Is there really any psychological cure for food addiction?
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I had the lapband done in May 2003, but I think I took a different approach to it than you did. You appear to have been really diligent and goal oriented in your weight loss, and I applaud you greatly for your success. But then you got there and it almost seems like you've had a big let down.
My surgeon did me the very best favor when he explained the procedure to me. He told me to live my life the way I normally would, but eat well. The lapband would remind me to eat slowly and chew, chew, chew.but it wouldn't tell me what to eat.or when.or how to prepare it. That part would be up to me.
I haven't had the dramatic weight loss you've experienced. Mine is only 74 pounds, and I have another 42 to go by medical standards. But my approach has been to eat healthy foods, snack if I feel like it, but see my success in terms of my self-esteem and not in terms of any number on a scale.
If you want to overcome your addiction, then you have to refocus on yourself and set a new goal.but one that has no numbers involved in it. Focus on incorporating a healthy diet into your life, exercising regularly, and finding small rewards for yourself when you've done something that makes you proud. The first time you feel those pants get loose again, treat yourself to a new purse or a professional massage. When you make it through the tough times, treat yourself to a night out at the movies with someone special.
You regain the control and refocus your goals, you'll find that you had it in you the whole time. You just weren't looking in the right places. God made you special in your own right, but it's up to you to believe in yourself and find the peace of mind to overcome food as a motivator or a reward.
Where you used to gain 10, 15, 20 pounds a year, you started losing. That's a wonderful thing. Where you used to be so overweight that it damaged your health, now you're down to a sane, healthy weight. You did that yourself. Now it's time to fix yourself in other ways so that you can find peace inside and make friends with yourself and with food.
Other Answers:
In common with other eating disorders, there is a significant emotional element to compulsive overeating. Although there is no known exact cause, there are several likely options. Most sufferers of compulsive overeating use food as self-medication to cope with overwhelming emotions of shame and depression. Many feel guilty that they are "not good enough" and are ashamed of their increasing weight. Most have very low self esteem. Sufferers also frequently have a constant need for love and validation, which they attempt to satisfy with food.
Compulsive overeating normally begins in childhood, when eating patterns are formed. Most compulsive overeaters never learned effective ways to deal with stressful situations, and instead learned to turn to food as a way of blocking out painful emotions. Some compulsive overeaters consciously or unconsciously use excess body fat as a protective layer, particularly those who have been the victims of sexual abuse. They sometimes feel that being fat will make them less attractive, and therefore less likely to be abused further.
Although many sufferers of compulsive overeating try to combat their increasing weight through dieting, this can exacerbate the condition. Dieting can lead to feelings of deprivation, which the compulsive overeater is then driven to block out by further binging. Unless the emotional reasons for binging are not resolved, the sufferer frequently becomes locked into an unending cycle of dieting and binging, with the accompanying feelings of guilt, shame, self-loathing and depression that result.
Signs of compulsive overeating
Binge eating, or eating uncontrollably even when not physically hungry
Eating much more rapidly than normal
Eating alone due to shame and embarrassment
Feelings of guilt due to overeating
Preoccupation with body weight
Depression or mood swings
Awareness that eating patterns are abnormal
History of weight fluctuations
Withdrawal from activities because of embarrassment about weight
History of many different unsuccessful diets
Eating little in public, but maintaining a high body weight
A belief that life will be better, and they will be a better person if they are thin
Recovery from compulsive overeating
Compulsive overeating is treatable with counselling and therapy, and approximately 80% of sufferers who seek professional help either recover completely or experience significant reduction in their symptoms. All eating disorders are behavioural patterns which stem from emotional conflicts that need to be resolved in order for the sufferer to develop a healthy relationship with food. Like other eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, compulsive overeating is a serious problem and can result in death. However, with the proper treatment, which should include talk therapy, medical and nutritional counselling, it can be overcome.
Overeaters Anonymous
There is a twelve-step program called Overeaters Anonymous that offers support to individuals who are recovering overeaters. Important points of the programme are:
Eliminating addictive substances from the diet completely. This varies from person to person, and Overeaters Anonymous does not endorse any particular plan of eating. Some people eliminate alcohol, caffeine, sugar, white flour, all flour, and wheat, along with other items that are personal addictions, or triggers for binging.
Not eating between meals AT ALL
Developing, with support, a food plan that is well planned and balanced, weighed and measured, and sticking to it absolutely - Not one bite more, not one bite less.
Eating your planned meals at regular times each day
A. Writing down a food plan each day, for the following day, so that no time is needed to think about what is to be eaten today. B. This planning is best done after all that day's food has been consumed. C. Once written, not changed.
I think it's psychological too. I have a weight problem as well. I never thought about seeing a counselor for it-I believe it might help-over time
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