I feel so happy for everyone's success on here. However I rarely see a post from someone suffering from food addiction. And I feel that it would help me a lot to hear those journeys. :-) not that it doesn't help to hear other stories as well. But if you are a food addict who has succeeded in losing the weight and staying sane without hurting your poor stomach, please do share. I would love to hear about your success.

My social worker at the bariatric center mentioned that because food addiction provides us something, many people switch to other addictions to provided the same comfort. She mentioned, smoking, drinking, pornography and shopping! I thought she was wrong until the mention of shopping rang a bell for me. I can't wait to buy new, cute clothes! So I have to make sure a new and harmful addiction doesn't spring up to replace the old one!

No kidding. My shopping has been out of control since the sleeve. And I've adopted 2 more rescue dogs since then, too (that makes 8 dogs and 4 cats total). I need a pet intervention.

Thank you, thank you, thank you--to all who have shared on this thread. I am fighting my old demons every step of the way; the surgery was not enough. I'm just shy of 4 months out, but I can eat anything, and eat a lot (at least compared to what I was expecting). I am so glad to read all of your stories and hear our shared experiences--it makes me feel so much less alone. And to hear that it's hard but you're still not giving up, that just means the world to me. Thank you all!!!

And by the way, my name is Leah, and I'm a food addict.

Hi Leah,

And we will not give up together

When I went on diets before there was a beginning and an end.

The last time I lost this weight was with a doctor supervised diet. I went into the office everyday, the nurse weighed me gave me a shot of B12 in the ass and sold me shakes.

One day I walked in and she announced "you are done!" I left happy as a clam went about my life, as I was done with my diet! I ate like a "normal" person.

Except for one thing... I'm not normal

I have reluctantly and sluggishly learned this lesson. the thing we need to remember is we are in this for the long haul.

I just want to say thank you!!!!!!!! I have been in a "funk" lately. I am realizing that old habits are hard to break and weight gain is not as difficult as I anticipated before I got sleeved. I am almost 7 months post op and yes the hungers back, yes the weight gain has happened, and yes it is easier to eat everything!! I do very good during the week and then the weekend comes and it's like I have no control over myself. I make poor food choices and graze throughout the day! I gain back everything I loose during the week. It's a vicious cycle! I'm done! I need to change this, I have started no bullshit November put myself back to basics and luckily this has been working. I know we're only 4 days into November but being accountable this weekend helped me loose 4 lbs!! This just goes to show how this really is just a tool, no magic quick fix!! I love my sleeve because it is easier for me to get back on track, however I now know how easy it is to fall off and gain weight. I too am a food addict I have always known this, and I truly thought that this surgery would fix this. Nope!! Not at all, this is a lifelong struggle and yes the sleeve has made it perhaps easier because it restricts the amount of food I consume, however it doesn't restrict what I put in my mouth. I am so glad I saw this post it's good to hear the honest truth and like most of you have said not the sugar coated one, it's sometimes discouraging when u read post where people are so perfect and stick to the program to a T. I'm glad I'm not a lone and there are others facing the same issues!!

THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!

I think if you look through the vets forum, you will see most everyone who is successful long term "owns" their food addiction and finds ways to manage it. For me, it's keeping bad foods out of the house, stocking up on healthy foods I enjoy, weighing daily, and finding ways to cope with emotional needs besides food. For me, that can be as simple as applying lip gloss and lotion. The scent and feel soothes me. I also enjoy seasonal treats, so I find low cal substitutes. For fall, I mix pumpkin and spices with Greek yogurt and drink sugar free hot apple cider.

Best wishes on your journey. Looking forward to seeing you, thin and happy, in the Vets Forum a few months down the

One.

Lynda

No kidding. My shopping has been out of control since the sleeve. And I've adopted 2 more rescue dogs since then, too (that makes 8 dogs and 4 cats total). I need a pet intervention.

If my husband didn't intervene in my need for all things furry, I'd be right there with you! Only 1 dog and 2 cats right now. (working on just 1 more dog, I swear, just one!)

Hi Leah,

And we will not give up together

When I went on diets before there was a beginning and an end.

The last time I lost this weight was with a doctor supervised diet. I went into the office everyday, the nurse weighed me gave me a shot of B12 in the ass and sold me shakes.

