Question:
Afraid of still wanting to binge eat after surgery
I am going to have my surgery for a RNY this Oct. I am a binge eater and also crave fat foods all the time. Especially at night. I've been eating like this for so many years now. Fast foods, pizza, cheese, junk foods, soda, well you get the point. i have never been good with diets either. I have always been a picky eater too which doesn't help the situation. Was never much for the salads and veggies except a few. I am afraid that after surgery I will still have these desires to basically eat everything in site and that I will tear my stomache or something. My doctor told me that he had this woman go home and eat chicken and beans and as he put it "she messed herself up." I'm not sure what he meant by that but it doesn't sound good anyway. My questions are: does that feeling to want to binge eat and also eat fat foods go away after the surgery or do you have to fight it all the time? is it possible to actually eat too much and tear your stomache open? Anyone who has had this surgery what foods have you not been able to eat again? — Lori M. (posted on August 24, 2002)
August 23, 2002
The desire will still be there, but you will feel satiety much sooner. The
only way you could "mess yourself up" is to eat to the point of
pain.
— Terissa R.
August 23, 2002
Hi. I had the same fear before surgery. I was a binge eater and never ate
anything that was healthy. I wanted comfort foods rather than healthy food.
I figured that if I never had surgery I'd never lose weight, so despite my
fears I had lap RNY. I still had those cravings right after surgery (mostly
in the liquids stage), but when I started to try those foods they ended up
not being foods I liked anymore. I'm no longer a chocolate lover. It's not
because I can't eat it but because I don't really want to eat it. It's
really weird. Also, before I thought about food a lot. Now, I have ro
remind myself to eat. This surgery is heaven sent. Oh, and there isn't any
food that I've tried and couldn't eat. I just eat a really small amount.
Good Luck to you.
— Sarah K.
August 24, 2002
Lori, When I came home from surgery the last thing I wanted was food
because I was still in pain and very sleepy. As the weeks went by and I
was on puree foods, I was so afraid of eating the wrong thing or couldn't
eat much that most of the time I was afraid that I wouldn't take in enough
nutrition. But I can honestly say that my desire for food just wasn't
there. A lot of thing made me sick, couldn't keep much down. Now at
almost a year post-op I wish those problem can happen now so I could lose
these last pounds. Keep in mind that your stomach will be so small that if
you do try to bing eat it will be impossible because your stomach will not
be able to stand it unless you like throwing up and believe me once this
happens you'll never want it to happen again. Don't worry, you'll be fine,
best wishes.
— Rebe W.
August 24, 2002
my surgeon is making me see a couselor that specializes in eating disorders
i have to pay out of pocket for this but I cant have surgery untill I see
this person. which is a bummer. i have the worse eating habits too just
like you. I crave fast food but i have to lose weight or no surgery and
trust me if your in pain like me all the time from back aches you motivate
yourself beyound your belief. I have traded fast food for salads and my
icecream for fat free sugar free ice cream the stuff is digusting but it
the only sweet i can have am a big popcorn adict and my surgeon said that
was fine befor surgery as long as it low in calories and am geting my
60grams of protien in. Am really don't know what the future for me looks
like yet but i fine that am a big time eater when am siting down to do
paperwork or watching tv or on my day off when am not doing anything so ive
tryed real hard to keep myself busy and change my schudule a little to stay
away from food cravings.
— sheri B.
August 24, 2002
What I have found, as a post-op is ... I dread to hear someone say the
words "Let's eat out tonight."
I was an off and on binge eater prior to surgery, and that is now no longer
an issue for me. My surgeon recommends eating once every 2 hours, which
keeps me on track, and with my head out of the fridge. I can no longer
tolerate fast food, so you learn to trade off, and make healthy meals for
yourself at home. Your pouch will teach you, just make sure and listen to
what it has to say! Best of luck to you! :)
— Dawn M.
August 24, 2002
Hi Lori! I may be an exception to the rule but I was also a no self
control, binge eater, in a real bad way!!!!! I'm 3mos. out from a Lap RNY,
-63 lbs. And not only do I not have any desire to binge eat, I still have
no desire to eat at all, I'm somewhat repulsed by food! Its totally wierd
to me because pre-op I would always say that I LOVE FOOD!!! I know that
it's possible to over-eat and do damage, but I think that it would be kinda
tuff. Even at 3 mos. out, just last night I ate several little pieces of
chicken and without thinking I took a good size swig of water and with a
sharp pain in my chest it came right back up. It doesn't take too many
times to figure out that over eatting just isn't an option. I suffered from
a lifetime of eatting disorders and this seemed to be the tool to correct
those! Everybody is different, but the odds are in your favor!!! You'll do
great!!! Good Luck!!
— Tambi B.
August 24, 2002
I will give you my honest answer, which is usually much different than
everyone elses. Pre-op I loved carbs...bread, pasta, potatoes, etc. That
has not changed. I am 4.5 months post-op and I have to control myself from
not eating too much of these things. Meals are fine, I get full easily.
But if there are things around like chips, popcorn, etc. I can eat them
without much affect on my stomach. This is not magic nad it does take
work. I still want to eat and still feel the need to use willpower. Its
the honest brutal truth. You have read it before, its a tool. Good luck.
— Julie D.
August 24, 2002
It was hard for me in the beginning because I craved these too and I am big
on eating at night. After the first month though it got a lot better.
When I am really craving chocolate, I have 2 bites of something. Or I make
sugar-free/fat-free pudding. After initially getting through that first
month, I actually felt a real desire to eat better. I dont crave the junk
anymore (just carbs which I limit). If I tried to eat something really
fattening or sugary now, I really wouldnt even like the taste. And I was a
BIG soda drinker pre-op, but now I dont drink it at all....sometimes I will
just have a few sips of my husband;s at dinner. I dont feel the need to
binge eat anymore. I think your mind just needs a little time to catch up
with your body, but it will be ok.
— emilyfink
August 24, 2002
You really CAN"T binge eat after surgery. You may want to, you may
crave junk food, and you may even try, but your pouch will only allow so
much in. The rest you will throw up. After once or twice of over doing it,
and the miserable feeling you get, my guess is that you will become more
"aware" of your portion sizes.
— Vicki L.
August 25, 2002
At 26 months post-op, I still want to binge. Like alcoholism, I am
beginning to believe this is something that will never really go away. For
about 4 - 6 months after surgery, the desire was gone. Then it came back
with a vengeance. I still binge - but the quantity is so very different.
Pre-op binges could include half a box of cereal, followed by chips,
followed by donuts, followed by pickled okra (I alteranted salt and sweet).
Last night was a binge night for me. I had a bowl of shredded wheat with
raisins. I classify it as a binge because of the feelings that drove me to
eat - not hunger, just that...obsessive need to feed. So, my binges are
much less destructive most of the time (there was that afternoon where I
ate three candy bars....). I fight it all the time usually. And for me,
the pain caused by eating too much is not really a deterrant (it's an
obsession, remember?). But I don't believe it's possible to tear open your
stomach - it is possible to feel very, very bad though! -Kate-
— kateseidel
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