Okay, so tonight I had a real moment of weakness. I think what's been hardest in these 8 days since I got the band is that I've always used food as a form of comfort. With post-surgery pain and feeling sorry for myself I've really needed some comfort but the swelling I had (and dr's orders) meant I wasn't able to have much comfort food. broth just doesn't cut it.

So tonight I was obsessing about having some potato Soup. It's a fave. I did everything I could to divert my brain. I had two sugar free popsicles, I tried watching a movie on TV, normally I would try a bath but I can't take baths yet....(this really blows having my main comfort tricks off limits)

So I made some potato soup and I added a ton of milk and I sat down and had some....okay, I made it pretty thin...but you know what? It's too soon. It's WAY too soon for me to be eating things like that. Thankfully it was thin enough to go through the stoma, but still.....it's too soon.

Plus it's not even good nutrition!

So, veteran and newbie bandsters....what is your distraction technique? What do you use to comfort yourself in the place of food? I want to compile a list that I can turn to the next time this crops up (which should be soon given my track record..........)

So begin listing away....I'll copy all ideas back here to this one post so it's an easy reference.

I'll start with a couple ideas (tho none worked for me tonight):

1) Take a bath

2) put in a good DVD (one that will be captivating and distracting)

3) take a nap

4) exercise

5) LBT

6) video games

7) homework (lol! This one is going to be tough for me!!)

8) gardening

9) SEX! Lots of it (well....this one will be tough for me too..... )

10) Walk

11) Book store

12) Lake

13) Shopping --love this one! (me too!)

14) pedicure--manicure

15) Call a friend

16) Go see my parents (oh GOD no...this doesn't comfort me, this makes me more crazy! But if it works for you!!!)

17) Take a nap!

18) Rent a movie/go see a movie

19) Work on training my puppy! He is such a little mess

20) Read

21) SING--I have a karaoke machine and I put on some good music and jam!

22) Download music

23) Arts & crafts.

24) Home improvement.

What's worked for you?

LBT, video games and homework. (what am I? 12?)

About 2 weeks into my band, the pizza delivery guy came knocking on my door. Nock, nock, nock. Here's your pizzas mama.

Not my pizza! He had the wong complex, but I think he about gave me one...

Video games, gardening, and LBT of course!

Dare I say it??? Of course I dare to! SEX! Lots of it.

I just complied the same list! I was worried about some free time this weekend. What would I do with myself?

Walk

Book store

Lake

Shopping --love this one!

pedicure--manicure

Call a friend

Go see my parents

Take a nap!

Rent a movie/go see a movie

Workout

Work on training my puppy! He is such a little mess

Read

Play games online --yahoo games is great

SING--I have a karaoke machine and I put on some good music and jam!

Download music

I edited the duplicates and put them all above in the first post. All GREAT ideas!!! Keep 'em coming!!

Arts & crafts. If you don't have a favorite one, fine a favorite one. Craft stores are forever offering classes.

Home improvement. Even if you don't own a home, these are still valuable skills. Home Depot offers classes in everything from laying tile & masonry to faux finishes.