food addiction + band = ????

[deanna 1]

Hello!

I'm writing here because I have nowhere else to voice this concern and know that someone can understand fully where I am coming from. I have found great support,knowledge, and advice on this forum, and I am so grateful!

I am addicted to food. No doubts about it, I could never in a million years deny this. The bigger, the better. The jucier, the better. the greasier, the better...And portion size? HUGE. I think about food all day, and I think I would trade my left hand for a bag of doritos if were the only way I could get them! It hit the level of "obsession" in middle school, and hasn't stopped growing since then! I am always filled with a gnawing hunger that is in no way physical, and in every way psychological. But before I can even go ahead and realize I am feeding my emotions with food, I am halfway finished with the afore mentioned bag of doritos! Obsession? Yes. Compulsion? oh hell yes!

I have my pre-op appointments set up for next month, and I cannot help but wonder if my addiction to food is going to make it so that I'm either not allowed to get the band, or if I do get the band, if it will be able to help me. I plan on attending both group support sessions and also private counseling throughout my entire journey. I was just wondering what people's experiences with this are. Was anyone out there able to overcome their addiction to food by using the band as a tool? What was this like for you???

I'm sorry, I know this is a long, vauge post, I just feel so distressed about this! help!

[tracew 2]

Hey I think that the very first step to conquering the problem is admitting that there is one! You have a good hold on the facts, you are obsessed with food. I think that there was a time that I was in that same boat. More is better no matter. You need to fight the brain as well as the gullet!

You are getting this band as a tool, a tool that you can't learn to fool like so many have, or you can't expect to be a super cure because it is not, it is a tool that you can work with to create a result that you desire.

Believe me the "head hunger" goes away. Its not overnight, but it does go away. I wish you all the very best in your journey. Soon your addiction will be exercise or something totally different, just you wait and see. I wish you all the best in your journey.....POPT

[deanna 1]

Thank you so much, it's great to have someone understand what I mean! It's good to know that the "head hunger" will eventually subside! thank you for your good wishes!

[SElaine 3]

Deanna,

Thank you for your post. In so many ways you have summed up what I am going through, as well. I have read several stories of people eating around the band instead of with it. How can I be positive that I'm not going to be one of them? Of course I'm on the right track now, and have been for a while, but how long can I make it last? After all, everything else has failed at one point or another. Is there really such a feeling as being "full"? And even If I reach that feeling, will I be able to stop? I know my need to eat is just as much emotional as it is physical. To top it off, my insurance doesn't cover any of it, so I'm self-pay. I am going into debt for this. I can't be fat and broke. It's bad enough just being fat. Please tell me there is someone out there that has been through this and conquered it.

[Ambrosia 1]

I had the exact same concerns. I am a food addict as well, or was a food addict. I was also self pay so my concerns were even more stressful. If I only ate when I was hungry, I would never have gotten overweight to begin with. But I ate, non-stop, 16 hours a day. When I was happy, sad, stressed, bored . . . you name the emotion and I was feeding it.

I was banded 2/15 and have lost 20 pounds. I can honestly say that I do not get hungry. I usually only eat once a day and even then, I'm not ravenous. The band really helps with the head hunger, the hunger that comes from emotions and not actually because you need to nourish your body.

I'm not saying it's easy but it's alot easier. Each day it gets easier. I haven't had fast food or any kind of junk food since 2/13. A side benefit is all the money I've saved not going to fast food restaurants! For the most part, I live a sugar-free lifestyle which is pretty amazing considering how much candy and crap I ate.

Good luck to both of you. The band may not be the answer for everyone but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[deanna 1]

thank you so much for your replies! Again, it's great to hear about your first hand experience, I really appreciate it!

[tkpreston86 1]

Sharon,

I was banded by Dr. Malley on 4/12/07 things are going okay just stated the soft food. I have my first appointment on the 27th of April hope he will add more food but not sure. How is eating going for you?

Karen

[edieparks 2]

Dear Deanna,

I too WAS a food addict. I would eat only one meal aday but it went from 2pm to 2am. Sometimes I would even wake up a 6 am and go stuff something in my mouth and go back to sleep. I would go thru a whole bag of candy in one evening. No small bags for me either.

It has been nine months since my surgery and I really don't have the craving like I did in the first 6 mos. I really did miss the volume of food I wasn't getting anymore. My 20,18 and then 16 jeans felt so good. It made the loss of volume better for me.

So like others before me have said it is a mind game that you and your brain go thru.

Be brave and get healthy,

edie

[mousecrazy 2]

I don't know if it works this way for everyone, but the band has truly helped me with the insatiable-seeming hunger I was experiencing before banding. I ate bizarre portions, and felt driven to eat. Now, I do not have those feelings. Foods I thought I could not live without, I do not even think about any more. I know this sounds strange and unbelievable, but I promise you, it's true. Walk forward in faith, believe in yourself, and follow all the best advice you are given. If you fear you are "eating around the band" ask here on LBT for sincere feedback, and if that's the feedback you get, then work out a plan to change that behavior. It's those who do not ask, and then ignore the feedback they receive, that find themselves in trouble. You don't seem to have those characteristics, so I would bet money on your success!

