Subject: [Bandsters] Kim - feeling full
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 13:01:33 -0000
From:  < removed >
Reply-To:  mailto:Bandsters@egroups.com

The following was posted on the Bandster Forum on August 14, 2000

This is one person's reply to a question about fills.

This is reproduced without edit - The words are that of the author.

Kim - glad you are walking 20 minutes. That's great! Keep it up.   As for eating and feeling full -- this is just what you paid for!   Don't fret about what life will be like with a fill. You won't have to get one until you need it. 

Baked potatoes and bread are good solid foods that manage to stay in  your upper pouch longer than liquids or softer foods. Remember -  many bandsters with more restriction cannot eat bread as it plugs  them up too much. Don't forget to eat some protein with every meal.   When a person has healed enough to move off soft foods but is not  terribly restricted yet, I think it's best to try to eat foods you 
have to really chew -- they stick with me in the upper pouch longer.   I try to eat them first (turkey, chicken - again, things some folks  have to stay away from later on as they are too plugging) then have  some fruits/vegs with every meal. If I have room for carbs I eat a  small bit last. 

This period of time when one is able to eat anything but less of it  is a good time to practice eating slower, chewing very well and stopping before you get overly full. Don't worry about amounts of  food, concentrate on re-learning your body's signals of fullness and hunger. You can always eat some more if you find after 15 or 20  minutes you are not feeling satisfied. It's also a time to pay close attention to foods that really stick with you and go down slowly as  these might become a bit trickier as you get more restricted. I've also needed this time to change my water drinking habits. For me  it's also a time to sort out my feelings of not being able to binge when I'm stressed. It's really been a time for me to get to know  myself with a new relationship to food. If I had been more  restricted sooner I think I would have had some upsetting  experiences. 

In a few weeks you might find that food starts to pass more quickly  and that you can eat more. But really, just watch the scales - I suggest you start to keep a weight log if you aren't already. With this you can see what happens over the course of a week. When you get to a plateau for 3 weeks and you are exercising you can consider  getting a fill.

Good Luck!

Amy

Reproduced with permission of the original author