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Head Hunger...



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I have restriction. At work, I eat small portions and am satisfied. I get home, get busy working on something and I am fine. BUT, when I am not busy, just watching TV, the munchies strike. I KNOW that I am not hungry, yet I get something to eat anyway, sometimes with unwelcome results.

I know this is head hunger, but how do I fight it? More importantly, how do I win?

HELP!!

Good luck everyone!

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There are 2 refrigerators in my home. The main one has a lock on it. The keys are held by my wife, nephew and housekeeper

All of the yummy stuff that I should not have is kept in there under lock and key

The other fridge has all my food in it - all of the GOOD stuff that I should have

When head hunger strikes the lock stops me dead in my tracks

To go out to buy means a 2 kilometer walk or get the motor bike out

To walk means - (from the wife) "If you are going out to buy junk food - take the dogs for a walk too. Maybe they can talk you out of it on the way"

To take the motor bike means (from the housekeeper) "Boss please go to the market on your way. I need you to buy(complete your own healthy list and include it here) so that I can prepare your scheduled diet food for your (lunch, dinner - add any meal here) just like your dietition says"

To go anywhere - (from my nephew) "Hey Grandpa Frumpy if you are going out can you get me some (add items like ice cream, chocolate, candy, chips, pizza, McDonalds). Then I can eat them in front of you and you can dream of how they will taste and be true to your lapband at the same time"

Hrumph!!!!!

And that is how you beat head hunger with an all Indonesian household

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I have the same exact problem. I am good all day without much effort then at night its a tug of war mentally. I have found that if I am going to watch TV at night then I have to also workout. I have a big workout ball (I dont remember what its real name is, LOL) and free hand weights. Instead of spending the commercial breaks going to the kitchen I spend them doing sit ups on the ball, lunges, running in place and stretches with the weights for the whole commercial break. This keeps me out of the kitchen. When the want for food becomes too strong I either eat a 90 cal Fiber bar (very filling, Nothing else will go down for a couple of hours) or just go to bed. I hope this has helped some. Good luck

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Nights were the roughest for me too. I found that if I kept my hands busy while I watched tv, I didn't get the munchies. Most likely because if the hands were busy, my brain was engaged as well. So now I do needlepoint or quilt or even scrapbook when I watch tv. Sometimes I just play solitaire on the computer. Anything to keep the head involved in something other than wondering what's in the refrigerator. :P

.

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Great advice... thanks everyone!

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I know how you feel. I have not be banded yet, waiting for ins appoval hopefull will have surgery on April 29, anyway I have been trying to change my eating habits. I feel I eat not because I'm hungery but because I am board. So I have been trying to teach myself how to croche. It has not come easy to me, however it keeps my hands busy and I don't think about food. Good Luck

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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