Bingeing after the sleeve

[RockinRobin59 57]

I had a binge period of eating potato chips and fried foods. I had an follow up appointment with my surgeon. He recommended I speak with dietian and that was a help. She recommended I attend monthly support group. I'm having difficulty getting to meeting. But I found this site where we can talk about our journey. I refuse to fry food and find different things to snack on. I carry a small like lunch bag around with me filled with Snacks. I try not to shop when hungry. I brought a indoor grill to help keep me from frying food it cooks pretty fast. I fry food because it's my comfort. Atkins has Protein snacks that are really good when I want something sweet. I journal for myself to keep track of my emotions when I want to binge. I know that I generally binge when I'm upset frustrated or pissed off about something. For me writing it down is accountability . By that time it has passed/ trigger is gone. I hope this has been helpful for you. Don't be discouraged , I sometimes have to go meal by meal. Old habits are difficult to break but can be broken with consistency.

[newmebithebypass 713]

I'm not really a bingger but I do eat emotionally and even though I am pre surgery I've been working hard to break that habbit. Right now its day by day. I won't say I'll never need therapy because I really do but I'm trying on my own first

[Alex Brecher 10,494]

gabito,

Sorry for your frustration, but that is a totally normal problem to be having! It’s a lifelong struggle for some of us to be in control of what we eat. It’s great that you practiced the “stall” tactic and held out for 3 hours, even if you gave in later. Keep practicing that, and you may get better at using the stall tactic!

It can help to stay positive and remind yourself that 2 doughnuts is not that bad! No, it’s not ideal…but how much food would a binge include in your worst days before WLS? So acknowledge the progress you’ve made, and be proud of yourself for recognizing that you may still need help, and reaching out for the help you need.

I’m also really glad you shared this because many people need to understand…WLS is not a cure for BED, or emotional eating, or other unhealthy eating habits or relationships with food. It can definitely help, but to different degrees depending on the individual, the type of surgery, and the reasons behind the unhealthy habits and behaviors.

For everyone considering WLS, know that you’ll need to confront your issues with food. Develop a plan or strategy that you can use as you lose weight after WLS.

Gabito, stay strong, keep your head up, and get help if you need it. You can do this! And you are doing it – 70 lbs in three months? Wow!

[LoosingIt67 1]

Go back to the psychiatrist who cleared you, and request a script for Vyvance. It was recently cleared for BED. IT works!

[gabito 14]

I hope you do manage to overcome it. Its difficult to find alternative ways of coping but its possible!

I'm not really a bingger but I do eat emotionally and even though I am pre surgery I've been working hard to break that habbit. Right now its day by day. I won't say I'll never need therapy because I really do but I'm trying on my own first

Thanks for posting this. I have just checked it an it looks interesting. I'll have to speak to my GP. Have you tried it?

Go back to the psychiatrist who cleared you, and request a script for Vyvance. It was recently cleared for BED. IT works!

Thank you for your kind words.

gabito,

Sorry for your frustration, but that is a totally normal problem to be having! It’s a lifelong struggle for some of us to be in control of what we eat. It’s great that you practiced the “stall” tactic and held out for 3 hours, even if you gave in later. Keep practicing that, and you may get better at using the stall tactic!

It can help to stay positive and remind yourself that 2 doughnuts is not that bad! No, it’s not ideal…but how much food would a binge include in your worst days before WLS? So acknowledge the progress you’ve made, and be proud of yourself for recognizing that you may still need help, and reaching out for the help you need.

I’m also really glad you shared this because many people need to understand…WLS is not a cure for BED, or emotional eating, or other unhealthy eating habits or relationships with food. It can definitely help, but to different degrees depending on the individual, the type of surgery, and the reasons behind the unhealthy habits and behaviors.

For everyone considering WLS, know that you’ll need to confront your issues with food. Develop a plan or strategy that you can use as you lose weight after WLS.

Gabito, stay strong, keep your head up, and get help if you need it. You can do this! And you are doing it – 70 lbs in three months? Wow!

[gabito 14]

Those are all really good tips. I will try to write down my feelings before I have an urge to binge. Thanks!

I had a binge period of eating potato chips and fried foods. I had an follow up appointment with my surgeon. He recommended I speak with dietian and that was a help. She recommended I attend monthly support group. I'm having difficulty getting to meeting. But I found this site where we can talk about our journey. I refuse to fry food and find different things to snack on. I carry a small like lunch bag around with me filled with Snacks. I try not to shop when hungry. I brought a indoor grill to help keep me from frying food it cooks pretty fast. I fry food because it's my comfort. Atkins has Protein snacks that are really good when I want something sweet. I journal for myself to keep track of my emotions when I want to binge. I know that I generally binge when I'm upset frustrated or pissed off about something. For me writing it down is accountability . By that time it has passed/ trigger is gone. I hope this has been helpful for you. Don't be discouraged , I sometimes have to go meal by meal. Old habits are difficult to break but can be broken with consistency.

[gabito 14]

That all sounds really good! That's very proactive!

BED person here as well.

Honestly, I do a lot of the following to avoid issues:

I don't keep tasty food in the house, or only enough for 1-2 portions. If it's there, I'd eat it. I prefer to make daily stops.

I keep busy constantly. This is the biggest help. Any idleness/boredom kills me. In addition to work and school, I volunteer.

If I decide to eat something I shouldn't, I am required to call a friend first to tell them what I'm doing. Sometimes they can talk me down or encourage me to only eat a little, then throw the rest away.

I haven't had an episode in the eight weeks since surgery, but I know as I heal more, the temptation will grow. I'm not going to ever talk/psychoanalyze my way out of the pleasure of binging, so I'm just trying to fill my life up and replace it with other things.

