Volume Eater, Carb Fiend or Constant Dieter?

[imissthe80s]

How many of you would say that you were truly volume eaters, carb fiends, or constant dieters Pre-DS? Or any combination of the three?

I'm being honest when I say that carbs do it for me, they really do, and I realize that this surgery won't fix that, that I've been kidding myself in a major way thinking in the back of my mind: "Oh, this surgery will just snap you out of your carb craze and set you right again." As I inch ever closer to my DS, naturally there are all sorts of "Getting Honest with Myself" thoughts going through my head-- this is probably one of the bigger, "Oh, Shit!" ones.

Admittedly, I have not been a stone cold dieter as many of you have. Sure, I've tried things like WW, calorie cutting, South Beach Diet for a few weeks (or months) here and there for most of my adult life, but I didn't live on a diet. Hell, for the past few years, I threw up my arms, said screw it, and just ate shit 24/7.

I guess I'm saying since I didn't live in dieting mode with the pounds just not budging that a part of me feels guilty for doing this, like I haven't earned it. Particularly, I feel this way when talking to others about surgery, it just sounds crazy in a way when I tell others what I'm doing, does that make any sense?

[Deleted]

I was a carb nazi to a big extent...amazing what you do while living attached to an insulin pump and not wanting to gain weight from the insulin. But I am also a grazer...the DS fit my lifestyle very well.

Now, our finances are so tight, pennies squeal so having to use more carbs than I want....but I try to make them so that the protein outweighs the carbs. Eating lots of beans lately and a boned ham makes lots of meals cause I can reuse the hambone in soup with beans.

Liz

[zix]

Feb 7, 2012 15:18:34 GMT -5 imissthe80s said:

I guess I'm saying since I didn't live in dieting mode with the pounds just not budging that a part of me feels guilty for doing this, like I haven't earned it. Particularly, I feel this way when talking to others about surgery, it just sounds crazy in a way when I tell others what I'm doing, does that make any sense?

I can totally relate. I've tried many diets over the years, 20 lbs here and there lost and then right back on of course, but I have not seriously dieted in some time. Right now I'm the exact same weight I was when I got pregnant with my now-15 year old daughter. I ate pretty much anything I wanted, and if I did try to cut back a little bit, it sure didn't show on the scale. Similarly, if I overate a bit, I didn't gain much weight either. My husband lost 100 lbs on his own a few years ago (although he didn't lose all he needed or wanted to) and has kept it off for a while. Every time he goes to the gym or out for a run, I feel a bit guilty for sitting on my ass and not doing more to get myself healthier on my own. I know surgery is not the easy way out, but sometimes it feels like it a little bit. I'm sure my viewpoint will change after my surgery is over and done with haha.

[Kyra]

Pre-op I was pretty much how you describe yourself. I still want carbs now, but even if I have to have some of something, I don't need the amount I did before. I don't need much at all.

Some people seem to be able to eat whatever they want and continue to lose. Maybe you'll get lucky and be one of those. Others of us have to work at it after the honeymoon period, but it's in no way as difficult as trying to stick to a diet is when you're obese. I was terrible with diets. Having less room to fill now makes all the issues that surround eating just easier. Less appetite, less room to fill when I am hungry, etc.

Don't think of yourself as not earning it. Your metabolism earned it for you. This is not the easy way out, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise. This is a vital tool to help you get your health back and keep your weight under control so you can stay healthy. It has zero to do with earning anything.

Good luck with your upcoming surgery!

[Deleted]

I am a volume eater, admittedly. Protein, carbs, didn't matter. I not a sweets fiend, so I have that going for me. I can eat till full, and still feel hungry. I have dieted, and starved, and dieted and starved. Lose 50, gain 45, lose 60, gain 70 back. I can stick to diets, np, if I can feel comfortable when I'm done eating. If I still feel empty after eating my diet plan for the day, I stray badly..... I'm hungry all the time, and rarely feel satiety.

If you read all the stuff about obesity, you'll realize that it's not our fault like society says it is. We are not weak, lazy, small brained people that they say we are.

Don't feel embarrased that your searching out WLS. You are making a conscious choice to become healthier, instead of a ignoring a condition that will KILL you earlier in life.

I feel anymore like diets are for people who are already near a healthy weight, and just need a tool for a few pounds because of a few bad eating decisions. Us, we need a bigger tool.... WLS....

[lyndee]

I am a volume eater and I crave carbs.

I am always on a diet. My band is only partially filled and it has to stay that way because of issues with gerd.

I have joined WW and hope I can get into the groove with that and reading on this forum.

After my surgery I thought my dieting days were gone...what a disappointment. I have resentment issues now too.

