Accepting Addiction...

[nightingale2u 42]

Blossom... Lisa... I still eat until I take it one bite too far... once in awhile I will stop myself but not often! I think that is why I am looking forward to the fill tomorrow... most times I can eat a very healthy portion of food and I stuff it in until I am miserable and walking around belching and praying it will go down without much of a fight. Lisa... something is totally misfreaking wired in my brain... it seems to think that hungry is simply not having the sensation of being stuffed. I have been struggling with gains... then losses... then gains... then losses... but at least I end up on the positive end of the losses as time passes. I'm tired of struggling so much and even though I don't want to give up being able to eat larger portions I know a fill will help with the struggle. I just hope that time will retrain my brain.

Miss Betty... carbs are evil... but somehow I know I will always struggle to keep them to a minimum in my life. I try to keep them out of my house and go to McDonalds for a cone when the cravings are too horrible to ignore. Ice Cream is not allowed in our freezer... not even the low carb or frozen yogurt because it is a trigger food for me. I do know that if I stick to Protein... even if I overeat... I still lose weight.

I have to go walk... for Miss Becky. :clap:

[donali 57]

Donali, I'm not as smart as you guys, so I don't even know how to read that chart. What am I looking for? *** drools***<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Lisa, you know I don't buy that for one second...

But what the chart is saying, basically, is that the higher the percentage next to the food, the more filling the food is - meaning that the people in the test felt less hungry/more satisfied for a longer period of time after eating potatos (323% percent more filling than white bread), and hungry again faster/less satisfied after eating a croissant (47% as filling as white bread - less than HALF as filling as a piece of white bread).

So for the people in the study, the foods marked over 100% were more filling and satisfying, in their opinion, than a slice of white bread (the baseline at 100%). The foods marked less than 100% were less filling/satisfying than a slice of white bread.

So, if you are similar to the people in the study, you should get more mileage full/satisfaction-wise from eating a potato than you would if you ate a croissant.

The study did mention additional factors that revolved around the sense of satisfaction, which generally had to do with the additions of fat. For example, someone who ate two pounds of broccoli might be full, but not feel satisfied until they had a little fat.

It's all very complicated and subjective, of course, and no doubt has a lot to do with each individual's chemistry and how a certain food may cause an individual's chemistry to react. But interesting, even though possibly useless, information... :clap:

[rachel 0]

Hi Darcy,

I'm just new here and I was pleased to come across your message as I'm having surgery on Friday and this topic has concerned me.I've tried to discuss it with doctors but they don't really understand.

My concern was that because I have a problem with food, will I continue to over eat and damage myself. Your message has assured me that you don't go that far. I still don't really understand why, though.

Take care, Rachel.

[DeLarla 22]

Miss Donali, no, I did not understand it cuz when I see numbers my brain freaks out and shuts down, so thanks for 'splainin. I particulary relate to "feeling full after 2 lbs of broccoli but not satisfied till you add some fat." Hell yeah!

Darci, it's not just food addictions that trouble me. I'm addicted to bad food habits as well. Eating fast is a bad habit, eating between meals, etc. But my biggest bad habit is eating at night. I know where my problem began - it began as a small child seeking safety. I dodged several neighborhood bullies daily (or sometimes I wasn't so lucky) then came home to an empty house. I'd either steal money from the Momster or somehow find a hoard of food, then hide in a quiet place and eat. Soon my brother and sister would come home for daily torture. One would beat me up, the other would defend me. The next day they switched, but in the end we were a junk food binge team. Big sis would set out the plan and we'd follow her orders; we would "cover" while she slipped boxes of ice cream in Mom's huge underwear that she'd wear. We'd pig out, then throw the garbage down the street. Survival instincts are a marvelous tool that allow children to use their imagination to the fullest! My sister was brilliant to think of those big underwear!

This was my entire childhood. To me, it was normal. But the problem is that as soon as I got away from home, the behavior never ended. When I came home after work to my first apartment, I would close the curtains and eat in safety. Eventually I noticed this was an abnormal and unhealthy cycle, so I began trying to break it eons ago. My attempts lead to anorexia, which eventually landed me in the hospital. So I started barfing. Chris is the one that stopped my bullemia. I thought I had him fooled, but one day early in our relationship he pulled me to the table by my ear. He said, "tonight you don't get any salad, you eat what I made you, and if you throw it up I'll never be back." Uht ohhh, he was on to me. He knew I was barfing the whole time, apparently lettuce floats. He'd been checking the toilet after dinner and always saw lettuce floating.

So my addictions are real, and no matter how many days I'm able to stop eating after dinner, the urge will always be with me. Years ago I went to OA meetings religiously, and I was able to quit my night-eating for over a year. But the urges never go away, and something triggered me to take a nibble at night, which snowballed into 300 pounds.

All I want is to break the night time cycle again - such a strong addiction. I have 2 clean days. Two glorious days that I haven't eaten a bite after dinner. Can we make it 3?

