Topic 2: What are your coping mechanisms?

What coping mechanisms have you learned to use during times that pre-op behaviors need to be modified post-op? 

1.  Pre-op diet hunger?  (Did you have liquid, Atkins, none or other and how did you cope?)
2.  Stress, anxiety, nervousness?
3.  Boredom, lonliness?
4.  Head hunger versus actual hunger?  (How do YOU tell the difference?)
5.  Cravings for "bad things"?
6.  (Anything I am missing?!)

(Barb, I've seen you mention a program in prior posts.  If you'd please mention it again here...I think I just may have to get that.)

Can't wait to learn from you all about this topic! 

I have found that when I think I'm hungry I am really just thirsty.   So when I get the urge to nibble I drink a glass of water or crystal lite.  If I am still hungry 30 minutes later I usually go for something small and low calorie.  Cooking smells still bother me and play head games with me.  I have learned to recognize the "eat everything now cues" and to find something else to do.  Knitting or crochet has been my salvation.  Keeping my hands busy has really been a lifesaver.  I haven't had too many cravings for bad things and surprisingly there is just not a lot of anything that I miss or feel left out because I am not eating that item anymore.   

I'm still working on all of these - BUT I feel like I've made some progress.

I knew going into all of this thatI was an emotional eater. I've purged the pantry of what I consider off limits snacks. It amazes me that I don't really want a snack nearly as bad if I have to prepare one vs. just tearing open a wrapper. I've always got a water bottle or glass readily available.

I absolutely love my computer - I spend a lot of time on OH and just exploring the internet. It's hard to eat when you're using both hands to type and I have this hang up about food being near the computer - it's a major no-no. I've always kept a journal but doing so on the computer is so much easier. I track my food on thedailyplate.com That step alone makes me feel more in control than I've ever been.

When I'm mad, I take out my frustrations on my treadmill. I stompeed through the first five minutes the other day then just mindlessly walked for another 20 minutes. Before I would have vegged out on the couch and mindlessly eaten an entire box of Cheez-Its or bag of cookies. 

I gave up coke, pepsi, sweet tea and anything else with caffeine. that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. What has been hard and Thank God I started breaking this habit back in November after my first appointment was not drinking with my meals. 

Good Luck

- Iris
 

The weight loss has really opened up doors for me in terms of a huge energy increase.  I have taken the newfound energy and poured it into projects at home.  I love to work in the yard so when I get "bored" and want to snack,  (doesn't happen often, I've got two kids under 7) I will go into the yard and mow, weed, mulch, plant, trim, etc.  I have also installed a fountain, a new hedge row, and have plan to add ceiling fans to my porch and barn.  As far has head hunger/real hunger, I try not to eat unless I have physical "growling" in my stomach, I also will often drink instead of eat as was mentioned before, sometimes that does the trick. 

I'm a LapBand patient, so things are a little different from gastric-bypass folks.  But it's much the same in many ways.

As with many GP'ers, my tastes have changed a lot since surgery.  I sometimes have cravings, but not as intense or as sustained as before.  And even if I do succumb to an intense craving (which sometimes coincides with my menstrual cycle), usually just a couple bites of whatever really bad thing I'm craving is enough.

As others have already mentioned, I often think I'm "hungry" when I'm actually craving something to drink.  My favorite drink is Crystal Lite Raspberry Lemonade mixed with New Whey Protein Bullet and oodles and oodles of crushed ice.  Oooooh, yummy. 

The whole sense of "hunger" vs. "desire for food" has become a little clearer to me, for the first time in my life.  It's quite the epiphany, like Helen Keller standing at the water pump realizing for the first time what the signs for "w-a-t-e-r" really meant.

It took me a while to get used to how quickly I feel full.  I was taking Lyrica for fibromyalgia; one of its side effects is to repress the feeling of satiety.  So like most GP'ers, I have to be careful to measure out my food and eat very, very slowly, or I'll eat more than my Banded stomach can hold -- and you don't wanna know what happens in that case!

And the energy thing -- WOW!!  Yesssssssssss, there's lots more energy, and there's so much to do!!  So boredom eating hasn't been a problem for me at all.  My gosh, you can't believe how different my life is and how chockful o'goodness each day is, compared to six months ago.

My pre-op diet wasn't very much.  I was just required not to gain weight.  I ran into a problem with my boss kept taking me out.  I at one time had gained 5 pounds and freaked out and had to loose it.  I think if I had to do a two week liquid diet like some of these I would of freaked out.  I tried to do it for 2 days.

