eating disorders

I'm looking for a forum on OH to talk about my binge eating. wondering if this is the place, what do you think?

I am 8 months post op and have lost enough weight that if I never lose another ounce I will be completely satisfied.

but now I'm looking at the possibility of regain - and I'm terrified.

the usual advice on my surgery board is "increase exercise, decrease your carbs..." but it is a diet mentality that I want to get away from!  I want to relax and learn to trust my body to take care of me. develop a good relationship with food.

thoughts?

Jackie

I just found this forum and I too am looking for other people in my situation, I am 9 months out
and I have lost 83 lbs total preop and post.  I got hungry 5 days out and Ive been struggling with
hunger, bordom hunger, head hunger, stress hunger.  I attend support meetings every Monday
and no one in my group ( wich is a large group) has any issues with hunger except, they are NOT hungry they have to force themselves to eat, and I eat get full, and one to two hours later
Im looking for something more.  I graze all day, I have been to a Pyhc, with no avail, I went to
stress management classes and I can now recognize my "stress hunger" and I deal with it
more.  this has been an uphill battle, I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I did think that I would lose
my appetite for at least 8 to 9 months, but I never lost my appetite.My support group people
tell me to relax, they say I recognize my problem and I dealing with it properly.  What they don;t
know is that I get up at all hours of the night and snack, Ive gained 3 lbs back in one week and
if it wasn't for the excersise I do it would be  more. I feel that I will not be successful for lifetime
and it scares me.  I hate to admit this but I don't think I was ready mentally for this, and It hurts
to admit that because my health is so so so much improved and 83 lbs is nothing to sneeze at
but my freind that had surgery the same day as I has lost 26 lbs more that I. Has reached her
goal weight and doing great, while I struggle every day every hour every minuete just to keep
my hunger in check. I think that I do recognize my problem and I am trying to get on the right
track but, I would just like to hear from someone who has this "Head hunger" thing going on
Just so I don't feel that Im the only one.  thank you for listening........Linda

Hi,

I've been meaning to post something about hunger in the main forums.

I felt like I was "starving" all through my first year.  Except for the first week or two after surgery when I was on pain meds... I don't think I ever felt satisfied.

So I tried to learn to live with the "hungry" feeling... and made sure to stop eating as soon as I felt that physical "full" feeling, a tightness in the gut.

I was able to feel that "tightness" for about three years.  Now I haven't felt it in a long time.  Of course my stomach feels tight all over when I get extreme gas... ( a regular occurence, so better to save for another post, lol.)  But that "tight pouch" feeling.... that tells you to stop or you're going to be in pain... has been gone a long time.

So for the most part, I put on my plate, and eat what I think is an appropriate amount.  I don't wait to see if I'll get that feeling.  I haven't really tried eating as much as I can to see if I'd feel it eventually. 

Anyways, I suffer from low blood sugar.  So I have to eat once every two hours or so.

You may want to have your blood sugar checked to see if that is spurring the late night eating etc.

I've had to really discipline myself recently.  I've found that eating a small pre made cup of sugar free pudding... Hunt's snack packs work great...sugar free... with a spoonful of protein powder, really keeps me going.  Sometimes one or two sticks of string cheese work... but occasionally even with that my blood sugar drops in an hour or so.

My husband has diabetes, so I have access to his blood monitor.  At one point I was really frustrated, I thought maybe I was psychologically telling myself I needed to eat.  I took my blood sugar level and it was down to 55.  Normal is between 80-100.

For me, symptoms include, my tongue starts to feel numb, then I start to feel dizzy, then weak... then I can start to sweat or heart palpitates if I don't eat something right away.

It seems that whenever I eat a meal that has moderate to high carbs... the low blood sugar comes on later.

So I've found... for me, it's best to stay away from carbs as much as possible.  And to be prepared to counteract a blood sugar drop.  The thing is, eating sugar foods, which may be recommended at first, actually  makes the whole process worse.  So it's better to go for a glass of lowfat milk that has lactose instead of candy etc.

Well, I hope this helps.  Maybe the problem isn't that you're eating all the time.  Maybe the problem is what you're eating.  Some people just have to eat more often than others.
So if you can work with what you're eating, and pay attention to what kind of energy you're getting from different types of foods, you may find a diet that works for you.

V.

i am the same exact way. never had a grace period where i didn't want to eat. been going off and on plan from teh beginning. i've been able to lose 110, though i gained 8 back cuz i am eating so poorly. u are not alone. nice to know someone else is going through this. like u, everyone around me says they are not hungry. wtf!

I know that I sound like a broken record, but I just can't recommend the Beck's Diet Solution enough.  I'm a sugar and white carb addict and junk food junkie.  Even post op, my wife complained that I constantly grazed when I wasn't eating regular meals or sleeping.  That has ended by working the Beck's Diet Solution.  I have rare slips but that's all they are.  I'm so happy.  I feel freedom from my food addiction.  I just want to shout about this book from the highest mountaintop or at least tell people who need it.  I suggest the workbook for post-ops and the hardcover for pre-ops.