COMPULSION to eat?

[DIRKT32 1]

That is hard..

It takes me half an hour to drink some Water i am in the green zone and yet,at the same time i want to eat like crazy Pasta or Bagels or ham or whatever...

It's crazy,i cant even eat mushies and i WANT to eat everything i see.I am not hungry at all.But i miss my "friends".Food was a companion and as someone else here said, it s a period of mourning coz you lost them and it is not always easy.When i crave food i stop and i ask my self. "are you hungry?No you are not.Then shut up and move on".If i dont stop and i snack then i will be in pain and you dont want that.Separate the brain from your body.We have to learn this the hard way.The easy way obviously didnt work out, otherwise i wouldn't carry 240 pounds

Be patient,there is nothing in the world we cannot conquer :thumbup:

[hopeful in la 0]

:frown:I had my surgery in April of this year and I don't feel that this band is working for me. Granted, I continue to eat the junk food that got me to this point but I feel hungry, I have been binging lately (like I did before) and I just need to re-focus. I have lost 30 pounds but for all of thes past 5 months it doesn't seem like it's enough. I have received three fills. My doctor is telling me to try to do this on my own without any additional fills. I am embarrased to see him this month because I have gained 6 pounds.

Any advice?

[IndioGirl55 32]

:frown:I had my surgery in April of this year and I don't feel that this band is working for me. Granted, I continue to eat the junk food that got me to this point but I feel hungry, I have been binging lately (like I did before) and I just need to re-focus. I have lost 30 pounds but for all of thes past 5 months it doesn't seem like it's enough. I have received three fills. My doctor is telling me to try to do this on my own without any additional fills. I am embarrased to see him this month because I have gained 6 pounds.

Any advice?

Hopeful

You know the answer - you just don't want to acknowledge that it's you who is sabotaging yourself.. By continuing to eat like you use to - that's what got us fat in the 1st place

Quit eating junk food - I don't care how tight you are - you are still going to be able to eat around your band...

It's only a tool - you gotta chose your food.. If you are hungry - eat meat - dense food that will make you feel full and if you aren't full after eating your meat move to veggies.. You don't have to turn to junk food when you are hungry..

If you want something sweet - eat a sf pudding - sf fudgsicle - if you want salt crunch eat a 100 cal snack pack of popcorn

Also - full does not equate to being satisfied... I will eat my dinner - be physically full but still want to eat - still crave food - this is head hunger and the majority of our hunger is in our heads not our stomachs - especially now that we are eating a smaller amount of food - our heads tell us - oh that's not enough or we want more of the taste of whatever we are eating..

Start keeping a food diary - Are you exercising?? Does your doc off have a nutritionist to work w/you.. How about support group..

Pull up those bootstraps - Realize that you have to change your eating habits - You gotta eat healthy - You gotta move (exercise) - Your band will help - but the work is really up to you..

[Melissannde 41]

I agree with what IndioGirl says. You really need to cut out the junk food or at the very least cut waaaaayyyy back on it. I'd really try to cut it out completely. I do understand the desire for it.. I have to fight it every day with two teens in this house who eat tortilla chips in front of me. It can be torture.

You might benefit from the book "The Beck Diet Solution" by Judith Beck. Ignore the word diet in the title.. it's really about how to make yourself stronger against sabotaging behaviors.

I just finished lunch and I still want to eat, even though I'm not hungry. I often chew sugar-free gum to help with the desire to eat.

I'd also give the doctor one more chance at getting you tight enough for appetite dimming. But if s/he's one of those that think you have to lose weight to "earn" a fill, I'd start looking for another doctor.

30lbs over 5 months averages out to 6lbs a month, about 1.5 lbs a week.. right on target for the 1 to 2lbs a week loss that is our goal. But if you keep on with the junque food, you won't maintain that rate of loss.

Just curious.. what are you defining as junk?

[sparky1582 4]

IndioGirl55,

Preach it Sister!!!!:thumbup:

[kcg 6]

Sparky, you`ve done well so far. 30lbs in 5 mths is still within the expectations of bandsters. I admire the walks you do whilst at work. Keep it up, hun.

Don`t be afraid of going to see your bariatric team whether you`ve gained weight or not. You need to be restricted enough and to achieve this, I`m assuming you need yet another fill. If you`re anything like me, the up and down in weight loss / gain appear normal until you choose not to weigh yourself too often. I`ve now restricted weighing to twice a month. Even if I get tempted to weigh and do so, I mainly ignore the numbers and it`s working for me.

Hun, you`ve got to cut off the junk. The cravings will forever be there but you need to go for healthier options. Aim for Protein based, fruit and vegetable options and drink a lot of Water.< /p>

You`re going to be alright. Just up your exercise, go for another fill and go for healthier options. Good luck.

[Crispaholic 7]

Great advice.....I fell off the wagon today....as I was upset that I only lost 3lbs in a month....but tomorrow I will start again.....food too is my drug.....and it only hit home when food was compared to alcohol.....as a drug.....I would not keep alcohol around an alcoholic....I need to find another fix.....to trick my brain when I am having a bad day.....food always = happiness = sadness.....I need to divorce junk food forever ....its just causing me to be unhappy

[IndioGirl55 32]

Great advice.....I fell off the wagon today....as I was upset that I only lost 3lbs in a month....but tomorrow I will start again.....food too is my drug.....and it only hit home when food was compared to alcohol.....as a drug.....I would not keep alcohol around an alcoholic....I need to find another fix.....to trick my brain when I am having a bad day.....food always = happiness = sadness.....I need to divorce junk food forever ....its just causing me to be unhappy

Here's the letter you need to write ;0)

Dear Food,

I’m breaking up with you.

Don’t be surprised. I’ve certainly tried to do it many times before, but I always weakened and went back to you.

