Needing some serious advice...so how does everyone deal and what are your secrets for breaking old habits? I am an emotional eater and probably almost always munched on things through out the day. What tips does anyone have for battling the need vs. Wanting to eat? I could not be hungry and semi-unknowingly pick and eat things....this gets tough because i love to cook and i am always making lunches or deserts for family...ugh :/ help!

Also i am at week 3 post op. Week two i was feelin awesome...now i feel defeated....maybe i need a fill...which they dont do till week 5...

Hi there, this is definitely a hard time. Bandster Hell is aptly named. Here's your encouragement: You are amazing. You are courageous and determined. That's why you chose weight loss surgery. You want to change your life. You are electing a happy healthy future and you will have that. You are going to be out of food jail once that appetite is dimmed but there is a little bit of a process for all of that to begin. You are on the verge of all that is ahead. I just posted on another thread about how seeing a therapist helped me break down my behaviors in a very specific way. Taking it all way farther than ever before in terms of just exactly how I was responding with food helped me learn how to notice what I'm doing and tell myself, "I don't do that anymore." Having the right fill means I don't even want to. All of that lies ahead -- the not feeling deprived is a marvelous thing and you will get there!

Thank you Bandista! Reading that made me feel so much better!

Edited November 6, 201411 yr by funky_monkey800

Edited November 6, 201411 yr by funky_monkey800

@@funky_monkey800 Bandista gave you some good advice and some great inspiration above. it is not easy to be an emotional eater and change your habits over night. The beauty of being banded is that you have that time up front to get to know your band and learn to live with your band.

Right now you probably don't even feel as though you had surgery, the pain is gone the discomfort is mild and you are HUNGRY. I know I have been there. Commercials would drive to the edge to the point that I banned TV in our house while I was home! Hubby and I were banded 3 days apart and he had no interest in food but by week 2 I was ready to start licking the TV I could smell those wings through the screen (and a side note I don't even eat or like hot wings at all!!!)

All that said, the best thing for you to do right now is take care of yourself. Your going to make mistakes, but make them learning experiences instead of blaming yourself for screwing up.

Keep yourself busy, what are somethings that you enjoy doing that are not food related? Do you read, write, underwater basket weave? What ever it is...do that. Take the time to nurture and care for your emotions. Your going through a rough time,you just had major surgery and your body is still healing even though you feel great your insides are still settling into this new routine. There is a foreign body in there that wasn't there before and it's not sure how to cope with that just yet.

So take the time to learn, and keep busy. If you are on a special diet from the doctors soft foods, mushy or liquids, stick to that and hydrate. If you down a bottle of Water or more between your "meals" you will find you are not so hungry. When you find yourself mindlessly picking on something...stop and ask yourself why you are doing that? Then divert your attention away from the noshing and if you must do something with your mouth grab the bottle of water and sip away.

I am a "chewer" and I know some docs say gum is bad...but I chew my gum and pop my bubbles and I don't eat and it keeps my fingers and pens out of my mouth so now I don't get sick as often!! (bonus!)

These are the times to rediscover the aroma, the texture, the flavor of all the items that you love to cook. Take a new approach to cooking, and put that extra flair to it and make it lower in calorie and fat for yourself while your at it.

I find when I am cooking enjoying a nice cup of flavored coffee or tea, sweetened with one of those coffee creamers makes me feel like I'm getting a special treat and I'm not picking at the food I'm preparing. I also do this when I need to unwind and relax of course using decaf coffee or tea It helps me find that "comfy" place I need when my emotions and stress levels are out of control, which can be too often for my own good

@@lisacaron, thank you as well! You are right. I am feeling no pain..just hunger! I loved your post it was so relatable! I am a chewer as well so it looks like i may need to stock up on some gum! and i am definitely going to try the coffee tonight while i cook...love me some good coffee...everyone here seems so great..thank you both!

Those dang commercials always made me so hungry! UGH those big cheesy burgers etc.. I also was an emotional eater. I would eat to celebrate and when I was sad and all occasions were special reasons to eat. One of my tips was to not buy anything that I could snack on. Even now if I want a small snack I walk or ride my bike to the store. If I don't want to go out, I then I don't need the snack. I also love to cook. The difference now is that I cook with quality ingredients and really go for taste where as before I went for volume. I cannot believe how much I used to eat. I save a lot of money since we eliminated processed foods and most convenience foods from our menus. It will pass. Exercise really helps me when my cravings hit.

All good advice above. I'll just add that these weeks will be behind you soon and when you get to the proper fill level it gets so much easier. Good luck!

Hang in there! I am only one week ahead of you and also feeling defeated at times. On Halloween, I ate about 10 pieces of my kids' candy. I should have felt good about the fact that that is about 1/10 of the amount of candy I would usually eat, but instead I felt awful, sick to my stomach, and like a giant cheater. I haven't had a piece of candy since, but I have had lots of other foods I was hoping I wouldn't eat anymore. It's a process and right now we are as hungry as we ever were, with no help from the band. Just do the best you can until your first fill. Try to make good choices, and start exercising regularly. I think that's really the best we can do at this point

Thank you all for the wonderful replies! I feel better knowing that I am not the only one out there who has these types of days-or weeks! I mean it...thanks! Going to start working out more. I notice when i stay busy i dont want to eat.....its the night times..movie nights with the family and days when i am home alone! I did drink coffee last night while cooking and it did fill me up enough to keep from picking at everything.