Post surgery hunger

murphyraven

I know different people are going to have different results but I'd love some feedback on everyone's perspective.

How was your true hunger signals after being sleeved? I'm looking for feedback for both the honeymoon phase and a year or more out. How is it compared to what your hunger was pre WLS?

I'm pretty sure I am going to have to make myself eat during the first part of the honeymoon phase. Not sure what my hunger will be like afterwards. I am normally not hungry until about 4 hours after I wake up. I have been forcing myself to have a protein shake as my breakfast and hope that I can continue this trend even after I am fully healed from the sleeve. I am a evening carb craver/snacker. It does take more effort to resist bad for me items later at night, but I've been working on identifying and curbing my cravings with high protein options.

In just a few months of the preop diet I've found I am mostly an opportunity eater. If there is junk in my face all the time its hard for me to resist. I've been working on my knee jerk reaction to eat all the crap that is provided at work since so much sugar passes through this office. At home I am more able to resist cravings as long as the bad stuff is out of sight, out of mind. My husband is good about hiding his treats and not eating them in front of me. My roommates eat their fast food in their rooms most of the time. I have trained them to no longer ask if I want an order of fries when they pick up fast food (my weakness!). Although I still sometimes snag 1 or 2 fries from their order if they let me.

I guess I am realizing my true hunger signals are not as severe as I thought they were and its more habit and opportunity that has encouraged my poor choices. As I learn to recognize and avoid head hunger I wonder if true hunger will become easier to recognize.

Thanks in advance for your input! My final appointment is on the 21st and then I start the insurance approval process.

tcdouglas

I had my sleeve done yesterday so I can't say much on the post-op hunger. To be honest I am having a hard enough time taking in fluids. I will say this though. My roommate picked me up from the hospital and on the way home said she was hungry and she stopped at taco cabana and ate her tacos in the car. Funniest thing was it didn't bother me in the least (and those were one of my favorite foods). So I do believe that your cravings will change over time. A lot of people have told me that the food they used love they can't eat anymore. One thing I can suggest is making sure you keep healthy food options available so that when you get those late night cravings for the wrong things you have your healthy snack ready to go...

katematt313

I don't really get hungry, although sometimes I have an "empty" feeling that is slightly uncomfortable. There is head hunger. You recognize it because it is the desire to eat, and not the physical symptoms of needing to eat. When you need to eat, you may feel woozy, cranky, dizzy, light headed, or even slightly nauseous.

You may be surprised about wanting to eat in the a.m. This surgery has a way of regulating things.

I am an evening eater, too. It is a hard habit to break, but something that you should work really hard on. Getting in too many calories after dinner is probably what keeps you from being hungry in the morning.

garber6th

I am 10 months out, and I still mostly eat by schedule because I really don't get hungry. If I haven't eaten for a few hours my stomach will get grumbly and I know I need something, but it doesn't feel the same as before - maybe this is what true hunger feels like! I also spent a lot of time in therapy before surgery to work on my food issues, and I lost 70 lbs before surgery, so by the time I had my surgery I had already broken myself of "opportunity" eating and eating as a habit. I haven't really had any head hunger either. I am not a morning eater - I have a protein drink in the morning then eat something a few hours later. I used to be a snacker, now I don't snack at all.

You kind of get a clean slate after surgery, it's an opportunity to form new and healthy habits. I think it's awesome that you are recognizing what you do prior to surgery, it will really help you to be successful post-surgery.

Mangopickle

I orient the majority of my calories toward the end of the day. I have 4 slices of hormel precooked bacon (70 cal) or some sambhar-Indian lentil soup(80cals) for b-fast. Then 30 min later 2 carbmaster lattes (60cal)dunk back to back over the next four hours. Then a meat and veg lunch(no carbs). 30 min wait Then 2 decaf lattes(60cal) over 4 hrs. this leaves me 2 snacks and dinner. At the end of EVERY day there is planned skinny cow bar or 3/4 c vanilla Greek yogurt with fruit(100 cal) I am not a sweets person so this kills the appetite, I brush teeth, go to bed. I cannot be trusted to graze in the pantry full of healthy food. I also cannot have a savory snack-brings on the urge to graze You have got to have a go to bed plan. If I desire more after my snack, I pray. Because clearly I am not dealing with my emotions and am looking for food pleasure to medicate myself.

