I guess this is restriction?

Northwest_Nance · 05-28-2008, 11:27 PM

I was banded on May 15th - two weeks ago tomorrow. My doctor had me on liquids for the first week ("anything you can drink through a straw") and mushies from day 8 thru day 14, which means tomorrow is my last day of mushies.

I'm determined I'm going to be a success story. I've been eating very healthy foods in small portions, even though I didn't think I was really feeling any restriction after the first few post-surgery days. Oh yeah, I'd reach a point where I'd think.... "hmmm, I might be feeling full (but not stuffed), I guess that means I should stop eating" which is such a foreign attitude for me (I'm sure a lot of you can relate). My brain was saying "No, this tastes good and there's still more in my bowl, I want it all". I recognized that I needed to start paying attention to that though. I stay full for several hours after eating, but my stomach is usually growling by the next meal time but again, I didn't think that was restriction, I just figured after all my pre-surgery dieting, and the liquid diet for a week afterwards, I was just feeling satisfied with smaller portions.

Well, tonight I am pretty darn sure I'm feeling the effects of restriction. I had a very tender boneless, skinless chicken breast for dinner (which is on the "ok" list for this week, along with fish). I topped it with 1 tbsp. of melted cheese and 1 tbsp. of fat-free sour cream. I took tiny bites and chewed them well. I thought I was eating slowly but in hindsight, that's probably something I still need to work on. About 10 minutes later I started feeling this heaviness in my chest, like some of that chicken is stuck going down.

I guess that means I do have a little more restriction than I thought. I haven't pushed the limits or over-eaten so I guess I really wasn't testing it out and now, apparently, I have. I'm kind of relieved that maybe I'll have some restriction between now and my first fill on June 12th, but wow, it's kind of a weird feeling and really makes me aware how carefully I'm going to have to think about every bite.

**Jack** · 05-28-2008, 11:41 PM

Congratulations...you are on the way to your goal. I had to put down my spoon/fork/eating shovel with each bite, as I had to completely reprogram my eating speed. Keep your attention toward that 'satiety' reflex we have all managed to ignore for so long.

It sounds like you have the basic idea. Go slower, chew more, go REALLY slower....and don't key amount eaten off of what is on the plate. I found using small saucers and small cereal bowel works great.

And sometimes 'ONE' bite really IS enough!!!

Good luck on your journey.

gina s. · 05-28-2008, 11:56 PM

All I can say is "Wow"! You've lost that much in two weeks! My surgery is in two weeks and I only hope I can do that well!

Northwest_Nance · 05-29-2008, 12:10 AM

Oh Gina, I wish I'd lost that much in 2 weeks! Actually I've only lost about 2 pounds since surgery. I was just so disgusted with myself that I actually lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks before my doctor put me on liquids for one week pre-op, and I lost 12 pounds in that week.

When I went for my post-op visit 8 days after surgery, I had gained 1.5 lbs. I've got the scale moving in the right direction now though!

And Jack, thanks for the encouragement!