I have a confession to make

[slimbutrfly]

Now I know this is probaly thee worse thing I could do, but I want to be honest. I feel bad, and angry at myself that I can't control myself. I have been chewing up food and spitting it out. I don't let any pieces go down, its that I can't just walk away, or just tell myself NO. I didn't realize how bad my addiction is to food. I can't believe that I'm 5 days post op, and I'm already having a hard time. My thoughts are about what my first piece of food is going to be when I'm able to swallow. I wanted this so bad, and I knew what the steps were required, but this is not easy. I don't think I have any self control. My stomach did hurt after I chewed up a couple bites of pizza. I hate admitting this, but I do want to know if I'm really the only one.

[celticbanded]

Don’t beat yourself up because you will only make it harder on yourself as you get through this process (trust me I know). We are only human….it so isn’t easy. I had a less hard time then the others who were banded with me because they had to cook for family. I am single so I didn’t have to prepare the food and then not get any. Just keep on holding out because when you get to the liquid yogurt you will be better, then when you add in the creamy soups you will be better even more. The hardest part for me was right before solid food phase. If you are having hard times you might want to call the nutritionist and see if you can start the liquid yogurt earlier. As far as what you did with the chewing, I am sure you are fine as long as you spit out the food. I think a few of them in my group had to do that because they would forget and take a bite of something and had to spit it out. There is one thing that is going to be a huge adjustment with this, is that we can no longer eat unconsciously. You might find you are the same as me on this. We have to become aware of everything we put in our mouth. I was such an idiot and addicted to routine that within only the 3 day of eating real food, I went to the movies and was just so happy to be there (it is my happy place) and I ordered my normal combo. It wasn’t until the end of the movie when I was thinking…”she said one of these things I can get a free refill….was it the popcorn? No the soda”…and that is pretty much when the freak-out started for me. The whole “I am not supposed to have soda.” Then the name calling etc… you get the point. Who does that? Drinks almost an entire medium drink of diet soda and it not cross her mind she isn’t supposed to have it? So we all have our struggles. Mine is eating without thinking. You can do this, so keep your chin up.

[jhawkchick75]

I know of several other folks that did that to tide themselves over so don't worry. I would be careful though, I didn't let myself do that because I would be way too tempted to swallow or maybe do it w/o realizing. I know it stinks, but do your best to stick it out and please know that if it were that easy we wouldn't need the band! I know I struggled but man it feels really good once you get through it! Try not to focus on day 22 or you will go nuts! Just take it a day at a time and do what you gotta do.

Good luck!!

[StephC2009]

I have a lot of head hunger too and am thinking of maybe getting some counseling for it. Is that an option for you? Are there any bariatric support groups in your area that you can join? There are some here and I am going to call and see if I can join even though I didn't have the surgery performed locally. Good luck to you and you got some great advice from the others. Do not beat yourself up. We are all here to help and support you.

[Kayla]

You can do this my friend!!! I have faith in you! Just keep your head up high!

You might want to try beef broth! Add a little lime juice to it and it is pretty darn good! I'm already practicing eating that liquid stuff!

Just a tip!

Hang in there!!

[AngieB]

Oh my goodness, don't feel for a second that you are the "only" one. There are many more of you/me out there. I struggled with my pre-op and post-op diet. I chewed and spit too. Of all the things I choose to chew and sit I did a piece of hot dog. It is hard to prepair meals for the family and not have any.

I was a cheater, and I am not proud of it. I did my best to choose soft things to cheat with. I would do string cheese, as I have found it melts. Hang in there. If you need to start your yogurt phase early do it! Better to have the liquids than solids on your tummy. If you need to chew and spit to get over the liquids do it. It can be very hard and it is better to chew and spit than put any extra stress or pressure on the band. Don't feel bad. You are not alone.

[CindyLou]

I chewed and spit ham last thanksgiving while on the liquid phase. Yuk! But hey, I did what I had to do!!! I went to some over eater anonymous meetings in the beginning and it seemed to help quite a bit! Good luck you can do it!!!

[CookieJ]

You are not alone... I did this myself once or twice. It's not only the mental addiction to food, it's the physical as well! We don't drink our food, we chew it! To feel total satisfaction I think we need to chew, taste, swallow. You feel like you're cheating yourself if you don't. What got me through it was finding the most satisfying liquids I could find. I agree on the beef or chicken broth. Once I got to thicker liquids I would puree bean soups or potato soups in my smoothie blender, adding a bit more water or broth until they were very thin. Make your liquids as tasty as you can and you won't be as tempted to chew and spit it out.

In some ways, you're only making yourself seem more deprived if you chew and spit. If you find tasty and satisfying liquids, then you're making the most of the liquids! Good luck!