head hunger

 so i'm about 6 weeks out.  Have been doing pretty well except last night had huge head hunger!  I had already had a sf pop but couldn;t stop thinking about EATING!  Normally i would have gone for something sweet (husband had bought danish and crumb cake for himself and my daughter and was totally able to resist it *yay*)  I had a string cheese instead but then when on to dream about the band, fills, food!  Does this happen to anyone else?  what do you do?

thanks!

Hi fellow NVOTer...
Head hunger is always a struggle and a battle.  I usually curb it by going for a walk or drinking a lot of water or Crystal light decaf iced tea or lemonade.  I get distracted very easily so if I get bored of it (usually happens around the 10 minute mark), I start cleaning my house or get out of the house so I won't constantly be around food.
Hope that helps and take care... especially in this warm muggy heat!

Jan

NNVOT--you're too funny.  BTW you never did tell me when you graduated ;-)

Thanks for the input.  Drinking does help.  Will do that next time!

NVOT class of 1998

 OMG!!!!!!  you're a baby!!!!!! all the teachers i had were probably DEAD when you attended!

Head hunger, (emotional eating/hunger), will never go away, so start now by developing some good distractions and an aresenal of tools to help fight it when it comes.  Assuming you had your high protein dinner you KNOW you're not really hungry so there's something else behind you mentally turning thoughts to food.

I stuggle still with this even 2.5 years post op.  Here are so tools I've learned:

1.  Distraction-  Find something else to do.  Take a walk, take a bath, hit the tread mill, find a craft, puzzle, game, etc. that will occupy your hands and mind. 
2.  Identify what's really at the bottom of your desire to eat.  I call Head Hunger, Emotional Hunger because for me there's something else bothering me that makes me get off the couch to poke my head in the fridge or pantry.  It might be boredom, frustration, anger, sadness, stress, etc. etc.  The Cognitive Behavior Therapy tool that I learned is to Stop, Remove yourself from the kitchen, sit quietly (or better yet go for a walk, etc. ) and try to identify what's really bothering you.  It may be something your boss said to you that morning that is still bugging you.  Maybe you had a fight with your kid, etc. , etc.  Usually it's an unresolved emotion that I'm avoiding and doing this can usually put my mind on a better solution than food.
3.  Sleep-  I think nightime hunger is often a sign that I just need to go to bed.  When I listen to myself, (before I hit the pantry), and take myself up to bed instead I usually find that I fall asleep, (no matter what you dream of), and feel better the next day.

The key for me is to CHOOSE to do something other than eat.  If you're not really physically hungry because I had my dinner and maybe one PLANNED snack, then I know it's something else.  I still struggle with night time eating, but I often make a better choice and always feel proud of that decision!

Try it!  It takes a lot of practice!

Best~
Lisa O.

Thanks, Lisa.  Although knowing that it will always be a struggle is frustrating and I knew that the band would not help this aspect I will have to incorporate better coping skills. I probably should have gone to bed but True Blood was on and well....

Anyway thanks so much for the great ideas!

Wouldn't it be more helpful if your husband didn't add to the temptation by bringing those kind of foods into the home. It's not like you are asking him not to bring healthy foods into the home. You would be asking him not to bring in foods that are not healthy for anyone into the home.

It's important for all of us to eat healthier and there is nothing wrong in having the entire family on board with a new healthier life style change.

 HA!!! Tell me about it!!!  It's funny though....since i have eliminated those kind of sweets/carbs i'm not craving them.  But i agree it would definitely helpful not to have them around.