Coping w/ emotions without food?

 Help!

What do you do to cope without eating?

I had to work on my behaviours, make a behavioural modification plan and put it into practice.

Having the mindset is the beginning of it imo...and CHANGING your LIFESTYLE FOR LIFE.  No matter what wls you have, YOU still choose what to put in your mouth and even with the sleeve you can make the wrong choices.

That was one of the hardest things to correct. I started working on it with my preop work. I find things to do to keep my hands busy so that I can't stuff food. I've taken up knitting, I read more, journal, exercise, take classes, etc.

Best wishes. I agree with nsblue...it's all about making good choices.

The only way past is thru.  Feel the emotions, I discovered they won't kill me!  I know, MUCH harder to do than to say.  I also agree with the previous posters.  It might especially be useful to journal, because it's hard to identify the emotion when all you want to do is eat, but if you keep writing  eventually you get there.  Don't worry (like I do) that it's not a work of Great Literature, just write.  What works pretty well for me is writing in longhand with my opposite hand (my left).  A much more direct connection to the insides somehow.  It's a work in process, and I have had the occasional emotional binge, luckily the sleeve limits the damage.

Good luck sweetie!

First I would find a good counselor who you can talk to about the connection food has to your emotions and who is knowledgeable in WLS and dealing with the many emotions that come with having surgery. Next I would recommend two books that have helped me tremendously which are :

The Emotional First Aid Kit by Cynthia L. Alexander, PSYD

50 ways to soothe yourself without using food by Susan Albers PSYD

I have read both several times and they are always around my nightstand or around my dining room table for me to thumb thru when I get a chance. I wish you well on your journey, we all struggle with food, that's how we got here in the first place. The hardest part for me was realizing that I am a food addict, plain and simple. We all have to work on our coping skills and how we utilize food. For most of us food=love, food=comfort, food=reward, or whatever food fills in our lives. It is understanding that food is fuel, nothing more, nothing less which is the hard part. I hope you will seek help, and do the work to figure out how you use food to cope. 

Best wishes, 
EstherStar 

My surgery is in 10 days (OMG, gulp) but I knew that the mental aspects were going to the hardest. I reached out to a counselor that specializes in weight issues. We've met twice with one more before my surgery. Ya know, I may be fine and not need her, but I'd rather be super prepared for if I completely melt down. Food is my friend, it's what I do when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm nervous... just whenever, right? I'm not quite sure what I'll do to celebrate after, but it's something we're going to work on. I just have to find my "treat" as she says because food cannot be it now

honestly I still haven't learned how to. I was too busy getting used to the new life. although this could be an excuse not to try and learn what to do.

and now... the emotions are coming back, with a revenge. I can't eat, so I am having to feel things. it is not easy. and I left my therapist, for other reasons, so I have no support system.

not sure how to cope. great question, hope you get some good advice here, I can use it myself. sorry for not being of much help.

Get counseling, join a support group. I'm doing a bible study called Made to Crave which I find very helpful.

My advice is to figure out a good coping solution ASAP. I thought the sleeve was all I needed. Boy was I wrong. A couple of months after surgery, life got really hard and I found myself turning to my good old friend, food. Thankfully, I couldn't eat much still at that point. It sure became apparent to me at that point that I needed something. I'll probably go to therapy or Overeaters Anonymous after my bible study is over.

Thanks for the posts, everyone. I am in therapy so that's good. I'm going to check into those books too Esther Star.

*sigh*

I was kinda hoping that I'd replace food with exercise, no such luck so far.