Lap Band and Food

[Bleste 0]

Hi,

I am looking into having the LapBand Surgery done, and I wanted to ask you all a question if I could.

Once you have the surgery, does your out look toward food change? If not, what do you do to get the outlook about food to change ? Also, how do you stop craving it and feeling like you need it?

Thanks

Bleste

[Wheetsin 714]

Once you have the surgery, does your out look toward food change? If not, what do you do to get the outlook about food to change ? Also, how do you stop craving it and feeling like you need it?

Mine did, but keep in mind that doesn't mean yours will. Some people continue the struggle, just with a little mechanical will power.

For me, pre-op, I looked forward to eating. I would get exited if we were going to a buffet and hope they had certain foods. I f we planned a vacation, I would instantly wonder what kind of foods they had. Food helped me pass time - if I was watching tv, I was also eating, regardless of hunger. If I was studying, I had a bowl of chips with me. Etc.

Now eating is pretty much a chore. I could count on both hands the times I've truly felt hungry since banding, even when I'm getting ready for bed and haven't yet eaten anything. I'm just not hungry anymore. This has been very liberating, because even though hunger rarely spurred my overeating, it was definitely a factor (OMG - I'm hungry?! I better go eat a lot because that's HORRIBLE!) I call it my shift from "live to eat" into "eat to live" -- I finally get what all the psychos who say that mean.

As for cravings, I don't believe in stopping them. I think that denying a craving does more harm than good. If I want something, I have it - only now isntead of having ALL of it, a piece fills me up. If it's something I am craving but I just can't bring myself to give into, I will look for a healthier alternative. I love Peanut Butter. Sometimes I will crave a Peanut Butter cookie. Sometimes I will have the cookie, but sometimes I'm too tight, or they aren't available, or I have to buy 20 (which means I'm eating 20 or throwing 19 in the trash), so instead I will make my Protein drink with peanut butter in it.

When you have a strong craving, and don't do something to address it, IMO most of the time it becomes a bit of an obsession. And when you tell yourself you can't have it, or try t ignore your obsessing, is when you "crack" and binge on it... whereas if you'd just eaten the damn cookie, all would be ok. :smile: