Hi there I am still pretty new on the journey and haven't had to deal with head hunger post surgery yet but some advice that I hear in support groups include drinking water when the thoughts or "hunger" comes up. Going for a walk or doing an exercise that distracts you and ensuring that you are spacing your nutrition with your water intake. Hopefully this helps you too. I know you can do it!

I have had a similar struggle, and I've found that it happens most when I need to rest or relax. For many years, I ate rather than rested when I needed to. When I feel stressed or tired, my mind still turns to food.

I deal with this in several ways. If I am out and about and I cannot rest, I sip water and/or chew sugar-free gum a bit. If I'm at home, I try to take a 15 or 20 minute nap. I don't always sleep during that time, but I try to rest and ask myself what I'm really feeling, what's really happening in my mind. That helps a lot.

Thank you for the advice, I do chew a lot of gum :) I will try the naps too that may work for me, it is just hard when I am in that head mode to talk myself out of eating some times, I am trying to keep items out of the house but it doesn't always work that way since I am not the only one here.

I think head hunger and cravings are the hardest part of working on our eating psychology. Unfortunately there is no single answer. Journaling, tapping, and counseling have helped me the most. Doreen Virtue has great book called Constant Cravings that has a list of foods and their related mental/emotional components that is very enlightening. The Tapping Solution has videos on how to tap and tapping addresses all areas of our lives. Jessica Ortner from the Tapping Solution wrote a tapping book addressing weight but it is more about working on ourselves that can lead to shedding the weight, which is more relevant than anything about diet. I have both the audio which is great for the car and the hard copy book. http://thetappingsolution.com/weight-loss-book/
The other one I follow is the the Intsitute for the Psychology of Eating podcasts. http://psychologyofeating.com/podcasts/
These have been very enlightening as well and have helped me to understand and learn to change my thinking.

Along with drinking more water as a rule, and specifically drinking a big, 18 oz. or more, glass of water before deciding I'm really hungry between meals, I cut out almost all carbs when I'm hungry all the time. If I stay below 20 grams of carbs PER DAY, I find I have to remind myself to eat my meals. If I get over 40 grams per day, for more than two days in a row, I find myself hungry all the time.
Carbohydrates stimulate appetite like nobody's business, and if I get them completely out of my system, for 3 days or more, I don't have that issue. I guess it's like not taking that first drink of alcohol or having that one cigarette.

I just posted this toady after listening to the video. Excellent info about head and gut hunger

http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Gastric_Bypass_Surgery/forum/21420683-head-and-gut-hunger

Before I had surgery I worked on my relationship with food with my psychiatrist. Some things that have helped me are to journal daily, distract myself with something other then thinking about food, I bought an adult coloring book, colored pencils and markers and enjoy coloring as my mind only has to think about what color to choose. I also bought some bubbles to blow outside during the day, making a list of things I can do other than eat and keep the list handy, make a collage of things I enjoy doing and post it on my bedroom door where I can readily see it. The other thing that has helped me is I ask myself, "Why am I wanting to eat when I had a healthy meal at.......time? What emotion am I trying to not feel? Hope maybe one will be helpful to you. Best wishes!

Thank you everyone I am taking all of your advice and trying to power through and turn to these things instead of food, some times it works others it doesn"t what is so depressing is I work at it so hard and do well for a few days then it only takes one day to ruin what progress I just made I'm just so upset with myself and feel like such a disappointment and failure. I will continue to read all on here and post updates it really does help. Thank you all so much

You are not a disappointment or a failure! You've hit a stumbling block, not a road block. Get back up, brush it off, and start each day (each moment) over again. We cannot change what we did in the past but we can control what we do now and in the future. Take baby steps - 2 steps forward, 1 step back is still a step in the right direction.

You've got this!

Yes, I used food to numb my pain for years. Finding new ways to work through stressful moments and learning from each other is a great help too.
I am reading Eat what you love love what you eat... how to break your eat repent repeat cycle... by Michelle Mays very good. Just having to keep going over the material so much to soak in...
She has some videos on you tube too.

Thank you

Head hunger can and will happen all the time. You are in charge you can eat or not eat. You are making the choice. Not in control in charge.
There are different ways to deal with head hunger... simply in a nonjudgemental way when you think about food and eating... oh there I am thinking about food again.. I am not hungry... umm what emotion is trigger this urge to eat? tired, sad, lonely... I was thinking about food big time today... after driving 2 hours... but really I am just tired after this work day...

I'm a year and a half out and 30 short of my goal. This has been on my mind a lot. I started reading books on binge eating g. I scheduled myself with a new therapist. I used to do art therapy and want to give it a try again. Also exploring tapping and meditation.