Big Problem: SCARED

Carbs = comfort = hunger=the cycle we dealt with as pre-ops.  I strongly recommend you gain control now........ditch the carbs, if it takes the 5 day pouch test or doing it on your on.......you've got to stop the cycle. Good luck, you can do it.

I would think that the  alternating schedule is very hard on your body. If there's any way possible--I'd keep your home schedule the same as your work schedule. I think you must just be exhausted from flip flopping back and forth!! I notice that when I'm traveling and exhausted I tend to want to eat every couple of hours---I think your body may be truly seeking to use food as a fuel. I would suggest finding some filling high quality protein--like hard boiled eggs, turkey, etc to munch on when you're wanting to eat--  Hope it gets better for you! Kim

Kim, I sure hit the jackpot.  Every reply has had great advise and wisdom.  Your post helped me identify that I'm feeling all kinds of things that I'm interpreting as hunger, but it's not real hunger.  I do deal with the exhaustion aspect, and I have just very recently begun to suspect lack of sleep could be a trigger.  Reading the issue in your post has me convinced that I'm still on a big journey, and I need to really distinguish real hunger from other needs I might be just interpreting as hunger.  Thanks so much for your reply and help. Tgarr

Hello :) I gave up a lot of things with surgery, almost none of them food though. The belief that there is a "breakfast" time and "breakfast" foods was one of them. Another belief that I gave up was "eating at night is evil."  I am NOT hungry when I wake. I am hungry in the evening. This is not head hunger versus stomach hunger this is ME, I am naturally a nocturnal eater. My whole dieting life I would buy into the "eat breakfast" and "dont eat at night" crappola. Basically I would FORCE myself to eat in the morning with NO appetite and then starve in the evening with a voratious appetite.  In rertospect it was the dumbest thing I did BUT I kept believing other people who told me how I should eat. DUH... So NOW I eat when I want, as often as I want, what I want as long as it fits within the perameters of my post op life style eating plan. This means I eat so many calories, fiber and protein a day. Somedays it takes 8 eating spells to get it all in and others it takes 3. Some days I have pizza for "breakfast" and oatmeal for "supper".  I have learned that the key to feeling satisfied it to eat the way my body has wanted to all along. ighting this turns into a "diet" that makes me unhappy and usually ends up in me gaining weight. I dont know if this can help you but it sure has helped me! Good Luck :) HUGS PK

I can feel your pain I can't tell you that you will have a good solution for this. I'm 4yrs post op, I had gained about 20lbs, which I'm trying to loose for the past year with out luck, these  is my own doing, we all create our own demons.  I do have an eating disorder, we all do in some way or we would not be here, but reading  all the comments and information obtained in this site I had learned that it is me causing my problems, I can dwell on things a lot, and when I want to eat less to loose weight, I eat more just because I can't stop thinking about food, also every time I eat I feel guilty even though what I aet was healthy for me, I can dwell and get very depress all day about my weight and food, when I'm trying to loose weight  I weight my self 3 times a day some times, I thought that I was at the bottom of my road, but one day I read about this book that helped people with their eating problems "  Feeding the hungry heart" by Geneen Roth, I read this book and I had stoped been guilty when I EAT, also to be good to my self and to eat with out the guilt, this may help you, it is okay to eat, try to eat healthy, if you have to have the carbs, get good carbs to eat; I love bread and allow my self to have it for breakfast but it is whole weath not white, I love pasta and I get also whole weath pasta or Shirataki noodles which have almost no carbs they are great . Trying to eat healthy and allowing myselve to be human and free of guilt, I had stopped the weight gain and in my progress I will work on loosing those 20lbs.  First thing, we all should do is to find a middle ground where we need to correct our many years of fighting with food and accept that we are all humans and we are not perfect, there is allways tomorrow and we will get there happy not in agony like some of us, food is good for us, we need to look for our nutrision and eat enjoying our food;  It feels good not to be guilty any more.  Stop worring so much, fill your pantry with good food for you, do some reading for good nutrision for your surgery, you will find what it is good to eat for normal people, that may not be the right thing for you.  Good luck, I hope this will help.

PK.......Thank you sooo much.  It really helps.  I've really been thinking about my meals....definitely eating out too much.   I think this contributes to my hunger issue.  I really think hidden sugars and carbs in food eaten out can be a stumbling block.  I feel refreshed and ready jump in there again.  Just admitting I've developed a problem is actually very helpful.  I thnk I'm trying to make too much of my meal...meaning working too hard at creating a meal.  A simple bowl of oatmeal would make me happy.  I'm going to lighten up on myself in that area.....increase my exercise.....and kick the carbs with exception of complex and low glycemic index.  Thanks again for taking the time to be helpful!  tgarr