Do you have a soft stop?

I have heard about soft stops for ages and was hoping to have a big old signal, like a cough, sneeze or hiccup, to tell me to stop eating.  You know, as a backup when my brain can't figure out what the band is trying to signal.

Do you have a soft stop?  If so, what is it?

I think that after 2.5 years, I may have finally figured out what mine is!

I was eating a WW lasagna for lunch the other day.  As I raised a fork to my mouth, I sighed.  I don't know if I was bored with it or what.  But I was like . . . could that possibly be a sign????  A soft stop???

Today I had a sandwich while out with friends.  I had eaten about a third of the sandwich and was contemplating another bite when I sighed again.  HUH?  Is this it???  I was trying to pay attention to eating and my body and it was just enough of a signal to make me purposefully ask myself if I need more of the sandwich or if I was continuing to eat it because it was there.

I don't know if my body could come up with a more subtle soft stop cue if it tried!  It's not like a petulant teenager pouting kind of sigh.  It's just like a slightly stronger, longer exhale.  

I'd be nice to get the more obvious soft stops, but I'll take anything I can get from my band at this point.

I'm really going to be aware of the sighing from now on and see if that will help me stop once I get started.

 Can't help you..But, I see you had your surgery right after me..(3/16/09) I never really had a Soft spot of restriction..I get stuck sometimes.. one day I can eat froever and others after 2 or 3 bites I am full.. I have 4.6 cc's in a 10cc band.. Idont want another fill because a.) I don't want to get stuck and b.) my fills costme $250.00.. i have stalled at my weight loss and I am content where I am..So I am just going to hang in there and wait and see what happens.. I see you ate  a sandwich..how do you eat bread? I can't. I tried it 2 times and bam..stuck for hours..I cant do rice either... I wish you much more success...Hugs..Lucky

My fills at my second clinic are $250, too. I feel your pain there!

I can do fancy, crusty breads with thorough chewing.  Things like good old white bread, not so much.  It was a roast beef sandiwch on an artisan asiago bread, which for some reason goes down fine.

I don't do rice or pasta much at all.  Rice tends to get stuck in my throat, behind my tonsils.  Blecch.  I'm surprised I don't miss the rice and pasta more than I do, actually.  I used to use both of them as a filler--like a little bit of chicken and veggies and a whole bunch of rice.  Not anymore.

I am glad that I don't get stuck much at all with my band empty.  Every once in awhile some chicken will catch me by surprise.  Stuck is not fun, especially when you're stuck and sliming!  

I'm glad you're doing well with your weight loss, even if it is stalled for the moment.  Hopefully it'll pick back up and you'll start losing again very soon.

Hugs to you, Lucky!!!  

mine is i start to burbs Little burbs or get a gurgle sound

Did it take you long to figure out that was a sign to stop eating?

I don't burp as much as I did pre-op, mostly because I quit drinking diet Pepsis.  

I do have these weird hiccup burps now, though.  It's like a hiccup, but it's also a burp in and a burp out.  I have no idea what they are and they happen at random, not when I'm eating.

I think my body is a hot mess of confusion!!!!  

I have heard of some people having a soft stop indicated with a sigh.  I have heard of hiccups, yawns, etc.  I think it can be different for each person.  Did you stop eating when you felt your sigh?  I ask because I recently had .8 removed from my band and I feel like I can eat the refigerator now.  I had 5.8 in my band and have had for over and year and all of a sudden I couldnt keep anything down so she removed .8 and told me that this far out I need to learn how to be able to eat with less restriction and I understand what she is saying, but it is scary.  I am having to make the conscious choice to eat "the right foods" and not relying on the the fact that I cant eat but a couple of small bites so it doesnt matter what I eat.  It has been a week and the first day I think I ate everything I wanted but made better choices.  It is harder I will say that, but I am working at it.

Theresa

I had heard of it too, but I expected it to be like a huge sigh.  Like something I'd notice.  The ones I've caught are so subtle that I don't even realize I'm doing them.  How nutty is that???

This week when I've caught myself sighing I have stopped eating.  Now I really need to just start keeping my senses peeled for them so I can get in the habit of stopping at that point.  I wasn't full when I sighed, but I was no longer hungry either.  

I had to consciously choose to stop eating at that point.  It wasn't like I sighed and then automatically put down my sandwich.  I contemplated it, thought of taking another bite and then said, eh, get a to go box and fini**** later.

I guess it's being more mindful.  I tend to function a lot on automatic pilot.  As in eat until the plate is empty.  Dang--where'd the food go???  So first I had to actually notice the sigh.  Then I have to acknowledge it and choose to stop eating, even if my head wants to keep going.

We'll see how this goes over time!!!

Did you have a cold or some kind of bug before your band tightened on you?  That sucks you had to have some taken out, and that just removing 0.8 cc was the difference between not being able to eat and being ravenously hungry.

If you actually are lucky enough to have restriction and you have a band, why on earth would you need to learn to eat with less restriction?  That's having a functional tool but not getting to use it.  What the point of that, aside from frustration and stress for you?

In my reading about how the band works, the pressure of the band on your stomach combined with the pressure the food you eat putting on the band and stomach is what makes you feel full and keeps you from being less hungry between meals.  Maybe 5.8 cc is too much for you right now, but if you are really hungry, maybe 5.0 is not enough for your band to be effective.  

Maybe you should keep notes in a calendar or food journal or something to track how hungry you are between meals and share that info with your doctor.  Explain to her how big of an impact on your hunger removing 0.8 cc made, and maybe you need some of that (like 0.2 or 0.4cc) added bac****il your hunger becomes more managable.

This is where I got off track with my journey.  My first clinic kept giving me these teeny tiny fills and I was ravenous all the time.  Like hungrier than before I got my band!  It was so frustrating.  The physical hunger was driving me crazy and making me think about food constantly.  Kinda counter productive and I ultimately gained back the weight I lost during the preop diet and post op liquids and mushy phases.

Yes, we need to be able to consciously choose the right foods in the right amounts.  But what's the point of having a tool if you can't use it?

Hopefully she'll start giving you small fills to get you back to a point where your hunger doesn't overwhelm you.  Hang in there Theresa--sounds like you're doing a good job of managing eating without the restriction.

I know mine, even without the band. My nose runs when I am full. It doesn't matter what I eat or where, my nose runs.

Hey, are you done with your surgery???  Hope you're doing okay and feeling better!!!

As for signs, I have sinus issues out the wazoo (allergic to everything on the test panel but corn smut and ****roach poop), so my nose runs all the time.  It'd have to pour outta my head for me to get the hint!

That's pretty cool that the "soft stop" works even without a band.  I wonder if I have been sighing my whole life and just never realized it until Monday.  Sheesh.  Slow learner here!

I have one but I rarely notice it. My ADD gets me preoccupied and I forget to listen. When I do pay attention it is some mild belching, (as opposed to the real rippers I do, too). I have a fairly loose band so unless I get a signal that one more bite and I will be stuck it is easy to overlook. I have been quite the delicate flower since surgery and after a year and a half I don't always notice the more subtle signs.
 I, too, have heard of the sigh thing. Keep on listening!