I finally woke up and realized this relationship is not good for me. I’m not getting what I need from you. It’s hurting me, not allowing me the space to grow in the ways I need to grow. You’re holding me back.

I know I’ll have separation anxiety, but I’ve stayed with you too long, way past when I should have. This just isn’t working for me. You don’t listen to me. You don’t give me attention. You don’t care about what I’m going through. It’s almost like you don’t have any feelings for me at all, yet I’ve stuck close to you, helpless and dependent.

I know you won’t let go of me so easily. I know you’ll keep calling me, asking me to come back. But please, let me go now.

In the beginning you were always there, ready to calm me and soothe me, but it went too far. I came to rely on you. I looked to you for everything. In all fairness, it was too much to ask of you. No way could you fulfill all my needs. For so long I’ve settled, afraid to go out there and find something better for myself. I need to do that.

I now withdraw my heart from you so I can be free to put it elsewhere, some place where I can be loved back. I’ve tried to break up with you before. This time it’s real. I want to be on the cutting edge of my own life, and I can’t do it while I’m still tied to you. Thinking about being free scares me, but I want it. I must have it. I know I’m brave enough at last.

I know I’ll long for you. I know I’ll think of you a lot, especially during those hard times. I know I’ll be tempted to come back to you. But this time I’ve got a plan, things I’m prepared to do when I get lonely and sad. I’ve been thinking of other ways to Celebrate when I’m happy or proud. I have remedies in place for being bored or tired.

At this point you’re a troublemaker in my life and I intend to keep my emotional distance from you. So in a way, this is goodbye. Of course, I’ll still come into contact with you day to day, but let’s just be friends, not lovers.

Don’t cry (although you never do, it’s me who does all the crying).

Author not known by me :0)

[conniecasino 0]

I use to wake up thinking about what I was going to eat for the day. food was always on my mind. BUT, when you start getting fills that will totally go away. First of all if you even try to eat pizza, it will come back up. The first year is the hardest because you are getting your fills and trying to get use to your new life. Get the fills on time and the weight will come off. I never think about food now.

[ElfiePoo 109]

:frown:I had my surgery in April of this year and I don't feel that this band is working for me. Granted, I continue to eat the junk food that got me to this point but I feel hungry, I have been binging lately (like I did before) and I just need to re-focus. I have lost 30 pounds but for all of thes past 5 months it doesn't seem like it's enough. I have received three fills. My doctor is telling me to try to do this on my own without any additional fills. I am embarrased to see him this month because I have gained 6 pounds.

Any advice?

Yes, get on the phone and tell your doctor that if you could do this without the band, you would not be fat and you wouldn't have needed the surgery and you want to continue with the fills until the band is doing its job. I hate doctors who do the surgery but have no real clue about its purpose.

If you're hungry...if you can eat to excess...then your band isn't even at restriction yet. Tell your doctor to read the Lapband literature. It's right in there. Trust me...when you have restriction, you may *want* to eat but that little band won't let you.

Oh and stop with the junk food because even with restriction, there's something about the junk that lets it go right through. I know.

Edited September 20, 2010 by ElfiePoo

[MrsCabes 2]

Personally, I was never a compulsive eater, so it's easier for me, contending with the band.

I haven't read any of the other responses yet but - I really do feel like lapband isn't for everyone. (as well as other WLS) They can help us physically, but they can't take away any mental issues that we have with food.

[Crispaholic 7]

Thank you Indigo Girl for the letter....I have started divorce proceedings against junk food.....I think the mental issues are also being addressed as to why I seem to not want myself to succeed....your advice came at the right time for me....so I am very grateful:thumbup:

[IndioGirl55 32]

Thank you Indigo Girl for the letter....I have started divorce proceedings against junk food.....I think the mental issues are also being addressed as to why I seem to not want myself to succeed....your advice came at the right time for me....so I am very grateful:thumbup:

That's what we are here for Crispaholic ;0) ... to support each other... I give tough band love (love being the operative word) as I firmly beleive that we all need to get a hold of our head issues w/food - We need to know that a little hunger isn't going to kill us - we need to know that we can't continue to eat high fat - high sugar - junk and think we are going to lose the weight - that's the kind of eating most of us did pre-band and what caused us to become obese in the first place..

This is a journey - I wish you the best in it... Hugs Janet

[2beskinny 4]

This is really the thread I needed to read this morning. I have been dealing (again) with the strong urge to binge at night...I'm fine all day and then night comes and it's crazy. I have learned that I need to save calories for an evening snack, but it is soooo hard to stop. Last night I ate 2 poptarts (I don't even like poptarts that much). This morning I felt so awful for doing that. I was so surprised at how easy the first one went down (I've been having to eat very carefully since my last fill) that I think I ate the other one as an experiment to see if I could actually eat two. Now I'm afraid that I have figured out that junk food really does slide on through! Anyway - thanks for all the posts on this subject. I have 3 teenage boys (18 and almost 16 yr. old twins) and lots of junk food in my house. I think I actually do pretty well considering the amount of food THEY can eat (not me!) My husband never even looks at it - could care less! I am trying to be more like him :smile2: In case you are wondering, they are all football players and can eat a boatload and never gain an ounce! (I often think it's like they are babies again and need to eat every two hours). Thankfully, they have their father's metabolism and not mine!

[Crispaholic 7]

2beskinny.....I would have tested as well....and last night I had the urge to eat a bar of chocolate at 3am so I did....but today I went for a long walk,,,,I am doing ok.....I took indigo girls advice and I am trying to remove all junk food but there are times when I will slowly slip off the wagon.......I on the other hand don't seem to be able to eat good food....pears and apples pain me....but I try to eat them to remind myself that I have the band....losing weight slowly but surely.....your not alone for trying to see if you can eat more :smile2: