (without bun)! Too much, but the real problem is the hunger.
Thanks for your comments on my latest post, totally cracked me up!
Hi There...thanks for your encouragement and this great question. I've just had my first fill and I still feel hungry. I've had restriction and tightening at overeating and when ingesting breads too fast. To be honest I like the tightening I feel when I eat breads/doughy foods; it keeps me accountable and away from my problem foods like delicious bread and pizza. What I do for pizza is eat the toppings and I find that satisfying. I get the impression that people's sweet spots come through trial and error. My physicians assitant said I should be drinking protein shakes between meals to curb my hunger. I about cried. I thought those shakes would be over after post op recovery!
I'm not yet sure, though I'm hoping I'm about there right now. My hope is that the sweet spot means that 1/2 - 1 cup of solid protein will keep me satisfied and not hungry for 4ish hours. I was told not to eat bread, pasta, and rice for 6 months and for the most part I've kept to that. I wasn't a huge bread/pasta/rice eater to begin with so this hasn't been any kind of issue for me. If I'm out and they offer me a nice warm corn muffin, I'm certainly going to have some of it and I haven't had any issues with that so far. Thanks for this post, it's put out a lot of good information!
Sweet spot... Uhm... not being banded, I can only give one answer to that question - and I'm not going there!! :P
Having gone the whole road and had many different kinds of sweet spots I can tell you that they change. My first sweet spot limited the amount of food that I ate-probably between a cup and two cups. It slowed me down and it forced me to chew better. I was not too hungry and when I was I ate but I had enough food restriction that I lost weight. Gradually over time the sweet spot fades and the weightloss stopped. I had fills that subtly changed what a sweet spot meant. Over time the limitations increased-I could eat less food (at the tightest 1/2c per meal). I could eat fewer foods (beef went off the menu and sometimes bread or pastas), I had to slow way down. It took this higher levels of restriction to keep the scale moving for me. In addition to the increased limitations I shifted to spreading out of the time between eating (staying satisfied/full on just three meals and a snack a day or not wanting food for 4/5 hours after a meal).
This is kind of hard to explain--but its like a spring. I got tighter and tigher fills and gave up more and more (slowly so I could handle it) until I got to my goal weight. I was willing to give up whatever was needed in order to get here.
I think the sweet spot might vary depending on what someone wants the band to do. I think some folks like a very tight band because it really makes them not want to risk being stuck -- a negative reinforcement thing. And others (myself included) prefer things somewhat looser. I don't like being afraid to eat, but I do want to be not hungry for at least 2-3 hours. I'm discovering that finding that spot can require more fine tuning than I expected!
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