murphyraven

I found yasso frozen greek yogurt bars at costco. These have been my go to when I feel like I need a dessert in the evening as they are fairly low in calories (80-130 depending on flavor) plus have 5-7g protein and taste good. So far I have only tried the vanilla bean flavor. I don't eat them every night but I like having something reasonable for when the cravings hit so I don't feel deprived.

http://www.yasso.com/ for those interested

Mangopickle

I found yasso frozen greek yogurt bars at costco. These have been my go to when I feel like I need a dessert in the evening as they are fairly low in calories (80-130 depending on flavor) plus have 5-7g protein and taste good. So far I have only tried the vanilla bean flavor. I don't eat them every night but I like having something reasonable for when the cravings hit so I don't feel deprived.

http://www.yasso.com/ for those interested

Consider making them a daily part of your life. I really look forward to mine. I don't eat it until rt before I go to bed. That way it is always waiting for me and it prevents grazing after dinner. I didn't grow up with regular desserts. Desserts were always celebratory. So this is like going to bed on a high note.

Thaeda

I am 6.5 months post op. Unlike some folks, I do experience actual hunger-- BUT as long as I do not go ridiculously long without eating (like 8-10 hours) it is manageable and for the most part, totally ignorable (that could NOT happen for me prior to the surgery). That is why I say the surgery gives me "leverage"--- i get hungry, but not so hungry it impairs my judgment or makes me willing to "jump ship" nutrition wise. It is just plain easier to eat what I am supposed to because hunger is mild-moderate rather than severe. Love it!

reisu

As others have said, I eat mostly by schedule. I don't get hungry, so if I don't follow a schedule it would be really easy to 'forget' to eat. I've done that on more than one occasion, and it's not ended up pretty.

There are one or two times I've gotten 'hungry' (smelling something damned tasty), but I mostly consider those phantom or triggered hunger symptoms.

Things may change for me in a while (only 7 months out), but who knows.

For a 'snack', I've found that Trader Joes has these awesome Powe Crunch bars. So far vanilla is the one that is absolutely the best.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/trader-joe-power-crunch-protein-energy-bar-41396865

2BeHappy2

I found yasso frozen greek yogurt bars at costco. These have been my go to when I feel like I need a dessert in the evening as they are fairly low in calories (80-130 depending on flavor) plus have 5-7g protein and taste good. So far I have only tried the vanilla bean flavor. I don't eat them every night but I like having something reasonable for when the cravings hit so I don't feel deprived.

http://www.yasso.com/ for those interested

Oh darn...tried this and it said page had moved :ohwell:
I too have wondered this myself...so glad you brought it up :happy:
Im getting ready to meet w/ my surgeon on the 26th and then I suppose Ill get an actual "date" for the Sleeve.
Im super excited as Ive been waiting for their call for like more than 2 months (since the last time I was in their office for my final 3 month dietician and 5% loss weigh in).
Even though clearly we're given "instructions", its sooo nice when the people who have gone before us can offer (helpful) advice, Im always msging random people...I just want to get this right....the 1st time :bigsmile:

bikrchk

For the first 6 months I had to remember to eat. Today, at 10 months out I do eventually get hungry, but it's not the same. It's not a feeling that I have to respond to the second I notice it. I eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks so I don't generally go too long without eating anyway. I was scolded early on for not eating enough calories and was told to add the snacks. Ended up maintaining the "5 small meals" method as it was working for me. I just entered maintenance and I'm finding that a bit harder than the loss phase. It's easier to hit one target, "under calories" than it is to hit a specific # without going over or under on a daily basis. So hunger is... different. The "pull" is not there, but I don't feel great if I've missed a snack and then dinner is late so I try to keep a protein bar around just in case.

homerismyhero

I had a harder time with missing food- it really was like an addiction and took about 21 days for me to stop having dreams about Alfredo Sauce. It wasn't real hunger- but I still wanted to eat. Turning off the TV during this phase helped a lot- when you're thinkg about food- every commercial seems to be about something delicious. I also love the Yasso bars and the Weight Watchers Frozen Greek Yogurt.

pawoodhull

They tell us at the beginning that we will most likely lose our hunger for the first year and then most people will get it back. I am three years out and I am one of those folks who really didn't get it back. If I am really busy, usually on the weekends which are a lot less structured, I can still forget to eat. For me, it's all about the head hunger. I'm not hungry, I just sometimes want to eat. I am aware of that and do things like leave my dinner salad for a few hours after dinner if I've been battling the head hunger that day, or make sure to leave some extra calories for a low cal snack in the evening.

