Silly Question - Comfort Eaters

[FatButNotHappy 0]

Can someone answer this?

I am a comfort/emotional (over) eater. Is the band a good choice for me? I mean...I honestly did NOT get fat by "looking" at food. I really really LIKE food, and I like EATING it. I also like every thing that is bad for me. BUT, I also really love healthy food too but, it is easier to eat junk.

Anyway, my question is this....

Will the desire/need to eat crap go away? My thinking was--if i over-eat or eat bad thing--I will throw it up...and who wants to do that? SO, I look at is as though I am conditioning my brain to tell me body to "stop eating crap!"

Obviously I get that I have to have some control and I have to want this and I have to follow the rules....but, seriously....isnt that why I am where I am now? Because I don't follow the rules, I know hot fudge is bad for

me but I still eat it?

Does the desire to eat go away? Is it like "forced will power?"

Is there anyone else out there that really LOVES to eat BAD food? How do you not eat it now??? Do you miss it?

Thanks again.

[Skinny_Jill 36]

I love all the bad foods and the good foods. I have stayed away from the bad foods since I was banded and it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would. I was afraid that I would fail but I haven't. Before my 1st fill I did eat some of the bad foods again like pizza and chips but now I don't eat them. I've had chips a couple of times but only a few. Last night I went to a Superbowl party and there was a ton of good food like meatballs, queso, french onion dip, chips, scalloped potatoes, burgers and hot dogs. I eat a few chips, very small amount of queso and dip and one meatball and I was satisfied. There were also some veggies so I had those as well. I did very well and still had a loss this morning. I was very proud of myself. I have good restriction now and that makes a big difference. I've given up many of many favorites and it is worth it. I do have head hunger and I do think about the bad foods but I stay away because I don't want to gain weight or damage my band.

In the past, I could be "good" for about 2 weeks and then go right back to eating those bad foods in large quantities. The cycle has been broken and I am thrilled.

[abeaher 0]

I don;t have my band yet, but in my research and talking ot friends and family with the band the cravings do not go away, in fact in some cases it was worse. My cousin for example had about 150 lbs to loose she lost about 40 and gave up, she continued to eat her junk food..hot dogs, shakes, burgers, she did say she would get sick of chewing but if she wanted it bad enough she would get it down. Also, a friend of mine (who has lost over 100lbs with the band) said that many junkie type food unfortunately will go straight through like little debbie cakes, milk shakes, ice cream, soft pastries etc. I was told by my doc that people who have a serious sweet tooth don;t typically do well. My cousin thought the band would be "forced willpower" and she was sorely mistaken. Another doc said in a seminar I went to that emotional eaters tend to not do well also because you can totally cheat if you want to bad enough. Don;t mean to discourage, I just see how devastated my cousin was and want to pass on the knowledge.

Good Luck

[FatButNotHappy 0]

You arent discouraging...that is why i was asking...to get truthful answers! thank you!

[SuzanneG 1]

I've heard the same as abeaher, but so far I'm doing OK. I'm drawn to salty foods, so nuts and chips are my weakness. I normally avoid them, but for the super bowl, I had a few corn chips and tortilla chips with cheese dip and salsa.

I think for someone who has a serious sweet tooth, you may want to research gastri bypass. My mom had it 1997 and lost 165 pounds. The difference there is that if you eat bad foods with gastric, you'll either have dumping syndrome or you'll throw it back up. It has its downside though, since there is malabsorption, you have to worry about losing your hair, etc.

Personally, I have found that fear of messing up the band is a power motivator.

Good luck to you.

[Daisalana 33]

My weakness is food in general. I eat food out of boredom, out of hunger (rarely I think), to Celebrate, to grieve, to release stress.. I like the sweet, the salty, the good, the bad.. Oh I guess I can resist italian food, it does nothing for my taste buds

Since banding, with proper restriction, I have had to use will power.. but it fails once in a while and when I've 'tried' to have a binge moment due to whatever.. the band won't let it happen. I still can't eat more than 1/4-1/2c of food. And even then, I have to concentrate so much on not getting stuck, that the mindlessness of eating is gone. So it's not that euphoria.

