HELP! I CAN'T STOP EATING

I need to share with everyoine the journal entry I just made in my profile. I am hoping that some of you may have some suggestions for me! Thanks Well, it's almost midnight. My husband and I just got finished watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It was such a well done movie with so much humour. The only problem was..... that after the girls go to bed and we sit back down on the couch to watch TV or a movie, is when I EAT....... doesn't matter if I am full still from dinner, I feel the need to munch on the couch..... I should be on an 800 - 900 calorie per day diet... That's been shot to **** Let me run through the day so everyone can get a better picture. My husband and I had a really late night last night and didn't end up getting to bed until almost 3:30 am, so we slept until almost 2 pm. Then I drank a silhouette smoothie, 0% fat, and only 70 calories for a 200 ml bottle.. Then for dinner I had a chicken breast with about 2 tbsp ketchup, about 1/4 cup of steamed veggies, a baked potato with about 2 tbsp of light sour cream, and I chopped up a tomato and added some chopped white onion, and about a tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp splenda, some garlic salt and some pepper, and had about 1/2cup of that over my backed potato.. You are all probably thinking. That's a good dinner. And, it would have been if I had left it at that.... Then after the girls went to bed I got head hunger BAD... I ate a pickle, the last chicken breast from dinner, drank about 3/4 cup of V8 juice, popped some air popped popcorn and had some becel on that, it tasted nasty so I threw it out, I had about 1 cup of rice crispies with about 2 tsp splenda, and 1/2 cup of milk over it, and about 1 cup of fresh pineapple.... WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME????? This is why I am so fat. Mind you, I would have ordinarily had chips, dip, and nasty things instead of the healthier choices I made tonight, but still..... That's no consolation. I know I probably shouldn't be beating myself up over tonight but I feel SOOO guilty. I feel like a failure. I have to lose 30 pounds before the surgeon will perform the surgery on me. I am now thinking I will never lose that weight... I need to lose it in 3 months... well I have longer, but minimum of 3 months... The sooner I can have the 30 pounds off the quicker I can have the surgery....... Why can't I stop eating??? Why can't I have more will power? I need some strategies for not eating................I need something to keep my mouth busy while I watch TV or movies with my husband. I wi**** were easier..... Carrie

I czn relate to your eating when you're not really hungry as I have done that all my life. Even after the surgery I still have to fight with myself to not reach for food. I have been having luck with sucking on a tootsie pop and have also taken up embrodering and knitting to give me something to do with my hands while I watch TV. It has been helping. Take a deep breath, count to 10 before you grab for something and take a couple of extra seconds to think about which you want more the surgery or the food. Hope this helps - take care.

If I look back on my eating, watching TV is when I used to do a lot of my munching. Even now after surgery if I am watching TV I still get the feeling that I need to be eating a snack or something. The only thing I can figure is to no****ch TV. Also it's a good idea to cut out certain foods as they produce a lot of sugar on breakdown. Bread, crackers, chips, bread, pasta, and potatoes. These are no nos after surgery. Jer

I totally feel for you having been in this situation myself pre-WLS. I would eat and eat and never feel full. One thing I did pre-op that actually seemed to help my appetite decrease a little was to cut out all soda and caffeine. It was a requirement from my surgeon, but something I knew would be hard to do, so I started early. I lost some weight doing that, and I also started chewing sugarless gum. The gum made my mouth feel fresh so I was less likely to eat on top of that taste. At night now, to avoid "head munchies" I brush my teeth early then I am less likely to want to snack or drink anything bu****er. I wish you alot of luck...I know it's hard! Christine