Eatin' Good in the 20's Neighborhood - Monday Eve

Ugh.  Tomorrow is gonna be a crazy day for me!  2 big finals - one of which I need a 95% or better on to get an A in the class.  Yeah...tricky.  Wish me luck! Food... So I forgot to eat until about 2pm.  Not good.  I drank water and some coffee but that's it until 2 and then I was like Oh wow, I haven't had anything to eat....not recomended. 11am - 18 oz coffee, 2 oz 2% milk 20 oz water 2:30pm - 1 crunchy taco 20 oz water 6pm - 1/2 the insides of a stuffed Tex-Mex green pepper and some of the pepper 20 oz water 9pm - 2/3 cup mini raviolis And now it is back to work for me. 

My wife is testing recipes for mini cheesecake bites she plans to start selling...They are small enough to not make me dump and oh so inviting - this could get ugly...I will either learn to be a great "grazer or snacker" or dump - either way I lose .....stay tuned.... oh yeah and today coffee two eggs and some canadian bacon ham and cheese roll-ups cheeze it crackers and hummus two slices of thin frozen pizza - yuck and the filling of two, ok three, mini cheesecake bites - and counting...

Hey I had the same prob, Amy... slept late, sipped some protein shake, dashed to church... and forgot to eat.  Oops!  Never thought THAT would happen to me! 10:30 AM - 2 sips of protein shake 1:30 PM - 1 oz chicken mixed with 1/4 c. whole wheat pasta, LF italian cheese 4 PM - iced SF vanilla latte 7 PM - Kay's Naturals Protein Chips 9 PM - 8 oz skim milk, SF cookie Today, I will do better. Heather

So...I am going to start posting again...I have got to start doing better so maybe being accountable will help... B-Protein shake L-Chips and salsa, insides of one and a half chicken tacos at Chilis D- 1 hot dog and 1/2 of a hot dog bun (the skinny side lol) 1/4 cup potato salad with 10 doritos S-1/4 cup mini shredded wheat (blech...went to bed with a stomach ache!!!) w/ milk

Cereal - even supposed whole wheat/grain healthy cereal - if I eat it with milk makes me about die.  I dump and feel perfectly awful for hours.  Something about how the milk makes it move faster through your intestines and helps the sugar/carbs metabolize faster...I dunno...either way, I have given up cereal pretty much all together.

I'm new to posting, i normally just read and pick up little helpful tid bits, but I'm confused... How do you forget to eat? I must be doing something wrong I am 2 years post op and I am ALWAYS starving, and not mind hunger actual physical hunger. There are few moments I am actually content. I constantly Have to count calories and work like a crazy person to keep the weight off and continue to drop the lbs... Help! What am I doing wrong??? 

Hmmm...there are a few things it might help me to know.... First you should know about me that I never got that hunger sensation back after surgery.  Now I get "head hunger" which is all about putting something in my mouth for the sake of chewing and swallowing, not about me actually needing calories  - and I get the urge to "emotionally eat" which has more to do with stuffing a psychologial feeling  (boredom, anger, joy, sadness, exhaustion, and so on) than feeding myself because I need to eat.  But I am never physcially hungry.  I sure thought I was early on but I have learned the difference between physical hunger and wanting to eat for different reasons.  So, if you haven't done a whole lot of soul searching about whether you are truly "hungry" when you eat or not that is a good place to start.  Also know that my activity level is relatively low, I run around campus like a crazy person, but I am not an athlete, so my intake does not need to be as high as someone who works out all the time. Now, here are my suggestions to help you.

First, set an eating schedule.  Normally I am spot on when it comes to eating when I am supposed to eat, but yesterday (as is the case with some weekends) I got thrown off because I got up late and then was busy with other things.  So on a normal day I will eat every 3-4 hours - no longer between feedings than 4 hours and no less than 3.  If I get the urge to eat between feedings I have to really ask myself why - am I tired?  am I bored?  am I sad?  am I eating out of habit?  Because those are not good reasons to eat.  Sometimes we also mistake the signal for thirst with hunget - so if it is between feedings get a big glass of water and see if that helps.  So if you set a schedule (and at 2 years out it should be no problem to go 3-4 hours in between feedings) and you find yourself hungry/wanting to eat in between feedings than ask yourself why and if you aren’t really physically in need of something, then it is probably another reason that you are wanting to eat.

