Our weekend word is Comfort.. So answer this...

So along the lines of Letter of the day, I wanna try a weekend WORD .. when I remember. 
COMFORT:  As in comfort food.  Many of us, probably most of us have them as an escape, something that we feel will make us feel instantly better when we are hurting somehow. 

So the questions are:

1.  What are/were your comfort foods?

2.  What have you found that is a healthier replacement for that food?

1.  What are/were your comfort foods?

Mine still is potatoes - baked, fried, roasted, any form and covered in cheese and butter and bbq brisket or ketchup.. basically the potato is a 'holder' for all the CRAP.

2.  What have you found that is a healthier replacement for that food?

I honestly haven't found a NON food yet.  I do usually go for the potatoes and fix them, then after a few bites, my tool kicks in.  Thank goodness.  The other substitute has been a power crunch bar.  It's about the only one I like and I keep them handy.  It is my evening treat before bed and I look forward to it.   I am hoping to get motivated to use walking as an outlet for that after work stress instead..


So tell me about yours.

I've got a minute Becky so I'm going to answer.

1.  What are/were your comfort foods?  Sweets in general but specifically chocolate.  I knew I was a "sweet" eater but since surgery I realize how much of one I am.  This is the reason I wish I dumped and why I wanted the RNY.  I avoided it for over a year, dealt with it pretty good after that until this past year.  Everytime I get really stressed or bored I think about it and usually cave in to chocolate.  Another evil for me is just about any Little Debbie cake.

2.  What have you found that is a healthier replacement for that food?  No I haven't, even if I elect to eat S/F chocolate I over eat it.  I wish I could say my chocolate shakes feel that need but they don't, I'm working on finding a much healthier version of something that will feel that comfort.

Comfort is what I did best pre surgery.  I try to be in control of that instinct now.  Being a foodie, I still get the most excited about creating something that will be yummy.  I am not fantastic about making savory things wls friendly.  I am better at dessert.  I have a long way to go on that too, I am noticing.


I am a sandwich girl.  I have gone to open faced sandwiches, and I use only multigrain bread.  I can usually eat the whole thing.  I limit myself to one a day.  It's easy lazy food.  

Great Idea!!!

It has me really reflecting this morning on what I did and do, personally. The good thing about this is that there is no “right” or “wrong” answers it’s each person’s own. 

What exactly is the definition of comfort? According to the www.dictionary.com site the definition of comfort when used as a very with an object such as “comfort food” it means

1.	to soothe, console, or reassure; bring cheer to

 

2.	to make physically comfortable.

 

3.	Obsolete. to aid; support or encourage.

 So it really had me reflecting to what I was using “comfort food” as pre-op and even post-op until the past few days (which I’ve been really WORKING on this).

1) What are/were your comfort foods?
     Personally, my comfort food was ANYTHING. Anything that I could eat that would be large amounts.—but many it would consist of sweets, chips, potatoes, ice cream, etc. POST-OP: I would eat, triscuits, KASHI cheese crackers, peanut butter, sugar-free candies, sugar-free jello,, sugar-free puddings, etc…

2) What have you found that is a healthier replacement for that food?
      A couple of things that I want to share at this point—POST OP I did and still do will turn to ‘food’ as my comfort because I do not want to ‘face’ what is really going on. As I reflect back to when do I find myself EATING these foods— it’s been when I feel like I can not control things, or I can not feel an emotion—it’s when I feel like I have to beat myself up and “stuff” my feelings, and punish myself somehow.
     Reflecting back on the word “comfort” itself – “to soothe, console, reassure or to make physically comfortable” I NOW recognize that there is NO such food for me that is a comfort. Food does not “soothe me” nor does it make me “physically comfortable” in fact FOOD when I eat in large amounts or eat the things that I am “NOT” suppose to such as the sweets, chips, fatty greasy foods, etc—makes me physically Uncomfortable. Food does NOT console me or BRING cheer to me… In fact, it brings pain and hurt, where I feel “guilty” for eating something like the items that once did bring COMFORT to my life—because that is what my ADDICTION/EATING DISORDER wanted me to BELIEVE.
     To answer this question…. What do I do now that is healthier replacement for this food… For me I know if I am looking at turning to “sweets, chips, greasy fatty foods, etc” things that I would NOT eat everyday or at every meal POST-OP I know for me that is a RED FLAG—a red flag where I have to ask myself “what else is going on” “what am I feeling that I am TRYING to stuff”… Because mainly for me, I would ALWAYS stuff my feelings so now, I pull out my “PERSONAL SURVIVAL KIT” and do something off my list. After I do that I then come back and write down what happened, what I was feeling, what OLD thoughts came up and what I did to thought swap- so that I did not engage in the NEGATIVE OLD behavior.  If I had to STILL have something to soothe my “head hunger and emotional eating” this is what I have replaced it with: 
              Chips REPLACE with celery sticks OR apple with PEANUT BUTTER
              Sweets:   Carb Control Yogurt with strawberries
              Crackers/salty and crunchy: BOLD flavor Almonds- 1 oz

