Hi guys! I'm not banded yet (i've got my consult next week), but i've been reading a lot of your post op stories and a common struggle I've noticed is that most of us (banded or not) struggle to some degree with head hunger. While I've done a lot of personal growth stuff, head hunger (emotional eating, compulsive eating, thinking i need food when i'm already full, etc) remains my biggest challenge. I thought it would be good to start a thread where we can exchange ideas and resources that have helped us deal with and overcome this major pain in the arse.

all of us really want to utilize the band to its fullest potential, and don't want 'head hunger' and emotional or compulsive eating to sabbotage this wonderful gift.

please use this thread to share tips, books, websites, affirmations, or anything else you've found useful.

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Here's a couple things that have helped me:

Geneen Roth - Author who specialises in emotional/compulsive eating

Overeaters Anonymous

I think it's helpful to know what Head Hunger is. Because a lot of times my daughter will insist that she's hungry when it is clearly head hunger. I think we all do this to some extent.

So ...

Real hunger comes on gradually as the body slowly consumes the last meal it had. It can be satisfied by a wide variety of foods because it's about fuel, not a craving.

Head hunger comes on suddenly, usually in response to a trigger of some sort. It often is a hunger for a specific food.

With my dd, we'll pass McDonald's and she'll say "I'm hungry!" But the only thing she wants is a McFlurry --nothing else will satisfy her -- and 5 minutes after McD's is out of sight, she's not hungry any more. That's classic head hunger.

The other type is where you find yourself in front of the fridge and you have no idea how you got there. You may feel a vague uneasiness (which you are interpreting as hunger). This one can sometimes be satisfied by any food (like real hunger) but sometimes nothing look good unless it's quick and easy -- which often means not good for you.