Ka-ching!!

That my friends, was not the sound of money (I wish!!) but rather a light bulb going off in my head. 


I had a moment of clarity yesterday and while I wish I could have come to the realisation myself I actually owe it to Amy http://babblesofabandster.blogspot.com. I was reading her latest post and she was talking about something called FBS - or in layman terms First Bite Syndrome. If you're interested in reading more about it, go visit her site. She explained it better than I ever could :)


Now I know I've had trouble with this band of mine this past week. For some reason I was inexplicably tight (I have had a stressful few weeks and a TTOTM that showed signs of being due but didn't appear - is this the lot of a 40 plus woman? Sighhhh.)  I would try and eat - my throat would close up (you know like when you've been bawling your eyes out and then try to have something to eat but can't?) and I would force the issue and then sure enough, I would PB. I know I'm not overfilled - none of the signs were there. No reflux, I swallow my liquids just fine - can gulp them in fact if I don't slow down - etc etc. This was just at mealtimes. Sometimes the food went down no worries, other times and at odd times of the day (sometimes it would be lunch, others dinner, next day it might reverse) I just couldn't get the food down to save my life. Amy's explanation was exactly what I was going through.


I was astounded that I hadn't figured it out on my own. I think the thing is, this was actually the first time FBS had hit me. I remember reading about it when first banded but not having experienced it in the nine months since banded I had completely forgotten it could happen. I took the hints Amy added about how to handle FBS when starting a meal and it worked. It really did. Yesterday I had a great day of eating AND since I worked my butt off keeping busy I am back to my lowest weight. This time the aim is to go below that and not shoot back up. So, thank you, Amy. Just goes to show how those banded after us can still come up with a nugget of fantastic information!!! 

Food for yesterday: 

One Up and GO - breakfast                                   

Slice of Kraft cheese wrapped in a slice of deli meat and a couple of large garlic-chilli olives - lunch

One medium banana - afternoon tea

One small beef rissole smothered in low-joule gravy, mixed vegetables - dinner

Three biscuits (oops lol) with coffee later that evening

I had also drunk a litre of water before 10am and managed another half throughout the day. Also in there were my vitamins, bio tablet (for hair, skin and nails) and a couple more white coffees with no sugar. Another thing I realised as I started my evening meal was that I headed straight for the vegetables. I had to stop - think - and then change tactics. Protein first. This is important. It really does help fill you up. If you make a circle out of your middle fingers and thumbs, this is the size of the dinner plate I eat off every night. I only managed about half my food (I'm guessing this is about a half cup of food.) Just perfect and what I should have at one sitting. 


Just wanted to share the news and let you know, that if for some reason your band has tightened and you're having trouble eating - think of FBS. It could be the reason you're PB'ing a bit. So slow down, prime that band before you eat with a hot drink and discover bliss. Voila!!


Cara xxx