Had my Psych. Eval. last night, found out I'm a binge eater

It may be odd, but I never realized that I was a binge eater.  I knew that I often eat even when I'm full, eat in secret, hide food in my purse, eat large quantities of food at one sitting... but I didn't know those were all signs of binging.  At the end of my psych eval last night the therapist told me I was a high risk for weight regain after surger   I felt so defeated at that moment, that even this will probably fail like all the other diets i've ever tried.  So I cried a bit on the way home, realizing how broken I am, but also realizing that I just can't sit around and do nothing about it.  So i've made weekly appointments with the therapist through November to see if I can find out why I eat the way that I do.  I want to figure it out, to beat this, to have control again.  I just hope that talking to the therapist will work.

Has anyone else been told they are a binge eater?  Did you get help with therapy?  Did you have the surgery anyway? If so, has the surgery helped you?

I just don't want to feel this out of control around food anymore!!!!

Thanks for "listening"

I was definitely a binge eater, and it was always junk food. I never seemed to binge on healthy stuff.

I took 11 months before I had surgery - from about the time i started looking into it until the time I had surgery - to work on me, and work on my emotional issues. Some people just like to eat and some people are driven to eat for other reasons. You have to figure those out before you have surgery so you can change them.

During those 11 months, once I started journaling/blogging a lot, and making other changes, my binging was reduced a lot. Id realize that I didn't really want to eat, and I could stop my self. Being aware is a big part of the puzzle. I realized Id eat a whole pizza or something and then wonder where it went...

Every doctor or therapist could tell me im at risk for regain or failure with WLS and my response is "screw them". I control my future, and im not chained to my past. But, Ive been 100% committed to making sure I am successful, and that's all that mattters. Dont sit around feeling defeated - you need to change those feelings into empowerment so you can start changing things. It's not easy, and its been one hell of an emotional roller coaster, but you can do this if you are determined.

Feel free to PM me of you want to talk more - just don't let this derail you!

I already knew part of my problem was binge eating, but after much research, I chose the sleeve because I truly felt like it's the right solution for me!

I start therapy next week, not because I've struggled with binging post-op but because my relationship with food was damaged after 30+ years of overeating and repeated dieting. I ate for every reason under the sun. I'm happy, sad, mad, hurt, excited, etc. I ate because I love food and the smells and tastes. I ate to the point of complete fullness repeatedly for no good reason. Volume eating was my thing.

The restriction the sleeve gives me is amazing. It takes away the volume eating. However, I could graze all day if I wanted because the sleeve will allow that. I haven't been doing that, but I feel like it would be really easy to fall into that habit, thus the counseling.

They operate on our stomachs, not our heads afterall. But the stomach part has its perks. I don't get true hunger very much anymore. Especially if I stay away from carbs. I have head hunger but have been good about ignoring it for the most part. Partly because the honeymoon phase feels so good post-op. But that won't last forever, thus the counseling.

I think you could make it work, but it's going to require a big commitment from you to change the head side of things. Sounds like you are already starting that with the scheduled therapy sessions.

Good luck with your decision!

You will not fail, you ARE going to succeed!!!  You are getting the individual help you need and will learn new coping skills to deal with binge eating.
I am sure there are many of us on OH that are/were binge eaters and that is why we are/were at the weight that began this journey.
I am proud of you for moving forward.  The sleeve will be a powerful tool to help you and with the therapy that you are seeking now instead of later....you are arming yourself with an armor for long term weight loss.
You WILL do this!
Best wishes to you!

Hi!  I'm a binge eater too!

Prior to WLS, I completed an AWESOME outpatient binge eating program.  Even though going through this program delayed my surgery a bit, I am SO HAPPY that I did it!!  While I'm not "cured", I have been given a great set of tools that have helped me overcome head hunger, binging, and mindless grazing.  I have NO REGRETS about going through the program, and highly recommend going through a good program!!

I actually think that surgery helps binge eaters the most of all.  Because it limits the amount that you can consume at one time.  Now for people like me that are grazers and bingers (I just plain liked to eat) it can be a little tougher to say no to that bite of this or nibble of that.  You will do fine dear. We all have our struggles with food, that is why we needed surgery! Don't let it get to you.

I was definitely a binge eater, and it is definitely possible to stop binging, with or without surgery.  And don't feel defeated, any of us are "at risk" for regain!  This is about doing what we need to do to stack the deck in our favor.  What helped me was having a way of understanding my compulsive overeating that made sense, and having strategies to use when I experience that overwhelming desire to eat compulsively.  There are all kinds of ways to do that, and therapy is a great place to start, especially if your therapist is experienced with eating disorders.

I love this board because I need a lot of support - more than once a month or once a week - to help remember I am a compulsive overeater, even if I'm not not doing it right now.  I personally have to be vigilant, because I have a hard-wired response to thinking food will fix whatever ails me. 

Surgery has helped a lot.  I have known for a while what I needed to do, but to lose and maintain a more normal weight, I would have needed to follow a 1200 calorie food plan more or less forever.  I felt completely incapable of doing that without surgery - the hunger was overwhelming, even in the face of an army of coping skills.  People would say, you'll get used to it.  No, I didn't.  I could make if 5 or 6 months eating like that, and I would still be very hungry, every day.  I feel like now I have a shot at being satisfied with what it will really take to maintain a healthy weight.

I also had to change my relationship to food, and be willing to put down my trigger foods, mostly sweets.  Eating just a little really sets up the craving and compulsion to keep eating more and more, although I recognize that this is not true for everyone here.  That is when I feel the most out-of-control.  I think that if you continue to be honest with yourself, and work through the issues most of us experience when we stop using food, you will be successful!

99% of us on this board have a ****** up relationship with food, so you're in good company. Seeing a therapist is the best thing that you could do for yourself. Use the surgery to get your body right, use the therapy to get your head right. It will get so much better!

Thank you all so much for the support and suggestions!

I feel a little better, knowing that I'm going to get the counseling I need to investigate my eating habits.  I definitely need to find strategies to combat my head hunger before surgery.  I am not free to have surgery until late May, early April because of my job.  Hopefully that will be enough time for me to feel strong enough to fight the hunger before surgery.  I will probably continue to see the therapist after surgery too (if I am approved). I want to make life long changes and really chage how I think about food.

vacationlover ~ what program were you on? I think I will start by talking with the therapist and working with my nutritionist, but if I need the extra support of a program, I'd like to know where to turn.

Thanks again everyone!

I went through the program at the Melrose Institute: http://www.facebook.com/melroseinstitute.  The focus is on Mindful Eating.  I did not lose any weight while on the program, but I did learn a ton of great coping skills :)