Emotional Eating and Stress

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SandyFromNJ
SandyFromNJ Posts: 18 Member
I am pending surgery on November 5th 2012. I eat when I am happy, sad, excited, tired, bored, mad, etc What do you do about stress? Obviously, after the sleeve, you can't eat whatever you want. What do you do?

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  • swopely
    swopely Posts: 28
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    Well the problem is you can eat what ever you want with the sleeve , just not as much. That's the thing to watch out for with the sleeve. I'm 3 years out from my sleeve . I gained 40 lbs back because I had no problem with snacking all day long . I'm an emotional eater too. I ate carbs when I was stressed. Carbs slide right down and don't fill you up like protein , fruits and veggies. You have to really focus on changing the way you eat and how you think. Instead of eating find something to distract you. Take a walk , clean or read a book. Good luck with your surgery . The best advice I can give you is to use this tool because it can be a great tool but also really focus on changing your lifestyle . Eat healthy , exercise as much as possible. If you don't you will eventually gain your weight back.
  • themommyiwannabe
    themommyiwannabe Posts: 26 Member
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    I didn't think I was an emotional eater until after I met with the behavioral specialist and we discussed it. I started watching when I wanted to eat and decided, I am very much an emotional eater. I deal with it by taking a break. When I start craving something (if it's not meal time), I wait about 10 minutes and try to distract myself and the craving usually goes away. I distract myself by playing on the computer, reading a book, or cleaning house.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
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    I too would eat when stressed. Not sure why, but since my sleeve I haven't been doing that. Maybe it's that I finally realized that when I do that, I am punishing myself. I've worked so hard to get where I am today, and I'm not done losing yet. I don't want to go backwards, so I don't indulge my stress with food anymore. Some of it is decision on your part. Cdbloo01 has a good idea too, distract yourself. You will need to exercise, so do that instead of eating. Good luck!
  • berkman12
    berkman12 Posts: 23 Member
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    I didnt eat when I was stressed. I ate when i was tired, bored, or depressed. I would raid the vending machines at work especially for the donuts, cakes, and cookies. I love my junk food. I had the sleeve done 5 weeks ago, and just the change of the diet makes me feel so..........much better. I dont crave the junk food at all. Im still on Semi solid foods, but I really keep track of the diet and exercise.