I am a very emotional eater and my satisfaction is based on how big of a portion I get to eat. I am not happy with just a little bit of food...I want a lot of food. Not because I'm hungry. I know I have to change my frame of mind about my portions and I'm not doing well with that right now. I eat way too much. For those of you who deal with this head hunger I would like to know what thinking process you use to try to get around it. What goes through your head at that moment when you are about to serve yourself and you want to serve yourself too much. How do you motivate yourself not to do it?

Oh, I still do. But then I don't eat it all much of the time. I just wrap it up and put it in the fridge. In time I've curbed the size of my meals back but I still suffer from the same syndrome. In fact, I delayed my band just out of fear of not being able to eat as much as I wanted to eat. Now, it's not a big deal.

If you're a new bandster, give it time. I'm still fairly new, about 8 months out and I'm still learning how to do this.

tmf

That is really good to hear. I'm only about a month out and I just had my first fill yesterday and they told me that I have to get my serving size down to one cup.

I'm four months out with 3 fills and sometimes it gets hard and things get stuck . The last fill was really tough cause I just couldn't eat anything without it getting stuck ... It's better now since u finally figured it was mostly swelling causing the problem .. I thought about calling the doctors office to remove the last fill but stuck it out .. Doing better this week with not as much getting stuck thus week .. I'm hanging in there and you should too.

I constantly battle head hunger.

For me, two things make me stay to the 1 cup portion: Fear of slips and fear of staying fat. I do not want to deal with a slip and possibly another surgery (which overeating can cause) and I definitely do not want to stay fat. So, when I have the urge to eat too much or eat when I'm not physically hungry, I think of those two things.

Tonight for some reason I felt like I wanted to put away quite a bit yet I didn't know what I wanted to have. We kind of had a leftover thing going on at the house. I put a bunch of Leafy Romaine lettuce, a little low fat shredded cheese, a bit of a lite ranch and mixed in some black beans right out of the can. Mixed it all up and ate the salad, which looked pretty huge but when you chew chew chew it goes down to not alot of the salad. I did get bored with it, did not eat it all and was still comfortable even after eating a good amount. So if you feel like you HAVE to have a mound or what looks like it till you get a control give salad a whirl.. it might help you, just watch what you put on it.

It will be better than a mound of pasta, a whole burger/fries, pizza etc..

I call this the party in my mouth syndrom. Yup I wantt hat and I want lots of it..... Well this is how I broke that habit... Eat it then sit down and write out how you feel now that you gave in to that old HABIT. Are you feeling happy with your self or is the party over?????????????? Do you feel like a failure, fat ,bloated disgusted, if your banded a little sick.....

The next time follow the rules eat I cup eat it SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSlow chew it well and then write down how you feel afterwards.. I know hokey but it works you have to start building some measurable success that you can go back and look at. Also how failure feels. Bottom line here is you are in control of your actions and you can choose how you behave. You did not go through this surgery to eat and be fat.

I have to tell you now when I go out to eat and they bring me a plate heaped with food I actually get so overwhelmed I just groan oh nooooo it turns me off. And when I am at a party and see others plates It makes me shudder. For me the party in my mouth is over( I still eat good stuff) but the party in my life taste better then any food I ever heaped in my mouth

I remind myself that wanting and needing are not the same thing. I set the timer and make myself slow down--i can't take the last bite until the timer rings (12 min). I think about the food in my mouth--how it feels, how it tastes,,how well it is/isn't chewed. I suffer through the emotional discomfort. All of these things work on a good day. Some days are better than others. Some sre worse.

Wanting to eat huge amounts could be about so many things other than food--if you want to go there. It could be about needing to nurture yourself, zoning out, treating yourself. I'm wondering if you're really wanting large portions of any kind of food? Would you eat large portions of a food you didn't like just so you could have a large portion? Or is it only foods you enjoy that you want large portions of? Have you been without food at sometime in your life? Do the large portions feel comforting? Safe? Head hunger comes from the head. The only way to conquer head hunger is to go to the source--your thoughts,feelings,beliefs, emotions. It's a long process and a journey you may never completely finish, but it's essential if you are going to be able to use the band to its fullest. Good luck.

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Head hunger is a constant battle with me. Honestly.. I wasn't prepared to get banded when I did. I did the work and did really well initially... lost 100 pounds... then I had some complications and I just gave up. Went back to overeating (no restriction due to a leak in port) and I went back to my kryptonite.. ice cream. I am talking a 2 pints a night habit. BAD BAD. Gained over 50 pounds back.

I felt SO freaking awful. Not only was I still fat, I undid all the hard work I had done for over a year and a half... AND I was now fat & banded. So embarrassed. So I kept eating to cover my shame and embarrassment.

It wasn't until a few months ago when I was contemplating having my band removed that I really SAT DOWN and started to do some head work. Well crap... I should have done that from day1. I really AM an emotional eater, and I need to be aware of that at all times.

I avoid my trigger foods. Not allowed. These are foods I feel I have no control over, mainly ice creams, cookies, sweets. That was the first step. As for the rest... I have an internal dialogue with myself. I ask myself, am I hungry? Am I bored? Do I want more because it tastes good? Am I trying to soothe an emotion I am uncomfortable with? When I figure out the WHY.... I address it. Without food.

I am not perfect, but I am miles ahead of where I have been for years. One day at a time, one pound at a time. It has been getting easier... but for instance, last night I REALLY really wanted soft serve ice cream. I obsessed about it for hours. I got anxious, and I thought about how it would taste and feel. I got close to my... "screw it" mentality... where I would cave. But I didn't. I talked myself down, and reminded myself of my goals. Instead I squirted a dollop of light whipped cream in a glass of unsweetened almond milk. I drank it super slow and savored the light sweetness with the creamy milk. And I felt awesome! I ENJOYED my HEALTHY sweet treat, and I felt like I had the power. Not food.

Sorry for the long rambly post. I guess what I am trying to convey is BE AWARE. Have a dialogue with yourself. Figure out what your triggers are. Take your power back. And most of all... do not let a moment of weakness turn into a month or year of weakness.

Awesome for you !!!! I understand all of that and I get it !! I have gotten to the point that food doesn't taste good to me anymore ! It's that weird ? I too was at the point where I'm afraid of the slippage and all this being for nothing ! We just came back from vacation and I think the airplane flights tighten my band . That was great as it helped a lot but I hated not eating the king crab legs ... Lol. I'm slow on my journey but I'm getting better .. One day at a time !!

Have the power not the food...love it!