It is just so interesting to me.....this weird relationship I have with food. It truly is an addiction. I remember, pre-banding, when I went to see the psycologist. She went over the 12 step program with me. I was a bit put off at first but as she read each step the realization of addiction really hit me. I sobbed.

This weekend my husband and I went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. I ordered the grilled Mahi. It was huge! 8 oz. I had to laugh because before my banding I would have thought that was small. I ate about 3 oz of it and some broccoli. I was completely full. Beyond full actually because I found myself in a bit of discomfort for a while. But I sort of sat looking at the big piece left over and felt sad. I wanted to be able to eat it. I don't know why. I was mourning my inability to eat the rest of it. Ridiculous. It was a brief feeling and I am grateful that I couldn't eat it but I just wanted to comment on how weird it felt. It is a learning process, right? A true lifestyle change. I am grateful.

And no.....I didn't take it home for another meal. My husband ate it! lol. Thanks for letting me share.

Totally makes sense my therapist told me pizza hut was my boyfriend. Consistent good feelings, every Friday night I would have happiness. Not being able to eat was like losing my best friend.

Totally makes sense my therapist told me pizza hut was my boyfriend. Consistent good feelings, every Friday night I would have happiness. Not being able to eat was like losing my best friend.

Wow. Exactly.

You give me HOPE that when I get banded I will be as successful as you! Without this band I know for a fact I won't force myself to make the changes that I need to make to be successful.

Thank you for sharing this. I've wondered if I would be "sad" when unable to finish my favorite food and then I would feel guilty that I was already mourning the loss of something I hadn't even lost yet.

Thank you for pointing out that the feelings are real and that it's 'normal' to have them!

And no.....I didn't take it home for another meal. My husband ate it! lol. Thanks for letting me share.

Do you know... my husband who has always been pretty normal weight gained 15 lbs the first year I was banded. He was complaining about it...and I told him its because I was still cooking normal and he was eating his plus what I couldnt finish! He started to realize there was truth in that and stopped and lost his weight. It just goes to show you what eating too much of even healthy food can do....

This makes total sense to me. I have only been banded for 6 days but the week before my band I was having emotions almost like being pregnant. i would cry for no reason sometimes just thinking about life after the band. I said good bye to all of the food that I know I over eat on. I tried to explain the emotions to my best friend and my husband but they just looked at me like I was crazy. It is hard to explain the emotional attachment to food to people who don't have a problem with it.

I've posted this before but seems to fit this thread. I found this on another site from another bandster:

"In my case, the most fearful thing I had to do in order to succeed with my band wasn't switching to skim milk, surviving a liquid diet, or giving up bread. The most fearful thing was giving up my emotional attachment to food. In the nearly 5 years since I was banded, I've made a lot of progress with that, but the attachment is still there. It forms one of the innermost layers of my turtle shell. Working on that layer will probably be a lifetime job for me. At times I'm not even sure I truly want to get rid of it altogether. At times I'm afraid that if I shed my shell completely, I won't be able to survive. On the other hand, I seem to be doing fine without that thick old b***h layer. So I'm going to pay attention to my dreams rather than my fears and pray for a miracle. And why not? It can't hurt to try!"

But I sort of sat looking at the big piece left over and felt sad. I wanted to be able to eat it. I don't know why. I was mourning my inability to eat the rest of it. Ridiculous.

I know exactly what u mean. Wonder if ill ever get over those feelings.