That grazing feeling.

ameford1977

Hello all!
I got my surgery 12 days ago and even though I'm not really hungry, I still have that feeling to graze. Does that ever go away? For example, my kid had some friends over for a sleep over last night and we ordered some pizza. It took so much will power and strength not to grab a slice. I wasn't even hungry. I think I just remember what pizza tastes like and how much I love it!!!

Thaeda

Welcome to head hunger! Yes... it happens. For some folks it happens a lot. For me, when it pops up, I remind myself I am not physically hungry and food is for nourishment--- I do not eat only to experience the taste of something-- I did that when I was fat and it is one of the reasons I was fat. If I want to not be fat, I have to change how I behave. Anyway... that is what works for me most often. On the rare occasion I give in, I eat very slowly and mindfully--- paying attention to how the food tastes--- does it really taste as good as I thought it would (often the answer is no and I stop eating). I keep that experience in my head the next time I want to eat and I am not hungry-- I remember that the food did not taste nearly as good as I thought it would and it makes it easier just to pass the next time.

Mangopickle

Hello all!
I got my surgery 12 days ago and even though I'm not really hungry, I still have that feeling to graze. Does that ever go away? For example, my kid had some friends over for a sleep over last night and we ordered some pizza. It took so much will power and strength not to grab a slice. I wasn't even hungry. I think I just remember what pizza tastes like and how much I love it!!!

Here is a previous post of mine I have copied. I tried to edit it to fit the situation.

When it comes to obesity it is not about what you are eating....it is about why you are eating. As obese people if we are bored, sad, happy, mad,broke, hired, fired, grieving, celebrating, etc.....we eat. It is our default activity. We medicate with food just like any addict and develop the behavior of eating at certain times, in certain situations, with certain people Regardless of whether we are hungry-which is extremely abnormal for any mammal. Did you receive any counseling about this prior to surgery? The sleeve does nothing to cure food addiction. You immediately found that you could completely graze around it. You have to choose to change your relationship with food. It is not entertainment, a reward, a companion, a rescuer, solace or your friend. It is food....nothing more. You will have to learn to be bored, sad, mad, happy, broke or grieving without running to food pleasure to distract you from dealing with your feelings. Just be. Be bored, pissed off, broke, mad, etc. an amazing thing wil happen if you do....The feelings will pass! You felt it, you dealt with it and you move on. The more you do this and stick to your dietary lifestyle the more your food obsession will fade. That said you should also studiously drop any trigger foods. Mine were wheat products, pasta and fried potatoes.
Are you being nice to yourself? Do you love yourself deeply 100%. You will need to achieve this in order to have the strength to take care of yourself the way you need to. In 34 years I never was successful at wt loss until I loved me completely as an obese woman. Prayer really helped me. Then that switch inside me flipped and food lost most of its appeal and my primary focus became caring for me. Pizza never rescued me, comforted me, or helped me but it d4mn near killed me. Hope this helps, God bless.

jkern9110

I am over a year out. I struggle with head hunger as well as trying to decipher between the signals of hungry vs. thirsty. Mangopickle is right and has advocated facing your food demons from the beginning and try to understand why you want to eat. With everything being so fast paced these days, I think we all have that knee jerk reaction to judge the signals our body sends in an instant. When I try to decipher those signals too quickly, I usually get them wrong.

Here are a few things that I do, when my body sends a signal that I might be hungry:
1. consider when I last ate and what I ate.
2. consider if I have drank enough water.
3. if I think it is head hunger, I give myself a time limit. After X amount of time, I can have one of my snacks.

Example: At 12 pm I felt "hungry."
1. I ate lunch at 11am and had 4 oz grilled chicken and grilled veggies. Conclusion: I'm probably not really hungry.
2. After finishing lunch at 11:15ish, I waited 30 minutes to drink water. I've been sipping all day, too. Conclusion: I'm not thirsty.
3. I think this head hunger. I tell myself that at 1:30 I'm still "hungry" that I can have my mid afternoon snack.

It's 1:45pm and my head hunger has passed. I haven't eaten my afternoon snack yet. I can save it for later, when I'm actually hungry or skip it all together. Sometimes a little evaluation is all we need to do.

authorwriter

i think it goes away. I have those days when I find myself searching, circling the kitchen like a shark, wanting something and having no idea what it is. I take a bite of this or that, but that's not it. I call it the 'Unicorn Food' - a mythical food that will provide that satiation, but I'm unable to find.

Mostly, I find out things I think I really want and I think will taste OH SO GOOD...don't. They don't taste all that great and they don't sit well. My food choices are pretty narrow these days. Eating that pizza would likely have made you throwing up sick. That's just life post-vsg.

I go for water first. see if I'm really thirsty. then I'll go for a protein shake. that usually will do it for me. I eat when I'm hungry, not on a schedule. Another thing I question is 'Is it stomach acid, or true hunger.' sometimes one of my acid meds takes care of the issue.

True hunger is when I truly feel my blood sugar bottoming out. I'm truly hungry first thing in the morning, so I get a shake in first thing.