Josey Quinn

Food cravings can derail your weight loss efforts. The next time a craving hits, try thinking about your smaller stomach as a set of training wheels instead of a set of restrictive rules. In the forum, I've seen a lot of concern about cheating on the pre-op diet and eating certain foods too soon after surgery. I understand these temptations. (Oh, boy, do I understand.) It is natural to crave what we can't have. Foods like pizza and pasta suddenly seem preternaturally delicious. If we give in and eat something that's not on our diet plan, we react with guilt and shame--and we usually realize that pizza is not as awesome as we remembered. Unfortunately, cravings come back again and again, promising a taste explosion. If we don't learn to resist most of these cravings, we can derail our weight loss efforts. The next time a craving hits, try thinking about your smaller stomach as a set of training wheels instead of a set of restrictive rules. Your current body--your bicycle--is functional, but you have your heart set on that sleek racing model or muscular mountain bike. You yearn to zip down the street or take that rugged path through the forest. Before you can master the better bicycle, though, you have to learn to balance on the one you have--under all road and trail conditions. You have to be ready for the challenges ahead. Training wheels are boring, but they help us avoid the worst of the bumps and bruises that can happen when we lose our balance and fall off the bike. We can still slip up and take a spill, but it's likely to be much less painful than if we were careening down a street unchecked, with no extra wheels to keep us upright. Our smaller stomach does the same thing for us: it helps us maintain our balance while we're learning to nourish our bodies again. Before surgery, most of us had the freedom to eat a large variety and amount of food. We lost our balance repeatedly, and we paid for it with increased weight and medical problems. We injured our body--and mind--over and over. We've already invested a lot of resources in our weight loss surgery, and we have a limited amount of time to make use of these training wheels. If we take the extra time and effort to learn the fine art of balance, we will be better prepared to handle the freedom that comes with the new, better models of our bodies. The excitement and adventures waiting for us down the road are worth a little boredom with the training wheels now.

"Some people look at those photos and think that I hated myself because I suffered from obesity. The truth is I suffered from obesity because I hated myself. The moment I learned to start loving myself and finding myself worthy, I started making healthier lifestyle decisions." This is a profound truth. Thank you for sharing your story.

We all deal with "head hunger," that insistent little voice that tells us we really need a bacon double cheeseburger, even though we had a full lunch two hours ago. Coping with head hunger is a fact of life, even for those of us who have had weight loss surgery. We all deal with "head hunger," that insistent little voice in our mind that tells us we really need a bacon double cheeseburger, even though we had a full lunch two hours ago. Sometimes, it tells us it's all right to keep eating after we've reached our fill line because the cookie bag is not yet empty. Other times, it tells us that mint chocolate chip ice cream really will relieve our emotional pain. Anyone hungry now? Head hunger happens all the time, often with the slightest provocation. It has little to do with our body's immediate need for fuel. It has everything to do with our sense of smell and the abundance of savory and sweet foods in our environment. It's a habit we've reinforced over the years. For some of us, it contributes to obesity and other health issues. For others, it complicates mental health conditions. Head hunger promises to make us feel better, but it often delivers misery instead. Coping with head hunger is a fact of life, even for those of us who have had weight loss surgery. Our surgery has given us a physical tool for our weight loss journey, but we need to supplement it with mental tools. I didn't fully understand this need before my vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Yes, I believed my head hunger would magically disappear with the majority of my stomach. It didn't. The voice still comes and goes, usually reaching top volume on stressful days. It lies to me, insisting that I want food I could not possibly digest at this point in my journey. How do I cope with my head hunger? How do I keep it from derailing my weight loss or jeopardizing my health? I'm going to answer with a cliche: I take it one day at a time. This is not intuitive for me because I am not a "one day at a time" kind of girl. I've learned, though, that the harder I fight head hunger, the harder it fights back. Brute force won't stop the intrusive thoughts of food. This is why I must take it one day at a time, with compassionate self-care. When head hunger hits, I have many options for taking care of myself without reaching into the refrigerator. I can exercise for half an hour to see if the cravings pass. I can spend time with my kids. I can lose myself in a good book or movie. I can learn a new crochet stitch. I can start a new art or writing project. The actual activity isn't important, though. The important thing is to understand when hunger is mental hunger and not a physical need for food. Understanding what head hunger means to you and what triggers it is the first step in coping with it. After you know this, you can create a personal plan for the day-to-day activities that will help you avoid overeating or eating when your body doesn't need fuel. Keeping a journal can help you sort out the different physical and emotional feelings associated with head hunger. Talking to other people who understand these feelings can help, too. Giving yourself time and space to deal with the feelings instead of beating yourself up for them is crucial. Above all, showing yourself kindness every day is the most effective way to minimize the influence head hunger has over you.

Wow, you already look like a whole new person!