What if you’re always hungry?
In a message dated 2/25/2003 7:21:45 PM Central Standard Time,
This has really interested me since my surgery 1/10/03. I too was very hungry
early…convinced so. Then I discovered what “head hunger” really is. Of
course it would happen when I saw something delish on TV or when my husband
filled the house with tantalizing aromas when he cooked for himself or when I
decided I really wanted something other than clear liquids…I really wasn’t
hungry! Big shock - this is a big adjustment for your head and your body. It
certainly aint the easy way out!
Now that I am a little further post-op…I do get hungry some when I’m not
even thinking about food. I am disappointed that I am not one of the other
wls souls who were not hungry for months, but on the plus side I don’t get
hungry like before surgery and I am losing weight - 43 lbs so far ( and I
already hit a ~ 2 week plateau). I do worry about the hunger that returns
after the honeymoon period since I am already experiencing some hunger. Guess
I’ll fight that battle when it gets here.
I just intend to follow the rules and give it all I got. I encourage you too
also! I can’t begin to tell you how much better I feel already…so many
health issues improved!!! Talk to your surgeon for sure…if it’s head hunger
get busy doing something else. I even do this when I feel like it is real
sometimes.
Hope this helps. You are not alone and this is the greatest site for info and
support!
September 24th, 2005 at 10:00 am
Hi
I just had surgery on Feb 18 and I too am hungry. I do not have any problems
at all drinking my liquids its almost like it was before surgery also. I am
beginning to worry if I am one of those people this didn’t work on. I can
drink my water and kool aid the same as I did before I do not have to sip sip
sip. Is this normal
I am still on full liquids but I can certainly eat more then 1/2 cup of SF
pudding at one sitting which I find alarming compared to others I have read
about? Any advice or been there done that.
Thanks
Tammy
September 24th, 2005 at 7:56 pm
Tammy,
My surgery was 2/6. I can tolerate liquids more than I
expected. This is OK. I’m starting on soft foods & it
is a different ballgame all together.
As for the hunger, look for hidden sugars in whatever
you are taking in. A short walk can work wonders to
ward off head-hunger.
Hope this helps.
Joe C
Pitsburgh, PA
post-op/open RNY 2-6-03
Dr Joe Colella/Allegheny General Hospital
360/325
September 25th, 2005 at 6:17 pm
the hunger that
returns
I worry about that too, since I got hungry starting probably at a
couple of months out. I was hoping I’d be like so many people who
post that they didn’t experience hunger for nine months or so. Not
me, the honeymoon was pretty short! Now, at almost 9 months out, I
feel pretty much like pre-op in my relation to food except that it
takes a lot less to fill me up. My reactions and desires haven’t
really changed, and I’m not sure they ever really will. I still need
dieting, willpower, all that stuff if I’m to be successful. If I go
to the supermarket before supper, I find myself cruising the aisles,
reading labels to see what treats I can afford, that kind of dangerous
behavior. If I’m enjoying something and it tastes good, I want to
keep eating after I’m full. I don’t get the severe pain or vomiting
that holds back some people from over-eating. So far I can usually
reign in my unhealthy desires and behaviors, but I worry that it will
become harder and harder the further out from surgery I get. It’s
amazing to me the power of old habits. I probably should seek out
some serious behavior modification therapy or something along those
lines.
I’m trying to put into place the little moves, the kind of thing
*everyone* who struggles with their weight has to learn to do. Things
like *not* going to the supermarket when you’re hungry, never eating
from the container, eating dense proteins with a reasonable amount of
fat for satiety, that sort of thing. I’m trying to make exercise a
part of my life. I’m trying to buy and cook healthy foods, even
though my desire for unhealthy foods hasn’t waned. There are other
behaviors I haven’t managed to change yet, but know I need to
eventually, things like not eating meals while watching TV or reading.
You also have to know yourself. I’ve seen advice to eat only three
meals a day with no snacks, but I can’t do that, I get genuinely
hungry more often than that, so I build in snacks. The struggle is to
not make it a given: in other words, while I *can* have snacks if I’m
hungry, I need to force myself to skip them if I’m not really hungry,
rather than eating out of boredom or for a break or a reward or “it’s
snack time”. That’s hard, and requires constant mindfulness and
vigilance.
