Katie Jay’s Tips on Losing the Obesity Mindset
Betch Can’t Eat Just One, Even After Weight Loss Surgery
10Dec2008 Filed under: Emotional Eating, The Fat-Free Mind, Trigger Foods Author: Katie Jay
“I can eat a small bite and I’m just fine,” said Karen, a WLS patient I met while traveling this past week.
Karen was talking about chocolate, but I heard the same sentiment about a variety of trigger foods from several of the WLS friends I met.
This idea of eating “just one” got me to thinking.
I really don’t feel like I’m one of those people who can eat just one. It seems whenever I take a bite of one of my trigger foods, I go back for a second bite. Then a third.
So, when someone tells me they can handle “just one,” I feel envy.
But, I also feel fear … and doubt.
Some people tell me it’s because I have an addiction mindset. They say I am creating my food problem by telling myself I can’t control my eating. These are often the people who are trying to feed me, but sometimes it’s a WLS friend, who is feeling in control of her eating for the time being.
Maybe they are right.
At the same time, I can look at my history with food — my obsession with candy when I was in elementary school, my obsessive dieting in high school that led to sneak eating and feelings of failure, my obsession with chocolate ice cream in college (and beyond).
Maybe I could have a few bites of chocolate today. Or one potato chip. Or one spoonful of ice cream. Maybe. But that would be the opposite of every other experience I have had with my trigger foods over the years.
The thing is, every time I try just a little bit, I do it again a few days later. Then, I start doing it daily, then several times a day.
Nope, just for today, I can’t eat just one bite of a trigger food.
My question (with all due respect) to those who challenge me on this is, how far are you willing to go to be right?
How much risk are you willing to take when you consider the dire consequences of regain and morbid obesity?
I know not everyone agrees with me, but I want recovery from obesity so desperately, I’m working on not testing the waters again and again with foods that have sunk me in the past.
Is a bite of cake really worth my life? For today, I say, “No way!”
We all have to make this decision for ourselves. And I know that not everyone has my food issues. But sadly, people sometimes don’t find out they are just like me until they have put back on 50 pounds.
If you have trigger foods that threaten your success, name them and get them out of your life! Let’s enjoy a new life of freedom, rather than hanging onto a potato chip or a Dove chocolate square.
There is no comparison for me.
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- Tags: bariatric surgery, bariatric surgery support, Carbohydrate Sensitivity, Emotional Eating, food addiction, head hunger, Katie Jay, NAWLS, perfectionism, sugar addiction, sugar sensitivity, Trigger Foods, type II diabetes, weight loss surgery, weight loss surgery support, weight regain, WLS, WLS Lifestyle, WLS support
3 Responses to “Betch Can’t Eat Just One, Even After Weight Loss Surgery”
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About Katie
The author of Dying to Change: My Really Heavy Life Story, How Weight Loss Surgery Gave Me Hope for Living, and Small Bites: Daily Inspirations for Weight Loss Surgery Patients, Katie Jay, MSW, Certified Wellness Coach, is a nationally recognized expert on weight loss and weight loss surgery. She is the founder and director of the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery (www.nawls.com). An online membership organization created to help weight loss surgery patients master their eating, mindset, and lifestyle to achieve long-term weight loss success.
Casey George
December 10th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Great post. As a personal trainer, I have seen many clients struggle with the “just one” mentality. The problem is that food addiction is a real thing, and psychologists across the world would back that up. Is it an addiction as powerful as a drug addiction? Possibly, not necessarily as much from a physiological standpoint as from a psychological standpoint. You aren’t just born with trigger foods, they are somehow psychologically linked with a previous experience. Maybe you would have cookies as a kid at Grandma’s house and it always made you happy. On the subconscious level, you recall those feelings and soon Cookie=Happy. And thus, a food addiction / trigger food is born.
So I agree with you, is it really worth the risk to just “have one” of a food that contributed to your obesity before? Hell NO! If someone had just gotten out of rehab for heroin, would you advise having “just one” hit? Of course not. So why even test the waters with something that has caused you so much pain before. End your relationship with your trigger food and move onto the new happier, healthier you.
admin
December 10th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Hi Casey,
You made my day. I love it when people GET IT! One thing I will add, though, is that while there are strong emotional links to trigger foods, brain chemistry and insulin play a role in carbohydrate sensitivity (addiction), too. It’s fascinating stuff!
Are you affiliated with a gym? Just curious.
Thanks for posting.
Katie
Casey George
December 11th, 2008 at 12:19 am
I am an independent contractor at Gold’s Gym. I basically pay rent and work for myself. Pretty sweet gig if you ask me.
Great point about the chemical/insulin relationship. My wife actually has PCOS, and that is one of the major issues that affects her. She does take metformin to help with regulation, but it is still an uphill battle. You just have to do the best you can. I look forward to more content.
Have a great night