Feeding on stuff you shouldn't

From the Doc: Do you find yourself eating food when you're bored of upset? Are you still craving sugar and fat? are your portions becoming bigger? do you feel bad about yourself and out of control. Do you feel like a failure with your WLS? Well, you are certainly not alone! Call it habit eating, head hunger, or comfort eating. Most of the time they have little to do with your hunger and a lot to do with your stress level, food attitudes, and how you cope. Think about it. Most people cope with depression or stress by eating. Food represents comfort and reward from our earliest memories. We use food to celebrate, socialize, and mourn. We even learn to associate certain activities with food. That after school snack habit can still kick in when we walk in from work. Is it any wonder that we turn to food out of habit, boredom, or comfort? How many of you eat while watching TV? If you spend a lot of time in front of the Boob tube, do you also spend a lot of time eating? Here's the good news! What can be learned, though unconsciously, can also be unlearned. We can change these cues for habit eating and "head hunger" We can learn new ways of thinking about our relationship with food. We can learn new stress coping skills other than using the fork. We can learn new skills by "talking back" to these self defeating messages we send ourselves. 1. focus on what you've accomplished, not on what you haven't. We usually focus on how we've messed up and what we HAVEN't DONE. This only causes us to feel bad about ourselves and calling ourselves failures. We all have ups and downs or we wouldn't be human. The idea is to focus on what we have done. We have taken a big step in changing our lives by deciding upon weight loss surgery. We all know that this isn't easy to say the least. We have taken that important 1st step. But don't stop there. That was the easiest part. But if we slip we can't stop, give up, and declare ourselves losers ( of a different kind ). We can get back on track and focus on our goal. 2. Talk back to those negative feelings They say a slip is only a fall if that's what you decide to call it. You need to "talk Back" to this and other negative thoughts and you will notice a change in your behavior and more self esteem. Don't feel you've failed if you have gone back to eating the foods that are bad for you. Think of it as only temporary insanity. You CAN get back on track. It's not over til' your former self sings. Notice I said "former". Think of it as a small slip. Regain your handhold and boast yourself back up. 3. Keep it realistic You must be realistic for the long run. You don't have to be that size 4 or look like you think you should look as you read the latest issue of "In Shape" or "Cosmopolitan" Your body has more to do with heredity and bone structure than diet. Don't think you have to be 110 lbs. when you are 5' 9" with a large boned frame. 3. eat mindfully Pay attention to what you eat and where you eat, and how your body feels when you eat. We often eat absent mindedly. Most often in front of the TV. Pay attention to your food, not the tube. Pay attention the the taste, the texture, and the way your body feels. Really enjoy the eating experience. It will help you feel more satisfied and will ,more often than not, result in eating less. You may have to ban yourself from in front of the TV at dinner time. And if you have problems eating between meals while watching the TV , which may just be by habit, you may have to stop watching or limit your watching. Find other ways to relieve boredom. Reading a book, playing games with your kids, exercising, or sitting down and writing your thoughts in a journal or writing letters to friends. More tomarrow - "The Preacher"