OK, almost three weeks out and this is really hard. I am fighting not only the head hunger which is horrible but actual hunger too. I have found that I am way more obsessed with food than I ever imagined I was. I am so sick of bland looking bland tasting mushy food and as stupid as it sounds.....I am truly grieving the loss of junk food and of eating as much of as many things as I can eat. In my head, I know this is dumb since that habit is what got me where I am but I feel like I've lost a friend.

Yesterday we had to go to two different family Fourth of July parties. Well, I tried to take the focus off the food and enjoy visiting with everyone and relaxing but all I could focus on was the constant eating by everyone but me. It wasn't as if there was a meal then socializing. People ate the entire day. chicken, ribs, sausages, chips you name it and it was in the hand or mouth of whoever I was sitting by, standing near, or talking too. I was miserable. I actually cried when I got home. How pitiful is that???? I just feel disgusted with myself that food is this important to me. I am still sad and weepy today over all the food I wish I could eat instead of this mush. I really never expected to feel or act this way.

I think we'll all have to go through rough times to break our addition to food. My addiction is the taste. I'm able to (sometimes) separate my hunger into physical hunger (which after the lap band has been painful sometimes if I don't get it taken care of soon) and mouth hunger where something tastes so good I just don't want to stop eating it (after the lap band, that get's painful too). My job seems to be finding that balance between the two. My doctor told me today that my problems with gas (especially in the late afternoon) may be just an adjustment of my body to different natural flora (bugs and such) in my gut. He said to try eating yogurts with acidolphius (sp?) flora in it to repopulate my gut. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Molly,

I recommend a product called Threelac by Nature's turn. It comes in individual packets of a lemon flavored powder that tastes sort of like lemon squares. Think pixie stix...you put it on your tongue and let it disolve fully then swallow with a little water. It is It contains all three needed live bacterias you need to replenish the good flora.

Any time you take an antibiotic, it kills all of the bacteria not just the bad stuff. It takes a whole lot longer than you would think for these good bacteria to re-colonize. Some experts belive it can take six months to a year to fully restore balance some say closer to three to six months. At any rate, during the time you have comprimised good bacteria, you are more prone to trouble from the bad ones who are living unchecked basically. And if the bad ones grow rapidly during this time you get even more problems such as yeast overgrowth, yeast infections, systemic yeast overgrowth, funguses..etc. We are big believers in minimal antibiotic use in our house and we definetly use threelac for a month after we used antibiotics. You can probably find threelac at your healthfood/ herb store or just do an internet search for it.

Nita, thanks for the hint. I will find this product 'cause it's gotta help. In the meantime, I'll keep eating yogurt until I obtain the Threelac. (Like tomorrow). RenoNative