[Joanne]

Des,
I'll try to answer the best I can. I think I was all and any combination of the above, really. I was never a sweets or junk food eater, but I definitely love food. Good food. Before my DS, I lived my life constantly thinking about food. I would eat one meal while planning the next. I would plan my vacations around restaurants and menus. If I was driving, I would plan where and when I would stop and eat. I was a Food Network watching, recipe trying, food lover. Well, the last part of that is still true now, but just different. I'll try to explain.

What's different for me now, is that the 'gotta eat" obsession is nowhere near as strong. I'm talking about physical changes, not mental changes. Physically, could it be the reduction in ghrelin? That's what I think. It could also be insulin response which changes after the DS as well. I'm just not as physically hungry. I also have terrific restriction still, which satisfies me with a small, reasonable amount of food. Because I can't eat big quantities of everything I might want to try, I pick and choose only the most healthy, tasty things for me. If it's not quality in some way....be it a healthy protein, or quality meaning simply something that I just really WANT to have, like premium ice cream, a terrific cut of meat, creamy delicious cheese....if it's not quality, then I dont eat it. That cut out a lot of the eating for the sake of eating type stuff.

I also have some mental changes. When I would diet in the past, I would go to Weight Watchers and count points. I'd live on the frozen meals, carrot sticks, rice cake crap for weeks, and maybe see the scale go down two whole pounds. My efforts seemed worthless, so I would give up. Having seen the real power of the DS, it's easy for me to shun the carbs when I need to, because I know that it works.

To me, the DS has never seems like I'm on a diet. I'm happy and satisfied with what I eat. Sure, I dont indulge in desserts every day, but I do on some days. Things like that....like every other normal, never overweight person out there.

[Girlrocker]

Me, all the of the above. One hot mess (to quote my favorite drag queens). And toss in the mean father who shamed me when I was 12 years old and telling me I was fat, to lose 10 lbs before high school because boys didn't date fat girls. I was completely neurotic and obsessed at 12. I looked completely normal, was just bigger in terms of looking older than my age - more like 16 - and just needed time to grow into my looks. But I didn't know that, had already been traumatized by above normal annual growth weight gains as a child.

So instead, after my sophomore year in high school where now I encountered a group of mean senior boys who used me for target practice, calling me Elsie the Borden Cow (I still looked normal, just shapelier, older) I grew - in weight. Food became my go-to, my comfort. My weight steadily climbed in high school until I hit 200. Was on every diet you can imagine, total carb addict - eating entire one pound boxes of pasta with butter and cheese. Pizza, fries, sandwiches for snacks. Continued like this through college, after college - more diets, I swear, you can't mention one that I haven't tried; eventually hit 315 lbs at 30 years old. From that point on, really tried hard to not just diet, but learn how to live differently, started exercising. 10 years and 3 diet fails - lost 60-100 lbs, gained it all back plus more each time. But each one taught me something different - portion control (Jenny Craig) more balanced eating (Optifast), cleaner, protein/complex carb eating (program by a local gym/body builder). So by the time I had surgery I actually had already learned some really good habits, but I couldn't make it stick. Not after the RNY either at 40 years old. Lost half my life to this struggle.

So point being...I don't know your back story, beyond what you shared here. If someone had been able to intervene, if WLS was known when I was in my 20s like it is now, I could have been spared all those years of pain. I did have a propensity to gain weight, clearly I had metabolic issues back then (not thyroid or anything else). It took until finding Dr. Keshishian to finally take myself off the hook at 50 years old, that obesity was NOT my fault.

As for anyone deciding on WLS, there are so many factors to consider. I know many success dieting stories, using Weight Watchers or learning the basics of healthy eating. For people not wired for life-long obesity, that's enough. WLS is not something to enter into lightly, people need to understand the commitment it requires and that even with the true gold standard DS, if they don't comply, the weight will come back. But I also don't think a pre-requisite of surgery is living like I did, or like others who become so sick with co-morbidities. Obesity is an illness, and only you can know if that is you. I think it's great that you are asking yourself questions, looking inward, it will make your surgery that much more successful.

[brybry76]

Great topic and responses so far! I was a volume eater. Like Joanne, I wasn't into junk food or sweets, I just ate too much food every day for a very long time. More than that, I was an opportunistic eater-- if it was there, I would eat. As a teacher, there is always food around and I would always partake. Plus, I would stay up late and have my fourth (or fifth meal) meal. Like others, my thoughts were dominated by food-- planning, craving, etc. Part of it was my constant yo-yo dieting. Now that I'm not dieting any more, I don't feel the threat of deprivation. Knowing I could have whatever I wanted and still be supported by my surgery, makes me feel more secure. Having said that, my desire to eat is drastically cut. I'm also really afraid of getting sick to my stomach, which curbs my impulses. After surgery, I didn't want to eat-- it was uncomfortable. I wasn't hungry for at least 4 weeks. I think I went (or am still going) through a mourning phase regarding my relationship with food. I miss the mindlessness of eating sometimes, but the feeling of losing weight while feeling satisfied and never waking up feeling guilty about what I ate the day before, make up for it.

