Portion Control

Needing some help from my fellow bandsters. I am almost 3 months post surgery and have had 2 fills, still no restriction. (3.5cc in a 14cc band).  I am having trouble with portion control and slowing down. It is so frustrating because after I eat, I fell I could have gotten by with probably 1/2 of what I actually ate. Does this get better as the restriction comes? I don't want to sabotage myself so early in th game. The low carb is the easy part, but stopping the fork to mouth syndrome is tough!

It's not all bad, I am down a total of 27 lbs, but most of that was pre-surgery....

 If you haven't gotten your restriction yet, I hope you do soon.

Until then, have you thought about getting smaller plates or bowls?  Like for little kids/babies?  Or measure out a couple of ounces of your food to put on your plate.  After you eat, wait fifteen minutes and if you are still actually feeling real hunger, then go back for another ounce or two.

It might not work for you, but it's worth a shot.  I find that the more I put on my plate, the more I think I need to eat.  

I think that for most of us, when we don't stop eating when we should, the problem isn't in the abdomen; it's between the ears.

If you haven't explored what hole you are trying to fill up  then you should. 6 to ten visits of counseling with someone that understands eating disorders/ addictive thinking can change the way you look at your relationship with food forever .

It changed everything for me anyway....

Good luck with your journey.

Stacy -
what if you started out by serving yourself 1/2 of what you have been eating.

then -- stop and make yourself wait 15 minutes to decide if you want more

that is what I did -- I weighed and measured small portions (3 oz of protein max, 1/2 cup of veg, 1/4 cup of grain ----- or 3oz of tuna with 8 wheat thins)

I ate it slowly and carefully (pea-sized bites) -- and then stepped away.
At the time, I could have eaten much more -- but once I was away from the food for 15 minutes, I realized that I did not need to eat any more --- my appetite was dimmed by the small amount

I've had 3 fills, and the last one was in March , yes 7 months ago. 
That's when my surgeon pretty much filled it (9 ccs in a 10 cc band)
 The more restriction, the more you will be forced to eat less, and chew more.
 That is when the weight started coming off.

However, I need to exercise my ass off to keep the weight off, and eat healthier and smaller portions.

I tend to graze throughtout the day and my nutritionist is happy with that.

Keep working it!



SW 267
CW 208
GW 165

I have days that I over eat and days that I eat right portions. When I eat too much I feel bloated and its too much for my stomach. Its old habits that we have to learn to stop. Most of the time I limit my intake and feel great and lose lbs. As soon as I overeat for whatever reason, I gain back fast what I lost and gas and bloat takes over. SW 260..CW 209..GW150...surgery was 12/15/10. I would like to be 175 by Thanksgiving and the only way is to eat smaller amts. and stop when satisfied not stuffed..Restriction comes with eating smaller amts. I have 2 cc. in 10cc band. got a fill 2 wks. ago. nothing changed ...I have to change...work it out...

I had my surgery 7 months ago and have 5ccs in my band and still no restriction.  I can eat large portions of any type of food, but I'm sticking to the high protein, low carb diet and eating smaller portions.  good luck to you, I know it's hard, sometimes I wish I would have had the gastric bypass or the sleeve, but I've got to work with what I got.....

Thank you everyone for the advice. Hoping for some changes in my way of thinking soon.