Getting to the root of the eating problem w/o a psychiatrist.

[Water Nazi 61]

I have never figured this one out.

Any book recommendations on this topic for the unenlightened?

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

What about seeing a therapist? Psychiatrist are typically used for medications etc.. Try Judith Beck's "The Diet Solution."

[Kindle 8,667]

I'm reading "the Emotional First Aid Kit- a practical guide to life after bariatric surgery". It's not going to dig out your deepest darkest secrets like a psychiatrist, but it's got a lot of good tips on dealing with food issues and even step-by-step instructions for achieving goals.

[RJ'S/beginning 5,357]

I'm reading "the Emotional First Aid Kit- a practical guide to life after bariatric surgery". It's not going to dig out your deepest darkest secrets like a psychiatrist, but it's got a lot of good tips on dealing with food issues and even step-by-step instructions for achieving goals.

I think I will order that book myself..Thanks for the tip...

I really believe that fighting the demon of food addiction will be a life long struggle. That we can never let our guard down over it..It will creep up on us periodically..and we will have to face it with our brains to fix each little facet of it......Life long struggle I think as this has been a life long problem for us to live with.....

Like once an alcoholic always an alcoholic you know!

[Kindle 8,667]

You're right about fighting the food demons. I have no doubts the 1st year will be sunshine and roses when it comes to losing weight, but it's the next 30+ years that are going to be hard. Unlike alcoholics, we can't chose to never eat again. It's more like handing an alcoholic a beer and a shot EVERYDAY and telling them "ok, that's it". Of course I'm preaching to the choir, here.

As for the book, There's a lot of preop stuff that I read after the fact but it still helps get your head in the right place. I'm only on chapter 6, but the future chapters look like they address any issues I can think of that most of us will deal with in one form or another.

[RJ'S/beginning 5,357]

You're right about fighting the food demons. I have no doubts the 1st year will be sunshine and roses when it comes to losing weight, but it's the next 30+ years that are going to be hard. Unlike alcoholics, we can't chose to never eat again. It's more like handing an alcoholic a beer and a shot EVERYDAY and telling them "ok, that's it". Of course I'm preaching to the choir, here.

As for the book, There's a lot of preop stuff that I read after the fact but it still helps get your head in the right place. I'm only on chapter 6, but the future chapters look like they address any issues I can think of that most of us will deal with in one form or another.

I know for sure that if you don't say that you are a food addict out loud or to yourself..you will never deal with it enough to make a huge difference in your life.....Sure an alcoholic does not have to worry about a beer being placed in front of him like we do food...that makes it even more work for us to be able to make choices, the right choices for our future selves....that said..We will slip because we face food every day and we are not perfect..not at all..It is getting back up and riding that horse after the fall that..The first year is all the learning curves and what do I do here and what do I do there..And just when you got it figured out...bang....another issue..There are no bed of roses here..work work and more work.....forever from the start to the end!

I bought the book and looking forward to reading it as well...Have ordered a few books off here as recommended by users....

[Butterflyhigh 504]

Getting to the root of the problem....

Start by figuring out just when food became emotionally important to you. Usually it is in childhood. As children (and many adults too) we don't have the tools to deal with emotionally hurtful situations. If we don't get the proper nurturing we are left with empty holes inside...emotionally hungry areas....and the easiest thing to do is fill those empty spaces with food.

Food stimulates places in our brains that are the pleasure centers...the same areas of the brain that are affected by drug use. The act of eating feels good on an emotional level and also on a physiological level.

Couple that with family and societal environments in which food is an important part of having fun and being together (pleasurable experiences) and it is easy to see how feeding ourselves becomes a way of making our selves feel good emotionally.

My personal food addiction started because I have a mother who never bonded with me. I never had hugs or kisses or comforting words from her as a child. I was always kept at arms length, literally. When I was seven years old she finally just packed her bags and left. Moved two hours away. I had these empty spaces inside of my emotional self that felt very physically empty. To sit down and stuff those empty spaces with food was the only way I knew of comforting myself. What started as a way of self-soothing and self-nuturing turning into a lifelong addiction. Even now, at 36...I KNOW the reasons why I reach for a bucket of fried chicken when I've had a rough day. I have a very good understanding of my own personal psychology and I STILL can't stop myself at times. It is very frustrating and it keeps the shame cycle going around in circles.

[Susysleever 265]

Ms. Skinniess. You are rights only give you a 15 min med check. No counseling. Masters level counsel. PhD test. They might counsel. As always, insurance is in charge.

[lovely momma 28]

I have been seeing a professional to help with my food issues for about a year. I know why I over eat, but I think it has become such a habit that I have no idea how to break it. Plus, I think once you have over ridden that full feeling to many times it takes more food to make you feel satiated. Now it is not just emotional it is physical. I had the lapband for 5 years and felt full and comfortable on a lot less food. Now that it is removed I am hungry all the time. I never feel full.

[huligoo 75]

I have been seeing a professional to help with my food issues for about a year. I know why I over eat, but I think it has become such a habit that I have no idea how to break it. Plus, I think once you have over ridden that full feeling to many times it takes more food to make you feel satiated. Now it is not just emotional it is physical. I had the lapband for 5 years and felt full and comfortable on a lot less food. Now that it is removed I am hungry all the time. I never feel full.

I am sleeved now--post op 6 months....

I am a stress eater..Im an anxious person...I eat when Im pissed, angry, happy or sad...I am an emotional eater...

now that I am sleeved I cannot over eat or I get sick...getting sleeved has been good for me...

Pre-sleeve I would never get full EVER....i hated that feeling...i felt helpless and guilty that I wanted food so much...

now that all the ghrelin is mostly gone from my body...it has been a big help to me...

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20100622/hormone-ghrelin-ups-desire-for-high-calorie-foods

[measureofme 175]

I heartily recommend the book "Women, food & God". Not "God" in the Christian sense necessarily, the writer uses the term to speak of that sense of something greater than ourselves. It was definitely part of my watershed moment and continues to cause insight.

http://www.amazon.com/Women-Food-God-Unexpected-Everything/dp/1416543082