Hungry, or not...after surgery

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Hi , Congrats on ur sleeve first of all, and thanks for ur post. It kind of answered my question I am asking all over the site I am a person who eats all day long. The good thing is....Im not a sweet eater. My body craves Protein. I need my whole chicken and a whole bag of salad for lunch!...but my question to sleevers is...after u eat, do u feel full like u would after a meal b4 surgery? or is it like...ok, I had my 4 oz and I need more...that crazy type of hunger as u put it. I eat very big once or twice a day, but crazily I can eat an 18 lb turkey. I know it sounds absolutely crazy, but that is y i am 330 lbs, coming down from 475 giving birth to my son! but in 1998 Anyway, thanks for ur post again, and good luck to u. May all ur dreams and wishes come true thx

There is no physical possible way to eat a whole chicken after surgery. You will eat your Protein, like around 2-5 ozs depending on how far out you are from surgery, and you will be stuffed. We eat little bites, chew well, then swallow. Some even put the fork down between bites just to let the food settle in before eating the next bite. It may sound crazy and impossible now, but believe me, it is VERY possible after surgery... in fact if you don't do this, it will hurt very bad. I am satisfied with so much less food than I ever was in the past. If you are worried that your eyes will still want to see that big old chicken and salad on the plate, use a small plate and measure and weight your food to make sure its not more than you can fit into your sleeve. I even end up leaving food on my little plate because Im just too full to finish. Its a learning experience, but the sleeve makes it much easier to learn the new habits than it has ever been,

[Infernored 5]

Yeah, I can eat 4 oz of applesauce and feel like I ate a huge thanksgiving dinner!

[kellyw74 258]

I am so blown away by the small amounts of food that you all eat. I can not wait until I am able to get by on such small servings!!!

Kelly

[So Cal Kurt 32]

I don't have hunger but do have carb cravings when I work nights. I did some research and found that the carbs are craved for shift workers to regulate serotonin. Serotonin is the feel good hormone, normally released by the body during a regular sleep cycle. No wonder eating sweets feels good! I am probably the poster child of what not to do but I do give in. My overall daily calorie count is still low enough that an extra 200 calories 6 days a month isn't going to hurt as long as I get the cardio in to burn them. I am also finding that the slight calorie increase leads to a better weight loss the following week when I hit the gym every day for 2 or 3 days straight. As far as the Wendy's frosty. I have been have been having reduced calorie ice cream since maybe week 3. A Wendy's child size chocolate has 150 calories and 4g of fat. Either a weight watchers pop, a skinny cow or a child size frosty. My weight loss had been consistent though out. I am thinking I must have been hitting the sweet spot as far as exercise, calories and Protein intake. I am under goal, still losing in the 1lb a week range and taking in 1500+ calories a day.

[Bandme1 12]

Eggface has some amazing recipes for ice cream on her blog that are made with Protein powder and sugar free Torani Syrup. That might just do the trick when you get that ice cream craving

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2009/04/coffee-toffee-crunch.html (Here is a link to one of the flavors, but she has a ton of different flavors listed on there)

I am not necessarily hungry but it's more mental. Like when I would be sitting in the living room watching a movie or something, I would have a huge desire to be eating a whole bag of chips like I might have before surgery. I have found out, that my eyes are still, and even more so now, much bigger than my stomach. Just last night, I had an urge for softserve ice cream. I ordered a small, but the small is still really big. I barely made a dent in it and had to throw it out. In a way, I'm kinda grieving for the way I used to eat. It wasn't healthy for sure, but it definitely did satisfy an emotional part of me.

[cwalker 12]

So I am confused...I read here and there that after surgery some are hungry and some are not. Then a few weeks later some of the hungry are no longer hungry. Do some people never lose their hunger? Is there a normal progression after surgery or is everyone different? What about a few years out? I'm getting sleeved in 11 days and I'm just curious...thanks!

Early out I felt emptiness, but it wasn't hunger as we know it pre-op. This Friday will be my one yr and I never feel hunger, I do have apples and 100 calories Snacks around if I want something and I DO stay on program 95 % of the time but I consider myself in maintaince. I probably should lose down to have a bounce back cushion but really am happy right where I am! I love my sleeve!

