How many of you are "food addicts"? I am definitely one of those. I have lost 62 pounds now gained back 2 of them. :thumbup: I am happy for my loss (probably life saving) but I am following old habits of eating when stressed or sad etc. For me it seems to be a battle of mind over stomach and this month the mind is winning. HOW DO YOU CHANGE YOUR MINDSET and make it permanent? :bored: HOW DO YOU GET OVER A FOOD ADDICTION? The band can't do it for me - I still have to control or alter or replace my cravings for emotional eating. I welcome any response. Can anybody relate? Has anybody found a good tool to use? I need help!:eek:

Betsy - betsyw20@comcast.net

that is tough, its something I struggle with a lot myself. I find myself wanting to run through a drive thru and grab a fattening snack like old times when I'm out running errands, or wanting to order in Chinese food for supper rather than make a salad at home. And honestly, sometimes the old habits win out, but I'm happy to say that I'm able to control my cravings MOST of the time, and opt for the healthier option instead, and I'm very proud of myself when I do. I try not to beat myself up too bad when I slip up, I just enjoy the "treat" and go back to better choices the next time. I know this will be a battle I'll fight probably for the rest of my life, because I am addicted to food as well, but I'm hopeful with the band on my side I'll be able to win the war!

Hey Betsy, Your not alone when it comes to food addition. Probably most every single person on this site is/was addicted to food. Im an emotional eater myself, weather its being really excited and happy or stressed over something.

62lbs is an awesome weight loss so far. Congrats. Do you think you are at a platau? (sp) I hit a serious one when I got to 38lbs. I couldn't get a fill for about 4 weeks later because I had gotten my first one, which didnt give me any restrictions, so I was pretty much on my own. I made good food choices, but I slipped up a couple times. We had pizza for dinner one time, I cut a slice in half and ate it. It satisfied my craving for it. Before I could eat like 3 slices. What helpes me get back on track is to do do liquids or protein drinks the following day. Im paranoid about stretching my pouch, so thats why I went back to liquids for a day or so. I fluctuated up and down 2-3 lbs for 3 weeks til I got my fill acouple weeks ago.

Just remember we all in this battleing the same demons as you are. Keep your chin up girlfriend and GOod Luck!:bored:

Ditto. I have emotional eating/tv eating problems. One thing that has help tremendously is a gym membership at Bally's. I literally force myself to go when i am upset or sad or overconfident! It has been worth every penny and i have met some great friends there. Sometimes i feel self concious or bad because i know i have a long way to go but i just tell myself that i would rather workout here and now than wait till i have a heart attack or stroke and workout in a physical therapy setting. {The view is much better at Bally's anyhow! :thumbup:))} The second too i found helpful is My Plate for tracking calories in and out, [best thing about this is that it is free.]Thirdly, praying/spending time with God really helps {instead of eating to pray and get it all out with Him} I would like to try possibly to start a lap band support group at the hospital my surgery was at, they do not have a specific lap band group. I am currently doing "Lap Band Success" questions on my own but i guess that book has a group support feature. Anyway, the book says "Protein first" avoid sweets or totally cut them out, and exercise. Hope this has been a help to you,

L.:bored:

I was just banded on 6/10 and have a question. I thought that the band was supposed to keep you from being able to overindulge. Even if you crave something, you can only eat a small amount. It sound like it may not be quite that simple! I hope I made the right decision. I guess this won't help with your depression, SORRY! It sounds like you've already had great success.

Betsy, I hear ya! I have lost 47lbs. I was banded 5 mnths ago. I am now craving the old stand by junk food. I find myself grabbing snacks through the day. I think the battle of the mind is the biggest challenge we will ever face in our weight loss journey. Just try not to beat yourself up and put the slip up behind you. We have had years of these bad eating habits we can be expected to change it in a day!! Just keep working at it! Good Luck!

The band cant change head hunger, or obsessive tendacies, but once you get to your sweet spot with the correct amount of fills it definately helps by making you full and satisified after smaller portions. This takes time to get to and it also takes time to change old habits. Hang in there it will get better.

hi there

I think there is no "getting over a food addiction". My philosophy is once an addict, always an addict. I have just decided that if I'm gonig to be sucessful with me weight loss, I HAVE to stay sober. There is no middle ground with me, I wish there was. I can't have just one cookie. So the day I came home from my surgery, I decided that I would not eat anything with sugar and fat. As the days, weeks, and months passed by I became empowered by my "control". This is what helps me on a daily basis. Getting another day under my belt where I am in control of the food I eat, making healthy choices and doing a little bit of excercise, helps me to continue my journey. Good luck on yours

Thank you so much for the kind words. I really wanted to hear that I was not the only one with this battle, and that there are ways of "winning". I got a fill yesterday and I'm on liquids for 2 days then soft food. It's not so much that I would eat the wrong type of foods, as that I cannot seem to control the quantity. Probably I needed the fill sooner. I also found out that some medication that I am taking (only one more day) is causing me to retain fluid. Hence the weight gain. Also I put my scales away and decided to only weigh once a week so my moods don't mirror the scales. What complicated people we are!

