Gluttony - Do you suffer from it?

Yesterday, Scott posted a thread about struggling.  Today, I would like to post one about gluttony.  Now, according to Webster's definition of gluttony, it is excess in eating or drinking, greedy or excessive indulgence.  Wow, does that strike a nerve for me.  I know pre-WLS, I could certainly be classified as being a glutton, but what about now?  How about for anyone else?

Yes, I have to admit and be honest that I have been a glutton since surgery.  How do I know?  Well, I have eaten to the point where I have thrown up - not necessarily intentional though.  Sometimes, I just wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and just kept eating simply because there was still food on my plate.  Other times, well, again, if I'm being honest, it's because I so desperately wanted what I was eating that I ate it entirely too fast which resulted in me consuming more than I should have.

What about the part of the definition that talks about being greedy or excessive?  Well, here I go again being honest.  It happened to me just yesterday.  I went out for lunch to a wonderful little deli in downtown Nashville.  They have the best sandwiches and salads I've had.  I ordered 1/2 of a tuna sandwich on toasted wheat bread.  Then I saw the pasta salad - this has always been a problem for me and the sensation to have some was just overwhelming.  So, I placed my order and mosied on back to work to eat.  I began with the sandwich, because I was trying to be a conscientious WLS patient and start with my protein (now forget that it was a sandwich, so I was consuming carbs too).  But again, that wonderful pasta salad called my name.  So, I proceeded to eat 2 really healthy bites of it.  I consumed most of my sandwich (thankfully not all of it).  I was satisfied to the point of being full - not overly full, but comfortably full.  Well that comfortable feeling didn't last long.  I've actually eaten pasta (very small amount) several times since surgery and have not had a bit of problems.  I've also eaten toasted wheat bread since surgery and have not had a bit of problems.  That was not the case yesterday.  Oh my goodness!!!! About 20 minutes after consuming my lunch, I have to admit I was dumping.  Now, let me just tell you, I am now 6-1/2 months post surgery and have not had a dumping episode up until yesterday.  I am so thankful it only lasted about 20-30 minutes, but in that time frame, I can't tell you how many times I wished I could die, wished I had not eaten lunch, and just basically cursed anything that had occurred yesterday.  After the episode passed, I felt better, I was extremely tired and wanted to go to sleep, but I plugged through the afternoon and made it home where I "babied" my little pouch the rest of the evening.  But because of my desires, I was a glutton yesterday and was greedy.  Why couldn't I have just been satisfied with the sandwich, why did I feel I had to have the pasta knowing it wasn't good for me and that it would probably cause the very issue I dealt with?

So, having said all that, do I still suffer from gluttony?  The answer to that is a big ole' YES (capital, bold, and underline).  Will I continue to suffer from gluttony?  Refer to the answer above. (LOL)  I answer Yes to the 2nd question because I am human, I am and will most likely always be addicted to food.  I'm not sure there is a way for me to be cured of this addiction, but you can best bet, I am going to be quite a bit more cautious in the future and I'm going to pay a lot more attention to what I'm consuming, how I'm consuming it, and how much I'm consuming.  Because not to pay attention to all those things will just lead to a horrible cycle that will put me right where I was pre-surgery.

Since we all struggle, let's make a pact right now to be sure we are following our WLS regimen by doing the following:  (1) protein first and foremost, (2) getting in our 64 ounces of fluid a day, (3) making sure we are taking all of our supplements every day, (4) getting some sort of physical activity daily, and (5) being a wonderful support group to each and every member of this board.

Finally, I will ask again, Do you suffer from gluttony?  If you do or feel you do, let's hear from you.  Members of this board will come to your aid and help you get through it with a lot of encouragement and ideas for how to battle it.  That's what we are here for.

I like how you described your "healthy bites" of pasta. So I take it that they were not the bariatric size of pencil erasers? LOL

Before surgery, I remember eating food just as fast as I could. How on earth I tasted, savored and enjoyed it, I will never know! But when we used to go out to eat, I'd plan all the way home from work what my meal would be... then get there, eat the salad down fast, the bread, well that's a given! (And how O'Charleys can serve two obese people 3 rolls, that has to be a sick joke that they are betting on who will win the 3rd and remaining roll!) Anyway... I hardly ever took my food home. There was nothing left, or not much in even bothering with...

My life still evolves around food. Where are we going to eat? What do they have that I (a) can have, (b) actually feel like eating because I am a very spontaneous eater. I get anxious if I don't have food in my cupboard, shown recently by the protein horedom. I got nervous just TRYING to pack some of it up to sell to someone. I can't stand the thought of not having some type of fruit or sugar free dessert in the house SHOULD I want it. I hardly ever want it and it goes bad much of the time, but nevertheless its there.

I think gluttony isn't just about the physical consumption of food. It can also be about the emotional bonds to it, such as in my case. I think about food all the time. Even my protein shakes. What flavors can I blend? What new items can I buy? Always looking around at the grocery for new stuff, looking at the labels and moseying on about my business after its entirely too high of carbs or sugars. Or, putting it in my buggy if in deed its a good product (stat wise).

