Hello!

The next meeting of the SF/Bay Area WLS Support Group is just around the corner...

Date: Saturday, February 2nd
Time: 10:00 am - 11:30 am

Location: James Flood Building
870 Market Street @ Powell BART
Conference Room Suite #365
San Francisco, CA 94102

As always we will have an open forum to discuss anything and everything WLS related.  Special Guest, Amy Ingols, RD will also be attending and available to provide helpful suggestions and answer your diet and nutrition questions.  An RSVP is required to attend.

This group is not affiliated with any doctor or surgical program is open to everyone!  A $5 donation (for materials, beverages, location cost, etc) is encouraged, but not required.

RSVP HERE on Meetup
or contact Tara @ taragriffithmft@gmail.com

Hope to see you there!

Hello!

The next meeting of the SF/Bay Area WLS Support Group is just around the corner...

Date: Saturday, December 1st
Time: 10:00am - 11:30am

Location: James Flood Building
870 Market Street @ Powell BART
Conference Room Suite #365
San Francisco, CA 94102

As always, we will have an open forum to discuss anything and everything WLS related.  Moderator, Tara Griffith, MFT, will also lead a discussion on "Personal Goal Setting & Looking Forward to 2013". 

This group is not affiliated with any doctor or surgical program is open to everyone!  A $5 donation (for materials, beverages, location cost, etc) is encouraged, but not required, to attend.

RSVP HERE on Meetup
or contact Tara @ taragriffithmft@gmail.com

Hope to see you there!

ADDICTION TRANSFER

Food addiction is often a topic of debate, but is viewed by many scientists as a disorder as real as a drug or alcohol addiction. Like other addictions, food addiction can be triggered by depression, an individual’s desire to fill some type of emotional void, or the need to have control over his or her life.  A new wave of research also suggests that there are also biochemical causes of compulsive eating.

If someone suffers from a food addition and undergoes bariatric surgery, the addictive behavior can remain if the underlying issues that led to the original addiction are not addressed.  However, in some cases, the addiction can manifest itself in another form such as:

·         Alcoholism
·         Compulsive shopping
·         Drug dependency
·         Excessive gambling
·         Increased or uncharacteristic promiscuity

Swapping one compulsive or addictive act (such as overeating) with another is known as addiction transfer. Conservative estimates state that 5 percent of bariatric surgery patients experience an addiction transfer, replacing their dependence on food with another compulsive behavior.

Many times, patients who experience addition transfer don’t realize it at first. What might have started as a “reward” for losing weight, or just a new pastime, can turn into a habit for people who have not addressed the underlying problems that triggered their original food addiction. It is important to stress that bariatric surgery does NOT cause addiction. 

If you feel that you are struggling with an untreated food addiction or have transferred your addiction to another substance or behavior, don’t wait to seek help. Gain the support of a psychologist, addiction specialist, or a support group. Some addiction support groups include:

·         Food Addicts Anonymous (F.A.A.)
·         Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (F.A.)
·         Overeaters Anonymous (O.A.)
·         Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.)
·         Debtors Anonymous (D.A.)
·         Gamblers Anonymous (G.A.)
·         Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.)
·         Sex Addicts Anonymous (S.A.A.)


Tara Griffith, MA, MFT
WLS Support Services
Laparoscopic Associates of San Francisco

*DISCLAIMER* The information provided within this forum is intended for GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.  Answers, comments, and opinions provided are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, or other professional advice.  As this is an open forum on the Internet, your questions and answers will be seen by others. It is possible that an unqualified individual may post a reply to questions. Always seek the advice of your personal physician or other qualified health provider for any questions you may have regarding any specific medical condition or mental health issue.   Information provided in this forum DOES NOT constitute a therapist-patient relationship between you and Tara Griffith, MFT.  

How Self-Sabotage Behavior Works
Adapted from: Break Free from Self-Sabotage Behavior by Troyann Williams

Last time, the concept of self-sabotage was defined and I provided some examples of how it manifests itself in our everyday lives.  Now, in order to better understand how to stop self-sabotage, lets take a look at where it comes from.  