Sounds like you are back on track again! That's great. Just don't beat yourself up for having those feelings!

We are indeed a complicated species!

For some it takes time to find a sweet spot. It is not uncommon to experience some weight gain or a plateau from time to time. Just think of it as a pit stop in your journey. You will eventually get to where you want to be.

Regarding food addictions? Well, that's why we're here isn't it? Everyone has their own philosophy on how to deal with them. You need to find yours. For me, I don't stress over it. If I want to have pizza, I will have some. One slice is enough and then move on. If I continually deprive myself of all indulgences, I set myself up for failure.

Case in point...my 13 year-old daughter has become my food police. She doesn't let me have anything fun anymore. She is always monitoring what I eat when I'm around her. Now summer is here so she is always there. So, what happened the first night she had a sleepover at a friend's house? You guessed it, I enjoyed the freedom :-) and gained 2 lbs that week. But if I indulge in small ways here and there so my brain doesn't think it is deprived, I do not get those urges for a big weight-gaining splurge. Does that make any sense?

It also helps to distract yourself when the urge hits you. Get up and out of the house, go shopping, go for a walk, call a friend, anything but sit there and think about that slice of leftover homemade birthday cake in the fridge with the yummy chocolate frosting and that ice cream . . . . oops. Sorry. I'll shut up now.

Does your weight loss clinic have a counselor on site that you can go to? Ours does and it's free, so i scheduled an appointment for next thursday becuase i'm the same way... i'm not an emotional eater per se, but i'm a justification eater. "it's been a bad day, so it's ok to have fried shrimp instead of grilled talipia"

i'm hoping that in talking to the counselor, she'll help me gain some insight on how to re-train my mindset and gain insight as how to utilize this tool to the best of my advantage.

i'll keep you posted.

To the newly banded - the band is just one tool to help you cut back on the quantity of food you eat. However, if you want to take in a small amount of high calorie food you can still do the damage. I have definitely cut down the amount of food I eat and I can't tolerate bread or tortilla but anything crunchy seems to go down just fine and for a "crunch-a-holic" that is dangerous. Also I was not weighing my food and had developed a bad habit for crunchy peanut butter (high in fat and sodium). Peanut butter seemed to go down anytime.

So there are still a lot of decisions to make every day to keep you on the path to losing. And at 56 years old my habits are a little more ingrained than some of you. Still I am enjoying so much the benefits of having lost even 60 pound. But see I've got 100 more to go. Can't stop now.

Thanks for listening.

Im in the same boat as you. Lately i was traveling a lot and it seemed just "easier" to cheat on the diet. I was eating out and eating a lot of "snack" foods since i didnt have a house of my own.

I agree that it helps me sometimes to have a small amount of something i really want--if i dont then i just obsess on it and want to binge later.

i am moved into a new place now and have decided i only buy things to bring in the house that fit in the diet. if i do want a little treat i get a single serving of what i want and when it is gone its gone. no big portions for grazing.

congrats on your 60 lbs. weight loss. keep up the good work!

Boy... i'm glad I stopped into this discussion today. I'm feeling pretty depressed and guilty and discouraged and and and... and I'm tired of feeling this way! I've got my band in april of last year and didnt get my first fill until 6 months later. I've lost 55 pounds since but just cant seem to stay on track these days. Ice cream.. crackers.. mini candy bars at work... sometimes in the afternoon at work, I cant stop thinking about a snack. I obsess over it and end up becoming grouchy because I cant stop thinking about it. I end up feeling deprived and punished because I cant eat what I want... then the guilt that I even feel like that in the first place makes it worse. sigh...

WHATS WRONG WITH ME???

I'm so happy with my success so far, but I feel I cant do it anymore. I was going to the gym 3 times a week, so even when I cheated, I wouldnt gain. Unfortunately I fell and hurt my ankle 4 weeks ago and can only do so much before I'm in too much pain.... so now I only go 1 or 2 times a week. I was working back to my consistency, but then I must of reinjured it because it started swelling up and hurting so I am back to square one. Boo!

Although I know my depression meds contribute to my weight gain and my lust for sweets, it doesnt make me feel any better. Feels like excuses.

Its my 41st bday today and I had wanted to reach my first goal of 200 pounds by today, but am 11 pounds short... and its my fault. I get up every morning and tell myself that today I wont eat anything I am not suppose to and that I will go to the gym and be proud of myself... but that never seams to happen 100%.

I'm sorry I didnt have any words of wisdom or positive energy to contribute... maybe I shouldnt of posted at all... anyway, good luck to you...