Wow, now that I have written a NOVEL…. That is what I did with comfort food.
It's TRULY for me-- "get out of my head and in front of my nose" moment-- Where it is "mentally/emotionally" driven versus the "physical" hunger when I have to have "comfort" food.....

Jessica!  thank you.
 
this is exactly what i was hoping to read.  I know we all struggle or we would never have been fat in the first place.  But if we can draw from what others, we might can find new ways to deal with our need for comfort differently.  I really do feel that journaling or blogging or what ever the means, that would be much more beneficial that a stinking potato.!

I never have had such a struggle as I have now with the 'head vs. physical' hunger. 

Becky, I had written a email to a fellow TMB member earlier this morning. As I was writing the email I had "AH-HA" moment. Light bulb went on- whether or not it stays on- that is my choice and I can continue to work on that.

However, it was this....

This journey for me was so focused on "weight loss" that I was missing the bigger picture-- I was just seeing the "tree instead of the forrest" that IT IS ABOUT a REAL transformation not only physically, but mentally, emotionally and everything combined-- BEING HEALTHY.  I always thought I had to weigh X amount of weight for my family to love me... But, that was never the case that is just what I heard. They wanted me to be healthy.

The journey we take starts out with fixing the symptom-- "weight" and we (maybe not "we") but I was focused on the "scale" to determine my success in my WLS journey... That the number on the scale dictated my 'happiness', saddness, pain, hurt, joy, etc and even "success" and "failure". Again, I was just seeing ONE tree out of the whole forrest. The bigger picture the forrest is not about the SYMPTOM but the cause/underlying issue.

Becky, like you said "we all struggle with something" or we would have never been fat in the first place. 

The JOURNEY that we take-- takes us from one place to the other. The journey starts out with "weight loss" but takes us to a place where we continue to transform our lives "mentally and emotionally". 

We learn from others-- like it was stated on a previous post from someone, "you take what you need and leave the rest"... What works for me might not work for you, but pieces might.

At the beginning of my journey like I stated with being 'focused' on the number on the scale-- I was OBLVIOUS to the fact that I had a struggle with "head vs real/physical' hunger. It was NOT until the scale has stopped moving that I realized I was fixing the SYMPTOM.

Believe you me, this journey is a JOURNEY, I am so glad to be on!

Thanks for posing the question that has me really REFLECTING and empowering me to face my fears and power through my "comfort" zone to my GROWTH zone!

1.  What are/were your comfort foods?
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate...did I mention chocolate?
2.  What have you found that is a healthier replacement for that food?Chocolate but less of it.  Yes I still eat chocolate but now I watch the quantity and I no longer waste calories.  For example, it's "free ice cream day" at Walmart today.  We went earlier and they gave out full size samples of Ben and Jerry's Flips.  I tried 2 bites, wasn't completely nuts about it so I threw it out.  Clay was shocked cuz in the past I would of eaten it anyway.  It can't taste "just alright" for me to eat it anymore, it has to taste GREAT.   I also "savor" my treats rather than gulp them down since I get a small quantity.  I also really like SF fudgesicles, SF chocolate/banana pudding and my chocolate protein drinks.  So at times they substitute for my "chocolate cravings" but other times only the real thing will do.

1.  What are/were your comfort foods?

Taco Bell, specifically double decker tacos and bean burritos and not just one of each.

2.  What have you found that is a healthier replacement for that food?

I still do Taco Bell, only now when I drive through I get an order of pintos and cheese and have them throw a handful of onions on.  OMG Yummo!!!  It's a big difference from the gorging I once did on a trip to TB.

Thanks for posting this Becks!  

Hugs, Mari

Sweets I could take or leave - same with chocolate..........

My comfort food was always chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes and gravy.  Of *course* that was what I had for my "last meal" before I started my liquid diet LOL.

I haven't had any chicken fried steak since surgery - would be a huge waste since I could only eat a few bites.  But my DH has made me mashed potatoes (from scratch) and gravy sometimes when he is grilling pork chops..... yum....!

Sarah