 

Second, keep track of what you are eating.  If you’re not keeping track then you could be either eating way more than you think you are, or you are eating less than you think you are.  Either way, it will be helpful for you to really keep track so you have an accurate count of calories, carbs, protein and fats.  As post-ops we need to have a higher than normal intake of protein and we need to limit the intake of carbs (you probably already know this…).  When you start tracking your intake be 100% honest with yourself and write down every bite of everything you are eating.  By writing stuff down not only do you get to know for sure what you’re intake is, but you also have to pause to think about if you really want to write down that you just ate a handful of cheetos.  It helps me tremendously.

 

Third, don’t drink with meals.  The liquid washes the food out of your pouch, leaving you able to eat more per sitting and also leaving you hungry again sooner.

 

And it would help me more to know what exactly you are eating.  If you are, for example, eating a lot of mushy foods (cottage cheese / mashed potato consistency – protein shakes also fall into this category) then they are simply moving through your pouch quickly, leaving you hungry again sooner.  If you are eating a lot of “slider foods” (think bread, crackers, chips, cookies, other things that break down to slider food consistency when wet) then there you go – they are getting to your pouch, getting wet, and moving right on through.  If you want to remain satisfied for longer I suggest eating dense proteins and complex carbohydrates (fruit, veggies, whole grains).  If you are eating a lot of simple carbohydrates (potato products, breads, crackers, cereal) then you’re getting a quick spike in blood sugar and then a crash – so you need to balance simple carbs with fats and proteins.  If you’re not in contact with a good nutritionist who knows how to work with post-ops, this would be a good time to find one.

 

And finally, if you are tracking your meals, setting a schedule, eating the right stuff and you still find yourself  PHYSICALLY hungry between feedings it might be time to go get your plumbing checked.  It is very unlikely that you stretched your pouch because they are made with the least stretchy part of your stomach, however, it is possible to stretch your stoma –the opening between your pouch and small intestines.  If your stoma has been stretched then food is going right through you so of course you feel hungry.  If that is the case, it is fixable.  But I would try the other things I mentioned first before jumping to conclusions. I hope this helps! PS!!!!!! YOU'RE FROM BARIX AT BELVIDERE TOO!!!!!! YOU HAD DR. VAUGHN!  I had Dr. Boe and was devastated when they left and yanked away my support system!  If you haven't found a place for follow-up yet, that might be something to think about.  Getting some help from professionals could be the ticket for you.  It sucks that we had to get tossed out to our own devices when they left, but you can totally still make this work for you.  If you want to talk anytime send me a message.  I would love to hear from you! 

Thank you so very much for your indepth reply!  I never had the chance to go back to follow up after six months, and I was unaware of their office closing. So, I have been trying to figure it all out on my own. As I'm sure you can tell I have not done the best job of this. I am a nutrition expert but unfortunately knowing how "regular" people should eat is very different than how WLS people should eat.  I do emotionally eat (this has recently gotten out of hand) I'll be the first to point out my own errors or stupidity, I have gotten better with telling the difference between thirst and hunger, most of the time I just look at it logically. As for head hunger, I have started to learn the difference but still have trouble knowing which hunger is which. It is extremely fusterating.  I used to hold myself accountable for calories but nothing else really the one time I went to see someone regarding my diet and intake, that is what they said to do. Calories in vs calories out, should equal weight loss. Honestly I've just gotten lax in doing so. I found it extremely hard to not eat and drink together, so it is something I continue to do, I did not think it would cause a difference, once you said it washes it out that makes a lot of sense and I will try again. (It is really hard for me). I have trouble eating veggies, mainly raw, but I can eat just about anything else. I tend to eat more carbs than meat and simple carbs too. I know this is not good but again I thought if i kept my calories low it didn't matter, (my bad, yet again). I'm also a grazer or I grab stuff between work (10hrs a day) and school (5 hrs a night) from the vending machines, generally baked lays and reese cups, I just don't have the time to cook, but I know there are no good excuses for anything.  I guess I'm more messed up than I thought and the things to  correct my problems seem like simple enough changes. Thank you again for your help!!! I guess sometimes it just takes others to point out what your doing wrong to realize it.