i am having a really hard time dealing with my head hunger. i have been on a binge for the past 3 days and today was my worse. i consumed 1400 calories:faint:, and more than enough suger for one day. my daily intake is supposed to be limited to 800 calories and 40-60 grams of Protein today. Well, since post op, today is the only day that i actually ate the needed protein. (i ordered some urjury packets today..so hope that helps).

anyways, before i ramble on too long, i thought it would be very beneficial for some of us "newbie's" to hear from the experienced bandster's about how they dealt with their head hunger.

this is the hardest part of the process for me, :angrythe head hunger. i think i have an oral fixation, but i can't chew gum anymore.

please share with us the tactics that you used to fight the gremlin in your head that is screaming EAT!!!!:help:

You can chew gum. You're just not supposed to swallow it. I chew gum sometimes when I am trying not to eat.

Head hunger really is hard. Sometimes I really crave sweets. If I don't eat them, I don't crave them as much. I try to eat mainly Protein and veggies and the head hunger isn't as bad.

I don't keep junk food in the house. I eat sugar free popcicles

in the evening which are like 10 calories.

It does get easier with time. But in the beginning it's a buggar.

The times I do deal with head hunger I like Jack Links A1 flavored beef Jerky. You have to chew for about 5 minutes with each bite and that does it for me. Just bought some turkey jerky today at the store, haven't tried it yet. But I love the A1 flavored.

I've found that I'm a lot more likely to experience head hunger and cravings if I put off eating. I have a bad habit of ignoring the first signs of hunger and then eventually getting to the point where I'm hungry enough to eat a horse. When I do that, I've found that I'm a heck of a lot more likely to be tempted to eat the stuff that I shouldn't eat and I really have to battle my urges. If I don't wait, if I make myself eat certain amounts on a set schedule and don't let myself actually get hungry, I don't get the same head hunger and cravings as I would if I waited. So basically, my way of avoiding head hunger is to eat.

I have had the lap band in for a month so am still in the early stages of adjusting to the changes. I used to eat due to boredom, habit and when feeling down and a big change for me has been charting when I eat and why. There are free food diaries on the net which help you to record your emotions when you ate.

If I feel hungry now (in between main meal times) I give myself permission to have something to eat as long as I wait for ten minutes before having it! I am finding that I then get distracted and may not think about eating again for another half hour or hour and I start the process again....wait 10 minutes, if still hungry I give myself permission to eat something.

I also have not banned myself from eating anything.... it was an Indian festival yesterday so I was surrounded by Indian sweets which are very rich and sugary, I had a quarter or one piece and really took my time eating it... it tasted great and I felt so satisfied afterwards.

I am still battling so I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but I try to listen to my body now. It was always my head before....I want something so I am going to have it.

Now I ask if I am really hungry or not??? If I am, I try a Protein snack....cheese or if I want sweet I will have a couple of bites of a Protein Bar. Maybe some peanuts for salty.

I truly believe that sometimes you have to give in or you will go crazy. But not often...just do not hate yourself and throw in the towel like I used to do. I know that healthy weight people sometimes eat an unhealthy food item....just not all the time!!! You just make as many good choices as you can and every once in a while you just have to have the alfredo!!!!

It is like the 12 step program....one day at a time!

I have been banded over a year and I fight head hunger constantly. I call it emotional eating. I find that once I eat soemthing not "legal" it sets me on a binge. I have found that if I go back to 1 or 2 days of full liquids with my protein drinks as my staple and clean out the bad carbs, I can get myself back under control. Hope this helps.

If i go on a binge it can last me almost a week because i get into the mentality of ' well i screwed up yesterday, why not today?' which is BAD. I still struggle everyday with my head hunger, but i find a couple things help me... eating on a set schedule like laurend said, and also i find if i cut out carbs/sweets i wont be as likely to crave them. IT IS hard in the beginning to cut those things out, but after a week or two the cravings will subside.

This is also a struggle for me. I have found that if I plan what I am going to eat for the day, and keep myself busy then I'm ok. The night time is the worst. One day at a time............

I agree with going back on liquids. If I do that for even one day, the cravings stop. I plan to do at least a week of liquids only starting on Monday. Somehow if I tell myself I am on liquids, I don't seem to want to break that rule I have made for myself.

I'm 20 months out and I'm still dealing with head hunger, you guys have given some great advice. I'm a recovering carb/sugar addict:heh:So I try to stay away from my trigger foods, but if I really want something that I'm not suppose to have, I will either make a low carb version of it, talk myself out of it, or have a small piece of it and drink alot of water with it.

Food does not do it for me like it used to, so now I just focus on other parts of my life. I'm very happy with my weightloss thus far, even tho I should be at goal by now.

You are doing great! That's such a huge weight loss. You are obviously doing something right!

It varies day to day.... but i usually try to keep myself busy so i dont hink about food at all...<br /> <br /> But being a female and having that lovely little friend visit every month dont help either.. thats when its the worst for me. I usually can shut them up by saying i want to look good by...... (my Vegas trip in aug of 08) But it is so much harder when you crave chocolate & potato chips...<br /> <br /> Just take it on day at a time... Remember baby steps<img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/cool.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Cool" smilieid="7" class="inlineimg" /><br /> <br /> <br /> (but it has gotten a lot better since march) <br />

Or you can try to have a little snack that has Protein and gets you full so you no longer have that desire...<br /> <br /> <br /> Almonds work very well for me i can only have 4-6 of them and im done<img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" border="0" alt="" title="" smilieid="59" class="inlineimg" />

I guess I really need that fill. I eat 10 almonds because it's supposed to be 100 calories. It's all I can do to stop myself and not eat the entire 6lb bag.

Head hunger was the hardest thing I had to deal with. It is a mind over matter sort of thing. It does get better with time. Hang in there!!!!

Altho I would hardly call 1400 calories a "binge"...mainly because I average 1200 per day and still lose nicely...the question of head hunger is a tough one...I agree with laurend...a big help is to not let that first sign of hunger go by unadressed. When I let myself get too hungry, it's not a good thing...I eat too much, too fast, get pain, pb, and it's just an ugly ordeal. Then, sometimes I have a while before my lunch break, yet get hungry...I feel guilty if I eat before "the appointed time", but now I've given myself permission to address my hunger and eat something small and nutritious at the first sign. Then I'm less likely to binge on junk food.