STRESS

I am preparing for surgery.  My surgery is pending, November 5th, 2012.   I am an emotional eater.   I eat when I am happy, sad, bored, excited, tired, etc.  Is anyone else an emotional eater?   How do you deal with this after being sleeved?

Thank you
SandyfromNJ

I am an emotional eater and still struggling with it. I have found a great counselor and working through my issues.. I hope you have a smooth surgery.. It will be here before you know it!

 I am a big stress eater.  Exercise was my way out on that usually, unless the docs were restricting my exercise. Then, i would at least try to find better choices.  I am not perfect, but I manage.

I am totally an emotional eater. I am only now realizing how much I turned to food for entertainment when I am bored or lonely. Food is no fun anymore...not like it was before surgery. Not that I don't enjoy the food I eat but things don't taste the same and I can only eat a little bit. There is not the same chemical release that I got from stuffing myself before surgery. I eat too much and I'm just uncomfortable...not a really good feeling so I really want to avoid it.

The issue becomes what do you turn to for coping with emotions when you don't have food? I refuse to even try alcohol. Besides being something that contains a lot of calories and would likely burn my new stomach, transfer additions are a definite issue for anyone who has had WLS. Alcohol is the #1 cuprit that people will turn to...not good. Stay aware of that and just don't go there. Force yourself to walk through those feelings head on and really understand why you eat.

I think counceling is very helpful sorting through things and learning new coping skills. The one thing that I have found works well is exercise. When I find myself in that place where I would normally be eating to entertain or calm myself, I usually go for a walk or get on the eliptical. It works to clear the mind and break the cycle and there are hormones released when you exercise that help aleviate stress.

I don't know if that helps you at all. The journey is so different for everyone and I am only beginning to unpeel the layers that lead to my obesity. Much of that is medical and metabolic and not something that I caused with my emotional eating, but enough of what got me obese is about my eating habits. Those have to change if I'm going to be successful long term with my weight loss.

I have the same question here cause I'm a emotional eater too.  I was supposed to have my surgery too that same day but it's been postponed til December.

I doubt that you'll find many here who AREN'T emotional eaters!  Having the physical restriction that makes you stop and think before you try to stuff your emotions away is one of the best things about this surgery but it won't cure the problem.  Therapy can be a big help as well as learning to identify triggers to eating and making a plan of alternative behavior.  It doesn't happen overnight- you still have to confront one situation with one solution at a time.  My objective of having this surgery was to work on modifying my behavior while I had the tool of restriction so my habits could change.  This is a conscious effort every day but I believe it's an attainable goal.