Good luck,

Cindy

[ebony868 0]

I am a recovering food addict. I lllloooovvvveee the taste of food. The band is not a cure all for this addiction. I have had to accept the fact that I have it and have applied some of the 12 steps of AA to help me with it. (My grandfather, who was like a father to me was an alcoholic so I was familiar with AA).

I don't go to dinner with my fellow food adicts and I haven't been to my favorite soul food restaurant since I've been banded. Finally I don't have food in my house that tempts me. (People, Places and Things they call this) I have, had some of the foods I love sense I've been banded, but only while I'm out and in moderation.

The band has really helped me with eating in moderation. There are times I have to force myself to eat so I get my calories in because I'm very rarely hungry. My nut says it's because I'm good about getting my Protein and Water in. That's been the key for me.

If I do nothing else I make sure I have 40 - 60 g of Protein (I love Isopure Zero Carb drinks - 40 oz of liquid Protein or 3 EAS Carb Control Shakes), 5 bottles of Water before noon and 1200 calories per day. I can't guarantee these things will work for you, but they have for me.

Take a look at the 12 steps for AA, NA or GA and see if you can convert them to help you and remember to follow the rules. Spending time concentrating on this and other healthy things like walking, etc. has meant I really have to make time to eat.

Hope this helps and good luck.

[Lap_dancer 8]

Hello!

I'm writing here because I have nowhere else to voice this concern and know that someone can understand fully where I am coming from. I have found great support,knowledge, and advice on this forum, and I am so grateful!

I am addicted to food. No doubts about it, I could never in a million years deny this. The bigger, the better. The jucier, the better. the greasier, the better...And portion size? HUGE. I think about food all day, and I think I would trade my left hand for a bag of doritos if were the only way I could get them! It hit the level of "obsession" in middle school, and hasn't stopped growing since then! I am always filled with a gnawing hunger that is in no way physical, and in every way psychological. But before I can even go ahead and realize I am feeding my emotions with food, I am halfway finished with the afore mentioned bag of doritos! Obsession? Yes. Compulsion? oh hell yes!

I have my pre-op appointments set up for next month, and I cannot help but wonder if my addiction to food is going to make it so that I'm either not allowed to get the band, or if I do get the band, if it will be able to help me. I plan on attending both group support sessions and also private counseling throughout my entire journey. I was just wondering what people's experiences with this are. Was anyone out there able to overcome their addiction to food by using the band as a tool? What was this like for you???

I'm sorry, I know this is a long, vauge post, I just feel so distressed about this! help!

Pull up a chair sister. The night before my surgery, I ate the beefy chicken and ribs platter. I spared the fries but buttered the bread. After dinner? Still hungry. That's my main problem. My full button doesn't feel FULL. After my surgery, I woke up and thought...hmmmm, I have dry mouth, I'm a little weak but I'm FULL. Hadn't eaten anything in almost 24 hours and I was full.

That is one thing you will notice. You feel FULL. If you are FULL you don't really have the energy to pull off the couch and ransack for Doritos. In my case it would be Kettle cooked chips.

I've read all the posts of folks that ate the wrong thing and hacked. No thanks. I will pass on the food because I'm quite certain I will hack up something this early in the game.

The band restricts. I need restriction. If I had no restriction I could possibly kill a bag of chips in an evening. But when there is no feasible means to swallow anymore food without throwing it up, game over.

[yorkshire-pud 1]

I was banded in March 2006 and prior to this had been a total food addict for about 6 years. I was very much aware of the emotional issues that I was feeding, but I didn't have any desire to go into therapy and still don't. I guess some things are best left in the past, and thats where mine are staying. However, my issues left me with an insatiable appetite that meant one long running buffet from sunrise to sunset. Looking back, I can only assume I had hollow legs as I am no idea where I found space to put all the food, but non the less, down the hatch it went and there it stayed. I just grew bigger and bigger.

Hence I was worried when I had this surgery (UK NHS wouldn't pay so I had to find £3000) that I was throwing money at a lost cause. I was terrified I would eat round the band to satisfy the cravings.

In the early days, to an extent I did eat round the band as I didn't have the restriction to fight off the cravings. I was freaking thinkin I was the one it wasn't working for. I could still eat the mountain of fat and sugar that I always ate and I was was terrified that I had just spent £3000 so that I could continue to eat and grow fatter and fatter

However on my 4th fill I hit the sweet spot, and boy was it sweet. The cravings just vanished. On the odd occassion I did crave, I would get a pile of food, as I used to, take 2 mouthfalls, and that was as far as the band would let me go. Even though my mind really believed I was gonna eat this mountain of food :hungry: the band would kick in and do its job. I would just feel like I was gonna be sick, really stuffed and heavy, and a bit like I was gonna choke. I only did it a few time before the fear of the being sick and feeling like I was choking, became more powerful than the cravings. The cravings were gone.

