Many WLS patients think of their pre-op relationship food as an addiction. Even if it wasn’t an addiction for you, food probably served one or more roles in your life that it doesn’t serve now. It might have been your source of comfort, a way to reduce stress, the focus of birthday and other holiday celebrations, and a dependable source of company.

After surgery, you can’t turn to food in the same way, but those emotional and other needs are still there. So, how have you replaced them if you already had WLS? If you’re pre-op, how are you planning to replace food as an emotional or boredom outlet?

For me, food isn’t the center of everything now. A celebration can involve food, but it can also involve other activities like taking a bike ride with my children. And luckily I’ve been able to stay so busy that boredom eating isn’t much of a problem.

What about you?

Alex, you ask some good questions!

food still plays an important role in my life, obviously. But now I take so much more care planning my food -- shopping, menu-planning, cooking, making an attractive table, making meals and even Snacks an event. As someone here posted earlier today, I now enjoy food so much more than I did pre-op.

And mealtime and snack time are for conversation now with hubby -- much more than we used to talk. We actually plan our topics for each day's afternoon coffee break. Today it was political, yesterday it was literature, day before it was a Canadian train trip we're planning. Tomorrow hubby's planning the topic, so I don't know what it will be.

I care for myself much better in other ways than I used to -- through personal grooming (clothes, skin care, hair, makeup, etc.).

I leave the house more for extracurricular activities. I run more errands that hubby used to bear the total responsibility for.

I read -- Lord, am I reading more these days, and not grazing or nibbling while I'm reading. I don't do that at all anymore.

We travel more than we did immediately pre-op when I had become so obesity-disabled and agoraphobic. It's hard to admit that. But I was. Destinations range from the local grocery store to Manhattan to Down Under.

Clothes shopping -- hey, that's never going to end.

House cleaning and gardening -- I'm so much more active on that front than I was for many years prior to WLS. As a result, I love our home more than I have in years.

I walk like I haven't walked in a long, long time. I absolutely love it. I walked 8 miles one day last week. Wow!

For the last two years I've seen a therapist. That helps a lot.

I am pre-op (hurry up surgery ready to begin anew!!!) but honestly, my girls, I have twins, will be replacing food.

I feel so bad when I chose to eat before them. I feel horrible sitting next to them while they sleep at night and finishing a bag of chips. I hate it.

I want to be able to get up and run and play with my girls. I want them to be proud of their mommy. Take them to the zoo and not be tired and trying to figure out when I'm going to sit down.

I guess all in all, being able to be active with my girls. They mean the world to me and I want to show them that.

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I'm going through a turbulent time right now, in the midst of a divorce. I'm very aware of the desire to "turn to" something for comfort. It used to be food. Briefly after WLS it was other addictions. Today it is OA and other 12-step groups, therapy and coffee/lunches with close friends.

For me, physical activity has really replaced much of what food used to do for me. I've been having some skin allergy problems lately that have been exacerbated by exercise (basically, my body releases histamine and it makes my skin itch like crazy). On my way to the doctor on Friday, I was thinking about it and worried the doctor would tell me to slow down or temporarily stop exercising. That's when I realized how devastating that would be (I'm being a bit hyperbolic).

Exercise is an important part of my daily life and I rarely take days off. It helps me relieve stress, gives me something fun to fill my time, helps me sleep better, even puts me in the right frame of mind to eat well. It's a great social outlet too. I have friends at the gym and groups I go hiking with. It also lets me enjoy quality time with my dogs.

So yeah, it's pretty important to me in the way food used to be!

Mostly exercise. I have signed up to cross two bucket list things off this year: a triathlon and a marathon. The triathlon is a super sprint so it is pretty short, but the marathon is a full marathon. I am doing it with a group so I am making new friends and I have set a goal to finish before the bus picks me up off the course. (Less than 6 hours!) I am putting no other limits on my marathon. The training for both keeps me busy and out of the house a lot. I don't have a lot of time for eating in front of the TV.

pam

For me.....food is still important in the sense that it is something that is enjoyed by my family and certainly enjoy cooking & grilling for them. Meals are one of the precious few times that we are all in the same room together.

I still enjoy certain flavors....but I don't care to eat most of what I make.

Mostly, I've replaced food enjoyment with.....well....with life enjoyment. Being active....outgoing.....having fun while actually LIVING and enjoying the spring like I haven't in a long, long time.

The gym is fun, but not an addiction. Traveling some....vacationing.....also powerfully fun.

Getting interested in some old hobbies.....hunting and shooting. Revisiting things I've always enjoyed is nice.

Interesting question.

