Question:
Did you find that this surgery helped with emotional eating as well?
Have you been seeing a counsellor/pychologist after surgery to deal with the emotional issues most of have regarding emotional eating? Thanks. — Miera (posted on December 5, 2005)
December 5, 2005
Oh Yeah!!! First of all you cannot eat. It is not possible. Secondly,
food is not that important after surgery. What I mean is that eating is a
chore to get everything in that you must have in your diet
— cheldreth
December 5, 2005
Not all have people are the same even with WLS> Some put the weight back
on. So if it helps you then thats what you should do. We all have over
eatten or we would not be doing this. I think it would be very helpful down
the road . Good Luck God Bless
— ekmeadows
December 5, 2005
NO the surgery is on our stomach not our brains, I am 22 months post op and
the emotional eating has returned with vengence and so yes I do see a
therapist and plan on taking a workshop next month about dealing with
getting my emotions straight so I can keep this weight off. Nancy
— nefish
December 5, 2005
No way! I have had an appetite since day and still look forward to eating
every bit as much as I did before. I do not agree with the person (the
first one to respond) who said it is "impossible to eat". That
just isn't true (for me anyway). My cravings were so intense the first
month after surg. It gets better but I still eat out of boredom, etc
although I try to be more conscious of it and to make better choices. Good
Luck!
— SteffieBear15
December 5, 2005
I am 3+ years post op and yes I am an emotional eater. I truly think that
most of us are. The surgery did not and cannot cure that. I have my first
appointment with a therapist tomorrow. If you want to email me personally I
will update you on that..Best of luck to you!!!!!!! I have gained a few lbs
and I intend to nip this in the butt real quick..
— Sharon1964
December 5, 2005
I feel like since you can't eat as much, it does help with the emotional
eating. You just know you can't turn to food like you used to so you deal
with emotions differently! I personally can't eat much at all....I'm 2
months out and I am just fine...no complications or anything...just NOT
hungry! I do think a lot depends on your "mental" outlook, and
your surgeons guidelines, etc. Every one of us is an individual...we were
different before surgery and we are still our own person after surgery!!
— momsluv2
December 5, 2005
I feel like since you can't eat as much, it does help with the emotional
eating. You just know you can't turn to food like you used to so you deal
with emotions differently! I personally can't eat much at all....I'm 2
months out and I am just fine...no complications or anything...just NOT
hungry! I do think a lot depends on your "mental" outlook, and
your surgeons guidelines, etc. Every one of us is an individual...we were
different before surgery and we are still our own person after surgery!!
— momsluv2
December 5, 2005
With all due respect I really don't think one can really know about this
until you are out there a while, 2ysr maybe. In the beginning it is easy
because food is just not that important. Plus...you are on an emotional
high from all the weight loss. Now...fast forward to the point where you
are hopeully at your goal and the high from losing all that weight is gone
or at least subsided a great deal. The old habits want to creep back like
never before. It's at this point when your brain is supposed to take over
from your stomach. "Supposed" is the key word here. I've said
this before but in my opinion we will be on diets to some extent or the
other for the restof our lives. Seeing a professional is a must if
emotional eating is a problem for you. The surgery gets you to a point
where your brain and common sense are supposed to take over. If one is not
equipped to take over that that point than this surgery is not for them.
JMHO...Mark 330/170/160
— Mark
December 6, 2005
For those who are fairly new post-ops, this is usually not an issue,
however, the further out you get, and when your natural hunger returns,
emotional eating, if thats how you gained your weight in the first place,
can be a sure fire way to gain back the weight you lost. Altho we eat less
at a meal, you can literally graze your way with small high calorie foods
back to your pre-op weight, and unfortunately some do. I am an emotional
eater too. Mostly stress and unhappiness. Losing weight was a happy
emotion so I emotionally eat less often but still do so-stress is still a
biggie. I'm almost 4 years post-op, am not in therapy but have a plan and
handle it this way: If I feel the need to eat when stressed, I try to have
on hand foods that will do the least harm, like eat one shelled pumpkin
seed at a time-takes a while to do damage there! Or slice up an apple and
sprinkle with cinnamon and bake. Or eat 1/2 your lunch and save the other
1/2 for later, or carry a protein bar in your purse and nibble on
that...also, keep out of the house those carb/sugary food items that you
can't control. Some of us can eat two or three Hersheys kisses out of the
bag and others have to devour the whole bag- if you are a whole bag
devourer, ban it from the house! For others, I think therapy is a good
thing..whatever works. We all work way too hard to lose the weight to let
ourselves gain it back.
— Cindy R.
December 6, 2005
In the beginning (for about the first year or so) yes. I simply couldn't
feed my emotions because of my physical limitations. Now that I can eat
more, I find all of my triggers are still there. I go (though I haven't for
a while) to a support group lead by a psych that specializes in WLS. I've
managed to keep my weight fairly stable because of my aggressive workout
program, but I plan on going to her for one on one if I can't get this
eating thing worked out myself SOON. Good luck to you.
— Rachelq
December 6, 2005
Yeah! I want to ensure success. I have failed to many times and I have
seen people out-eat this tool! Only you know if you need to see
someone.....Best Wishes..
— *Ladybug *.
December 6, 2005
for the first few months post op eating is less of an issue. Hunger will
return. Your capicity will increase. the pouch will (and is supposed to)
stretch. If you don't deal with your emotional eating patterns and issues
early on it could be a recipe for failure. Yes, I have seen a therapist
and will probably need to periodically for years to come.
— **willow**
December 7, 2005
I did see a counselor after surgery a few times. I just cannot eat much,
though. I do find that I have times when I want to eat for emotional
medication, but I try not to give in. the surgery does not solve your
emotional issues, and you would do well to deal with and recognize them.
— Novashannon
December 13, 2005
You got quite a few responses. I just want to add that I, too, can eat
just like before if I let myself. Well yesterday I had a couple slices of
pumpkin bread and apple bread my boss made. I could not resist. So at
home later I did not eat any snacks. I am 8 months out. I hope to find a
theapist in my area in northern CA who takes Medi-Cal. I have been wanting
to see someone since my divorce 7 years ago, so yeah I do have issues I
need to talk about.
Karen
— KRWaters
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