Food Addiction

[susansilver 0]

Lately I have been watching that television show "Intervention". It is about a person who is addicted to something and their lives have become unbearable. Their family/friends get together and bring in an interventionist who facilitates a session where the family/friends tell the addict that they must get help immediately. The interventionist then whisks them off to a pre-arranged treatment centre. Some are healed, some not.

I have often felt that I needed an intervention for my addiction to food. Obviously it is not as if we can kickthe habit cold turkey - after all we have to eat in order to survive. But this band - this feels like my intervention. It scares me sometimes to think that I won't be able to use food...hmmm...maybe I should take up drinking or drugs??? :heh: Just kidding of course.

Comments???

Susan

[Dame J 0]

Funny that you mention this topic, I was thinking along the same lines this morning. I love food and have loved food for years, it was a comfort for me but it was also like a hobby. Although I have only had the band for 6 weeks I can already sense my relationship with food changing. Now that I can no longer thoughtlessly throw food down my throat and now that I have to chew chew chew food it just not as a welcoming comfort as it once was. Don’t get me wrong I still crave food and want all the wrong things, but I feel like food is no longer the same. I haven’t been turning to it like I used to. This does not upset me. My relation to food was very unhealthy one might say Morbidly so.

Susan I hope when you are banded it provides the intervention that you are looking for as well.

PS just say no to drugs... and food :biggrin1:

[shellbellz222 0]

i too would consider myself a food addict. it's not an easy thing to admit. i'm not a veteraned pro with the lap band. i'm only a week out of surgery. but I have noticed that my biggest struggle, hands down, has been my food addiction. I eat when i'm hungry. I eat when I'm not. I eat because I see food that I know is delicious and I eat a lot of it. I eat that delicious food fast a furiously on the chance that when I came to eat more it would be gone. I eat when I'm sad, I eat when I'm bored. I eat when things don't go the way I planned or when the opportunity to eat good food is right in front of me. I have a habit of not saying no to the things I should and food was no exception. I knew going into this that it would not be as easy as it sounded. A smaller stomach, a fighting chance to say no, but it never mattered how full I was before, if there was something in front of me, I would eat it. My biggest struggle thus far has been telling myself that it's ok not to eat. It's been coming to the realization that there are better things out there to do eat, or think about eating. I would literally wake up in the mornings before surgery and this was my thought process...

"man i'm still tired. i should really try to catch a few more z's. but i'm hungry. i wonder what's in the fridge? I wonder if there are any of those frozen burritos left? better go check it out."

I would literally get out of bed using food as my main motivator. I lost sight of the fact that food is the fuel our body needs to survive. I forgot that food supplies our bodies with the vast about of Vitamins and nutrients that make our bodies run to the best of their abilities. I would try to hide the fact that i ate so much from my family and friends so as to hide it from myself.

In the seven days since my surgery, I've lost about seven pounds. I've found myself walking and searching for another habit to fill that of my overeating. I want this band to work. I believe this band will work. I'm trying my hardest to treat this as my second chance. A second chance to prove to my body and to my brain that I DO NOT need to stuff my face with trash to feel satisfied with life, to prove that I do care about myself and what I put into my body. I want to be healthy. I want to be able to do the things I took forgranted when I was in high school. I'm a 22 year old hypertensive, pre-diabetic, with back pain, and an ovarian disorder brought about by obesity. It's not exactly something to shout from the mountain tops. But i know that i can do this.

So, susansilver, you are not alone. You are probably the polar opposite of alone. there is one thing that everyone on this site has in common...food. We're all fighting the good fight. And my sister and I love that show intervention. how lucky are we that we didn't have to have ours on national television...

i wish you a blessed experience.

[faithmd 14]

I read an interesting article recently about how scientists and therapists are now finding that quite a few folks who have had WLS have developed other addictions such as alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, etc. Makes sense to me, if you can no longer satisfy a food addiction and someone has an addictive personality, then one would substitute another addiction for loss of food.

[brookelaney 0]

Great post makes you think. I remember when i quite smoking and relizing how much of an addict I really was. I then relized that I have a very addictive personality, but how come only with the bad stuff. I am happy I left that addiction. But it did lead to another (food). Hopefully with the band I can steer myself into getting addicted to exercise, but I am not holding my breath.

[JLB 0]

I'm right there with all of you! I am totally addicted to food. It's my friend, my confidant, my savior and my worst enemy. Gawd, I love it and I hate it! It's destroying my health and my life.

I have researched the lapband quite extensively and believe it is a tool that I can use to help me break my addiction to food. I know I am an emotional eater and I have been thinking of ways to address this as I approach my banding date. I registered for a short course on Food and Mood through the Health Region in Calgary. This is my first step. I also plan to seek out counselling with a professional who has experience with food issues. If anyone knows of such a counsellor in Calgary pls let me know.

I'm also hoping to get addicted to exercise. I actually like to exercise and expect I will like it even more as I lose weight and mobility becomes easier.

[maggiec_38 0]

Hey All,

Did any of you see that Oprah show about the people who had the bypass surgery and then they became addicted to alcohol?

Well, it was very interesting, they had that Carlie Wilson ( I think that's her name) on and she talked how when she was young she was addicted to drugs, got off of that and became addicted to food, had the surgery and then became addicted to alcohol... So I told my husband, great I will lose weight and become an alcoholic... LOL.. I never drink, and he drinks beer all the time.. But seriously, it's something that we will all have to watch.. Just like you were all saying, one addiction turns into another if you have underlying issues that have not been resolved, and you might not even know that you have any issues, you have to be careful!!