You do have to make choices, and ironically it's much like the OP.. it's harder to eat 'good foods' and easier to eat 'bad foods'. But as a whole, I can't get down nearly what I use to. Thus, keep the bad foods out of sight out of mind :biggrin:

[TulipStar 2]

the band is a tool. It is not instant willpower. If you are having issues like this, you will have them with whatever you try. My Dad had gastric bypass 6 years ago, lost 200lbs, gained 100lb back. He gained bc he "cheats" and continues to eat bad food...although it might be small amounts over the course of the entire day. You can do the same with the band.

What has been so good for me with the band is that it keeps me in "check". I can still pretty much eat whatever I want, just smaller portions and when I feel like bingeing, I can't. Now, there are a lot of sweet/"bad" foods that you can binge on with the band. It's your decision not to.

I recommend addressing the real issue of WHY you are eating in all these situations. Why are you using food to try to comfort you? This is the most important IMO or else you are likely to either "eat around" the band or have addiction transfer to something else. I have had to do this, bc I am a stress/emotion eater as well. I started some counseling to address my issues and I actually think it's working.

A good book I recommend is "Life is hard, Food is Easy" by Linda Spangle. It helps you identify emotional eating causes and ways to stop it.

Good luck!

[maryrose 2]

Well, I have been banded since last April. The thing with comfort eating is that with the proper restruction, you will not be able to put as much of that food away.

If I do slip, it's maybe 2 or 3 Cookies, where before I could put away a heck of a lot more than that.

As you start to lose weight you will feel more like exercising and moving around, and that is a major part of it too.

I hated to exercise because with all that extra weight I was in a lot of pain, but as the weight disappears all that will change and the new you will emerge.

Also, you just feel so much better sticking to a healthy diet. The less you eat all the way around is better for you.

Hope this helps.

[kbinaz 0]

I think you have touched on the key to the band. Yes, you will still want bad foods sometimes - that emotional side of eating doesn't go away overnight. The difference is that dieting is doable because you aren't starving all the time looking around for something to help you reach satiety. I really think the reason I had such trouble with diets before the band was because I was starving. I could follow a program for X amount of time but soon tired of going through the day white-knuckling it because I was hungry. The band gives you that feeling of satiety (satisfaction) for longer so a small meal stays with you longer and you can relax and wait for the next meal instead of trying to feel good (satiated) by eating more. Does that make sense? So you will still have to apply yourself and make good choices, but your good choices will be easier. Then, when you actually see the numbers on the scale going down and have some success, it becomes easier to eat healthy - because there is incentive. I was so "dieted-out" that there just wasn't any point in trying anymore and I had emotionally given up from feelings of failure. The band has given me success and so has revitalized my diet mentality!

[FatButNotHappy 0]

Thanks for your input....it has made a lot of sense.

I did south beach and LOVED it. I never felt better. I never felt hungry. I never craved any junk and really I didnt cheat (they say that once you do---it is hard to stop wanting it.) Well, on Labor Day I had a brownie. The next day ice cream...then a candy bar....then, forty pounds back to my butt! I could never start it up again....I couldnt get passed the two week detox. I was like an addict, for real. I never felt DEPRIVED while I was on SB--but, as soon as I slipped up, it was all over. I kept half of it off for a while, but I have officially gained it ALL back now--plus 10 pounds. It has been three years. Fifty pounds in three years? That is nuts.

Oh, and while I was losing weight, I LOVED going to the gym...I became addicted to that instead of eating, I guess. Although, it could have been because I tanned while I was there and I was really addicted to the tan?????

[new_me_2008 1]

This is great. I am almost 4 months out and selfpay this means that I was able to skip the psych eval. This was probably not a good thing. I am losing steadily and I really do love this band but I wish I would have started with a stronger foundation in understanding my emotional eating.

I definately eat less and I am able to eat all my old favs but it is different now. As others have said - I am no longer ravenously hungry or planning my next meal at all times. This is worth the price of admission!

I would do this all over again in a heartbeat. With 30 pounds gone - I'm starting to even think about exercise!

Good luck to you