Maybe other postops don't have this problem... I am hoping that with time, this will dissipate much like my obsession with the scales has...  about the actual eating of food, there are times when I LOVE the taste and will eat too much.  But, other times I will have the food in my mouth, chew it up, and think "Melinda, you best not do it!"  I know the consequences will mean feeling terrible...  and I will spit it out in the trash can not wanting to be sick.

You, know...I never really thought about this until today.  I will say that I feel like I have improved since I had my surgery but I am still obsessed with food.  My gluttony deals more with buying sugar free products.  I am constantly looking for new stuff.  I want to have it whether I ever use it or not.  Using what I have before I buy more is not the way I do business!  My pantry looks like a grocery store.  Unfortunately I am very greedy and buy to excess.  This is a constant struggle for me because money is very tight and it is difficult to justify the expense when there is so much in the pantry already.

Great post, Wendy!  I am going to really work on this. 

You have hit the nail on the head for me! This is exactly what I've been suffering from for a few weeks. Thanks for bringing this subject forward. Since surgery 15 months ago, I've eaten at times until I was sick......short of throwing up. I've eaten things I shouldn't have eaten and paid dearly! I've found that carbs blow me up like a balloon. This is definitely a journey of learning.

Thanks for bringing this up!!!
Janie

I'm glad I was able to help Janie.  You are so right, this is a journey of learning and as support group members, we should all be on the same page as far as helping each other in our journey.  It doesn't matter where you are in that journey, we all have something valuable to contribute and something everyone can benefit from.  There may be something that a "newbie" has to offer/share that a "veteran" totally forgot about and it has now put them back on track or vice versa.  We need to keep threads like this going so that we are always at the top of our game as best we can be.

Either Wnedy, or Webster's Dictionary have been peeking in my window!  Words like excessive, or greddy indulgence describe different times since surgery.

Befor esurgery, I would eat till I was sick, now at times I eat sparingly, but have this wierd feeling.  I know I am not eating as much as I was before, but it sure feels like it.  When I finish a good dinner, there are times I feel like I have eaten a whole cow.  I'm stuffed to the gills, and feel miserable!

Did I eat too much?  I don't think so, but I sure feel it.  Now, I am 7 months out since surgery and I know the nerve endings in my pouch have been back to normal for a while.  but I feel fat after dinner!  Gluttonny: excessive eating or drinking!  That's the way I feel, not the way I act!

Gluttony is TOTALLY my sin--that's how I got here in the first place--I think I have abandonement
issues and food was always there to comfort me--right now I am going through this sort of grieving process as I prapare for the surgery.  Grieving over what I can eat AFTER and how much and when and with what (?maybe? I have control issues?)  Whatever, I've never been an "active" person so I havve never "needed" all the food I eat.

Oh I can so relate with you on the abandonment issues. When I was a child, I would bite my fingernails and toe nails until they bled if my mother were to leave me. When I was in 3rd grade, we moved to MI, and it was very large compared to Illinois, where I was born. I had separation anxiety and I would wait about fifteen minutes by myself alone waiting on the bus after my bro & sis got on their bus (you could do that back when, but not now!!). I would cut my hair, play sick, hide under the bed. I was a juvenile delinquent and didn't even know it, but would call my mother and tell her that I could not go to school. She used to come pick me up and take me (plus she worked 30 minutes away).

I have never dealt with change very well. Food was a comfort to me, always. It loved me when no one else did. It made my tummy feel better because when I was stressed, my stomach hurt. I had upset stomach alot, not to mention nausea, sick feelings, and diarrhea which normally comes along with stress. Food made me feel better. Plus it tasted good.

As an adult, my favorite was hot fudge cakes. When I got really upset, I would go to Shoneys or Sonic and eat them. Shoneys had the best, and you know, as much as I hated eating alone, I would go in there and sit all by myself just to eat the hot fudge cake... and drink a coke along with it. I had to work hard to break that habit while trying to lose weight for my insurance company. I had to talk myself out of it, just as a negotiator talks down a person standing on the ledge of a highrise building who says they are going to jump.

I to have been a glutton since surgery. With the band we get little signals telling us we "should" be full, sneezing, runny noise, hiccups, burping etc... but sometimes I run right on past these. Sometimes if it is something I really really like I think just one more bite, but everytime I do that I pay for it because I will either slime or have such a pain in my chest that I have to get up and walk around and flap my arms like a chicken for a while. I have not done this too much but yes I occasionaly (sp) do this also.

Thanks all for putting this into words.  Debbie I feel your pain.  As a bander, I know when I feel those signs or just the fullness, I should stop then.  But sometimes my brain says "Just one more bite, it can't hurt!"  Well I am here to tell you 'MY BRAIN LIES"   It does hurt.   Getting up and walking does help, but only for a while.   I have only had the "slimey's three times, mostly because I get busy, eat too fast or don't pay attention to how big a bite I have taken and it gets stuck.  But it is an aweful feeling, regardless of why it happens.
Gluttony is something we probably all did prior to surgery and still deal with it after surgery as well.
thanks Wendy for bringing this to the forefront for conversation......this way we know we are truly going through the same thing and not the only "Person on Earth" feeling this way.
Sherry