Head Hunger

[Sleeve4TSO 1]

Hi I had vsg April 21st and am down 38 pounds total (from beginning of process not since surgery date). The past two days have been really hard because I have been eating continuously. The first day I thought it was just a weird day but today it has happened again to the point my stomach feels upset but no dumping yet. I bought a bunch of new foods and felt the need to try ALL of them in the past 2 days. I am overeating and I know it!! All of the things I purchased are high in Protein but I am eating way past the point of being full and then having to drink fluids to get it down. Great way to start stretching the sleeve at only 8 weeks out I know. Just wondering if anyone else is going though this around the 8 week mark. Thinking it is because of the past 10 weeks of restriction I want to go crazy now but I need to get this in check fast. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[StephanieRR 131]

Well, I can only speak for myself..but head hunger/emotional eating will try to pop back in once in a while. If you feed it, beware. To me that's like slipping back into old habits. I am so happy that you recognize what you are doing and are trying to head it off. When I start feeling that way, I instantly stop and try to remember what all I went through the last month of pre-op and the first week post-op. I worked hard to make sure I was a success. The fear of going through all that and ending up where I started has kept me pretty honest with my eating he most part. I'm not saying it's easy by no means. I am saying, please try to find something to occupy your mind other than food. Perhaps a walk, hobby, or some kind of puzzles or word/number games that require solving skills. I just want you to get the most out of your surgery. We all deserve that! Make sure you have a great support group or encouraging friends for those thrying moments. I find amazing support on this site. Congrats on your success. I see you have already lost 38 pounds! YAY!!! Best wishes!!

[Sleeve4TSO 1]

Thanks so much for the motivation!! I totally agree it is time to nip this in the bud right now!!! I have gone through way too much to mess it up with hummus and crispy snap peas lol. I think I need a super lite dinner and a walk tonight. I had to leave work early today because I felt so ill from overeating. That is no way to live. Time to step it up:)

[katesuccess 990]

I agree - good for you for recognizing it. Do some mulling over of the learnings here too. I'm about 6 weeks out and just now released to transition to normal foods, and I can already hear myself hearing you about the new foods to try! Tells me to only buy one or two new things at a time, so i'm less tempted to try them all in short order. I'm also a big one for getting physically out of where I can eat. Take a walk, get in the car, or call someone from a phone with a cord that does NOT reach the food (if indeed those still exist anywhere but my parents' home!). Write in your journal too, and unpack this a bit. You have good insight to see things already, dig some more and check to see if it really is just old habits, convenience of proximity, or if there's any other issues or things looming up just now.

And really - congratulations on your weight loss!! That's fantastic!