[nightingale2u 42]

Hi Rachel,

Good Luck with your surgery! I know that I was concerned prior to surgery for the same reasons. I worried that my addiction would lead me to work around my band. There certainly have been times that I have been able to do so... but to a much smaller degree than before the band. All I can say is that when you have a good fill in your band... you have to stop in regards to regular food. I have learned not to keep any type of ice cream or candy in the house because they go down so nicely. I am addicted to certain foods... and if I encounter them outside my house... at least I eat it and then am done with it! If they are here... I'm not done with it until I cram every morsel in. I guess the difference is that it takes me much longer to get the bad stuff in? It works... even in the face of addiction.

Miss Lisa... I think we have to thank food for getting your through a terrible childhood... even if it has caused harm in your adult years. I don' know how to leave these lifelong addictions behind... don't know how to unlearn... maybe learning new ways will lead us to leave the old ways behind? One day at a time... that's how we built these coping mechanisms... I guess we have to break them down the same way? Little by little I sure hope that we can retrain our brains so that it isn't so much of a fight! (((hugs)))

[DeLarla 22]

Darcy, you are brilliant. food saved me. Geeze, it could have been drugs or booze (yes, I abused both of them as well, but now it's just food.) To think of all the money I spent in therapy, yet not one of them said what you said. Send me the bill.

Rachel, girl, you are not alone at all! Tons of us faced the same fears. It's hard to explain, but the band does help. Right after surgery you'll be too sick to eat for a day or so, plus your doctors will most likely put you on liquids for a week. Then you'll introduce thick Soups and mushie foods, but in the beginning, you'll be too afraid to eat, so you will do everything so gently. You'll eat slow, take baby bites, chew. By then you'll have lost a few pounds, which will motivate you to follow Band rules.

Keep in mind that generally speaking, most people lose 1/2 of the weight they want to lose, and then they plateau. Me and Darcy are perfect examples, we both lost a good amount of weight with the Band. But after you lose 1/2 of the extra weight, that's when we really have to fight the addiction and bad eating. I'm very happy with my weight loss, but if I want the rest to go away, I'll have to work harder at saying "no" to goodies.

The world's top Band surgeons can not or will not ever understand addiction (to food) the way we do. Well, except those top surgeons who have Bands themselves. I can't say I understand what it's like to have AIDS or Cancer, because I don't have either (knocking on a lot of wood.) You have to be in our shoes to understand.

[nightingale2u 42]

Nahhh.... the first consultation is free!

[DeLarla 22]

I just got home from a superbowl party (I snuck out early) and had some rather interesting conversations with other guests. Debra is a 50 year old woman that makes 40 year olds look bad! Slender, blond & blue and amazing skin, and very kind. She was so interested in the LapBand that we talked for an hour. She said she often forgets to eat for 2 days and she only eats to survive. But she is very close to her mom & sister, who are both obese. Her mom and sister are addicted to junk food, and she has zero interest in it. I know a lot of slender people, but most of them make good food choices and always resist temptation to keep their figures, then there's Debra who could care less if she ever ate again. She's got the anti-addiction! I should have plucked one of her hairs and had it cloned and implanted into my head!

[HarleyNana 10]

Most of the thin, normal people I know stop eating and actually leave food on their plate. They just push it away, which is what I'm doing now for the most part. Tonight was the first time since my band I was actually "full" and I didn't slime either, of course it was chili I was eating too.

[rachel 0]

Thank you all for your words of wisdom. I'm slowly coming to grips with what's happening on Friday - I'll be glad when it's over.

As far as overeating once it's done - I have to remember that this is my last chance. If I stuff this up then chances of me ever being a normal weight as pretty slim (pardon the pun). That's of course if they don't develop DeLarla's idea of plucking and cloning.

Take care, Rachel.

[nightingale2u 42]

I guess food really isn't the enemy... the addiction is. We have to eat... and there isn't anything wrong with enjoying the wonderful sensation of taste and being full... it's the addiction that takes it so many steps past taste and satisfaction. I have to say that I feel I enjoy food and eating more now than I did before the banding. I can stop before the situation escalates into a place filled with guilt and self-loathing. I'm learning that it's okay to throw away food and that there will be many opportunities to eat... I don't have to shove it all in at one sitting.

[rachel 0]

The idea of not having to eat everything all the time is a strange one ,isn't it? We're all sensible adults who know where our next meal is coming from, we know we aren't going to starve but this doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm looking forward to not feeling full when I wake up.

My bad news is that I have developed conjunctivitis which seems to be getting worse. I saw my G.P. yesterday, who gave me scripts for it but said I wouldn't be having surgery if it hadn't cleared up by Friday. I don't remember ever having it, especially as an adult. Anyway, I'm trying to stay positive but it's difficult. After such a long build up and the time finally being here it's hard to accept the possibility of it not happening on Friday. My husband has organised his holidays etc. We'll just have to wait and see.

Take care, Rachel

[nightingale2u 42]

Rachel... I sure hope that everything works out and that you are able to get your band as planned. Try not to worry... (((hugs)))