How do you handle emotional eating after you are banded?

Girl - this is something that has been so hard for me to overcome. I have to work on it daily. I've always been able to exercise and lose weight. Follow a "diet' per say...but always fall flat on my tail when my emotions take over.

I don't think you should ever deny yourself anything you want. I have to think - Am I really going to feel better after eating half a bag of Doritos? Carton of Oreos? Pringles Can? The answer is always NO. I always feel worse, guilty and end up fatter. I just used to never to ask myself those questions. Now I have a few little "treats" every now and then - but just grab one or two and shut the bag and put it out of sight. I find something else to do to occupy my time rather than eat. If I don't give into those small indulgences I'll end up wanting it all the more and want to binge.

I am also a boredom eater. I'm trying to be more active. I've been walking 4-5 days a week and 2-3 miles at a time. After I've gotten off work and exercised, I really don't feel like sitting in front of the T.V. and eating a bunch of junk. I'll grab some grapes or a banana with P.B. and I'm content. My housework is caught up and is cleaner than it has been in years. I have to keep my mind and body busy.

This is the hardest thing to do. The band only limits the amount, but the mind is in control of what it wants. I have lost 115 pounds and still struggle. One day is good, then the next is not. Soon after you are banded you will not want to eat. It is very exciting to start loosing weight and that took my mind off eating. Now, after almost two years, old habits are coming back. It is as I said a daily struggle. Emotions are the root to the evils of eating. I wish you well. Good luck with the band. The surgery is not so bad. Keep in touch.

Fran

just want to subscribe so i can read responses

I am a single mom with a 3 year old son. What type of things can I do to over come eating when I'm not hungry?

Handling emotional eating....

For me, it is becoming AWARE that it IS emotional and not true hunger. Before the band, I just ate...all the time.

My appetite has changed and I have no cravings......yay! BUT---

3 weeks ago, I went to a dance (I do not like going to dances as I am single and hate sitting there watching dancers--most were couples--but a friend was singing and I said I would go). When she was done, I left--yes, feeling lonely! and as I drove by a grocery store on my way home, I had an instant CRAVING for potato chips! My immediate thought was--"where did THAT come from?" I was not hungry.

I made the instant connection of emotion/craving. I remember that moment and that has helped me stay on course.

(I did NOT stop for the chips or anything else!)

I am also having a hard time, especially at night. I tend to want to eat again after 9pm. I think I'm really a little hungry, but I definately want something hi-carb/hi fat really bad.

Are there any suggestions on how to deal with this?

I am totally a boredom eater, so I have been getting off my duff and moving more in order to not eat between meals. I find that I actually get hungry sometimes when I'm sitting around, but if I'm busy I don't have time to feel hungry or eat just because.

I have a 2 and a 5 year old, so I use them as my lead. They are always active. So I do stuff with them and they love it! Meanwhile, I'm not eating.

I struggle with mid afternoon and late night hunger/cravings. In the afternoon, I exercise. That motivates me not to eat because I want to see the benefits of my hard work.

Late night, that's a tough time. I used to watch TV with my hubby everynight and pig out on something. Now, we still watch some TV, but I'm not eat and he is. OMG, tough! Lately, if I get hungry in the evening I eat a yogurt or I go to bed. I'm looking for good nighttime ideas too!

This is the part of banding that scares me the most. Emotional eating and head hunger have always been tough for me to deal with. As soon as something goes wrong, or I'm bored.....BAM I'm stuffing my face.

I'm trying to break these habits now, so when I am banded it won't be as big of an issue.

You are not alone. I have struggled with emotional eating for most of my life and I beleive it is the root cause of my obesity. I use food the way some people use alcohol and other substances. The band has made me more aware of my emotional issues and is forcing me to confront them head on. Currently, I have decided to seek professional care to assist me in identifying and handling my emotional issues. I have resisted this in the past until I realized that obesity is a matter of life and death and I am choosing life. There is also a blog on this board that begins on the home page from a counselor that deals with emotional eating issues. The best to you in this journey!

Tammygirl

I feel the same way about my eating that tammygirl does. Today was my first day eating solid food again. My dietician has me eating only 2oz. of food at a time. They have the lapband patients and gastri bypass patients on the same diet which I don't think is right.

I am so fearful of self-sabotage. Everytime I have dieted, I get so wrapped up in thinking about food all the time. I am so afraid of failure with this.

Yes i to have a HABIT of eating late after dinner, HABIT<HABIT . I tell myself but if i give in make it healthy and below 200 calories, that way i feel guilty but not as guilty.