What kind of eater were you?

I am a grazing soda drinker witha sweet tooth.  My weakness are the 3 Cs- Cokes, Carbs and Candy

I think I was all of them and then some.   my low point was when i took part in all of the "specials" in one day.  This was a normal b-fast but then it came to lunch was 5 mcd cheesburgers, at 39 cents who could resist and fries of course.  Then a high fat govt supper, and after work a wed ritual night of gluttany.  This night included all the beer and wings u could eat for 6 bucks (what a deal!).  I usually clocked in at 30-40 wings and 20 or so beers.  Then on the way home needed a personal pizza from local convenience store with a couple of little debbie snack cakes.  I am a little afraid of how many calories this added up to. It would have been sad if this had been a one day thing but it was very frequent occurence. I don't miss that! Jim D

I was a big eater with a sweet tooth who loved to cook for my family who grazed all the time and loved icecream and cokes, but I didn't Smoke or drink, just became fat and couldn't understand why!!!!!!!

I was a grazer and still am.  I had the DS because it allows me the most wiggle room to deal with the issues I have with eating.  Thank God I did...because I would have failed at the RNY or the band. Scott

I think I was more of a binger and a grazer before surgery.  But I could probably fit into all those catagories at one time or another.  My biggest fault was munching at night while watching TV eating potato chips or popcorn.  Instead of doing that now, if I need a snack at night I munch on soy chips or s/f popsicles.  Surprisingly, I don't miss the old days.  I actually feel much better and have loads more energy now than before surgery. 

For me it was three BIG meals a day with an occasional sugar binge.  Nothing emotional about it I just LOVED to eat good food.

I used to be a member in good standing of the "Clean Your Plate Club" and I had a masters degree in "Plate Management".  That is where you build a dam around the edge of your plate with mashed potatoes, pile the center high with meat and then pour gravy over everything. I wasn't a fast food junky or a soda hound.  I didn't have a sweet tooth and I generally ate good quality foods, but in vast amounts. It seemed that once I started eating I couldn't stop until I was either stuffed to gills or the food was gone.  I don't think I knew what it felt like to be pleasantly full so I would continue eating.    Before WLS I loved to cook and eat what I cooked.  I still do, just in much, much smaller portions.  I have learned, sometimes the hard way, when I've eaten enough.  My signal is that I get the hiccups and if I go beyond that I am miserable.  But even now my eyes are sometimes bigger than my stomach so I have gotten used to eating from a salad plate.  It helps with portion control but I often end up giving my leftovers to the dog.

Yeah, my dog's been lickin' his chops here lately too. He can't believe the good luck that has befallen him. I'm working hard on my wife to quit making so much damned food at once. What used to be good for one meal and left overs for maybe two more is now 75% wasted to mold if it's not thrown out to the dog.

Since I am still pre-op, I can tell you what kind of eater I am. I am emotional eater, a binge eater, and a snacker. When I get upset I turn to food. I've done this for as long as I can remember and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to talk to somebody about this aspect of my eating habits. One of the problems with this is that I pay no attention to the food I'm eating when I'm upset... I just shovel it in and when I run out, I go back for more. When I'm eating due to emotions I find myself reaching for salty and fried food. Chips, cheetohs, french frys, anything along these lines. When I binge it's typically mid day. I obsess about lunch. I usually take my lunch at 11 and find myself thinking about it an hour or more early. As early as 9 I'll start thinking about where I'm going for lunch and what I'll have. I almost always over order, getting the large meal deal with an extra hamburger or big mac or what ever. A few weeks ago, I found myself eating a fast food meal and at the same time, wishing I'd gone someplace else because they have an item I really enjoy. So what did I do, I finished meal one, went to the other place and ordered meal 2. Since that day, I've done this a few times. Each time, I end up beating myself up and hating myself for being such a glutton. This is one of the biggest reasons I started looking into RNY. Snacking involves sun flower seeds... lots of them. I can easily go through a 1 or 2 pound bag in a day... all that salt on top of all the calories they pack. As far as looking at other fat people goes, I have a strange and somewhat horrible confession. I really don't like fat people. I'm fat, my wife is heavy, but I've never had a close friend who was fat. When I see fat strangers I judge them harshly. They disgust me. I think the real reason for these feelings is that I project the negative feelings I have about myself because I'm overweight onto them. I don't like myself because I feel so weak and out of control and therefore, I dislike other fat people too... I haven't shared this with many people. Those I tell have told me that I must be very f'ed up to think this way... anyway, you all probably know a little too much about me now. Did anyone else out there ever feel like they needed psych help as well as WLS? Mark

You are definately not alone regarding your feelings about other fat people... I'm much the same way.  I also don't have any friends who are anywhere near the size I am (was)... my best friend is like 5'10" and 160lbs...  When I have to talk to other obese people, I tend to not acknowledge them or somehow feel they're inferior.  Then I think to myself, you're such a f'ing hypocrite.  These thoughts are not unusual to non-overweight people nor us.  It's just programming we've all received from what is told to be a correct weight by society...and anything larger is unhealthy, unbeautiful, unpopular, unacceptable...  however, since we all have perception of the outside world from ourselves... if you can reprogram your own psyche, it makes things easier... this is why we go through psych evals pre-op to make sure we can deal with the emotional baggage that does and will happen no matter how emotionally strong willed you are.   The need for psych help is common for WLS'ers...this board is just another piece of the pie to help with your psych support needs... some need more professional help, some rely on friends or family, some go back to their foods and go backwards.  I'm still taking my anti-depressants to this day which has helped me alot.