Confession time. Last night as I was about to go to bed, my husband decided he wanted some chips and HOT salsa. Before I knew it, I had inhaled 5 tortilla chips and salsa. As I'm swallowing the last bite, it hits, me...

What made me do this?

I'm not hungry. Why did I eat. As I evaluated the scene a little more, I realized I was bored and I was tired. So...I brushed my teeth and went to bed.

Moral of the story, it's important to evaluate our moods when we're about to knosh on something. Are you bored, happy, tired, sad, nervous, stressed, excited, etc. Just like an alcoholic, we all have triggers. Or...it can be a situation that used to be a cue to eat (late night tv, movie theatre, etc.)

So...your assignment, should you choose to accept it...is to evaluate your moods when you decide to eat. Are you truly hungry or is there an alterior trigger that is setting you off.

What are your triggers?

I totally understand. I ate a stupid cupcake last night at 4am. Stress always triggers me. I have had 3 children down with a virus all week and my son was worse last night. I had been up giving him medicine, cleaning up vomit and basically caring for him. (isn't motherhood wonderful) THe cake wasn't even good.

Stress is the biggie for me. I am an emotional eater and I have struggled with this for years.

I read a post just recently that suggested that when mistakes are made we need to acknowledge them, figure out why we did it and then move on for today is another day.

I have a proposal, Lee.
You know what professional wine tasters do???
They slosh that vino around long enough to get the
flavor and then spit it out into their own designated
spittle cups! I think I'll design one of those for the HOOD!
oooooooooooo it could be called the FUC Cup...
To be safe... pronounce the *U* as the long vowel sound, *U* in "use"
FUC, being an acronym for FOOD UNINTENTIONALLY CONSUMED.
Now... don't be saying those words together any too quickly!
You could be bounced from well mannered company in a heartbeat!
But hey... it could work!

I know one of the toughest things for me to stop, post-op....
was tasting while cooking. I cannot do that without getting
the faomies, big time and seeing a gain!!!
I work on a rather slow learning curve.
I'll see if Kaye wants me to proceed with said design of
the official Neighborhood FUC Cup! (I'm in trouble, now)

I hear ya! I actually put on a lot of my pregnancy weight from night eating. I got in the habit when I was pregnant (I'd wake up in the middle of then night hungry and grab a piece of bread to curb it), and kept doing that every time I was up in the middle of the night with my son when he was an infant - which certainly didn't help me to LOSE the baby weight. Exhaustion is a BIG trigger of mine.

Sorry your son is sick! Ugh, that's the WORST! Hang in there!

Night eating has been a huge issue for me for most of my life. I spend a lot of time alone at night. I go to bed very late and am up very early so usually there is no one there to stop me. I can't say how I cured the problem or if it is even cured except to say that when I get up and head to the kitchen now, I just stop at the sink and fill a glass half full of water. I drink it very slowly and somehow, while I am drinking I keep telling myself that if I turn around and get something to eat I am going to hate myself in the morning. I guess that in some strange way that is positive 'self-talk'. It works for me and I get up in the morning very proud that I ate NOTHING after dinner unless it was a hot beverage. Guess I am just a 'glass half full' kinda girl!!!

The simplest ideas are the best, celadon... but somehow I expected your full endorsement of my
newly proposed F.U.C. Cup. ... pronounced "FEW Cup" of course. ((description up two posts))

MF...love the FUC cup. Working here with the "test kitchen", I spent my first two years of post-op life chewing and spitting. I became the expert spitter...except for chocolate. That substance just doesn't want to leave the tongue! I'd end up spitting, then scraping...then swishing with water and spitting again. Lemme tell ya...it wasn't pretty, but my commitment and drive was huge to stay within my set rules. After losing the excess weight, I started swallowing down some of the especially tasty nuggets...not a great idea! I'm back to spitting. What's impressive, is that my lipstick stays on...

Now, for triggers...mine is stress. I've gone back to basics and only allow the low sugar protein bar for an inbetween meal snack. Yesterday was a big day of stress and I ate two bars. It would have been a huge grazing day if I didn't have this rule in place.

Toris, it's great that you caught yourself. Good job at managing the situation!

My biggest triggers are exhaustion and frustration. I am not really one to eat over being sad or angry but if you get me overtired or in a situation where I feel helpless and not in control my knee jerk reaction is to eat.

This is a hard one for me. My triggers all seem to be 'hospital-related' lately. I find that when I get home from there, or various doctors appointments, I am generally depressed, and find myself heading to the kitchen for my 'comfort'. I have taken a note from Kim's arsenal though, and now only allow myself protein bars, or a shake as a snack...it just somehow doesn't hit the spot the same, but I also don't tend to eat excessively later because I 'ruined the day' aready!

