I can never let my weight loss guard down, can you?

You just described my life!!!

KB, I can completely relate to what you (and everyone) is saying. I deal with this on a daily  basis too. I am a food addict and an emotional eater~that's how I ended  up at 328lbs. I am  trying to learn to deal  with this and just yesterday contacted a psychologist that specializes in eating disorders. I know I have a problem, mentally, with food and although I have not gained any weight I am  in constant fear of doing so. There are days when I push the food limits (either in quantity or type of foods ie. junk food) and I always end up wondering "why did I do that to myself?" unfortunately I haven't been able to come up with that answer on my own. I am also a daily weigher b/c I need to know exactly where I am for the day and if I need to make diet modifications I do so~BUT is this how "normal" people live or do they just eat to fuel their body and not obesses over a number on the scale, every bite (good or bad) that goes into their  mouth, what  other people will think of them, etc. Now  at over 2yr out I see that rny was for my stomach, but I need to do some serious work on my head!

I am right there with ya.  I am a food addict and always will be.  It is kind of like being an alcoholic.  Once an alcoholic always an alcoholic.  You can recover, but it is always there waiting for you to let your guard down so it can creep back into your life one drink or one cookie at a time.  I know I will always have to be mindful and stay on top of things or I could fall back into old habits.  I think food addiction is the worst addiction because we face ours daily and can't live without it.  At least alcoholics and drug addicts can go the rest of their lives without a drink or drugs.  But you got to eat to live.  So, I have just had to learn what my trigger foods are and stay away from those and just stick with foods that don't push me out of control to eat more and more.  And it has been a trial and error process too.  And I have a good therapist that is there to help me as well.  Good luck to you.  I am glad we have this board to come to and share with others and get support from others. Melissa

Melissa, I so agree with you that food addiction is the worst b/c we have to eat to live~we can NOT escape what we are addicted too. I have had this talk with my husband and after using that analogy, I think he now understands more than ever just how hard this whole process is and that is LIFELONG!!!!!!

Yes to all of you and everything for me too.  I am a food addict and some days are much easier than others.  I know that when I need comforting, I still have the response to turn to food.  The surgery (most days) gives me that moment of pause to be able to think it through. Something that has helped me but I know doesn't work for everyone is the saying of "One's too many and 1,000 is not enough".  Some post-ops can do the eating a trigger food in moderation better than I can.  Actually, on some days I can manage it better than others.   It is definitely a learning process.  I'm 5-1/2 years out and I'm still learning what works and what doesn't.  I've changed since having my surgery so I've had to change some of my coping strategies.   I'm a support group leader and I tell my members to respect their surgery.  For me personally, I take it one step further and that is to respect my addiction as well.  My addiction is food but addiction is addiction.  Addiction to illegal drugs is awful but my drug of choice was, and is, food.   Thanks for this thread and the replies.  It is comforting to be able to share this topic. Cathy

I guess I was never really a food addict...just lazy.  I don't think about food that much and don't weigh myself every day.  I told myself that I had this surgery to be healthy and normal and have tried very hard to live that way.  I don't want to have to think about food or what my weight is.  There are too many other things demanding my attention. I am very much a creature of habit and pretty much eat the same things every day.  Cottage cheese for breakfast, usually a salad for lunch then dinner, usually a cheese quesadilla or salad again.  This satisfies me on a daily basis.  My one vice is coffee, I usually drink about 4 cups a day.  It keeps me going.  With a 19-month old in the house I have to find the energy to keep up. I realize that for some it is harder and I wi**** was easier.   I am in no way trying to put anyone down or make them feel bad.  Just sharing my life.  Patty Life is a beach just don't get burned.

I'm happy you feel normal, but I don;t know one single normal size person who eats cottage cheese for breakfast, salad for lunch and salad for dinner! I swear to you, not even ONE. In fact, I don;t know any person who had WLS who eats so little each day, after a year out. How can you be getting in enough protein for your body to renew itself and enough nutrition? I guess I'm missing something here.

  I did mention I was a creature of habit.   If I have salad for lunch I don't have it for dinner.  Plus I usually have cheese and meat on my salads.  Cottage cheese is loaded with protein.  I also am VERY vigilant about taking my vitamins, and my labs are very good.  I do vary dinner and lunch once in a while.  I have a slice of pizza or some beef stew (like tonight).   I know lots of people who have cotttage cheese for breakfast , in fact they are always tellng me what I should mix with mine.  I do have eggs and grits also sometimes on the weekends.  I think I stay with the salad a lot because it goes down easy.  I have tried chicken so many different ways and it always makes my pouch hurt.  I love hot wings and have them once in awhile but I always suffer for it. I don't eat a lot of red meat, just by choice. After you are so far out from the surgery, your body absorbs more from what you eat.  I am maintaining my weight at a point that is comfortable for me and allows me to feel good about myself and my health.  It all works for me and personally I think that is a key to not gaining any thing back.  Find what works and stick with it. Patty Life's a beach,  just don't get burned.

Hi Patty. I know what you mean about being a creature of habit~I'm that way too and it drives my husband crazy, LOL! He asks me all the time how I can be happy with eating the same things over and over again every day. I have alot of OCD tendancies anyway, so this is just another manifestation of that I guess, but its what makes me most comfortable. That's not to say that I don't ever eat anything bad, but my core foods are generally the same every day. I still eat ALOT of cottage cheese too!

No, I have not beaten my food demonsbut I am doing my best to keep them at bay. I am also a food addict. My only redeeming quality is that I hate to and eating too much of anything, especially junk foods, makes me nauseous. I have often said that the reason the surgery works is that it forces you to eat modest amounts of food. Although it does not prevent me from  grazing, which could be my downfall if I don't keep a constant vigil Good luck to you and to everyone reading this who also have 's to Nancy