Perfect restriction...for me

I read a post be the wonderful Amy W. yesterday about the elusive green zone.  We talk a great deal about restriction here in Bandland.  We've even heard that we shouldn't worry about restriction because that isn't what makes the band so effective.  Despite that, for most of us the idea of restriction is a critical part of our understanding of the band.  We want good restriction.  We bemoan being too loose.  We worry we'll never hit the sweet spot.  We fret when we must have an unfill for some reason.

Let me tell you a secret: I have .7 ccs (point seven as in 7/10th of one ml.)in my band.  Shhh....don't tell anyone.  And guess what else: I'm perfect ally fine with it.  How can that be?  Doesn't that mean that I can eat bread and pasta and rice and pizza?  Yes, I can eat all of those things.  I can also take moderately big bites and I don't have to chew everything to the consistency of baby spit.  I don't eat so slowly that the people I'm eating with are ready for their next meal by the time I finish my first one.

To be honest, I feel a little ashamed to admit these things.  Not because they are shameful, but because I know that technically speaking that isn't exactly how the band is designed to work.  I've heard people say that their surgeon's office tells them that they will never eat bread, rice, or pasta again.  I've read many blogs where the writer is planning a fill BECAUSE they ate two pieces of pizza or they were able to eat a piece of bread. 

 I don't offer this information to suggest that my way is the best way.  I just want to put it out there that there are different ways of viewing restriction.  What I consider good restriction, you might consider bandster hell, but it works for me.

I think it comes down to eating behavior.  I need my band to help me keep my portion sizes in check and that's what it does for me.  Pre-band I would sit down to a meal with a full plate, clear it and get another plateful.  I would happily munch away on several pieces of bread with my meal.  At a restaurant I'd have a salad, bread, the entire entree, (diet) soda and possibly dessert.  My meals were not necessarily made up of unhealthy foods, but they were definitely much too big.  I didn't stop eating when I was physically full.  Eating between meals wasn't really my problem.  I didn't graze or snack all that much and I still don't.  With the Lap-band, I cannot eat the same quantity of food.  I physically cannot do it.  I do not need the band to restrict the types of food that I eat.  I do not believe that any foods need to be off-limits because I can't handle them.  I do not believe in "good" or "bad" foods. 

So that is what perfect restriction means for me.  What is perfect restriction for you?