Today, I read somewhere on the forum, how banded people with prior food addiction issues, would find something new to be addicted to. What are your thoughts? What is taking the place of food for you, if anything?

Cross fit is my new addiction!

Exercising

Cross fit is my new addiction!

How soon after your surgery did you start exercising again? And how soon crossfit?

Thank you.

How soon after your surgery did you start exercising again? And how soon crossfit? Thank you.

Walking was my primary exercise until week 5. Elliptical from week 5 until month 5. Running 5k/10k month 5 until month 7. Cross fit started mid month 7 and continues today at month 19. Stopped running long distances every week by about month 10 (conflicted with building strength from cross fit), but run a long run (14-20 miles) about once every 2-3 months. Most of my running is in the form of sprinting for time. My best mile time is 4:15 min. I run 1/4 mile - 1/8 sprints fairly regularly as part of rounds in a cross fit workout. Hope this helps.

Edited February 10, 201412 yr by Fiddleman

Addiction transfer is very common among WLS patients, and something to watch for according to the psych who did my eval.

I haven't developed any alternate addictions that I'm aware of, but I have noticed that cleaning up my food issues has made me more fanatic about cleaning in general. Seriously...my house is spotless now! (Maybe because it's a way to stay out of the kitchen?) It's quite a change from my old ways in any case.

Going to the Gym...sometimes twice a day....

I should say though, as a bander, I am one of those who never experience hunger or cravings, and always feel as though I just had a large meal...so food no longer has any interest.

Surgery has "Cured" me of my food addiction.....so I am not trying to find something to "Fix" a need....an itch I can't scratch...

Edited February 10, 201412 yr by B-52

So what about boredom? Anxiety? Stressed? Have you become addicted to your phone or laptop? Do you just get out and move? Do you have new hobbies? Do you shop? Are you drinking more coffee/ tea than before? What about using alcohol or gambling? Have your pets become your focus? Anyone showing dogs or horses? Has your kindle list expanded with new books? Have you become a social butterfly? Is your garden in the best shape ever? Are your activities solitary or groups? Join a league of some kind? Competitive ?

I wish I filled my time with cleaning or exercising or church or something, but I don't, lol. I do find that I shop a lot more, both in stores and online. I'm actually forced to because I constantly need clothes for work as I go down sizes. I have to REALLY resist sometimes though, since I don't want to have more than the minimum as I go down sizes. I think I'm pretty much nearing the end of weight loss, so I'm buying a little more. I find it thrilling to be able to go into ANY store and put on anything I want. It is such a rush for me. I can now buy and wear things I could only dream of before! I'm not sure it's an addiction, but I do spend a lot of time doing it. Given the choice of cooking/eating or shopping, I'll take shopping every time

Today, I read somewhere on the forum, how banded people with prior food addiction issues, would find something new to be addicted to. What are your thoughts? What is taking the place of food for you, if anything?

walking

going place with my hubby

shopping for *smaller* clothes

i now eat to live and not living to eat..my life no longer

revolves around those instant food gasms....

Shopping. Although, I loved to shop before I was banded, too. Just not to this extent, lol.

Put me down for shopping, too. Thankfully it is something am an conscious of, so I can pull myself back when needed. And this will be weird, but I have a thing for trying out different chairs in different places. It makes me giddy to realize I fit into any spot comfortably now.

Kitt3000 I do spend more time online. I read ferociously when it comes to bariatric pal posts. I am addicted to checking the time, but mostly because of the restriction of drinking around Meal Time. I am NOT drinking more caffeine before pre op, but I do have one cup per day postoperative. And finally, my addiction to dogs is intense and I have no plans to give it up. There is nothing like rubbing the belly of a dog or scratching their head behind the ears.

Yep - I'm obsessed with my weight (the scales), I'm obsessed with protein, my fitness pal and this site. I have moved my addiction to these things.

I'm obsessed with my body changes. Everything from how much I pee to my hair shedding. I find myself thinking every side effect that could happen might happen if I deviate from my meal plan and eat a Dorito! I weigh daily and I am concerned I might be stalling. I don't want to fail at weight loss this time.

I'm trying to calm down.

My surgery team also stressed this, and specifically my surgeon, in a humorous way. He said I would need a new addiction now. I can shop, I can buy shoes, I can gamble, but I can't overeat. The psychologist was more serious, and said I needed to figure out what can give me joy. food has always given me joy, and now I'll need to figure out something else, or I'll go back to overeating.

I lost a lot of weight many years ago (not WLS) and dropped from 305 to 156 over two years. As I went down in size, I attended 12-step meetings several days a week, jogged on a track for three miles twice a week, and shopped for clothes every other minute. While also working full time and going to night school. I was single then, and had to fill the hours with activity or else I knew I would eat. The new skinny me met my husband at my high school reunion and we married a year later. I gained eleven pounds on my honeymoon, thirty with each of my two daughters, and it's been up from there ever since. I stopped all my healthy habits and dropped OA because he thought it was brainwashing, and I was too insecure to fight for myself. I did the "acceptable" Weight Watchers dozens of times since then, all ending in failure. At 302 pounds, I began to research WLS, and I am currently 3-1/2 weeks post-banding and have dropped 36 pounds since February.

Boy, this got long. LOL What I actually wanted to say was that during my shopping frenzy as a thinning person, I racked up some hefty credit card bills. One day my BFF and I were in Nordstrom's just passing through. We were dressed in sweats and weren't shopping there, just walking through. I saw a gorgeous evening gown and ran over to it. I'm talking beaded, floor length, stunning. The kind of dress that could only be worn to the Academy Awards. It was a size 10. We fawned over it and a saleslady came over and asked if I wanted to try it on. My friend and I busted out laughing, and said no thanks. She said, go ahead. Just try it on. I'll get you some pumps too. Well, I tried on that gorgeous dress and the shoes, and it fit. I stood there and my BFF and I just couldn't believe it. I felt like a movie star. That saleslady knew we were just walking by, but she gave me a gift I will never forget. For the first time in my life, I felt beautiful. Not thinner, not better than before, but beautiful. That dress was several thousand dollars. It went back on the mannequin, and a few weeks later was gone from the display.

I learned two things that day. I was beautiful. And I didn't have to spend a penny to try something on.

Afterwards, I modified my spending addiction into a trying-on addiction. I'd go to stores, try on some blouses and pants, and put them back. Once every couple of weeks I would purchase something affordable, instead of purchasing everything.

I am an addict, and I've given up overeating. I have no doubt my compulsive personality will seek out something new. I'm not in my twenties anymore, so the things I seek will be different. I expect I'll learn a lot about myself this time.

I hope some of this helps somebody. It was eye-opening for me to write it.