I think I have replaced food with a slight nail polish and beauty product addiction!! I love adding to my nail polish collection (it's way to large) and giving myself frequent manicures and pedicures. This also helps when I am sitting around in front of the TV at night and want to snack. I just start repainting my fingernails and I can't eat while they are drying- by the time they are dry my cravings have usually vanished. This helps me maintain my weight and do something to treat myself.

I also enjoy buying the latest makeup and skin care products. I do home facials a few times a week. This keeps me focused on pampering myself without involving food.

Also, like Dub mentioned above- just having a new zest for life has replaced my food enjoyment. The feeling of having a strong fit body to do fun and new things is a huge motivator. Every time I go kayaking or hiking it reinforces how much eating healthy and staying active pays off!!

Interesting question.

I think I have replaced food with a slight nail polish and beauty product addiction!! I love adding to my nail polish collection (it's way to large) and giving myself frequent manicures and pedicures. This also helps when I am sitting around in front of the TV at night and want to snack. I just start repainting my fingernails and I can't eat while they are drying- by the time they are dry my cravings have usually vanished. This helps me maintain my weight and do something to treat myself.

I also enjoy buying the latest makeup and skin care products. I do home facials a few times a week. This keeps me focused on pampering myself without involving food.

Have you done Birchbox? It's like makeup & skin, hair care of the month club. My sister got it for me for Christmas. For 6 months ... Every month I get about 6 fun new samples in the mail. You fill out a questionnaire and they aim to send products you might like. If you like something then you can buy a full sized product. It's fun. This month I got a great facial mask, hair product, eye shadow, and a full Bert's bees tinted lip balm.

@KristenLe. Haven't tried birch box yet. I need to sign up. I know I would love it!!

Obsessively reading WLS forums

Obsessively reading WLS forums

Ditto!

These are some great ideas! I love how there are such a wide range of choices to replace food as the focus of every occasion and eating as a habit whether bored, happy, or sad. Exercise is definitely a great one for day to day stress management, and counseling can be a good idea, too, to help manage emotions and come up with alternatives to eating.

I love the idea of spending more time on your hair, makeup, and clothes as you spend less time focusing on food. It’s not really my thing, but it just seems to appropriate to love your appearance as you lose weight and to want to work on it even more.

@@Dub, that’s a great way of putting it – you spend more time living! And as you say, for better or for worse, part of living is eating when you get together with family, so it’s important to enjoy the times and the tastes, but not have too much of the tastes!

@@VSGAnn2014, Thanks for all the great ideas. It’s no wonder you’ve been so successful at this!

@chappex3, It will be great when you follow through on all those healthy intentions and give your best to your twin girls.

Mostly long hours at work, a Therapist, Wellbutrin and testosterone replacement therapy. Cleaning, laundry, hanging with my dog and cats and binge watching House and Greys Anatomy also fill the gaps.

If it ever stops snowing and raining I will throw horseback riding, camping, hiking and kayaking into the mix.

My husband enjoys going out to dinner I go with him and I can always find something on the menu like Soup or Beans I can never eat it all but I am happy that I'm not stopping him from doing what he loves. Our children are grown we have ten grandchildren ages 1 through 21. I am a gym rat so I'm pretty sure that will be my replacement.

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I'm 5 days post surgery, emotional and nauseous, and these responses are making me cry. Joyful tears, of course. At this point, obviously, I'm just trying to let my body heal, but I'm definitely making plans for replacing my food addiction. I know there will be challenging days. today was actually the first time I felt a desire to eat something (chips and salsa) and the remorse of not being able to. For me, food has always been a boredom buster. I'm a stay at home mom and there's only so many tea parties and Lego sessions I can tolerate before my brain starts screaming for stimulation. My plan is this: I'm rediscovering an interest from my younger years. I considered majoring in art in college, but ended up going a more sensible direction. This fall, I'm returning to school for art classes. Not to pursue a degree, simply to pursue a passion. My hands will be occupied with pencils and paint brushes instead of popcorn and pizza. I'll be standing at my easel instead of sitting on my couch, and it will stimulate me intellectually and creatively. For exercise, I'd like to give taichi a try. Many, many years ago, I earned a black belt in taekwondo. I loved it and practiced regularly for 10 years. Part of the love though was the people I trained with. They were like family. So, whatever exercise regimen I pursue, I realize that the social piece of it is going to be essential for me. Finally, travel. The kids are getting older now and I dream of taking them to beaches, zip lining in Costa Rica, and train tours in Europe. Feeling fit and healthy and comfortable while traveling is a huge incentive for me!

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