male only Hunger Hasn't Gone Away...why?

[Cheryl Lawler Phillips 5]

I am typing this for my husband, so please be patient while I try to explain his concerns.

He was sleeved on 8/23. His pre-op weight was 530 and lost 13 pounds prior to surgery. He is now down a total of 60.8 pounds. He has only lost a pound or two in the last week. He weighs daily which I think is a huge mistake. I am trying to convince him to stop doing that.

When he decided that he was going to go through with the surgery one of the benefits was supposed to be that the "thing" that causes him to get hungry would be removed. It doesn't seem that that has happened. He is hungry all the time, and when he does eat his stomach rolls and grumbles and he is in pain. He is very frustrated at this point. Also, he is very frustrated because he is in ketosis and doesn't seem to be moving the scale. I realize that 61 pounds is a lot of weight to lose but because he has so much to lose the 61 pounds isn't really showing on him at this point. He wants people to notice, but they don't.

Also, how do you handle telling people about your progress when it really doesn't show? When he tells people what he has lost, they said "well, how much did you freaking weigh to begin with?" He really isn't in a position of wanting to tell his starting weight.

Anyway, any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Cheryl

[Livinglifeout 217]

Is your husband eating enough Protein? It is very important to give us energy keeps hunger at bay. Also is he following the no drinking rule of 30/30 minutes before and after a meal. We are all anxious about wanting the weight to come off fast..I can barely wait, and that is also why so many of us keep weighing every day. We hate the stalls but love the losses.

[scorpion509 107]

Cheryl.

Is that a stomach hunger or head hunger? because Base on my experience ( but I am only 2 weeks post op) I am not hungry by stomach. I can be without food for at least 3 hours untill I will feel something that I am a bit hungry. But I am hungry with my head. my kids eating potatoes I want potatoes. but when I only tried on tea spoon my stomach decided that I try to poison him. and I feel very bad. it cannot handle that small amount and I was sure that I have a revolution inside my stomach. How often he eat? and what is the amount. because for me to eat my 650 cal I am eating every 2-3 hours. breakfast-> shake-> lunch->shake->dinner and trying to push down Water in between, but again I am only start puree stage today so it was all liquid.

another thing body need time to adjust to new weight. he might notice that weight is the same but sizes are different. so Please tell him don't be discourage. I am another person who weight myself every morning, but not to be freaking out just to understand what I ate what might make my weight changes stop. AND 60 lbs for 1 months - terrific progress .

[Jld2375 11]

I am typing this for my husband, so please be patient while I try to explain his concerns.

He was sleeved on 8/23. His pre-op weight was 530 and lost 13 pounds prior to surgery. He is now down a total of 60.8 pounds. He has only lost a pound or two in the last week. He weighs daily which I think is a huge mistake. I am trying to convince him to stop doing that.

When he decided that he was going to go through with the surgery one of the benefits was supposed to be that the "thing" that causes him to get hungry would be removed. It doesn't seem that that has happened. He is hungry all the time, and when he does eat his stomach rolls and grumbles and he is in pain. He is very frustrated at this point. Also, he is very frustrated because he is in ketosis and doesn't seem to be moving the scale. I realize that 61 pounds is a lot of weight to lose but because he has so much to lose the 61 pounds isn't really showing on him at this point. He wants people to notice, but they don't.

Also, how do you handle telling people about your progress when it really doesn't show? When he tells people what he has lost, they said "well, how much did you freaking weigh to begin with?" He really isn't in a position of wanting to tell his starting weight.

Anyway, any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Cheryl

So I am not alone. They must not have cut out our hunger sensor. Most ppl dont feel hungry what I see on blogs. Esp in Obesity Help blogs. We must not be normal. UGH!!!! I will be 1 yr out nov 27. Its a struggle day to day. So far I have only lost 98 pounds since Nov. I was 401 and now 304.

[Jhoney 1]

I agree 60 pounds in that short of time is great! I'm going on two weekly sunday and I have lost 22 pounds. And right now I'm not loosing anything. And I'm eating once a day or some time nothing but Protein. Tonight I had mash potato and it stay down so far. I do more liquid then anything and Water as well. I'm getting aggravate cause u would think not eating much and just liquid I would be dropping it like crazy! I'm not right now that is weird thing and driving me crazy.

[newgrandmother 725]

60lbs is a lot to lose in that period of time. the body need to catch up to that i know its weird but thats the mecanics of it.

i to stay hungry i was told to increase my protien and that should help. well i can barely get what im suppose to and try to get more in omg.

[LaBelle509 326]

I do get hungry. Nothing like the constant " starving " feeling I used to have. A more easy to control feeling. I usually feel it when I did not eat enough Protein. During the days that I am at work, it's easy for me to go long period without breaks. That is a mistake. Now I carry a couple of Protein shakes with me. That helps me a lot.

At first I used to feel hungry all the time. But like someone else mentioned, it was mostly head hunger. I wanted to eat!! If I saw a commercial or smelled food, I felt super hungry. But with time I learned to distinguish between my head hunger and physical hunger. That took time. But I was able to do it. With physical hunger, whatever I ate, I felt satisfied and it went away. Emotional hunger will only go away if I ate the specific thing that I was craving. If I ate something else, the "feeling" of hunger hunted me still. Once I learned that, I slowly started to control myself better.

