Surgery is tomorrow AM, I have been on the pre-op diet for 10 days and dropped 13 pounds. I haven't really had to deal with cravings because I was so miserable from only eating 1000 calories a day, cravings didn't matter. But I have noticed that while my physical hunger has been diminishing to where I am comfortable, my emotional hunger has been kicking into over drive. All the little things that I ate, not because I was hungry, but because I wanted the comfort that eating them provided. This is what scares me more than anything else, the lap band will help control the physical hunger, but how do I control the emotional hunger?

Terry

Get professional help and counselling.

I'm in the same boat! I am thinking about joining Overeaters Anonymous, but I tried a couple of meetings a few years ago and I was the fattest one there. I know that shouldn't matter, but it was all I could think about and I didn't feel comfortable being there, especially with their flimsy plastic folding chairs.

Once I start losing more after the surgery, I'm definitely going back and trying new meetings.

The emotional/bored/anxiety driven hunger is really going to be hard to deal with once we aren't physically able to satiate it.

Head hunger or emotional hunger is one of the battles we all must overcome. My solution was to remove all trigger foods from my home. Out of site out of mind for me. Now that I am further out, 2 years post op, I have more control most days and can have the food in my house and understand that everyone in my family does not have the same issues that I do. The one food I do not allow in my house is potato chips. This is my crack and I will eat them if they are here and I will eat the whole bag so, rule is if you bring them into the house you have to hide them from me. If you are an emotional eater I would suggest conciling post surgery to help you figure out why your eat when you eat. Good luck tomorrow!

Well, I guess I will find out how to deal with it soon enough, I am siting here in my surgical gown waiting to be taken back to the OR

surgery is done, and I am home with a heating pad.

How are you doing? I was banded last Friday. I'm on day 5.

I'm doing better than I expected. Heating pad took care of the arm pain, incisions are a bit tender but not bad at all. I am just getting used to the new feelings of what happens when I swallow something, that and learning how to burp again (TMI). Did 30 minutes on the treadmill with no problems, so I will probably hit it a couple of more times today.

How are things on day 5?

You are doing better than me. I'm in so much pain and starving!

You are doing better than me. I'm in so much pain and starving!

The starving will come for me as well, of that I am sure as well. I took a picture of the 11K check that the surgery cost me and made it the background on my phone, to help with those times when they come. I might even frame a copy and put it on the fridge to help me through those times.

As far as pain? shoot, pain let's you know you are still alive.

The physical hunger is still behind the curtain, I know it is there, but I am still having to make myself eat although my pain is minimal and I haven't had any nausea yet. But with no physical hunger, the other hungers are more obvious. So far the two that have raised their head are boredom eating and the "see food" hunger. Of the two, "See Food" is much more powerful, I open the fridge to get some broth or gatorade, and there staring me in the face is FOOD!!! No, I am not hungry, but I have a conditioned reflex to eat when I see food. Since I am a very visual person (as my wife has come to appreciate), I think this will be the hardest of the hungers to defeat. Thankfully the lack of physical hunger is helping me deal with it right now.