sometimes

[Guest guest]

I guess I missed my mark with some of you. I explained what I meant. Some of

you took it completely out of context and read what you thought instead.

By no means did I nor have I ever said what you all, who so politely and

graciously brought to my attention, think you thought I said. I told you what

worked for me and hope maybe it might for others, but I stand by what I did say

and that is unless you change the way you think you will struggle and I don't

like to see anyone do that.

I can't make it any plainer than what I explained.

San

[Guest guest]

My point was that, for me, *physical hunger* is not and was not (even before

WLS) the issue. My pouch, functional or not, does get empty, and I do feel

physical hunger that I imagine is similar to that of normies and of people whose

pouch is not functional and empties too fast. Empty-stomach hunger (or

empty-pouch hunger) is something that I can deal with, and always could.

What I couldn't deal with effectively was the head hunger. That kind of hunger

could occur even on a full stomach (or a full pouch). THAT is the kind of hunger

that I am trying to get a handle on, with the help of the feeling of fullness

that WLS has graced me with most of the time.

Believe me, I am most grateful for this working tool. It has given me my life

back. Because my pouch IS functional, it is also giving me a little room to work

on what I hope will become habits that will still serve me when the tool no

longer works. I KNOW the tool is not likely to last forever, which is why I'm

trying to get a handle on my way of thinking about food *now*. Only the eventual

loss of that tool will be the test of whether I can or not.

---

Start weight 365#

Lap RnY, Distal - Dr. s

Vanderbilt University Hospital

Surgery date June 3, 2002

Current weight 199.5#!

Re: sometimes

In a message dated 7/30/2003 5:18:07 PM Central Daylight Time,

basswood@... writes:

----- Original Message -----

>How does changing the way you think erase actual physical hunger from a

pouch

>that doesn't stay filled?

**********

I'll try to field this one...

I do feel physical hunger, at pretty much appropriate times. For me, the

biggest difference between physical hunger and head hunger is that I can be

physically hungry, notice it, and either eat or not. If I have to wait an

hour or so, it's no big deal.

Head hunger, on the other hand, takes hold of your brain and will not let go

until you eat! Right now, I have the advantage of the WLS-effect to modify

my brain so that I seldom, if ever, get the head hunger. I hope that

diligence in establishing good habits now will give me enough of what it takes

to retrain my own brain to the same extent Sandi has done with hers. Time will

tell...

-----------------------------------------

Well, my point exactly. You have a functional pouch, obviously, to help you

with that. I do not.

Carol A

[Guest guest]

> Head hunger, on the other hand, takes hold of your brain and will

not let go

> until you eat! Right now, I have the advantage of the WLS-effect

to modify

> my brain so that I seldom, if ever, get the head hunger. I am

hoping that by

> making deliberate good choices NOW, while I have that help, I can

retrain my

> thinking to overcome the head hunger later, when the WLS-effect

wears off. I

> don't

We had surgery the same week of June '02, but I can tell you that my

WLS-effect didn't last nearly as long. I fight head hunger and the

return of the old bad habits every day. Some days are easier than

others, and the surgery definitely helps, but I can *very* easily

fall into exactly the same relationship to food as pre-WLS. The

longer I'm out the harder it is, and weekends and vacation time are

especially difficult. I try to emphasize healthy food and

reasonable portion sizes, but the cravings and obsessions are back

with a vengence.

We definitely have physical, genetic, biochemical disadvantages that

never-heavy people don't, and it seems pretty clear that our biology

and temperament will cause WLS to have different effects and success

rates for different people. We may never know exactly why. I'm

floored when I hear people speaking to my support group about how

the surgery changed their reaction to food, how it no longer calls

to them, they're no longer addicted. That sure hasn't happened to

me!

All that said, though, I do believe that we have to *try* to retrain

our brains. It may never be easy, and many of us will *always*

struggle, but working at the behavior modification stuff has got to

help. Actually, I should try to stop saying " struggle " : one of my

support group speakers said he preferred to use the term " vigilance "

instead of " struggle, " and that resonated with me--though the way I

feel much of the time, it really IS a struggle!

Celia