With stress and anxiety I am starting to learn how to just let it go.  It is working most of the time.  Most of my stress comes from my son.  I hate to admit it but I'm trying to get him graduated and he fights me tooth and nail.  I am truely using slow breathing.  I say to myself this too will pass.....

Boredom and lonliness.  Right now I haven't had to deal with this because I am a workaholic.  My husband gets home before me and has the house cleaned and laundry done before I even get home.  Now my husband gets deployed December 1st so I will at this point have to deal with this.  I am not sure what I'm going to do yet but will deal with it when it happens.

Head hunger versus actual hunger.  When I get hungry my stomach really turns so I know the different.  For the first two months I didn't have to deal with this because I had no desire to eat.  I had to force myself to eat to get in my protein.  Now I'm starting to want to eat when I smell good things.  I have to tell that I did on Saturday I was out doing errands and out of the blue I felt really hungry.  What did I do?  I went through a drive through and ordered a sandwich and cheese sticks.  When i got the bag...the smell of the greese made me want to vomit.  THANK GOD.  I drove right home and gave the bad to my son.  I have to admit that was the craziest thing I have done. 

Cravings for bad things.  My first week after surgery was the worse.  I had no desire to eat and the thought of it made me sick.  But I was seriously going crazy because all I could think of was....I want chicken wings.  Deep fried chicken wings, could I ever eat them again?    I still think about them but it doesnt drive me crazy.  I have decided when I give in I will grill them and hooters wing sauce has no sugar.  But I'm not ready.  Honestly I am scared to death of dumping.  I have dumped one time.  My family flew in to see me and on their last night they all wanted to go out for ice cream.  So I said sure I can get a baby scoop of sugar free and be fine.  We went to the shop.  50% of the ice cream wasn't labeled.  So I ask the girl which flavors are sugar free?  She said she wasn't sure that they carried any.  She went in the back room and came out and said yes they did carry it.  She said the banana flavor was sugar free.  I said ok and purchased a baby scoop and ate only half of it.  Then we went to get the kids henna tattoos.  As I was standing in line it was about 20 minutes later...all of sudden I started pouring down sweat.  I felt like I couldn't breath.  Then everything started spinning. My sister looked at me and we headed to the car.  I got half way home and we had to pull over and I spent 30 minutes on the road dry heaving.  I hurt all over.  When I finally got home I slept 4 hours, and woke up with my body hurting all over.  I now am very careful on what goes into my mouth.

Gretch

1. Pre-op diet hunger?
All I had to do is one day of clear liquids, so I felt very lucky. I had "last meal syndrome" in the month before my surgery, but somehow managed to lose 3 lbs while eating junk. Who knows how!

2. Stress, anxiety, nervousness?
(See last meal syndrome comment above. Eating is how I dealt with these feelings before surgery.) I haven't really had any stress since I've been home from surgery. My parents have been great and I live alone. I go back to work on Friday night, so I'll have to dust off those coping skills then. My job is hectic and crazy and I'm always aware that childrens' lives are in my hand. It's very stressful.

3. Boredom, lonliness?
Being a single gal in my 30s, I've got the market cornered on this one. I've been dealing with these feelings by coming here (to OH), going for a walk, calling friends, and trying to find activities that don't involve food. I've realized that most of my time with friends has involved lunch or dinner. That's definitely going to have to change.

4. Head hunger versus actual hunger?
Before surgery, I used to feel kind of dizzy and light-headed when I was really hungry. Now, my stomach has an empty feeling and starts rumbling. When I was still swollen from surgery and had a fair amount of restriction, this distinction became perfectly clear. I would have a cup of soup and feel full in my chest/upper abdomen area, but my mind would start thinking about cheeseburgers and pizza. This was pretty easy to deal with because I am terrified of eating real food too soon and throwing up. Plus, there was no room in there for any more food!

5. Cravings for "bad things?"
Not doing so good with this one. Yesterday, I ate a pint of ice cream. Yes, a PINT. Believe it or not, it's okay for me to eat ice cream at this stage. It's the "pint" part that was bad. I should have taken out a scoop and put the rest back in the freezer. I felt guilty, but instead of beating myself up I decided to take more of a "lesson learned" approach. Next time I will do better.

Even though I'm not post-op, your replies to this topic are just what this stressed soul needs this week!    THANK YOU!!!