Question:
Does anyone eat in the middle of the night?
Any post-ops out there who were middle of the night 'Grazers', pre-op? # nights out of the week, I find myself in the kitchen in the middle of the night, searching for something sweet. I'm NOT sleep walking, I definately 'choose' to be loking for food. I'm worried about my post-op nights, and if I'll be 'on the prowl' and making myself sick with poor choices! HELP! — Laurie L. (posted on March 23, 2001)
March 22, 2001
are you having a nutritious snack about 10pm, before going to bed at 11 or
so? That will help regulate your blood sugar and reduce the craving to eat
from too high an insulin level. I will occasionally wake up hungry about
2:30 am and am a chronic insomniac. I usually will have a small piece of
meat or other protein and a big glass of water. That seems to work for me.
— merri B.
March 22, 2001
Pre-op I did this also ... I would estimate 2-3 nights per week. I was a
horrible, horrible sugar junkie, and I would eat anything that was sweet -
- cereal, pop tarts, ice cream, baked goods, candy ... whatever I could
grab. Barb is right in that surgery doesn't change our brains, but I have
been fortunate in the fact that I had some severe dumping and nausea
incidents early post-op. They were extremely unpleasant! I won't say I am
cured, but the sugar/chocolate cravings are just not there anymore. It is
a rather extreme form of behavior modification ... but is so far working
well for me. My apetite has increased since the early days post-op, but
eat MUCH less than I did pre-op and I still don't have those horrible sugar
cravings (Praise God for that!). I don't know what surgery you are
considering, but I personally chose RNY because I was such a sugar craver -
I wanted the extra control of nausea and dumping if I ate sugar. My
surgeon advised that with VBG (who tolerate sugar - no dumping) a person
can still consume 4,000 calories a day from going on an M&M binge.
Since M&Ms are the official snack food at my workplace - I knew VBG
would not be a good choice for me. I also agree that counseling could be
beneficial if you are open to it. I am 4 months post op myself and am
considering counseling to get past some food issues that I have recently
been dealing with. I never realized pre-op how much I ate for
entertainment and/or out of boredom and also for comfort. I am having some
difficulty in dealing with this. Good luck in taming those sugar demons!
— Lynn T.
March 23, 2001
You haven't had your surgery yet right? Let me tell you I know where you're
coming from. I can honestly say that post-surgery, your desire to snack
will drop drastically! Yea! For the first few months, you'll have to force
yourself to eat. Really. There will be times when the thought of food will
make you nauseaus. Also, I found that about 4-6 weeks post-op that I was
sleeping through the night, not waking up at ALL, which was different from
before, when I would wake up 4-6 times a night (and why not go to the
'fridge, right?). Now I sleep 8 hours straigh, and have no hunger pains at
night. Good luck!
— Kristy J.
March 23, 2001
Are you have RNY surgery or the Fobi? If so, you should be ok. These
should make you sick if you eat sweets, at least initially. I too used to
do what you do in the middle of the night. After surgery, I did have to
get up sometimes and eat something, just because I would get shaky feeling
for going too long between meals during the rapid weight loss phase.
However, what I was craving was protein, NEVER the sugared stuff. I think
you'll be ok. (Admitting we have a problem is the first step to recovery,
right? This surgery is a great tool to change our bad habits.) Best
wishes.
— Cindy H.
March 23, 2001
Pre-Op:
I am night eater/snacker!! I just open the fridge, even
when I am not hungery. I feel I am just bored. I think I
am an emotional eater. When I am tired, bored, happy, or mad.
I am hoping that I can get this surgery to sort of help me
stop this. I feel that I am following in my mother's
footsteps, as she always did this too. Food is that "filling"
to our emotions. I totally understand you 100%.
— Jennifer C.
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