Last week, my band had to be loosened as I am having a few problems. Its only for 6 weeks, but right now i have no restriction. I totally freaked, thinking yes now I can eat everything and I will, oh my god:mad: :omg:

So yesterday, off I went to McDonalds, craving leading me by the throat. I bought a Big Mac. I was so looking forward to it as its been about 8 months since I could contemplate anything like a big mac. Well I took 2 bites of it and it tasted like crap. I guess I never actually tasted food before, whereas now I am in the habit of chewing (cos you really have to with the band) and I actually taste the stuff. It was a horrible taste, a horrible texture and it sat really heavy. I got the burger and binned it :omg:.

It was such a liberating feeling. Then today we went out for lunch, and I wasn't vaguely interested in a dessert which was always my downfall. So now i am thinking, well I have no restriciton, but the cravings just arent't there. Its amazing. For 3 hours now, there has been a packet of chocolate Cookies on my side table. I ate 1 and that was it. Just 1. I don't feel the urge to eat more. I am shocked, but I can say that despite being a food addict for so long, the band has done more than I ever imagined possible. I have not only lost 91 pounds, but I have also being cured of my addiction.

I don't know whether my long winded storey has been of any use to you at all but I wish you all the very best on your journey.

K xx

[Lap_dancer 8]

I was banded in March 2006 and prior to this had been a total food addict for about 6 years. I was very much aware of the emotional issues that I was feeding, but I didn't have any desire to go into therapy and still don't. I guess some things are best left in the past, and thats where mine are staying. However, my issues left me with an insatiable appetite that meant one long running buffet from sunrise to sunset. Looking back, I can only assume I had hollow legs as I am no idea where I found space to put all the food, but non the less, down the hatch it went and there it stayed. I just grew bigger and bigger.

Hence I was worried when I had this surgery (UK NHS wouldn't pay so I had to find £3000) that I was throwing money at a lost cause. I was terrified I would eat round the band to satisfy the cravings.

In the early days, to an extent I did eat round the band as I didn't have the restriction to fight off the cravings. I was freaking thinkin I was the one it wasn't working for. I could still eat the mountain of fat and sugar that I always ate and I was was terrified that I had just spent £3000 so that I could continue to eat and grow fatter and fatter

However on my 4th fill I hit the sweet spot, and boy was it sweet. The cravings just vanished. On the odd occassion I did crave, I would get a pile of food, as I used to, take 2 mouthfalls, and that was as far as the band would let me go. Even though my mind really believed I was gonna eat this mountain of food :hungry: the band would kick in and do its job. I would just feel like I was gonna be sick, really stuffed and heavy, and a bit like I was gonna choke. I only did it a few time before the fear of the being sick and feeling like I was choking, became more powerful than the cravings. The cravings were gone.

Last week, my band had to be loosened as I am having a few problems. Its only for 6 weeks, but right now i have no restriction. I totally freaked, thinking yes now I can eat everything and I will, oh my god:mad: :omg:

So yesterday, off I went to McDonalds, craving leading me by the throat. I bought a Big Mac. I was so looking forward to it as its been about 8 months since I could contemplate anything like a big mac. Well I took 2 bites of it and it tasted like crap. I guess I never actually tasted food before, whereas now I am in the habit of chewing (cos you really have to with the band) and I actually taste the stuff. It was a horrible taste, a horrible texture and it sat really heavy. I got the burger and binned it :omg:.

It was such a liberating feeling. Then today we went out for lunch, and I wasn't vaguely interested in a dessert which was always my downfall. So now i am thinking, well I have no restriciton, but the cravings just arent't there. Its amazing. For 3 hours now, there has been a packet of chocolate Cookies on my side table. I ate 1 and that was it. Just 1. I don't feel the urge to eat more. I am shocked, but I can say that despite being a food addict for so long, the band has done more than I ever imagined possible. I have not only lost 91 pounds, but I have also being cured of my addiction.

I don't know whether my long winded storey has been of any use to you at all but I wish you all the very best on your journey.

K xx

:clap2:

Now this one made my day! Thanks.

[yorkshire-pud 1]

Thanks lap dancer....not quite sure how I made your day but none the less am very glad I did :biggrin1: Its good to know somebody gets something out of my incessant ramblings :biggrin1:

K xx

[Ambrosia 1]

Karen,

It's going very well. I see him tomorrow for a fill appointment. It will be my third one. I'm undecided if I need one or not but I will probably get one. I don't feel a great deal of restriction right now and I seem to be able to eat alot but I still eat very healthy.

I am still learning the foods that agree with me and the ones that I must stay away from. Beef is not agreeing with me at all. The two times I had it, I experienced the sliming episode which is really horrible. So, no more beef for me which sucks since I love a good Kansas City steak. chicken and turkey, salads, yoguart, cottage cheese, Protein drinks all go down fine. I can eat crackers with no problems but I haven't dared tried bread or soda, and I won't. Too many horror stories about those. Even my medical doctor told me to stay away from those two things.

All in all, things haven't been bad. It's definately a learning process. I am amazed that I don't graze anymore. food no longer controls my life, in fact, I rarely think about it anymore.

Good luck with your band and listen to what Dr. Malley says. I really like him and glad I made the decision to go with him.