Does food compulsion ever go away?

Nope, wanting the bad carbs doesn't go away.

If anything, after a few years and all the "wow" moments are gone, it gets just as hard, or harder as it was pre-op.

To me, the VSG is only a reset button, it gives you a pause where you can lose the weight fairly easily while you work on forming new habits. Habits are very, very hard to change, and creating new ones are as well.. so the more you can work on that now, the better you will be able to catch yourself when you are drifting off course and make that correction before you can do big damage. It's not a joke- a restrictive only surgery REQUIRES a lifestyle change to be successful long term, without that- in a few years, you will be back at the beginning again. 

I wish i could tell you that it goes away but it doesn't.  I consider myself a addict.  The only difference between at food addict and a drug addict is that a drug addict do not need drugs to survive and I need food to stay alive and healthy.

I am just very careful about my trigger foods. (sweets and pasta for me) and let me tell ya, nearly 4 years out and still get the shakes when I see a Kristy Kreme donut so kudos to you for resisting.

I am a compulsive/emotional eater.  The addiction to food has not lessened for me.  When I binge, I binge like my life depends on it.  I hate the control that food has over me.  

I started working with a therapist who specializes in eating disorders last year.  It's a slooooooooow process to overcome years of very bad habits.  And I do not kid myself that I'll ever be cured.  I can control my compulsions better now than I ever have, but it's easy to slip back into the old routines if you do not practice mindfulness.

Work as hard as you can now to lose as much weight as possible.  The dedication and motivation can taper off over time.  

Obesity is a terrible disease for both head and body.

I'm almost one year post-op but by no means a "long-timer." Like you, I can keep in my home exactly what I want, and no junk carbs are allowed entrance (except for an unfortunate coconut cookie episode a few weeks ago). 

This is a kinda what-not-to-do method to reduce junk food cravings -- I had a very, very ugly encounter with a small McDonald's vanilla shake last October. I drank it in the car while on my way home. What that shake did to my gut was awful beyond belief. I was sick as a dog for hours until my poor gut settled back down. Since then, whenever I see a piece of an especially rich and desirable sweet, I think back to the vanilla shake episode and say to myself, "Nope. Don't even want to risk it."

The cravings are still there, but the carbs are not all around to tempt me. And when I go out and can't avoid seeing them, the vanilla shake episode helps me stay away from them. Don't drink a shake yourself to see what happens! Please take my word for it!

psychoticparrot

I don't crave carbs for the most part.  I crave food.  I do have bad days, but now days usually that means my protein is 130 grams for the day, so i make ok choices.  My calories are up but not from crap but good food.  I'm out 17 months and at goal and its a challenge but it is well worth the work.  Good luck to you.

It doesn't go away, I am getting close to four years out and the carb monster is still alive. I am better when I don't have carbs but it is hard. It is doable but hard. Some days I win and some days I don't win as big. Someone said it is more managable to maintain your weight now than to try and lose it. I agree 100%. I am a disordered eating addict and I will always be. This journey for me is taken one moment, one minute, one hour; one day at a time and try never to get to Hunger, Angry, Lonely or Tired; stress from anyone one of those things has my head say F* it, eat what you want. It dosen't matter etc etc etc the old tapes start playing. 

You can do this though! I have gained a life by having the surgery I no longer just exist and that feeling is awesome and something to be guarded with your very being. On a good day when I remember, I think and remind myself just how lucky I am that I can walk up stairs, run, and participate in things that for me were becoming increasingly difficult. I am turning 60 this month and four years ago I was sure I would never see my 60th birthday. Today I think I will see many more years as long as I work my program.

For me, they have gone away but it will be nine years this October since my surgery.  I am also nine years older and a lot of things change as you get older.  Enjoyment of food is definitely one of them for me.

I don't crave carbs or protein.  I eat small meals and really don't enjoy them that much.  It does make a difference that I am close to goal, three pounds over today.  When goal was a long time away it was much more tempting to feel like I would never get there and just eat the junk.

I am happier with a cup of hot herbal tea now than I was before with a Coca Cola  I reward myself with trips to the hair salon, shellac nail polish, spa pedicures and pretty clothes. 

I indulge in Campari tomatoes and the occasional Cara Cara orange. 

You've received such wonderful responses to your post! 

I want to add that while I can't say the cravings ever go away, because for me they do surface, I do believe that the cravings become manageable. It takes work. For some OA is the answer. For others it is self help and for some others therapy with a disordered eating specialist is the key. 

I think learning about the physical aspects (hormonal and chemical responses) that happen in the body that can drive cravings is essential in understanding that cravings are not a lack of character or willpower. You'll begin to understand why taking that first bite can open the flood gates to cravings and poor choices. 

A powerful tool for me is to think through the craving, just like an alcoholic is taught to think through the compulsion to have  "only one drink". I often ask myself if the consequence of eating X is worth it. 99% of the time the answer is no. Sometimes the answer is yes, and I do pay. My choice to have a trigger food has become less and less the more I work and learn about my own disordered eating. 

BTW, whenever I go to my dad's house I always have the urge to eat nuts and chocolate, which is ALWAYS in the cupboard. The nuts are usually on the counter in an uncovered bowl providing easy access. Like you with the doughnut, I fight the urge to eat the nuts and grab some chocolate. It's gotten easier and easier, but the thought, if not an urge, is still there. 

The fact that you are so aware of your response and the possibility of what might happen if you lose control puts you so far ahead of the game.

Congratulations on your strength and awareness! 

I am just over 3 years out and no, the craving for all carbs, good or bad, has not gone away at all. I'm still waiting for the miracle but starting to 'get it' that the magic wand is within me as it is within you and all of us. It's called self control and wanting health and well being more than the donut. And the size six dress that I am currently wearing. Love vanity sizing!

Wow!  Thank you all so much for the feedback.  I really appreciate hearing these words of wisdom from you all.  It's reinforcing my thoughts that obesity really is a chronic condition.  You may be in remission for years but there is no such thing as a cure for most of us.  I need to come to accept that it will be work ... forever.  That mindful eating will always need to be my way of life if I want to reach and maintain goal weight.

I read somewhere that the endorphins released when eating our favorite foods are similar to those released in drug addicts when they inject heroin.   I'm not really surprised at the compulsion I feel to eat poorly.  I was just hopeful it wouldn't always be this way.   C'est la vie.

In any case, I'm back at home in my lovely donut free kitchen today enjoying a ham and cheese omelette.  All is right with the world. 

Thanks again everyone, hope you all have a great weekend!