I’m doing well so far with weight loss, but I can’t get complacent.
This surgery is not magic, it’s a tool; it doesn’t automatically build
in behavior changes as well for some people as for others. I
certainly don’t regret doing it, but I need to be realistic about the
work that is required forever. Long-term success is definitely *not*
guaranteed, even though it’s more likely than with any other weight
loss method.
Celia
September 26th, 2005 at 7:11 am
As I was sitting here reading this message I decided something. I eat when
I know I am not hungry. I am losing weight, but not as fast as I think
someone who is 11 weeks out should be losing. I know everyone is different,
but this is what I have decided to do about it…. When my mind starts to
want food I am going to write in a journal about why I think I am hungry. I
can’t REALLY tell right now if it is head hunger (emotional hunger) or real
physical hunger, so hopefully writing down my thoughts will help me be able
to tell when it is head hunger or physical hunger.
Also, I have some questions….
Is there anything I can do for depression? BESIDES medication. I have
chosen to take myself off of the medication I have been on for years. I
know I shouldn’t have done that, especially since I am losing weight that
all those chemicals are built up in, but I felt it was in my best interest
to do so….now I am wondering if there is a vitamin or supplement of some
kind that will help boost my brain chemicals and help even out my
moods/depression and not have any sexual side effects of typical
anti-depressant medications.
Second question….I spoke with my doc’s nurse a few days ago to see if any
lab work would be done on my 4 month checkup in March. She said typically
lab work is not done until the 6th month. I worry about not getting in all
the vitamins I need, should I not worry about blood work until the 6th month
or should I go ahead and have lab work done soon. I do get dizzy and very
light headed, especially the last few weeks. I imagine my blood sugar is
low, I could get that checked at my father-in-laws. If, indeed, my blood
sugar is low…what do I do about that? The last time I drank orange juice.
.it didn’t sit well with me. Would any juice do the trick to boost my blood
sugar? Cranberry juice…I can tolerate.
Shelia
September 26th, 2005 at 11:43 am
I’m having that problem, too. I am 6 months post op, down 98 pounds, but I see
my calorie count creeping up and it scares me.
I’ve always been able to eat a lot (in my opinion) and rarely do I dump in any
way except on soft bread. I plan my meals AND my snacks. I don’t really crave
unhealthy foods. I would say I just still have that urge to eat too much! For
instance, I made soft tacos the other day. Out of habit, I’m sure, when I fixed
my plate, I made myself THREE tacos. THREE!!!!
One would have been enough. I choked down two anyway. Even after 6 months, the
fat girl still lives and breathes inside my head!!!!!! ACK!!!!!!! GO AWAY!!!!!!!
I keep track on www.fitday.com of every bite that goes in my mouth. I am seeing
the calorie count slowly inch up….1100….1200….1300. It scares me. I know
that at some point the calories I consume and the calories I burn will be equal
and I will stop losing. I just pray that is far far in the future (another 120
lbs to go!!!!) and I can keep a handle on the “fat girl” who follows me
everywhere I go.
Skeered in Chicago,
Kathy
September 26th, 2005 at 1:37 pm
My surgery was 12/18 - and I know that initially I really had no sense
of hunger or being full. I think one reason for the lack of feeling
full is that the full liquids don’t stay in our pouches long enough, or
fill it up enough, to activate the stretch receptors that make us feel
full. My doctor told me that it wasn’t at all unusual to not feel full
that soon post-op. But that I should still follow the rules - drink no
more than 1 ounce every 5 minutes, and eat 1/2 cup at a time - and eat
it slowly, taking 30 minutes.
Now that I’m on more solid foods, although I’m still on rather soft
foods, I find that I don’t really feel full - but I feel not hungry.
Like I don’t want to eat anymore. That’s usually close to the end of my
1/2 cup, so I stop when I get that feeling.
HTH
Pam