Question:
Do you ever stop obessing about food and feel successful

I am 5'8 after 12 months I was down to 138 pounds now at 16 months I wight 126. I worry about how much and what I eat contenstently. I eat to much sugar if I don't have any I'm ok but fruit can set me off and I am like a binge drinker. I then won't eat hardly eat anything for a day or 2. I weigh my self at least 2x every day. Every day I hate food more and more because it causes me so much stress. My husband didn't want me to have the surgery and proclaimed I would just gain the weight back so that may be where some of this anxity is coming from. Does anybody else stress so much?    — Florence S. (posted on November 29, 2001)

November 29, 2001
I totally know how you are feeling. I also obsess about food and appearance. I don't think that we should expect our addiction to disappear though I wish it did! One thing I'd recommend you do is to get rid of that scale! Weighing 2x a day is way too much. Put it in a friend's house and weight yourself no more than once a week. Also please remember that the surgery took care of the physical problem of obesity but none of the mental aspects of our problem. Seeking guidance through OA or a therapist may help with that. I also beat myself up continually.... Do I eat enough? (thats a rare question these days), Did I eat too much? Was this too fattening? Did I gain weight? Do I look fat? Am I too thin? Am I gonna gain the weight back? Will I ever be able to live MO again? Did I disrupt my staple line? Did I stretch my pouch? All of these questions haunt me on an hourly basis. I wonder also how other deal with it.
   — Jeannet

November 29, 2001
You may want to speak to your PCP about this. I am not a Dr. of course but have similiar problems. I take Buspar (and have taken Xanax in the past) which are anti-anxiety meds. These also help me with obessive/compulsive disorder. Mostly OCD kicks in in times of extreme stress for me. The meds really curb that constant insane worrying. Also, a drug that really took away my obsession for food was Prozac...I probably would have been able to lose my weight on this alone except the drug gave me other very undesirable side effects and I had to quit taking it (with PCP's approval) Everyone reacts differently to diff. meds but it is worth a try if your Dr. is willing to try a few and see which one might help you.
   — Aimee P.

November 29, 2001
I know how you feel too. I'm over three years post-op and down 120lbs. Still about 35lbs. from my personal goal and after meeting with my surgeon for my yearly follow-up yesterday, I might have to accept that I won't make that goal. Otherwise I'm terric...healthy, happy and I get compliments all the time. However, I'm totally obsessed with what eat, how much water I drink, losing those last pounds, and weighing myself. I certainly don't hate food. I just think that I think about it way too much. I especially thing about carbs...which are my downfall. My body absolutely can't tolerate a lot....I become an eating machine. I was also feeling like quite a failure because I had gained 12 pounds over the three years. My surgeon ensures me that the weight gain was normal and expected and that since my weight has been stable for well over a year, I have nothing to worry about. He did suggest I see a mental health counsellor if I'm truly concerned about my "obsession"....but he thinks I'm doing great.
   — [Anonymous]

November 30, 2001
Florence, 128lbs at 5'8"!!!!! Honey please stop obsessing. You might of did too good on the weightloss. Please eat more food. We as WLS patients need to realize that once we stabilize we are NORMAL people. Please don't let your husband get you down. send him to H.LL!!! We are the only ones who truly understand what we are going through, so don't listen to your husband... Please try to eat nutritional meals. Good Luck to you
   — [Anonymous]

December 4, 2001
You are WAYYYYYYYY successful! I'd stop worrying and just concentrate on eating healthy. That doesn't mean NO Sugar, it just means making healthy choices most of the time. Healthy "normal" people eat sugar from time to time. If something sets you off on a binge, avoid it. That would be the normal thing to do. You must be really skinny at that height and weight! I am 5'7" and 160 and I'm looking fine! If I were your weight, I'd look too skinny. Get realistic, you've overachieved already. You aren't gonna get fat again, and the surgery should be very helpful in making the better decisions. Don't be a perfectionist, it will drive ya nuts!
   — Cindy H.