One day I walked in and she announced "you are done!" I left happy as a clam went about my life, as I was done with my diet! I ate like a "normal" person.

Except for one thing... I'm not normal

I have reluctantly and sluggishly learned this lesson. the thing we need to remember is we are in this for the long haul.

Laura, I rarely attempt to correct you. This time I will.

We are not in it for the long haul. (now that I have your attention). We are in this for farkin ever.

We are not "normal" and it takes thinking and planning and making choices each and every day to act normal enough to lose the weight and keep the weight off.

There is another HOT thread with hurt feelings.

They should all read THIS thread and discover why.

When "Stoopid" things get said that folks WANT to believe, but ain't necessarily so, it can drive a lot of us mad.

I work in a BIG office complex. I know a LOT of folks that have had WLS... and too many of them sure are fat. What's the reason? In the main two things, believing that:

-- I can eat and drink anything I want,

-- I do not think their plan made sense, so I didn't follow it...

Every day I plan. I do it every day. No vacations. I am a junkie surrounded by junk. (Hell, I have a wine cellar with hundreds of bottles of very nice wines), and I still avoid junk. I do not drink, and when I do, the three bottle nights must be over. Because I Can eat and drink ANYTHING I want... I just can't stop.

I am a food addict.

I'm doing a lot of soul searching these days about this topic. I don't think of myself as a food addict, and yet here I am. I hope that my issues with food are more around habit and behavior than addiction. But I felt "done" enough with yo-yo dieting that the sleeve seemed like the best solution for me.

I can liken it, in a way, to drinking…because I was a faithfully habitual drinker. Before the liquid diet phase kicked in, I had about two glasses of wine every night. I really wondered if I would crave or miss it, and the answer (at least right now) is that I don't. Not at all. So that means, to me, that I was not addicted per se. It wouldn't have been so easy to drop it.

But is there such a thing as habitual addiction? I don't know. I have a lot of thin friends, and I think back to every time I went to lunch with them and they ordered the healthy meal and I rolled my eyes just a little.

I am really thinking this through because somewhere in me my little voice told me that cold turkey and a complete paradigm shift was the only thing that would help me lose the weight. So maybe I'm in denial here, but I think that it is healthier at this point to call myself an addict and follow the steps to the letter.

Really have been thinking about this a lot, based on the Enabling and Addict threads. But all joking aside, even though I don't have to contend with bingeing, I got here by consistently making poor food choices. And yes, I'm sure my metabolism has stopped working for me after I have abused and confused it for so many years. And now I'm at the point where a full re-set is in order.

Raising my shaker bottle of strawberry unjury in a toast to all of you...

Edited November 5, 201312 yr by Fluffnomore

I'm doing a lot of soul searching these days about this topic. I don't think of myself as a food addict' date=' and yet here I am.......

..... I really wondered if I would crave or miss it, and the answer (at least right now) is that I don't. Not at all. So that means, to me, that I was not addicted per se. It wouldn't have been so easy to drop it.

I am really thinking this through because somewhere in me my little voice told me that cold turkey and a complete paradigm shift was the only thing that would help me lose the weight. So maybe I'm in denial here, but I think that it is healthier at this point to call myself an addict and follow the steps to the letter.

And now I'm at the point where a full re-set is in order.

...[/quote']

I really thought alot like you. That I got here through constantly making bad decisions. And I let myself go down a path of habitually abusing my body by keeping it high on sugars and high carb starchy foods. My life was a constant battle to avoid the next blood sugar drop, and I avoided it by keeping a fresh supply of sugar going down my pie hole.

I really looked at the sleeve as a full reset (as you say). I needed to wipe the slate clean and start over. A full reboot. People talk about making manageable changes one at a time.....that never worked for me. I was too far gone and too unwilling to stick to them.

When I got sleeved I changed everything. I eliminated starches, sweets and sodas.....and all processed foods basically. I made exercise a mandatory daily activity...like brushing my teeth and going to work. Not something I would "try to squeeze in." It became my priority.....as did eating right. Not something I would try to do, something I would do no matter who it inconvenienced.

