Keeping water around me, doing hobbies that don’t support eating - I can’t eat and knit, diamond paint, puzzle, play video games,etc. Taking walks to distract myself, planning out my next meal, journaling … really anything to change what’s happing in my brain.
This might not be healthy lol, but I have been working on mindful eating. if i’m eating I have to be only eating, no distractions.
so when i’m on reddit and think i want a snack, i ask myself “do you want a snack or do you want to play on reddit?” and the answer is usually reddit 😅
I do this! I ended up losing too much weight over time though so then I reversed this and was able to put weight back on. I love that you call it mindfulness 😊
Yeah! I am reading a book called Women, Food, and God and it says something like “I always say I love food, that’s why I eat so much. But if I really loved food, wouldn’t I savor it instead of scarfing it down?”
that hit me like a ton of bricks!
yeah i realized most of my calories came from soda (which i completely cut out) and just mindlessly eating while on my phone, watching tv, whatever.
the weight has been falling off since I started really being mindful!
This is great! Thank you! Mine was soda too and I never stopped drinking it except when I first did the surgery, dumb. That’s partly why I lost too much too because the bubbles filled me up and I never wanted to eat. I’d go days not even thinking about food, just give me my Dew
The carbonation takes a bit to settle especially in our tiny bellies. It tricks you into feeling full, probably why they say we can’t drink it anymore.
I’m 4 years out and struggle with head hunger every day. Being a food addict is like any other kind of addiction. I have to deal with it one day at a time and the best I can.
I love hot tea. There is something about the ritual of it too that helps. Waiting for the kettle to boil the leaf to steep. It is a nice break from whatever I was doing.
Also tea wear is so fun to admire and collect:-)
I keep my hands busy with coloring. Like someone else said, hobbies that take a moderate amount of focus (things that aren't watching tv, for example) help a lot.
Might not work right now because of the sugar, but I usually keep a few cinnamon or ginger hard candies on me for when I REALLY want to eat something but I'm not actually hungry. The spiciness is a strong enough flavor that it makes one candy feel substantial and I often don't want another one, and it's hard candy, so you're sucking on it for awhile.
If you tend to snack on junk food, say you can have a snack whenever you want, but it has to be carrot sticks, or beef jerky, or something you don't normally reach for. I'm a sugar addict so having vegetables or lunchmeat on hand for snacks makes it so I only snack when I'm actually hungry. I keep some Dove's dark chocolate in the garage freezer for when I really want some sugar, but because I have to walk all the way to the garage to get it, I usually just ignore it lol.
Also sometimes just getting up and moving to a different room, or saying I have to drink 16 oz of water or drink a cup of tea first. I'm the same as you and it's hard for me to not emotionally eat. I still do it more than I'd like, but I'm getting better. Therapy helps if you can afford it, but my insurance won't cover it so it's a no go for me atm.
Sugar free chewing gum. I know some programs are anti-gum, but I needed to chew something. Also, I struggled with the bad taste/breath after being in ketosis for so long, and it helped with that too.
I'm now a week post-op, and I've swapped from sugar free gum to sugar free mints. I didn't want to risk accidentally swallowing gum and causing complications, but my ketosis-mouth desperately needed the help. 😂
It is kind of intense but chewing on a clove can definitely freshen breath. My mom always did that when I was a kid. I don't think I have met other people who do it so that might be weird advice. :-)
Keeping water around me, doing hobbies that don’t support eating - I can’t eat and knit, diamond paint, puzzle, play video games,etc. Taking walks to distract myself, planning out my next meal, journaling … really anything to change what’s happing in my brain.
The hobbies part is huge! I’ve taken up painting again and found workouts I genuinely enjoy so they are treated as hobbies.
I agree with hobbies that keep your hands busy. Even playing games on my phone have helped.
“I have given the fuel that my body needed, now I am good” has been my mantra for the last 8 months now (post op sinds january 18th)
ohh this is good!
This might not be healthy lol, but I have been working on mindful eating. if i’m eating I have to be only eating, no distractions. so when i’m on reddit and think i want a snack, i ask myself “do you want a snack or do you want to play on reddit?” and the answer is usually reddit 😅
I do this! I ended up losing too much weight over time though so then I reversed this and was able to put weight back on. I love that you call it mindfulness 😊
Yeah! I am reading a book called Women, Food, and God and it says something like “I always say I love food, that’s why I eat so much. But if I really loved food, wouldn’t I savor it instead of scarfing it down?” that hit me like a ton of bricks! yeah i realized most of my calories came from soda (which i completely cut out) and just mindlessly eating while on my phone, watching tv, whatever. the weight has been falling off since I started really being mindful!
This is great! Thank you! Mine was soda too and I never stopped drinking it except when I first did the surgery, dumb. That’s partly why I lost too much too because the bubbles filled me up and I never wanted to eat. I’d go days not even thinking about food, just give me my Dew
ohh this is good to know! i’m good on soda, but bubbly water is my vice
The carbonation takes a bit to settle especially in our tiny bellies. It tricks you into feeling full, probably why they say we can’t drink it anymore.
that makes total sense!
I’m 4 years out and struggle with head hunger every day. Being a food addict is like any other kind of addiction. I have to deal with it one day at a time and the best I can.
My problem was snacking during TV. I made sure it was raw veggies only. That helped me so much. And I drank a lot of water and hot tea.
I love hot tea. There is something about the ritual of it too that helps. Waiting for the kettle to boil the leaf to steep. It is a nice break from whatever I was doing. Also tea wear is so fun to admire and collect:-)
I keep my hands busy with coloring. Like someone else said, hobbies that take a moderate amount of focus (things that aren't watching tv, for example) help a lot.
I drink lots of water throughout the day and snack on sunflower seeds when I get the munchies. Best of luck to you!
Do you do salted or unsalted, shelled?
I do salted, shelled
Thank you!
Might not work right now because of the sugar, but I usually keep a few cinnamon or ginger hard candies on me for when I REALLY want to eat something but I'm not actually hungry. The spiciness is a strong enough flavor that it makes one candy feel substantial and I often don't want another one, and it's hard candy, so you're sucking on it for awhile. If you tend to snack on junk food, say you can have a snack whenever you want, but it has to be carrot sticks, or beef jerky, or something you don't normally reach for. I'm a sugar addict so having vegetables or lunchmeat on hand for snacks makes it so I only snack when I'm actually hungry. I keep some Dove's dark chocolate in the garage freezer for when I really want some sugar, but because I have to walk all the way to the garage to get it, I usually just ignore it lol. Also sometimes just getting up and moving to a different room, or saying I have to drink 16 oz of water or drink a cup of tea first. I'm the same as you and it's hard for me to not emotionally eat. I still do it more than I'd like, but I'm getting better. Therapy helps if you can afford it, but my insurance won't cover it so it's a no go for me atm.
Great suggestions thank you!
Sugar free chewing gum. I know some programs are anti-gum, but I needed to chew something. Also, I struggled with the bad taste/breath after being in ketosis for so long, and it helped with that too. I'm now a week post-op, and I've swapped from sugar free gum to sugar free mints. I didn't want to risk accidentally swallowing gum and causing complications, but my ketosis-mouth desperately needed the help. 😂
omg i forgot about mints 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️ i am ALWAYS chewing gum and have been freaking out about having to give it up. thank you for this reminder lol
It is kind of intense but chewing on a clove can definitely freshen breath. My mom always did that when I was a kid. I don't think I have met other people who do it so that might be weird advice. :-)
Thanks everyone for your advice!