The Gun is loaded - so what's your trigger?

Ok – so one of the things we all have to do is figure out WHY and WHEN we eat.  Certainly SOMETHING drives us into binging overdrive preWLS – or things happen that we would just respond to with food……

 

Let’s talk about pre and post habits for a lil bit shall we?  Might help a couple, two three people in the head trip WLS is.

 

Pre WLS, for me, it was extreme emotion – ANY extreme emotion.  Super happy?  EAT.  Super sad? EAT.  Mad?  EAT.  But if just calm and cool – no big deal.

 

Well…. Problem with that is – life SUCKED at that time!  Job was crazy, health was crazy, personal life…guess what – crazy!  So eating was non stop.

 

Post WLS – my triggers do the opposite.  I don’t eat.  Crazy right?  When I’m on an emotional high or low – I lose my appetite.  A few weeks ago, I was eating just fine, snacking even.  Right now – have eaten soup and done protein shakes with a little other food for the last several days.  And I’m making myself do that.

 

You may think ‘that’s a good thing!’ – it’s not.  Radical responses to drastic mood changes is not good no matter what response.  Sure – I lose 10 lbs in 5 days but if I’m a wreck or on a super high and crash later – then what?  Handling the mood swing is the focus – not the fact that ‘hey – automatic diet!’.

 

Ok – that’s me – so what’s yours????

My trigger is "boredom".

My triggers are boredom and emotions. Sounds like I need a shrink.

Probably my worst trigger is free food.  I'll take it even if I don't really want to eat it.  Example: Different people in the department have been on vacation and brought back candy to share in the copy room.  I have a whole stash of it in my desk drawer. 
I'm not that much of a candy eater either.   It's a sickness, I tell ya!

i'm an emotional eater, so when i am sad, depressed, upset you name it.  I am working hard on changing that becasue i know it will hinder my success, my logic to this is, i eat until my stomach hurts, then i can stop focusing on my problem at hand and focus on the pain i have from a full tummy.  I honestly hope, i am not judged for this, maybe someone else goes through this also.
So i have taken to following steps to help rid me of this action,

I told my mother, she is a good support system for me.
I discuss this with a psychologist
and finally, i removed the people in my life which caused me these emotions in the first place.  I've decided to find more positive things to do when i am upset-like exercise.

My triggers are boredom and emotions, but boredom really is a HUGE PROBLEM!!

Triggers to eat: Boredom, anger, melancholy, exhaustion

Triggers to fast: Happiness (cause then I go shopping), fear

I know it sounds crazy but I have a very difficult time identifying one emotion from another at the time I am feeling them. I learned early on to mask my emotions and feelings and unfortunately, working in corporate america and dating has done little to break me of this insidious habit so when in the midst of a binge I often experience impotence and confusion with respect to remedying the situation.  So that is one of my tasks for 2010. It is fine to lie to everyone else but hell, I gotta at least tell myself the truth.

My triggers used to be sadness, loneliness, disgust, anger, boredom, happy, guilt, and any other feeling you want to list.  I was not addressing my feelings appropriately in other ways. Only time I wasn't triggered was when I was sleeping...and even then...I was dreaming about Big Macs!

Now...I think my main trigger is CERTAIN foods that I used to spend a lot of time with when I was binging.  I miss cake and pies mainly. Then Fast food runs a close 2nd.  Hard for me to go to any place other than Wendys and Subways (I love chili and the subs on wheat) and walk out with something healthy. If I go to McDs, I will only be able to order that Grilled Chicken Salad (eh...I dont enjoy them) so many times before I start a relapse cycle.

Right now...I do everything possible not to go down the aisles in the middle of the store....I stay on the Periphery and run like heyl through the bakery without looking.

So not being aware of my feelings AND going around certain foods is a trigger for me.

I know it won't be this way for ever BUT for now I know what works for me.   

My #1 trigger is.....PAYDAY if I got some money in my pocket sad to say I'm buying food! But I'm about to transfer that to a new habit I saw some gym shoes that I wanted so tomorrow is payday for me so wish me luck!

I think someone else posted this but my trigger is FREE food. OMG I work in the advertising industry so we always have reps or vendors sending food, buying food, catering lunches.............who can say NO to free. Then, I'm one of the only girls in the office with small kids so they are always saying................take this home. I just can't say no to FREE.

Also, I find myself eating my kids leftovers when we are visiting at someone else's house. You know how you feel bad when your kid just wasted someone else's food and about to throw it out? I will normally finish the food up out of guilt. I'm really learning to get over this trigger though.