hungry

[taylor34 0]

OMG i so hungry it doesnt make no sens im 7 day post op no really pain just sleep deprive and hungry as heck omg what can i do beside drink Protein an Water

[ShoppGirl 5,048]

Very few people have actual hunger post surgery. It’s possible it’s real but not as likely as it is that it’s head hunger. If it’s head hunger you can get past it by keeping yourself busy. Taking a walk or doing a craft. Getting involved in a really gold movie or book. Whatever you enjoy doing, really. Just learning to ignore the desires to eat because of boredom or emotionally eating. Some of us need to see a bariatric therapist to learn to deal with this. If it is truly actual hunger, people have said that hot tea helps.

[lizonaplane 1,613]

I had a lot of TRUE hunger right after surgery and everyone told me it was just "head hunger". I felt so dismissed and gaslit. Finally I talked to the bariatric therapist at my surgery center and she said about 20% of her patients don't lose their hunger after surgery.

But, you might be suffering from head hunger. With head hunger, you're usually craving a particular food, likely something sweet or salty or fatty. With "true" hunger, you would be happy to eat ANYTHING.

Also, once you eat solid food it might get better (it didn't for me; I'm still hungry all the time).

Talk to your surgery center. Good luck!

Edited February 21, 2022 by lizonaplane

[Arabesque 7,468]

While the majority of us lose our hunger for a while after surgery, a small number don’t. While a lot of our hunger hormones are produced in our tummy & mostly removed during the surgery, hunger hormones, though in much s,aller quantities, are still produced in our brains.

Head hunger can drive us to eat for different reasons. To soothe & comfort - post surgery your emotions can be all over the place & the surgery itself is stressful so you seek food to comfort but you can’t eat what you usually ate in emotional situations. Out of habit - you eat because of what you’re doing (watching tv, etc.) or the time (on the clock or how long since you last ate). Out of boredom - the act of looking for something to eat & eating is something to do & breaks the boredom. Craving a texture or flavour like craving sweet, salty or carbs, or wanting something crunchy or chewy, etc. - this craving can’t be satisfied during the liquid, purée & soft phases which seems to make the craving stronger. Eating mindlessly - nibbling, grazing, etc. because the food is there & for no other reason.

Because so many of us were driven to eat by our head hunger in the past it’s like we have to learn what real hunger feels like now & it does feel different. How it will feel for you may be different than how it feels for me. (I get restless, think something is wrong but I don’t know what till I realise I’m hungry.)

Working out strategies to manage head hunger can be challenging. Recognising it for what it is is the first step. Then look for ways to handle it: distractions (watch tv, read, do a craft, play a game, go for a walk, potter in your garden, etc), delay (wait to satisfy the craving for 30mins - it often goes), have some Water, a cup of tea (herbal or green as you’re allowed),. This can help with real hunger too.

It can seem a lot to work through but you’ll get there. Good luck & I hope you continue to recover well.

[GradyCat 3,696]

It's more than likely head hunger and not true physical hunger. This is where you have to learn to not turn to food in the case of cravings, boredom, pain, or stress. It's tough, but we've all got to learn how to do it. Good luck on your WLS journey.