Hi everyone... I am very nervous about what is to come for me. I am experiencing job-related stress right now. Without giving too much detail, work has become very divided and ugly and most probably they will be calling a strike/lockout tomorrow. I am still struggling day to day with balancing my stress levels without using food as a coping mechanism. I have done really well. I am 4 months post-op with no fill so far and I have lost 55 lbs. I know I cannot allow any stress in my life impede my band journey. I guess I am nervous about it because it was always my pattern in the past. I would do great losing weight until I was stressed about something and then it all went down the drain.

Hello,

From you post it sounds like you are doing great. Why are you doing it without any restriction? Seems like it would be harder then it needs to be relying solely on your will power.

I actually have decent restriction. I can't eat more than 1/2 to 1 cup of food at a time. I am just worried about snacking on junk because I am stressed... nothing to do with hunger.

I tend to react to stress by eating, too, so I decided not to keep any trigger foods in the house or in my office. If it's there, I'll find a way to eat it. Instead, my kids know that if they want ice cream, we'll ride our bikes to Baskin-Robbins where I'll buy it for them (but not for me). I buy chips in single-serve sizes because I won't open them--I tell myself they are for the kids' lunchboxes. I've done odd things like brush my teeth rather than reach for food as I don't like to eat after I've just brushed my teeth. I even keep a toothbrush in my desk at work. Probably the biggest thing I've done is to carry around a Water bottle all the time. If I drink water, I'm less inclined to pick up food to eat.

You can find something that works for you. It's a matter of removing the temptation and finding a replacement behavior that works for you. You can do it!