Hi, my name is Willie and I'm a food addict

I love your honesty with yourself and your realistic views. Congrats for how far you've made it and good luck on where you plan to go. I have no doubts that you will get there. 

Hey Willie! Man I LOVE you for writing this it's like you were speaking the words from my own mind! I'm at the half way mark to a yr and I'm just now realizing after 35yrs that I too am addicted to food! 

Thank you for letting us know that this post op life is a real struggle, and it's not gonna be peaches n cream and protein first everyday, how the enthusiasm wears off, and the old habits creep back in. None of us here have the whole weight loss thing completely figured out or we wouldn't be here! 

Anyhow congrats on your 97lb loss and keep pushing to goal! Again thank you and good luck with everything!!

Hi Willie, I'm Tanya & I'm a food addict.

Thanks for posting your story, it rings true with me too, was I 100 percent on point all the time, no, I screwed up a lot & will probably screw up in the future, but I know it's not the end of the world & I'm 100% responsible for my own actions. It takes awhile for bad habits to die, but they're never truly dead, they pop up just when you least expect them too, or sometimes when you know they will.

Good luck in losing those last few pounds. I'm sure you'll get them off, congrats on all the weight & work you've done so far, & I luv exercise too!, mostly bike riding, never would've thought would happen, not in a million years!

Thank you for posting. I am a food addict. I know there are somethings I can not have in my house. If my kids buy something I know is a trigger. I have them hide it from me. 

I think it is great that you are down 97 pounds. You can get to your goal. I am sure your doctor will be happy with your weight loss. Also we are human and not perfect. 

Staying on this site is a great way to get support. People that have not have had surgery or they are thin don't understand what it is like to be us. 

Thanks EVERYONE-for your encouraging words. We do make mistakes but as the veterans warn us consistently-again and again-"don't think that cheating a little in the beginning is ok". The beginning-the start of a race, and the journey between is as important as the finishing. (if there is a finish) To win, a runner has to be great in all those areas.  Laxness, testing HOW MUCH we can eat, WHAT we can eat, testing the tool so to speak at the beginning we may feel is ok because we still continue to lose weight. BUT BEWARE-it WILL come back to us on the other end. IT WILL-because really it is what we are-not were?

The tool (VSG) promises us 55%-65% of the weight we need to lose-the rest is on US. That's all mindset, motivation, diet, exercise, discipline-qualities that many of us were lacking before the tool-and most likely still do-that is WHY many of us got to where we were! 

Sometimes many on this forum feel the vets are harsh on newcomers-but that is when they NEED to be. Because if we cannot get it right in the first few weeks, months, the chances of being successful are slim. I'm not here to preach, but without the tool as our net, many of us would gain weight back-so use the tool while we can to change our thinking, our mindset, otherwise when that net is gone........? We are back to what we are. Success is MORE than the lbs lost. Success is when we change our relationship with food, with family, life and with our health-for the better. Thanks-1 YEAR!!!!

Great post Willie. It's fantastic that you can recognize the issues involved, and you have a great chance of accomplishing your goals. The people I worry about are those that insist their eating hasn't changed, but they have stopped losing or started to gain.

Diet fatigue is a major problem for all of us. We get tired of concentrating on what and how much we eat. We lapse into old patterns. Portions increase. You should be really proud for coming to grips with the big problem. You'll do great.

Thanks Grimm. Still cannot even imagine losing 289 lbs, but even more so to maintain that loss!??? I've learned so much from all you guys!

Hi, Willie!  My name is Tracy and I'm a compulsive eater and food addict.  Welcome to the club 

I think this line you wrote is profound and needs to be understood by all, especially newbies who believe they will always feel as strong and committed as they do the first 6-12 months, who believe that they will never want to eat crap food again: "My mindset...has relaxed" Yup, that's the problem in a nutshell.  

We go, go, go on pure willpower and excitement and then reality sets in.  Oh, this is for LIFE? Oh, I have to make good choices EVERY DAY? Oh, I have to WORK at this? Oh, ice cream and cookies are calling my name AGAIN? Oh....CRAP? Now what do I do??

In my case, I needed to marshall extra resources (tools) to rein in my addiction.  That means going to an eating disorder specialist after struggling in maintenance.  That means going to Overeater's Anonymous meetings faithfully, getting a sponsor and working the 12 Steps (life saving!), that means commiting to logging my food every day, and it means commiting to regular exercise 5-6 times a week.  

I would encourage you NOT to set a deadline for losing those last 40 lbs. because deadlines, time limits, contests, challenges, etc. really mess with an addict's head.  A big part of our disease is perfectionism.  And if we can't do it perfect or meet the goal we start to beat ourselves up.  And an addict's knee-jerk response is to make ourselves feel better...usually with food but we might substitute alcohol, shopping or smoking.  

Rather than focus on a weight-loss goal, focus on some LIFESTYLE goals.  Tell yourself you will try some OA meetings (via phone, online, in person - oa.org), find an eating disorder therapist and invest in a few sessions, get your body fat tested so you can focus on body composition rather than the scale.  And focus on living a happier and healthier life this next year, trying new things, having new adventures.  Just don't focus on the number on the scale because it WILL mess with you and it is NOT the most important part of your journey.  

Best of luck to you, Willie!  Hang in there, man... 

Wow! GREAT advice. Appreciate it. So true about deadlines, being perfectionists, focusing on things other than weight and still needing other tools to help us along. As said so many times on this forum, "the surgery was on our tummies, not our minds!" Thanks!

Tracy, you are spot on with your comments, especially about how many of us are perfectionists!  From the outside, we do not appear that way to others, but I can say that I deal with that every day.

Thank you for sharing your example and what tools you use to deal with different issues.