Mondays Weekly Inventory....

After gastric bypass surgery we are encouraged to take a good look at our compulsive eating, obesity and the self-destrustive things we have done to avoid obesity....the dieting, starving, over exercising and purging. 1. Write an inventory of your complusive eating history. 2. Have u learned anything from looking back at this? What were your triggers and eating behaviors?

I never did alot of dieting until I tried the somersize program. It did help and I learned alot of good healthy eating habits which are helping me now. I was smart enough to know then, that I could never stick to a strick diet. I however did try other unconstructive ways to lose wt. I would try to control my portions and when that didnt work and I would binge...I would abuse laxatives. I never could do the throwing up thing...never figured out how to do that. So glad I didnt. Thats one addiction I didnt need. I havent done the lax. thing since I was in college so it wasnt something I stuck with. I never over-exercised but I would often try to hard on a first day of planning an exercise program and be so out of shape that I would be sore for a week and couldnt exercise. Then that would be the end of that program....I never stuck with anything. All of this reinforced my poor self-esteem and my feelings of being a failure becouse I couldnt do any of it. Then the self loathing would increase and it would be a cycle of more and more self distruction and self hate. I noticed the neg self talk increasing as my wt increased. Now I try to be more positive in my thinking and in my talk. I can see this helping me. My triggers: comfort foods/junk food/sugar/wheat/flour Things Ive learned: Avoid emotional eating/eat 3 meals/one day at a time/ if I fail I dont give up I just start again at that moment. Ive learned to read lables and look for ingredients that trigger my cravings and over eating.

Thanks for doing this, Mariah. I think it will be a positive thing and another great support tool!!! 1. Write an inventory of your complusive eating history. My story is a bit different because I didn't have an obsession with food. My addiction is alcohol. However, I did make some really bad eating decisions. I never ate breakfast. Mornings were awful. I didn't eat 3 meals a day. I basically ate one big meal and I ate late at night. One of the worst things I would do would be to eat something small around 4 or 5 o'clock and then go out, get drunk, and eat crap afterwards and then pass out. All that food would just sit in my stomach. I felt so bad in the morning. 2. Have u learned anything from looking back at this? What were your triggers and eating behaviors? Thankfully I quit drinking and this issue has resolved itself. Having this surgery has taught me a lot about my eating habits and I eat much better now. I always have breakfast and I don't eat crap anymore. I haven't had any fast food or any fried food. The only negative thing that has taken place is that I'm hungry all the time now where I was before. I am slowly starting to eat more at night again too. It might be good food, but late nonetheless. I need to stop it before it gets out of hand. My cure is to brush my teeth earlier. I never eat after I brush my teeth. Happy Monday, all. Amber

1. Write an inventory of your compulsive eating history. I used to eat whenever, if I was happy, sad, mad, upset, it didn't matter all I thought about was the next meal, or snack and what I was going to have. I was a total sugar addict, I'd pick desserts over meals any day. I'm also a very good cook, and of course you cook what you like, so I was always asked to do all the baking every where we went. Hubby and I got in a very bad habit early on of snacking at night, and our snacks went from little things to driving thru someplace for a burger or burrito and this was after dinner! 2. Have u learned anything from looking back at this? What were your triggers and eating behaviors? It used to be everything triggered my eating, but if someone yelled at me or got mad at me, I turned instantly to food. Took me awhile to figure it out, but now that I understand that it's easier to deal with. I still at 7 months out have no appetite or hunger issues, and I'm very careful about eating only 3 meals a day, and if I snack it's to get in my banana. I work hard to keep my hands busy doing the bored times and don't replace it with food. I no longer eat or buy any junk food, I refuse to keep it in the house, I make very healthy choices. Of course my little pouch is a big help because it won't tolerate starches, I get a very sick feeling. The DR says this is actually a blessing in disguise, and one of the reasons I'm loosing weight so fast. Great questions! Jan

1. Write an inventory of your complusive eating history. Where to begin...well my main problem was skipping breakfast, (and when I wouldn't skip breakfast, it was a fast food breakfast!) then being so hungry by lunch, binge eat and continue eating until I went to bed (grazing). I am always on the go so fast food was at least 2 of my meals a day, a lot of fried food. Also was an emotional eater, when upset I would eat more chocolate and fried foods, my comfort foods. Not hard to figure out where my problems were now when I write it down. 2. Have u learned anything from looking back at this? What were your triggers and eating behaviors? Yes!!! Having this surgery has given my insight at were I was and were I want to be. Having this tool has helped me learn how to make Healthy food choices and that fast food is NOT our friend, not for every meal! I have not had any chocolate or suger foods, no fried foods or eating all day long. I alway eat something in the morning even if it just a bite or two because that is all I need to be satisified. My hunger has returned but I control it by eating more protien and less carbs and it really does help. Emotional eating is still an issue but again I look for protien food and not sugar foods. Thanks for the great questions, reading everyones respones and writing my own are very helpful and remind me that we are not alone! Thanks!!! Lynette

Mariah- Thanks for the questions: 1. I'm a true emotional eater. I'm happy, let's eat, I'm sad, let's eat, I'm bored, let's eat, I'm overwhelmed, let's eat...you get the point. Of course I love the sweets too. Baking has always been an emotional release...I think it's the having to focus on someting that is "exacting" (with the measuring and all). My portion sizes were also out of control and I remember eating until I was absolutely just uncomfortable. 2. I've learned all of the above...and that it's harder to deal with the emotional side of this journey than the actual food parts. The portion sizes has been the easiest part for me to overcome because I just simply don't like to puke! I've discovered that I can have a little bit of sweets before it affects me and the peanut M&Ms have started to creep in...need to just not have them around. The emotional eating has been really difficult. With all my recent stress I've found myself craving more carbs and I even had a day where I just wanted a HUGE portion (of comfort food!). Of course, I had to just go cry that day and deal with the emotions instead of eating that huge portion. I've also found with carbs that the more I allow myself to eat the more I want them...again, just need to avoid them (since I get enough in my normal "good" protein meals...don't need a cookie!"). SO....still a long journey for me...both weight loss wise and emotionally. Christina S