[kellyw74 258]

i sure hope my hunger issues go away!! i am so hungry all the damn time!

Kelly

[Infernored 5]

Kelly, if I can be helped then so can you. I would eat until I got full and then eat more and then eat more after that. I always was full

[kellyw74 258]

Thanks Heather, I sure hope so. I just feel satisfied when I eat, but shortly after, I am hungry again. It is not head hunger, my stomach GROWLS all the friggen time. I feel as if I have not eaten for days. I take Nexium daily and right now, twice a day. It is definatly not acid.

I am so scared that I am going to go thru this and I am still going to be starving all of the time!!! My dr. says NO WAY!, but I just can not make the dobut leave me at this time.

I guess, I just am so use to failure that I am afraid of failing again!

Thanks,

Kelly

[Deedle Dee 0]

I have had an awful lot of "head hunger" and have had to force myself to eat only at the kitchen table in order to avoid some of my eating triggers. Sometimes it helps to talk to a nutritionist familiar with weight-loss surgery and get some ideas about how to relearn the way we deal with food. I am having to go back to the basics, but know this surgery is the best tool for me!

[claudia 1]

I'm around four months out and I don't experience hunger as such, but I do get a kind of empty/gurgly feeling sometimes, which tells me I need to eat.

I do have head hunger/cravings sometimes though - particularly around TTOM or if I'm feeling down. I need to keep those in check.

[Chella 0]

OMG i am right there with you kelly74 you described what iam going through exactly to the T, my stomach growls all day and it is def. not heartburn its coming from deep in my stomach and although, thankfully when i eat very little fills me up i feel physically like iam starving all day! thought my surgeon removed the hormone causing this it has been 3 weeks since surgery and i would love some advice on this!!!!! also my doctor gave me prilosec to take at night to protect my stomach two at night can i take 2 during the day as well??????? Thx for your help eveyone!

Thanks Heather, I sure hope so. I just feel satisfied when I eat, but shortly after, I am hungry again. It is not head hunger, my stomach GROWLS all the friggen time. I feel as if I have not eaten for days. I take Nexium daily and right now, twice a day. It is definatly not acid.

I am so scared that I am going to go thru this and I am still going to be starving all of the time!!! My dr. says NO WAY!, but I just can not make the dobut leave me at this time.

I guess, I just am so use to failure that I am afraid of failing again!

Thanks,

Kelly

[Infernored 5]

Just you wait kelly! I was just like you. But it will work. Even now I might eat something and I feel like it won't fill me up but it definitely does!!!

[feedyoureye 3,087]

OMG i am right there with you kelly74 you described what iam going through exactly to the T, my stomach growls all day and it is def. not heartburn its coming from deep in my stomach and although, thankfully when i eat very little fills me up i feel physically like iam starving all day! thought my surgeon removed the hormone causing this it has been 3 weeks since surgery and i would love some advice on this!!!!! also my doctor gave me prilosec to take at night to protect my stomach two at night can i take 2 during the day as well??????? Thx for your help eveyone!

I am at 14 weeks, and I noticed my hunger started going away around 12 weeks. Its getting better and better to handle. I hope it stays this way!

[KathyM 14]

I am 9 months out from surgery and I don't ever experience physical hunger. However, I do still have cravings to eat, old habits still lurk - wanting to snack when I am bored or watching tv, etc. If I find something to do then I stop thinking about it and if I do happen to give in and eat, then I don't get too freaked out about it because my tummy won't let me eat too much. A few bites of chips and salsa are way better than the entire bag of chips and container of salsa that I used to eat.

One thing that did surprise me after I had surgery was that before if I didn't eat, I would get all shaky. That doesn't ever happen to me anymore. I could go an entire 24 hrs without putting one thing in my mouth and wouldn't feel that way. Not sure why that is. I average about 800-1000 cal/day. My weightloss has slowed quite a bit but I am not exercising much at all. I only have about another 40 to lose, and know that if I really buckled down it would probably come off pretty easy. I am extremely happy with my new body and new way of eating and living so I am not in a hurry at this point to get to goal. I am hoping to be there by my one year surgiversary. The sleeeve continues to be the best gift I have ever given myself.

Kathy