Hungry...

So I'm 2.5 years post op and the hunger monster has come back to haunt me!  How do you deal with hunger?  I'm trying my hardest to really listen to my hunger and eat only when I'm truely hungry, not bored with some hunger pangs.  I've gained about 20 pounds over the summer.  I think alot is due to getting off Cymbalta and Topamax.  I think about what I used to eat and compare to what i eat today, and its definitely not what a Sleeve person should be eating.  My meals have grown to almost a normal size in addition to eating lots of fast food! ;(  Suggestions for getting back to Sleeve meals??  I want this sooo bad!

I was sleeved a month after you were and at first i lost 40 lbs. really pretty quick and then i gained probably 20 back over the next year up and down the same 20 lbs. i weighed 283 before surgery and then went down to like 240 and then back up to 276.6 and thought to my self this is crazy something has got to give. I have not done at all what i was supposto do and was very depressed and upset with myself wanting a quick fix and didnt really want to work at it. So on 8-13-2012 i changed my thinking and started using this tool that i have I have 600-800 calories 40carbs 80 protein and 100fl oz.a  day I can tell you i ate a lot because i was bored and eating the protein really helps and looking at things that i would normally eat and seeing the carbs that are in things amaze me and thinking i would eat a lot of this one thing since August 13 i am down 22 pounds. the thing i am having trouble with now is the weight going down like a pound a day and then slowing down to 1/2 pound a day to nothing for days on end thats when i get discouraged because i have not changed one thing that i done and the weight just stops coming off for awhile

Thats awesome!!! I just need to remember that its a tool that I need to use, the weight won't just fall off if I'm not following the rules.  Way to go on the weight loss and keep it up!! Hopefully I will be able to join the losing club again soon!!!

I'm 3 months out but I can tell you that there are a few things I did well before I decided on WLS that have helped me be successful in this transition:

Number 1 and most important: NO MORE FAST FOOD. Period. Keep a bag of nutty trail mix or a protein bar in your purse for hunger emergencies. 

Number 2 and secondly most important: NO MORE JUNK FOOD. If it is not actual food that contributes nutritionally to your daily recommended allowances then do not put it in your house or your mouth. Example: Cheetos are junk food, apples are not.

Number 3: Drink more water. No diet drinks, no sugary fruit drinks. Choose water and drink a lot of it.

Number 4: Get off your ass. It's not going to help you lose weight but it will make you feel better and increase your energy.

Those are definitely big things that will help with my success.  Time for back to basics.  I did it for two years, I can do it now!  Good luck with your journey!

 I am printing this off and keeping it  visible!  I am  preop and  have already  started these rules.  Down 45 pounds and  a month away from surgery.

Kind of in no position to give advice, but can relate to te eating thing.  just saw NUT today (see her every month) and she pointed me to more whole foods, way more fruits and veggies, since i haven't really been eating them, and as little processed food as i can manage.  trying to take that a little at a time.  had time after appt (which was at 7:45 am -- garp!) to go to ther grocery store before work and get fruit/baby carrots, hummus, Light Silk, etc.  i also haven't been tracking -- i usually use thedayilyplate on Livestrong, but have been feeling too bad about what i'm eating to want to write it down,  gonna just write lists of what i eat for a couple of weeks and send them to her so she can let me know what she thinks.  also earing every 3 hrs even if i'm not hungry b/c when i get hungry i search for carbs!

we'll see how it goes!  good luck!  i think we've gotten to the hardest part!  i'll be 2 yrs 1/10, so i'm right behind you!  ((((((((((hugs))))))))

Thank you!! I've started tracking on My Fitness Pal to see what all I'm eating..good and bad (way more bad....haha).  Good idea about eating even if not hungry.  Maybe I'll try setting "set times" to eat to be more structured.

 yeah, the set times thing will be a pain i think, but worth a try!  i hate the stupid hunger monster b/c then i want eat like a regular person, or  i do, and you know how spectacularly wrong that can go!!  have also been drinking while i eat a few times lately (WTF?!??) and that has TRULY spectacular effects!  my NUT also has me on 1200 cals, so it's a little easier to stay full.  don't know if you're one of those 600-800 folks!  

feel free to PM me!  (((((((((more hugs))))))))

I appreciate the encouragement!