What I found was in spite of these major changes I may have very well still been an addict. Addicted to my old behaviors. After 18 months they are not completely gone. They are still there, lurking just under the surface. Ready to take back the reigns if only I'd let them. I can keep them at bay...I can keep control. But I have to remain vigilant. There is no cruise control for me. No automatic pilot setting where I won't slip back down the rabbit hole.

I think alot of people come to WLS wanting that....wanting that easy road from here on out. Maybe it exists for some people, but not for everyone. And we have to be prepared for the long fight if it doesn't happen. And I don't think anyone knows how it's going to play out for them until they are further down the road and experiencing it first hand.

Edited November 5, 201312 yr by Butterthebean

Fair enough. I'm willing to admit that I don't know. One thing I know I have in common with "addicts" is the "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck" thing. My habits quack.

I don't know if it matters that I don't have physical dependence. In a sense, I have taken the AA first step…I have admitted that I did/do not have control and that my old behaviors are not working.

Fair enough. I'm willing to admit that I don't know. One thing I know I have in common with "addicts" is the "if it walks like a duck' date=' quacks like a duck" thing. My habits quack.

I don't know if it matters that I don't have physical dependence. In a sense, I have taken the AA first step…I have admitted that I did/do not have control and that my old behaviors are not working.[/quote']

Oh btw....I didn't mean any of that to suggest you're wrong about anything....only that we approached this change very similarly.

:-) I get that.

I think a lot of people replace "bad" food addiction with "good" food addiction. They're still addicts. They're still engaged in all-or-nothing addictive behavior. The danger to fall off and slide into the same poor habits that made them obese are there - they're just keeping them at bay by engaging in the other end of the extreme spectrum.

I know moderation is hard - and the word "moderation" can really cover such a huge range of methods, too. But I think that in many cases that incredibly stringent lifestyle can be just as worrisome. I think that when people build up tremendous expectations or feel deprived (and in fairness, some don't feel deprived even with lifestyles I could never hack) that they fall harder and stay down longer than if they'd been more moderate in the first place.

The single biggest aid to my avoiding regain has been DAILY WEIGHING. Hands down, it's the biggest thing keeping me on track. If I avoid the scale it's because I'm having a rough time in my life. If I'm having a rough time, emotional or mindless eating is far more likely. The end result is a gain. Had I stuck to the scale even with the poor choices? I'd see a small bounce opposed to a big one.

I have remained within 5% of my goal weight for most of my time at goal. Even six weeks after giving birth I was back in that range. The only way I can do that, even with the desire to overindulge at times is by weighing daily. If I see a bounce above what I expect, I know to immediately reevaluate my diet and see what's wrong. Sometimes, it's just hormones or stress or lack of sleep (things I have in abundance these days!) but sometimes it's that I've let myself get lazy with my habits.

So I guess all of this rambling is to say that it's more important to focus on what you can do to win DESPITE an addiction. You're not going to avoid chocolate for two years and discover that you now hate chocolate and it will never tempt you again. It doesn't work that way. Build a routine and habits that help you with the times you DO make the poor choices so that you can hop right back on track and either continue losing or stay at goal.

~Cheri

Edited November 5, 201312 yr by clk

I

......... You're not going to avoid chocolate for two years and discover that you now hate chocolate and it will never tempt you again. ......

~Cheri

Why didn't you tell me that 18 months ago? Or was I just not listening?

Oh....I will add, it did work that way with chips and sodas.....but not chocolate damnit.

Edited November 5, 201312 yr by Butterthebean

Why didn't you tell me that 18 months ago? Or was I just not listening?

Oh....I will add, it did work that way with chips and sodas.....but not chocolate damnit.

I don't do much by way of chips, either! Soda, that's a trigger for me and I avoid it. Thankfully, for some reason in my fourth year post op it's started to cause discomfort due to the carbonation. That's good. Because if I have soda, I want soda every day.

Chocolate doesn't get me. It's those damned licorice. I could eat them every day. I try not to bring them in the house.

And I definitely wasn't listening or looking for the truth prior to surgery. My sleeve was my magic wand and I was pretty sure it came with a free unicorn, too. It was my cure all and I was sadly disappointed when I was forced to accept that it was up to me to do this for life.

~Cheri