I've had a few times in the last 3 years where my stomach actually growled! That never happened before surgery so the first time it did I had no clue what it was and my husband had to ask me when I had eaten last. Other than that I have sometimes gotten dizzy and then realized I hadn't eaten in like 24 hours.

At first you need to eat on a schedule because a new sleeved tummy isn't happy totally empty. I still really need the schedule and have it at work. Skipping meals isn't good, it does slow the metabolism down, so sleeved or not, hungry or not, we need to maintain 3 meals a day consistently.

Caligirl0

I'm 8 months out and really haven't had hunger to speak of, I have to remind myself to eat. There was a time (when I was allowed full foods again) that I craved things, but that had more to do with deprivation than hunger, something I'm not good with, hence diet fails). Now though, if I take a bite of something unhealthy, it satisfies my craving, and I don't have to scarf down a whole serving or more. No off limit foods, but my every day meals consist of protein and produce. Hope the non-hunger stays with me!

Cheliaj

The psychological hunger will be there you have to get some help for it or it will cause you to go back to old habits. When I stop doing my interventions to beat psych hunger I make bad food choices. So we have to remind ourselves how we got into the overweight lifestyle and prevent it from happening again. The brain hasn't changed and it remembers that food makes us happy. Stay strong and focused.

hurricanelena

I'm about 6.5 months out, and I've noticed that for about the past 1.5 months I experience physical hunger (psychological "head" hunger too but that's different). Its pretty consistently around 4-6 hours if I've eaten a reasonable meal, I start to get the nausea, light-headed feeling. If I go longer than that I will pretty much pass out (has happened). I also can tell while I'm working out when I've gone through my current nutrition store.

When I feel hungry I go through a checklist that I developed with my nutritionist. Am I really hungry? How long as it been since I've eaten? If it hasn't been at least four hours I start trying to figure out what emotional trigger I might be having. During an emotional eating workshop I went to we discussed coping strategies a lot, and sometimes I do give into the emotional eating as long as its not my first reaction and I think it through and try other options. But emotional eating now is having a chip and not the entire bag.

arh0317

I'm about 6.5 months out, and I've noticed that for about the past 1.5 months I experience physical hunger (psychological "head" hunger too but that's different). Its pretty consistently around 4-6 hours if I've eaten a reasonable meal, I start to get the nausea, light-headed feeling. If I go longer than that I will pretty much pass out (has happened). I also can tell while I'm working out when I've gone through my current nutrition store.

When I feel hungry I go through a checklist that I developed with my nutritionist. Am I really hungry? How long as it been since I've eaten? If it hasn't been at least four hours I start trying to figure out what emotional trigger I might be having. During an emotional eating workshop I went to we discussed coping strategies a lot, and sometimes I do give into the emotional eating as long as its not my first reaction and I think it through and try other options. But emotional eating now is having a chip and not the entire bag.

Thanks for sharing! The workshop sounds great!

mareacuda

I am 3.5 years post op (sleeve Feb 9 2011) . I got my hunger back during and after my pregnancy in 2012/13 (baby born Feb 2013).

The key for me is to pay attention to my body and feed it regularly, but I also have to watch the grazing. I have set meal and snacks every day- but keep it to that. I have definitely struggled since my baby was born, but have recently joined here for support and am doing great planning out meals (already losing weight!).

jgpea

7 years post op here. I still don't feel very hungry. Once in awhile I get hungry where I need to eat, but if I am busy, I truly am one of those "forgot to eat" people. Of course that didn't stop me from gaining 50 of the 113 I lost....it made me realize what a true emotional eater I really am.

I was never, ever, full pre-op. I was always hungry.

Now I'm at the point where I exercise, eat low carb, be MINDFUL of what I eat and I'm losing again.