I am a slow loser ( going through a stall right now ). I want to see result right away. I want people to notice the progress I have made. That is a lot of stress. In my pre-op class, the nurse warned us against the danger of getting on the scale every day. She also said ( she had the bypass ), to limit the amount of info that we share with others as far as what we are losing. The need to report is added stress. I can see her point now.

I get asked DAILY about what I have lost. I found freedom in answering : I dont know or that's my secret ( followed by a cute wink ) .

Imagine the struggle we are going through when the scale doesn't move... Now imagine telling some regular person that has never struggle with their weight, that you had weight loss surgery but yet not losing?! The " You are failing " ignorant look that will surely come, would be enough to send me over the edge!!!

I have told not ONE soul at work or church how much weight I lost. I still catch a few looks here and there, like " she still looks fat to me ". that is why I make sure they know nothing of my progress. I have enough internal pressure about the way I still look. I refuse to add them too.

Tell your husband to hang in there. Make sure he is eating enough Protein, drinking enough Water and eating his meals at a set time. If he gets hungry before his meal, don't eat what he is craving but rather something different. Lastly, tell him people will notice. Be patient. Take care.

[Darkkyss 33]

He might have heart burn, acid reflex. I was told that would cause the hunger feeling. I am taking medication which helps with the acid reflex. I was sleeved a little over a month ago and I had almost 2 week stall and have read TONS of people go through that. Good Luck. Remember when he does start losing again it might not be as fast. 2 lbs a week is a great goal.

[Preacher's Wife 14]

He might have heart burn, acid reflex. I was told that would cause the hunger feeling. I am taking medication which helps with the acid reflex. I was sleeved a little over a month ago and I had almost 2 week stall and have read TONS of people go through that. Good Luck. Remember when he does start losing again it might not be as fast. 2 lbs a week is a great goal.

This was the case we me also. It was heartburn not hunger.

[Alithinos 19]

I second Darkkyss and Preacher's Wife. My reflux was painful, so my primary care physician increased me to two protonix per day.

He needs to stop weighing himself every day. Once a week is good. I weigh on Fridays, as I'm more likely to be really "good" during the workweek. If I weigh myself again on the following MOnday, I will find that I haven't lost anything more. I don't know why this is; all I know that Friday works best for me. Also, even if the scale is moving slowly, he will lose inches. I have two friends who have had weight loss surgery and they find this to be very true. Once will measure when the scale isn't moving, and is always surprised to find that she is smaller somewhere. Measure and do that once a week or twice a month.

As for the nosy people, that's your husband's business. "Don't ask me mine and I won't ask you how old you are/how much you weigh/if you had work done." 60 lbs is great. He is ahead of most people at this point. I'm a month out and I've lost 20, but I have about 120 to lose.

[Cheryl Lawler Phillips 5]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I finally just told him to get a little prospective. Since the surgery he has lost over 60 pounds, his sleep apnea is GONE!, and he is virtually pain free. If he didn't lose another ounce, which he has since the original post, the quality of his life has improved so dramatically that the surgery is well worth the stomach issues and money spent x 10!!! He desperately wants people to say "WOW, look at you!!" but when you have 250 or so pounds to lose, 60 pounds doesn't make that much of a difference. I can really see the changes in his body but he doesn't believe me. Anyway, he has scaled back his eating to soft foods again to see if that helps with the pain. I will keep you posted on his progress!

Good luck to y'all!!!

Thanks,

Cheryl

[LA_dreamer 54]

Anyway' date=' he has scaled back his eating to soft foods again to see if that helps with the pain. [/quote']

Just a question but what was he eating? I'm a week behind him and I'm on the "soft" phase for 4 months. I still have head hunger depending on what ppl around me are eating or even talking about. And I still have discomfort with some food because of reflux.

[Cheryl Lawler Phillips 5]

He decided that "the rules" didn't apply to him, so he went directly into eating normal food. He still ate very small amounts and tried to chew everything well but it just didn't settle very well on his stomach. Since we went to the BRAT diet, bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast with added cottage cheese, he is having a much easier time with his stomach.

[LA_dreamer 54]

He decided that "the rules" didn't apply to him' date=' so he went directly into eating normal food. He still ate very small amounts and tried to chew everything well but it just didn't settle very well on his stomach. Since we went to the BRAT diet, bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast with added cottage cheese, he is having a much easier time with his stomach.[/quote']

Ahhh... that's a man for ya.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

He decided that "the rules" didn't apply to him' date=' so he went directly into eating normal food. He still ate very small amounts and tried to chew everything well but it just didn't settle very well on his stomach. Since we went to the BRAT diet, bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast with added cottage cheese, he is having a much easier time with his stomach.[/quote']

There's the problem right there. If he's gonna eat solid foods, he needs to be eating dense Protein. It will satisfy him quicker and keep him feeling fuller longer. Every meal needs to be centered around dense Protein at this point. And tell him to quit eating starches. They trigger cravings.

And as others have said, after surgery acid reflux triggers the hunger feeling. Tell him to take an antacid and see if that diminishes his feelings of hunger.

Of course it won't do a thing for head hunger. That has to be dealt with as well. And if he's like everyone else, he will insist its not head hunger and it's not reflux. But just like everyone else, he really can't tell the difference anymore. They all feel the same post op.