In general, most self-sabotage occurs due to beliefs that were acquired during our childhood.  These beliefs are formed by the people we spent time with and our personal experiences.  For example, if as a child you received lots of love and attention after you failed at something, this may have created a subconscious connection between failure and pleasure.  

Another example - Perhaps as a child you developed an inner belief that rejection is a painful experience.  One way your inner “saboteur” might work to protect you now is to cause you to fear making new relationships. This fear could manifest itself in all sorts of different ways, such as causing you to remain overweight in an attempt to receive less positive attention from others. Or, you may constantly be quick-tempered or rude in order to avoid making friends so that you don’t have to deal with being rejected.  Unfortunately, this inner “saboteur” would not care how badly you wanted to create new relationships. It would only be concerned with motivating you to NOT make new relationships because its job is to protect you from the painful experience of rejection.  

It is important to remember that self-sabotage behaviors are based on subconscious irrational fears. This is why self-sabotage behaviors can be so frustrating and difficult to uncover.  In fact, we may not even recognize that they are occurring.  Instead, we attribute our lack of success to inadequacy.  This, in turn, strengthens the negative messages we feed ourselves, and we get caught in a self-sabotaging cycle that can be very difficult to break. 

Take some time to think about your past experiences and the messages you were given as a child.  How are these messages manifesting themselves in your present life? 

Fortunately, once an internal irrational belief is identified, you can learn to transform it into a healthy, loving belief.  Next time, we will explore ways to do this.

Tara Griffith, MA, MFT
Laparoscopic Associates of San Francisco
WLS Support Services

*DISCLAIMER*  The information provided within this forum is intended for GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.  Answers, comments, and opinions provided are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, or other professional advice. As this is an open forum on the Internet, your questions and answers will be seen by others. It is possible that an unqualified individual may post a reply to questions. Always seek the advice of your personal physician or other qualified health provider for any questions you may have regarding any specific medical condition or mental health issue. Information provided in this forum DOES NOT constitute a therapist-patient relationship between you and Tara Griffith, MFT.  

Weight Loss Self-Sabotage

Weight loss plateaus are common and a natural part of losing weight and getting fit.  However, have you ever sensed that maybe you were holding yourself back and contributing to your lack of progress?  If so, you may be engaging in self-sabotage behavior.

What is Self-Sabotage?

Self-sabotage has been defined as is “a state of mind and state of being which damages our belief in ourselves and our abilities to achieve that which we want.”  The most recognizable sign of self-sabotage behavior is when there is no real explanation for why you have not been able to accomplish your goals.  The skill, the ability, and the desire are all there, however, something STILL stops you moving forward.

ASK YOURSELF - Are You Self-Sabotaging?

• Do you tell yourself that you're eating healthy when you know you're not?
• Have you made great progress but have now lost control of your eating/exercise more than you did before?
• Do you tell yourself that you've worked hard and deserve to cheat?
• Are you placing yourself in situations that guarantee you will cheat and/or not exercise?
• Do you stay too busy taking care of others or projects so that you can avoid dealing with your workouts and your diet?
• Do you refuse to plan your menu or your workouts because you are “too busy” or don't want to feel pressured?
• Do you tell yourself that eating right is too hard and you aren’t disciplined enough to follow through?
• Do you tell yourself that you don’t deserve to have good things happen to you?
  

If you answered YES to any of these questions chances are you are self-sabotaging and bringing your weight- loss progress to a halt.  Next time we will explore where self-sabotage behavior comes from.

Tara Griffith, MA, MFT
Laparoscopic Associates of San Francisco
WLS Support Services

*DISCLAIMER*
The information provided within this forum is intended for GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.  Answers, comments, and opinions provided are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, or other professional advice. 

As this is an open forum on the Internet, your questions and answers will be seen by others. It is possible that an unqualified individual may post a reply to questions. Always seek the advice of your personal physician or other qualified health provider for any questions you may have regarding any specific medical condition or mental health issue.

Information provided in this forum DOES NOT constitute a therapist-patient relationship between you and Tara Griffith, MFT.