Maggie

[JLB 0]

Hi Maggiec, yes I saw that Oprah show. It was on addiction transferance. I really felt for those women, they had to deal with many different addictions in their lives not only food. I also wondered if these women would have struggled with these addictions at some point in their lives without having gastric bypass surgery. Just a thought that crossed my mind as I was watching it. As someone else had mentioned in another post, if you have an addictive personality you are more susceptable to abusing substances or other activities that are addictive. It could be drugs, alcohol, food, sex, gambling, exercise (I wish) or anything that gives you the high. What kind of bothered me about the show was that it was presented as if these women's lives got much worse after WLS and it was the surgery that made them get addicted to the other stuff. They didn't deal with the whole issue of addiction in their lives separate from the WLS but -- I guess that was the point of the show. I wonder if they'll do a show about people who low fat diet and get addicted to other things - I doubt it. Just a thought.

[susansilver 0]

Good points Janice - I didn't see the show but it certainly sounds slanted against WLS (most news items are of course). Good for you for taking those steps to deal with your addiction apart from the band. I started researching that here in Toronto. Interesting that if I had Anorexia or Bulimia I could get treatment covered under Ontario health plan, but all treatment options for Binge eating, food addiction etc is private and expensive ($150/hr). I have a small amount for psycho services in my health plan from work, so I am considering doing a couple of sessions to get me started.

Definitely would be nice to be addicted to exercise or sex (my husband would LOVE that one) but I don't see my self becoming addicted to any other substance because I am not crazy about alcohol and don't touch drugs. Too broke after this surgery to gamble:) !

It is great to have this forum to not only talk about the band - but to talk about these underlying issues that are so common to most of us.

Thanks for that.

Susan

[CLOE 0]

I was (am) a hard-core food addict. But, I did alot of soul searching before my lapband, which I believe, most people do. I decided to really, I mean REALLY listen to myself to help guide me. As a mother of 3, you get use to not listening to yourself, or shelving your needs. When I turned 40, I thought enough was enough!!!!! I now listen to the very core of my being, which takes time to master, if you can ever master it. But I do find I'm making way better choices, and the decisions I'm making make me feel much better. I find myself doing things I use to do 20 years ago, things I forgot I enjoyed. Ex: photography, crafts, baking.

Oh, my point is....yes I do believe it would be easy to go from one addiction to another. Our decision to get the lapband was a positive one. I believe everyone should have a good/positive plan to insert before we take away food.< /p>

*I actually enjoy my food 100% more than I use to.

[champagnesally 0]

Hi All

I was reading the posts today and found it so interesting. Before I had the surgery I was a memeber of food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (http://www.foodaddicts.org/). It was a support group that follows the same principles of AA but it deals with food.

I lost 80lbs following their program and learned a lot about my own addiction with food. It is a wonderful group that started in the US and is growing my leaps and bounds in Canada and aroun the world. Although the program as too strict for me (basically I am weak and why I now have the band) I know it really is a life saver for a lot of people. There is a lot of recovery there and a very strong support sustem.

It s very different from OA and there are some other versions of this program out there, but this one is really good. I think if I had not been a part of this group I would not be having the success I am having with the band.

Their web site is pretty plain, but the stories are great, so check it out. It might be the right thing to add to you band???

From a fellow Food Addict

Sally

[Doddie63 6]

Hi: Emotions are my downfall. I eat for every reason. When I am upset I graze and even with the band, by eating small amounts of food over the day, enormous calories can be consumed. I find the band my conscience but I still have to fight the emotions. Only having contact with other bandsters do I realize I am not alone. By reading all the posts, I not only learn a lot, but it keeps me out of the frig. Doddie

[susieq321 31]

I think we have a slightly different brain chemistry, and that allows us to derive something different than the general population from food, which leads to addiction in some cases. I strongly believe that we really need to deal with our food issues or long term we will fall into the same pit that made us morbidly obese just with something else. Whether it is food again or booze or sex or whatever.

I think one of the best things I did was sit down and think about why I eat, when I eat, where I eat, what I eat, how I eat and who I eat with. Sometimes it is easier than others.

[badonkadonkbutt 1]

The more posts I read on this forum, the better I feel about making the decision to have the surgery done. Cloe, your comments really hit home with me. Like you, I have 3 kids at home (age 5, 3, and 2). Over the past few years I have lost my identity. I have focused more on them and what they are eating and have allowed myself to just pile on the the weight. I told myself that this was my year. I was going to put myself at the top of the list with my family and I am starting to do that. The best part about it is that I am starting to feel better about myself and I haven't even had the surgery or lost any weight yet! It is amazing how positive thinking can really help you figure out what you want out of life. I want to be healthy, I want to play with my kids in the yard and get on a roller coaster without worrying that I am too big. I can't wait till that day comes for me!

[Doddie63 6]

Hi the comments about falling back to old habits even with the band holds a great deal of truth. I have had some serious stress lately and the last three days have eaten in excess of 2,000 calories by grazing. I am now:mad: back to writing everything down and thinking hard about everything I want to put into my mouth. As said many time by many others, the band is a tool but if a person wants to, can work around it. Doddie