I find myself cheating about every 3 days as if I deserve the bad foods I ate before. I know it is all in my head I just needed to vent and felt if I got it down in print maybe I would also take responsibility for the binges as well. I am not going hog wild just hitting around 1600 calories on those days and it has slowed the weight lost down.

We all go through this. Part of much of our recovery is breaking the bond with food. My dad told me that in our family we always lived to eat, instead of eating to live, which is part of reason we struggled with weight so much. The trick is to look forward, push on, not beat yourself up and pick up where you left off. Its going to be a struggle for a while, but take it one day at a time.

I totally agree some days are harder than others. What I do to combat that is JOURNAL. Yeah it sucks to write down everything I put in my mouth but that is what I have to do to in order to be successful.

I noticed that I didn't eat a good dinner last night and now I am hungry today. This is the first time that I have made this connection but I am going to keep an eye out for it in the future and see if it seems to be a trend. Do you remember if you had a good dinner (3rd meal in Texas) on the days before you overeat?

I notice that too. I have be careful about breakfast. I never been much of a breakfast person and if I don't then my calories really add up from late afternoon to evening.

I completely understand what you do & why--because I've been there, too. Not since banding, but still...

I wonder: instead of telling yourself you deserve the food indulgences, would it help to reframe it by telling yourself you deserve to take good care of yourself in other ways?

I know this sounds really elementary, but for me, there really has been, in the past, sort of a sense that I'm not worth the effort and success. I'd achieve a certain level of success, then convince myself that I deserved to deviate---when, in fact, I really was self-sabotaging because I just didn't feel worth it.

I don't know if this applies to you at all--just a thought.

I completely understand what you do & why--because I've been there, too. Not since banding, but still...

I wonder: instead of telling yourself you deserve the food indulgences, would it help to reframe it by telling yourself you deserve to take good care of yourself in other ways?

I know this sounds really elementary, but for me, there really has been, in the past, sort of a sense that I'm not worth the effort and success. I'd achieve a certain level of success, then convince myself that I deserved to deviate---when, in fact, I really was self-sabotaging because I just didn't feel worth it.

I don't know if this applies to you at all--just a thought.

I think you may be onto something here because I do reward myself with food, after I lose a couple of pounds I feel it is okay just one time to have those chips, etc. Thanks for the insite :wub:

I noticed that I didn't eat a good dinner last night and now I am hungry today. This is the first time that I have made this connection but I am going to keep an eye out for it in the future and see if it seems to be a trend. Do you remember if you had a good dinner (3rd meal in Texas) on the days before you overeat?

I had a decent dinner but I do agree with you on days I have eatin a bad choice for dinner the next day I feel like I could consume a cow :wub:

We all go through this. Part of much of our recovery is breaking the bond with food. My dad told me that in our family we always lived to eat, instead of eating to live, which is part of reason we struggled with weight so much. The trick is to look forward, push on, not beat yourself up and pick up where you left off. Its going to be a struggle for a while, but take it one day at a time.

Thanks I love how you put it! I will survive this journey and come out on top!

I definitely agree about journaling. It really helps to track everything you're eating. I do it religously every day and as you get used to it, it becomes less of a pain in the tush :-)!

Also, I have days where I'm absolutely ravenous (it seems I have peaks and valleys--this week I am sooo tight it is tough to eat while last week, I was starving all the time). When I find I'm eating more calories, I'll do a 1 or 2 mile walk on demand (fitness channel) or hop on the Wii Fit to make up for the extra calories.

We are human--and believe me, sometimes you need to treat yourself a tiny bit or if you like me, you'll binge. The good thing about the band is that it should control your portions so you can't eat as much of it. Sometimes I find a taste of something satisfies me more than the quantity. I was really scared this weekend when my husband went through the McDonald's drive through about what I'd do, and I ended up eating 2 of the kids' chicken nuggets...and that was it! I was full! Honestly, I think part of it is the need to feel human in certain situations. I don't ever want to be one to throw a pity party that I can't have anything---it's different if we choose not to.

Hang in there. Tomorrow is another day! :-)

All of you are preaching to the choir here...LOL!! I find that if I eat Breakfast I am hungry and tend to snack between meals for the rest of the day. I also found out through my psych visit that I am a 100% emotional eater. That's really dangerous since we are emotional creatures..especially us women. :-) I know that this journey is not one that will be completed overnight but through a lifetime of small journeys. I agree that journaling is a good tool to make you accountable and it is very difficult to write everything down because then you have to admit that you really did eat that food or that snack...:thumbup:. We can all overcome the pitfalls placed before us...never give up should be our motto.

Thanks for letting me get on my podium...LOL!!!!:scared2:

I think we all struggle with this. But I think this is one area that the band is really helpful, at least for me. I can't binge anymore. I can make an unhealthy choice, but I can't eat too much of it. The band makes me stop.

I don't know about you, but if 1600 calories is a bad day for me, it's a much better day than before I got the band. My dietician reminds me that this is not a diet. It's my life now. And it's not always going to look perfect in a journal entry in my food diary. But I'm making progress, and I'm definitely eating better than I was before I got the band.

I'm not trying to justify you eating unhealthy, but you have to look at things long-term.

I think we all struggle with this. But I think this is one area that the band is really helpful, at least for me. I can't binge anymore. I can make an unhealthy choice, but I can't eat too much of it. The band makes me stop.

I don't know about you, but if 1600 calories is a bad day for me, it's a much better day than before I got the band. My dietician reminds me that this is not a diet. It's my life now. And it's not always going to look perfect in a journal entry in my food diary. But I'm making progress, and I'm definitely eating better than I was before I got the band.

I'm not trying to justify you eating unhealthy, but you have to look at things long-term.

Well said:thumbup: