Why am I feeling HUNGRY STILL?????????????

I had my lap RNY last Monday the 15th and I am getting in my 75 grams protein, I get my 64 ounces of liquids, and I eat three meals three times a day, 2ounces each meal. I still feel hungry and want more....has anyone else went through this and how did you deal with it? I take 30 mins to eat my meals and no liquids for 30 mins after either. Any advice or help would be great as I am pretty
thanks, Jennie

The first month after surgery can be a b*tch for lack of a better term.  Right now you will have to have faith that your surgeon knows what he/she is doing when they tell you only two ounces of mush.  You are probably still feeling hungry for a few reasons, one being head hunger we are used to eating large servings of food now they want us to eat mouse sized servings and  our brains don't like to see that.  Next issue is your stomach has recently been cut, the nerve endings are healing so you don't "feel" full, your numb.  Your stomach actually is full, I bet ya anything your surgeon did his/her job the right way.  Next issue will be with water or other liquids a lot of times when we think we are hungry we are actually thirsty.  Try drinking water.

I really like what my surgeon said to me "I do a cookie cutter operation, it will be done the same way on each one of you, its what you do with the surgery that will make the difference in your journey".   So many times we have to just have faith in the process, and trust that it will work if we listen and follow instructions.   I found that a lot of my time was donated to eating so when I could no longer eat I became bored and aggitated by not knowing what to do with all the extra time I suddenly had on my schedule.  I suggest a hobby or something you enjoy to fill those times, myself I went out and got a job because sitting in the house obsessing about food and what I was going to eat next was a scarey thing.  If one day at a time is too much for you shoot for one hour at a time..it does get better!

Best of luck to you and know that we are here to support you, feel free to PM me if you would like.

Jeannie

Ha! I was in your shoes in July...most of mine was Head hunger,,,dirty little thing and a Habit I broke...also your tummy hasnt woken up yet! The nerves are still healing... when they are healed you will See you feel fuller I promise! In between drink your fluid Crystal lite and I became best friends:)

I went thru that too.  Jeannie was so right about it being head hunger and boredom.  I had to figure it out too.  I find even now that I get the munchies when I am bored.  I have to fight it and convince myself that is all in  my head.  I try to go with drinking something so that I am at least convincing my head that I am taking in something to help fight the hunger.  If you have to increase the number of times a day you eat... make the snack a healthy one.  Remember also, my NUT told me that SF jello counts as  fluid and can be eaten any time.  So I use it as a snack to get past the hungries too.

Good luck and keep up the good work.
Tracy

Another side to look at:

I felt the same way and finally decided it was my body adjusting to the lower sugar level.  Being diabetic my body wasn't used the the low sugar numbers and it made me feel like I needed to eat.  I think my body just needed to catch up.

I also agree with the nerve endings and not knowing when I was full..

Good Luck.

Jennie, you are not physically hungry. Those nerves have been cut and won't regenerate for a few months. You are probably bored...get busy doing something! Read, knit, list stuff on eBay and make some money, ANYTHING. Do NOT try to test your pouch by overdoing it. It has been through major trauma and needs to heal. Do as your surgeon and nutritionist tell you, and let it heal. You will avoid major problems if you do.

That having been said, I was the opposite of you early out. I was actively NOT hungry and had to remind myself that I needed to eat something. At almost 7 months out, I still don't get hungry. I had my Click at 4:00 a.m. yesterday, got off work about 11:30 a.m. and went shopping. When I was in Wal-Mart it occured to me that I hadn't eaten anything, so I made sure I had something when I got home. I am SO thankful I've been that way as I've read about so many who are struggling with overeating at 6-7 months out. My nut said that's when my appetite would start returning, but so far it hasn't happened. I'm also fortunate that I dump, so that keeps me honest.

Hang in there. You are going to be SO glad you did this for yourself, and as I said, you will soon see the pounds dropping off and you won't want to screw it up. As we've all said...it gets better!!

Merry Christmas!!

Jenny

Jennie,

I don't think anyone could have summed it all up better than Jeannie did (excellent job Jeannie! You should post that on your profile for Newbies!!).

It does get better the further out you get. I still, at ~4 1/2 years out, go through spells where I THINK I'm hungry 24/7 and then all of a sudden I won't want anything at all for days in a row and have to make myself eat. Our bodies are so individual..and because of that, our journies are too. Fortunately, there are a few things that are common..and I think alot of that is common because our reasons for being obese to begin with are so similar. I know for me, if I didn't have a ciggarette in my mouth, I had food! I absolutely refuse to go back to smoking. So..I have to remind myself that I don't need the food in there all my waking hours either! And most of the time, since I have a water bottle with me constantly...and drink ~100+ oz/day, if I get me something to drink that isn't 'water' (Fuse Slenderize, protein drink, sf hot chocolate, decaf coffee), that is all my taste buds are really wanting. Boredom is also my biggest enemy! I do most of my munching in the evening while watching tv! Busy hands make a happier weight lost! I have my lap top set up in the livingroom and I have a Sudoku book there by my chair..that way, I can multi-task and keep my hands OUT of a bag of chips, popcorn, etc!

Oh Jennie...think of the 64 oz of water as a MINIMUM...not the max. I had heard that you should get in half of your body weight (that wasn't from my surgeon but some kind of health show..ok?).  As long as you are getting your nutrients in...Protein & food...I don't think we can really drink too much water. I think you are doing fantastic at getting it all in. So many people have a really hard time at that. When you do want that something more...and water (or other drink) just isn't cutting it, try sf jello, sf popcycles (I loved these for the crunch...and one 'half' is 1.5 oz of 'water'), or warm up some chicken broth (Swanson's has a variety that has 4 g per serving). All of these count as 'water', but yet gives your taste buds something that it thinks of as having as a meal. Some people also love icies/slushies. It can be kinda hard to find an ice crusher this time of year for these (I had gotten mine at Amazon I think) since icees are considered a summer treat..but some ice makers offer crushed/shaved ice as well as cubed). You can get some sf syrups at grocery store sections by the coffee.  I got mine through Divinci.com.

So..if bored, get busy...and if that doesn't work, eat/drink healthy. That has been my mantra for so long that it's become second nature. It will be for you too!

I'm glad you are doing so well! I hope you can make it to the clothing exchange the 17th! It'd be great seeing you again!

Sherri

Hang in there Jennie!  It gets better.  Keep busy!!!  Reintroduce/introduce yourself to a hobby.  Jeannie did a really good job describing what's going on.  You are really angry because you are grieving.  You don't have food anymore.  It's grief.  You can do this.   Keep your chin up!

Carol