Food Obsession

[Look@meitsEmily 26]

I am obsessed with food. My day revolves around what time I'm going to lunch and eating dinner. And its not good food... its chips and chocolate covered pretzels and pizza and diet coke! I almost feel like this is more a mental problem than anything. Did any of you have food obsessions and did surgery help?

[boots321 42]

I'm a food addict! I bing eat all the time, I don't have to be hungry to eat! I can be good on a diet for a few days, then I find myself going to the store to buy a pack of some sort of cookie or brownie and eating the entire thing!!! Don't know why, I just do! The mental addiction will be the hardest part in my opinion!

[MamaBear 38]

Hi Emily,

Welcome to the boards. This is the place where you will get help with your journey. This is where it is ok to talk about about every last bit of your health, surgery, worries, emotional state and your successes.

I think I can safely say that all of us have emotional issues around food. I know I do. This surgery doesn't fix your head. It gives you a tool, and it gives you hope where sometimes you have none. What you do with it is in your power.

Don't have the surgery without doing the mental work around what got you fat in the first place.

And read read read.... there isn't a question you can have that hasn't been asked before. The answers that can work for you are on these pages.

Good luck.

[Mab 44]

Your physical hunger will go away, but the surgery is not a cure for head hunger and emotional eating. The fact that you will physically harm yourself if you binge or overeat is a pretty good deterrent.

This is a process and it's not an easy one. Your issues with food will not magically disappear when you wake up from surgery. That's why we refer to the sleeve as a "tool."

[Cherrybomb 54]

I completely understand you. Thinking about what yummy things I was going to eat used to get me out of bed in the morning.

Surgery has not helped my head. I am six weeks out and very much struggling mentally. It is getting easier, but is still an everyday problem. My sleeve protects me from myself. I do get angry at it sometimes for not allowing me to eat what my brain wants to eat. But, in the end, I am thankful for my sleeve doing it's job.

[Tibbie 55]

I agree with what everyone is saying - I'm less than a week out from getting my surgery - but I too worry about the "head" portion of this journey. One of the BIGGEST things my husband and I BOTH have to break is when he gets off work at night and texts me and say's "what do you want for dinner".....he knows he will no longer be able to do that with me. We are going to be on a fend for yourself place for a very very long time - if not forever. I plan in the morning what/where we are going for lunch - at night again, it's all revolving around food. Drives me out of my mind! I think food addiction is worse than smoking!

[MyGastricSleeveLife 180]

I really think it depends on the person. I just wrote about this on my blog last night. I had my surgery on Monday and I know things might change, but for right now I feel like this was an automatic cure for my food addiction. I look at food completely different now. It's truly amazing to me. Maybe it's just the "honeymoon phase" after surgery, but I sure hope it's not. Maybe I'm the minority, but I'm so happy food is no longer controlling me now!!!

[MamaBear 38]

You know it is ironic really, the most successful sleevers are the ones who are DILIGENT in their food planning. I have become a really good planner, because it is NOT planning that allows our evil little overeater brain to speak. Having a set plan for your food, and the right things in the house will be a huge factor in your success.

So go ahead and think about what you are going to have for dinner, shop for fresh healthy ingredients and cook like you are a chef!

[Dooter 1,457]

I agree the head and the heart have to be dealt with before you make this kind of a plunge so you don't endanger your health.

That said... As addicted as I was to cream filled, fatty, sugary, tasty things....my tastes have TOTALLY changed. The other night I went to a tea and I saved my calories all day for it. I decided for the first time to "splurge" a little bit. None of it tasted good at all. The next day I felt like hammered poo. My low carb yogurt and grape nuts tasted SOOOO good!! My head thinks it wants goodies, but my body violently disagrees! Soo....there's that. Everyone is a little different.

[MamaBear 38]

Hey Sleevemaster - you are so right!!! I don't think that pre-surgery I could have IMAGINED that I would look at a particular kind of goody and think "Hmmm. that doesn't actually taste good enough for me to invest"

Seriously newbies - listen up - you will be able to foster appreciation for high quality flavours. Seriously, I couldn't eat a donut now for any reason. If I am going to have a treat I am careful not to eat things that don't make me feel like "hammered poo" ( my new favourite saying now).

[Cherrybomb 54]

It's true I don't crave carbs or sweets anymore and know for sure I could never eat a donut. But, I don't think surgery itself did that for me (except the donut thing because bread just doesn't fit.) I believe it's just because I don't eat them anymore.

I HATE Protein drinks of all kinds - every last one of them - so I have to get all my Protein in via food. I plan ahead and carefully track my food on MFP to be sure I get in all my protein. Once I do that, there is just no room for anything else. I will not put anything in my mouth at a meal until the protein is in. Then I'm full.

My biggest struggle is not craving bad foods, it's trying to wrap my brain around my new portion size. I'm not used to being a slow learner so I get mad at myself for always taking too much and wasting food. This morning I put one piece of Muenster cheese and two slices of turkey on a plate for Breakfast. I could not eat it all and had to feed one slice of turkey to the dog.

At six weeks out, I should know better than to take too much food, yet I consistently do it. I'm getting better, since that wouldn't have begun to cover Breakfast pre-op, but I still have a long road before I will feel normal to myself.

[Look@meitsEmily 26]

I know that I have to mentally prepare myself but the idea that if I eat a doughnut or too much food it will hurt, seems like a great thing to me! I need help with my habits and knowing surgery is a tool to help makes me even more anxious to get it done! I cant wait!

[Cherrybomb 54]

I know that I have to mentally prepare myself but the idea that if I eat a doughnut or too much food it will hurt, seems like a great thing to me! I need help with my habits and knowing surgery is a tool to help makes me even more anxious to get it done! I cant wait!

Agreed! It is a emotional journey, but if I waited on all my mental food problems to be solved first, I would have never had surgery. My brain is healing along with my body. I think it takes something like this to break a food obsession. I disagree with those who will tell you to fix your mentality first.

BTW, no way will you be able to eat a donut. Maybe a bite or two, but not a whole donut.