4 and 1/3 months out and starting to actually feel hungry-is this normal?

For months now, it was only on rare occasions that I would feel the tiniest bit hungry. but now, I would say I get this feeling daily. Sample menu an day--what do you think??

Up at 5am, Protein shake  (20 grams protein, 16 oz liquid) with 7grams protein of natural peanut butter

Exercise--30 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of weights/resistance training

snack around  9am--30 grams almonds (6 grams protein)

lunch 12 noon-whole wheat tortilla with turkey and lf Swiss cheese-total 19grams protein, Greek yogurt, 6 oz, about 8 grams protein

Snack around 3--protein bar, 10 grams protein

dinner, between 6 and 7-2-3 oz grilled fish 14 - 21 grams protein and sometimes some veggies

In-between meals (within the specified time frames) 6 to 8 more glasses of pure water.

On an average, I eat between 60 - 100 grams of protein a day.

Is it normal to start to feel hunger this often?  Should I maybe be eating more of my protein during the early day?  My hunger is more before lunch and before dinner.

thanks all for any advice or please tell me if I am over reacting!!

Shannon

Define hunger. WHAT do you feel? Rumbling in the stomach? Dip in blood sugar? The desire to eat. What does hunger look like for you. That helps my answer.

I think a new thread of define hunger would be good.  I was reading the OPs thread and my first thought was "what does your hunger feel like?".

The moment I started back with additional carbs I felt hunger.  And true hunger.  I am not sure which protein bars you are eating by the more carbs the more hunger...

Yep, it is totally normal as far as when you got your hunger back and as far as how often you get hungry.  It really varies by person when physical hunger returns (only occasionally do people not ever get the physical hunger back)  -- and for some people it returns in a different form than before -- and it is common for people to get hungry just as often, or more often, during the day than they did pre-op.  It is often tied to when your blood sugar drops, and that is often tied to when you eat protein and carbs. 

Generally, people are better off (from a consistent blood sugar standpoint) eating a combination of protein and a small amount of carbs together. If you decrease the number of almonds in your morning snack and add something like a small amount of cheese, for example, it will keep your calories and protein the same and you may find that you are not as hungry right before lunch.  Check the amount (and type) of carbs in your protein bar, too.  If the carbs are from sugar, that's not the same to your body as carbs from dairy or meat, so your blood sugar rises more quickly and then drops quickly, which may start the hunger signal.

I am one of the people who does not physically get hungry... ever.  If I get busy and go WAY past time for a meal or snack (I eat 6-7 times per day), my blood sugar tanks and I get shaky, dizzy, and nauseous, but I never feel any hunger (except what is clearly head hunger... an urge to snack out of boredom or whatever).

Lora

As god ole pooh bear says, rumbly in my tummy!! No, it is not the urge to eat, it is a definite feeling in my stomach. I sit no where around food nor do I think of food, so I truly doubt it is head hunger. It is not light headedness nor low blood sugar ( I am diabetic so I monitor my blood sugar often). No, I would have to say just that feeling in the pit of my stomach that says I am hungry.

I know the bars I eat have between 1 to 3 grams of sugar, but does have 7 grams of sugar alcohol!! Hmmm. I like the idea of protein and carbs together. I will try it.

Thanks!!

I can't say I feel hungry like I did pre op. The feeling I get is that my pouch is empty and I just have to put something in it.

Sandy, that's it!! Empty!! No you are right, not as bad as before, but I think that is the best way to describe what I am feeling at times!