As far as the cup...I am right behind ya MF! I think that there needs to be a seperate dishwasher for that item though...um,ew.

Hey I like that name. "FUC" cup. I have done this on occasion but I have always done it in secret. I usually spit staight to the trash can. The cup sounds a little gross. But its nice to know that I am not a weird'o by spitting.

Always knew I wanted a separate dishwasher, Marianna....
And he'd be young and buff and ..... oh dear... where am I going with this!?

I know where you are going, and being the innocent well-behaved woman I am, <smirk>, am not going there with you!

<taking my c-light and going back to my 'just watching' corner!>

[ Hi Thanks for the post.WHEN i get tired that is when I can eat not as healthy.I will just pick something up instead of taking time to eat right.Now that I am only 14 days out from surgery I am eating healthy.it's odat.
take care
Kim e

Glad you're eating healthy, Kim... the longer we stay committed to doing so,
the better our results and the stronger we feel! Making good choices makes good
sense for all of us, no matter how long ago we've had our surgeries!

Toris...that's a hoot!!! I have one better....well not food-wise but spit-wise....picture this...dh and I are in a resturant located inside the Chatt Choo Choo (for those of you who didn't know, nope it's NOT just a song...lol!)...anyhoo, I was on day 5 of the 5dpt and we were having lunch with some friends during a marriage conference...and I was doing my best to follow the "NO drinking 30 min before or after a meal", well we were engrossed in conversation and like all good wls patients I had gotten water to drink (just was not gonna drink till time was up) and weeeeeeelll....let's just say Emily Post would have died 10 deaths because just after taking a bite of food and talking I picked up my glass and did the unthinkable...I took a sip and then JUST before I swallowed I had a light bulb moment....AND I PANICKED...."I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DRINKING AT ALL FOR ANOTHER 30 MINUTES", my brain tells my mouth. I sheepishly looked around for a place to "spit' this devilish liquid and to my dismay THERE WERE no pots no plants and NO paper napkins and yes girls (and guys) I did the most unthinkable thing...instead of swallowing that water, well, I......uuuuuuummmm, I picked up that same glass of water and put it to my lips as if to take another"sip" and spit the water I had been holding in limbo forever (seemed like it anyway) and quietly, but quickly spit that darn water back into it's home! Yep, right there in the middle of lunch, full house, and well....

Anyhoo, I couldn't "swallow" so what was a girl to do in such a predicament, I ask???? If only I had had one of MF's F.U.C. cups....

Hope this answered your questions and possibly made you laugh...the truth really can be better than fiction! Oh, btw the FUNNIEST thing about that day is that as far as I know I am the only person that knows what I did...well until I admitted it to dh...we had a good laugh about it...lol!

Blessings!

CAN I ASK YOU WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY SPITTING? DEBBIE

My husband and I have to be extra careful..
For some reason the mind say "If He/She's gonna eat that, I can too..."

I have to catch myself all the time!

Hey there Debbie...by spitting, I mean spitting! I have to taste many things at my job, so in order to avoid excess calories, I'll take a bite...chew it...then spit it into a napkin. I get to judge the full flavor, give my opinion, and walk away without actually consuming!

Since we're in confession mode, let me take my turn at the front. Raising my hand, "Hi I'm Sandi, and life is my trigger."

Seriously, I wanna eat when I am stressed, sad, happy, celebrating, coping, something smells delicious, I'm on vacation, I'm bored, lonely, busy, in the car, on a plane.

Ok, Dr. Seuss, take me away in the funny coat with the sleeves pointing backward.

Really, the only way for me to have a chance in this world of triggers I have is to have my plan, and to tell myself that my plan is all powerful. I play a head game with myself that says, if you mess up on the plan, tomorrow morning you'll wake up at 2,000 pounds! Now, intellectually, I know how ridiculous that is, but most of the time, I have myself convinced that dreadful things will happen if I leave the plan.

There is no other way for me. I go through times when I give in, and I have a devil of a time getting that monster back in the box. Better to keep the lid locked!

Boredom is my main trigger. Depression and fatigue leave me listless and disinterested. Sadness, anxiety & worry usually take my appetite away completely. Routine is a very strong trigger for me, too. I get in a habit of having something at a certain time and find it very hard to break away.

You know, it's very funny that you said that--my reaction to almost EVERYTHING is to eat--the only time that my appetite disappeared was when my father died. Otherwise, food has always been what I turn to in times of stress, boredom, sadness, celebration, umm, what else is there?

I think that what I think of as cravings are sometimes sheer boredom!