Band Land

A few weeks back I decided I needed to get my lap band tightened up because I was binge eating like crazy and my poor little band was being punished… not to mention the weight gain! I now have 5.9 ml in a 10 ml band, which is more fluid in my band than I have ever had before. Back when I had more motivation and dedication I could happily sit at 4.5 ml in my band, but that just won’t cut it anymore because apparently I eat like a pig.

I think I am probably slightly too tight for my own comfort, but for now, I need the extra tightness to stop me eating a whole pizza and a tub of ice cream. For the most part, I can really only get soft foods down during the day like oatmeal, yoghurt, soup… but that is OK because those are the foods I tend to eat on work days anyway. Though the other day I ate a whole take-away container of Nasi Goreng at work with no problems, the tightness seems to change every day…

It has become apparent that I can no longer attempt to eat proper food at restaurants for breakfast or lunch with this restriction. I have had a few sad moments recently where I have stupidly ordered some delicious food at lovely restaurants and haven’t been able to get anything down. Lucky for me it is coming on winter here and delicious soups will be on the menu in most cafes and restaurants.

I stole some advice that a lovely commenter left on B’s blog once (and I am badly paraphrasing) that you should have your band tight enough to cope with when your band is loosest. So for most of us lap banders, we are quite loose in the evening and can eat pretty much anything. What a cruel joke that our bands are loose at the time most of us over-eaters want to binge eat… So my band is now tight enough to slow down my evening eating.

The tightness of the band really suits the way I am trying to live me life now. It means that I can eat whatever I feel like and not be on a diet, but eat smaller portions. I was hung-over at work the other day and felt like potato cakes, so I went and bought 3, but could only eat 1 and I felt satisfied. I don’t stress at all now when AJ wants to order a take away or if I am going out to dinner with friends because I know I’ll only eat a healthy serving.

I know that I won’t keep my band this tight for too long because food and eating out are my favourite things in life and it is no fun with a tight lap band, but it is helping me for now while I am dealing with my emotional over-eating.