The games our heads play.

[emtscott54 108]

While the following sentence may seem really odd, take a second and let it soak in. I feel fortunate that before I started the whole WLS process, I knew what it was like to be an addict. I have recovered from substance abuse and maintained sobriety/clean time (depending which ideology you prefer) since.

Many of us who are obese got this way through overeating. To the pleasure receptors in your brain, food is a drug just like alcohol or opiates. Drugs and alcohol can be avoided in everyday life but the same cannot be said for food.

How many times would you find yourself eating because you were sad? What about because you were stressed or angry? How many times would you eat because you were anxious or tired? I willing to bet most of us have said yes to at least a few of those scenarios. Now here is the kicker. How did you feel after you ate? Fat? Ashamed? Worthless? Now how many times did we repeat those same cycles? That is what addiction is.

Sadly people don't understand the disease of addiction because, unless the examine your brain tissue, they can't see it. Addiction in all its forms is a disease that our society feels it is perfectly acceptable to blame the victim for. People still talk about this thing called "will power" which is about as real as the Easter bunny.

Most people with any type of addiction have fewer chemical receptors in their prefrontal cortex. This has been studied and proven for decades. I highly suggest reading The Brain Fix by Dr. Ralph Carson. It will give you a lot of insight into the biochemistry that many of us have working against us.

All of us who have been sleeved now have a great tool to help us deal with our food issues, but we need to do that work and use the tool correctly or we can find ourselves worse off than where we started. This surgery is not a quick fix. Their is no such thing for any type of addictive process.

Remember in the post surgery phase that this is where the real work starts and if we get too comfortable and don't do our part, any positive results could end up being temporary. Healthy living is a lifelong process and I hope we all get to enjoy the journey.

[laguerr13 993]

Still waiting for my head to catch up to my stomach sometimes, I work in psych and have worked on our Detox units, so I was never afraid to admit I was to food what an alcoholic is to a drink, 1 becomes 2, 2 becomes 3 and ........... , right now I have to let my tummy control things, my y says "Full, I stop, my head sometimes still says " no finish your plate" " what you don't like your food ?"etc... , so it's a day to day process with me but its getting a lot better very quickly, good luck and I agree with every word u said because I've seen it and heard it countless times, but it wasn't till I spoke those words I got somewhere.....

[emtscott54 108]

If you ever need support, feel free to reach out. We are all in this together.

Our brains need to be retrained to see food for its intended purpose. It is supposed to be fuel, not a drug.

[jhclikesshopping@gmail.com 285]

Thank you for taking the time to put into words how I feel too. I too am a recovering addict and I have been looking at food this way for the past year. If you ever need a person to talk to... this is the site (and feel free to reach out to me).

Keep up the good work!