[Sexy Granny 23]

I binge eat when I frustrated and upset and angry with nothing to do. It get to 9pm and if I'm up I start eating. I'm trying my best not to do this. Last nite I had one my comfort foods. Warm milk with. Cinnamon and Splenda. It help me fall asleep with eating anymore. But when I do binge I up vomiting and the pain lasts for awhile after.

[Santiago Draco 73]

A couple of other thoughts come to mind after reading other comments here.

First, keeping the goal in mind can help. I am not sure about you but I know that I felt pretty terrible at 320. I'm 50 years old and I felt it! I'm now 265 and I can tell you that even now with at least 50 more to go that the 55 I have lost is HUGE improvement! I feel absolutely great and I can't imagine going from how I feel now, and what I can do now, back to what I was before the start of this.

Ever felt like crying because you feel like you've failed? How about crying because you've been so successful? When you achieve a goal you'll want to cry tears of joy rather than tears of sadness.

Secondly as Foley mentioned tracking can be a big help. It's useful to see the "success" of your choices, both in physical results AND in the days that you stay within your goal parameters. I know for me that when I see that I kept my Protein high and my calories low for the day I feel like I've accomplished something. It's a good feeling. If you don't track it's easy to fall into old habits as you 1) can't tell if you've really done well and 2) it's easy to fall out of parameters as the mind can be quite capable of ignoring things it wants to ignore Tracking helps both motivate and keep us honest with ourselves. I find the motivation part very effective. Seeing a correlation between weight loss and nutritional targets is a good thing.

One last thing. I know for many being overweight and our own self image can be pretty negative at times. It's easy to just feel like we aren't worth it or "what's the point". Remember that a those feelings are self imposed. Don't focus on what you think you will get from others by losing weight, or whether or not you think you are worthy (or will be) in the eyes of others... focus on how good you will feel in general after this process. Being healthy and able to do things that you couldn't do before (like buying clothes that "thin people buy") will feel fantastic! Let me give you an example. I have a mountain bike that has been sitting for years. I rode this thing last like, jeese, 15 years ago! I just bought a new hitch for my car and a bike rack. Why? Because I can ride the bike again! I've been out camping twice, by myself with my two dogs and was climbing hills to get to the lake to swim! Had you asked me 2 months ago if I could do that I would have said no way.

Anyway sorry for the long winded reply but I just wanted to share how I have felt and what helps motivate me. Just remember that the sleeve is a tool that will help and all you have to do is give it a little assistance. From a practical perspective remember a couple things that I keep in mind: 1) don't drink your calories and 2) keep that protein high and carbs low

Good luck!

[newbeginnings1965 48]

Today i had what i felt was a binge day because i had bad nausea and ate more carbs than usually since Protein did not go down well. I sat down and figured out my protein, carbs, and calories. Protein a little low, carbs a little high, ok just high, but calories were only 1100. Before this surgery that would be a great day.

[Sara51692 162]

Today i had what i felt was a binge day because i had bad nausea and ate more carbs than usually since Protein did not go down well. I sat down and figured out my protein, carbs, and calories. Protein a little low, carbs a little high, ok just high, but calories were only 1100. Before this surgery that would be a great day.

I think it's good positive thinking to tell yourself that. I have to do the same thing a lot when I'm beating myself up and getting depressed and feeling guilty for going over my self-imposed caloric limit. I just try to breath and say the same thing, that before the surgery, I would have had triple the amount of calories while bingeing.

[sleevenv 483]

It was still a great day. Not perfect, but whose are perfect!

[gabito 14]

1100 is great! Keeping in mind what everyone else has been saying about focusing on what that number would've been like before the surgery is really good. I found that I'm working with my binges now. I keep low calorie ice lollies like Mini milks and Soleros in the fridge which helps to slow the binge (as you can't eat them, but have to suck them) and still satisfy the sweet/ high carb food that a binge craves. I've been doing this for a week now and its working pretty well as it gives me a greater sense of control and it also keeps my total caloric intake low.

Today i had what i felt was a binge day because i had bad nausea and ate more carbs than usually since Protein did not go down well. I sat down and figured out my Protein, carbs, and calories. Protein a little low, carbs a little high, ok just high, but calories were only 1100. Before this surgery that would be a great day.

[IncredibleShrinkingMan 437]

Some people have said, and it makes perfect sense, that the sleeve is a temporary tool. Eventually, it will not be the sleeve working, but you. What it does in the very beginning is provides you a window of opportunity in which to work out all of your eating issues, which won't all be resolved right away in anybody's case. A binge beforehand might have involved a dozen donuts, and while your brain may still want you to do that (as well as resume all of your bad habits in defense of your set point), your sleeve appears to have limited you to two, which is not bad. However, if you don't solve the internal issue, those two will grow back into a half dozen or so (you are very unlikely to ever even approach your former capacity, so there is that good news). A year or two from now, it will have to be your brain that tells you that no more than two donuts is acceptable, and succeeds in limiting you to that.

Your weight loss will not be jeopardized from now, but it is crucial that you go seek out some treatment with a highly experienced professional. I don't mean talk therapy. I mean an acutely specialized doctor that can treat BED. In the meantime, use this opportunity to go explore some new foods and new activities, and try to hit the reset button. That is the central thrust of this surgery...an opportunity to start again by temporarily arresting your body's ability to defend the status quo. Stay strong!

[sleevenv 483]

@. Although I agree the overall point of your post in that we all need to train ourselves for new behaviors and our relationship with food, I can't agree with the premise that the sleeve is a temporary tool. Our stomachs will not, under any circumstances, grow back. It's permanent. That being said, it is possible to have bad behaviors that will allow to eat around and greatly defeat the tool.