Don't overthink it. If you've been able to handle being fat, you will be able to handle anything that comes after the surgery. Our struggles prepare us for success-- you will surprise yourself, I know I did.

[momx4]

I am a total carb fiend and a sugar addict, after my band to DS revision 3 months ago TODAY.....I am still fighting the carb monster daily! The saving grace with the sugar addiction is that I used to NEVER get enough....like I wanted the whole cake, not just a peice of it and all the icing to boot! Now, when I eat a slice of cake, I am feeling "sick" before I can even finish it.......now if the carbs would just make me sick too....or give me bad cramps.....or SOMETHING!! Uugh!!

[reinventingangela]

This is helpful, thanks everyone posting and thanks imissthe80s for posting this thread!

[stacee]

I was a sugar hooker and volume eater. Now I have to watch sweets. I still have that urge to dunk cookies( girlscouts are stalking me) in my coffee, but now it is a cookie or two not a dozen . I hoped that surgery would cure me but knew in the back of my mind it wouldn't. I hoped that I would have a new found willpower, but don't. I used to be obsessed with food, now that has changed. I think about it on a "normal" basis, like what to feed the family for dinner. I didn't think I had real issues with food until after my ds, now I have a more normal relationship with food I eat to live not live to eat..

[mooney]

definately a volume eater. love the carbs. but the one rule i live by for my life now is protein first. I find that I cna live with that. I carb as much as i want after i hit my protein quota

[mlleelise]

No one should have to live with obesity...but we all have. No one should have to suffer through years of self-loathing and veiled discrimination because of obesity...but we all have.
You're one smart 'cookie,' Imissthe80s. (forgive my bringing up COOKIES!) If you have come to understand - BEFORE years of dieting & self denial - that your body NEEDS the DS to function optimally, GREAT! More power to you! You've saved yourself years of torture.

[Darma]

Amen to the carb, volume eaters club! the difference for me w/ the DS is that there are so many things that are good for me to eat that many, many times I can do a reasonable substitution for the carby/flour filled lusted after item and satisfy myself w/ it. I have also quite a few really good DS recipes that I make regularly such as choc. chip cookies and fruit cobbler. I do eat the carb. stuff in original form but I try to make it the really good stuff because I don't feel great afterwards and I want it to be worth it.

[Paula]

Couldnt really say I was a constant dieter. I do have an extensive dieting history, but it didnt consume my life or anything like I imagine an obsession would. I knew I needed to lose weight or had it drilled into my head that I needed to, so Id try. And Id fail. Id get bummed out about being a failure and would turn to my friend food for comfort. Then Id hate myself for doing it...and off the dog would go chasing its tail. Never catching it, but always in motion chasing it. So no, not a constant dieter.

I most definitely am carb junkie. Toast, pasta, sugary foods, etc. I do think that there may be a bit of volume eating associated with my carb junkie-ism. Oooh, look...I made up a new word I notice that when I eat carb loaded foods, I get what I would imagine is the rush that comes with doing drugs. And I seriously hate it that my body associates this with happy and good feelings. On the other hand, Im grateful to be able to notice what my problem area is so that I can be more aware of a trouble spot.

Back when I had my RNY, I remembered watching my carb intake pretty closely. Probably more closely than I have ever paid attention to what Im eating in my entire life. I think my downfall came the day I stopped paying attention to it and let them come back into my life.

Unfortunately I think obesity walks hand in hand with feelings of guilt. I totally get where you are coming from. I know I tend to feel guilty about a lot of things. If Im happy, I can feel guilty about it because something inside me feels I didnt deserve it. If Im upset or sad, I feel guilty. I felt guilty for having my original RNY and I feel guilty right now for my upcoming DS revision. There goes that dog chasing its tail again

None of us deserves to live the hellish life that an obese person lives. We are just as entitled to a healthy and happy life as our skinnier counterparts.

[omeaga7]

Sugar hooker for sure. Never could manage volume and after RNY cut the volume more but after the years was able to endure some of the sugars devils and of course the little carb cravers, ack.

I have been focusing much more on meats/proteins the last several months and thats good. Nervous, you bet, but I won't quit trying.

[bb212]

I was a pious dieter (and exerciser) for almost two decades, but the weight didn't come off for metabolic reasons (pcos, syndrome X). In hindsight the dieting probably made my metabolism worse.