:unsure:I have been banded for 5 days now. I am not sure if the pains I am having in my stomach and my stomach growling is from being hungry or full. I am suppose to eat 3 meals a day which includes 1/4 c. of mushies like yogurt, mashed potatoes, cream soup, etc. I am also suppose to drink 4, 1/2c. protien shakes. As soon as I get done with my soft foods, it seems like I am immediatly hungry even when I avoid drinking right after a meal. I am not sure if these pains are hunger or fullness? I have noticed that the longer I wait, the worse the pains get. When I do eat something, the pains go away immediatly. Do you think 1/4 c. is not filling me up? I dont see my doctor until Wednesday. How do you know the difference between fullness and hunger? I am so lost!! I would appreciate some advice! :thumbup:

I would suggest calling your doctor's office and speaking with the nutritionist... That being said, I was banded on 4/1. For me, my hunger pains are best described as the feeling that my stomach is turning-in on itself and digesting itself; my stomach rumbles loudly and I feel twisting/turning/gurgling inside. My full (or too full) pains are best described as a tightness in my chest, the feeling that I have a golf ball in my throat, and pain when I inhale. So... the question remains, are you hungry or full? I don't have any restriction yet and am able to eat more than 4oz in one sitting, but I try to stick with 4oz. To do that without getting hungry, I found that I need to eat "thicker" foods, such as scrambled eggs, tuna salad, egg salad, oatmeal, mashed bananas, or chili/bean soups (pureed). The thinner foods seem to go right through me and leave me hungry. Hope this helps! Good luck!

I am experiencing the same thing. Tomorrow is day 5 for me and all I have been eating is jello, pudding, water, and gatorade. I feel like I am not getting enough calories and I feel very weak. Is it time for mushies yet???? I feel like I am going to die from hunger before its time to eat real food again.

sounds like you are hungry girl. 1/4 of a cup is nothing. I was allowed 1/2 - 1 full cup and as time went on with out a fill even this wasn't enough because as the swelling goes down it is like you have noting around your stomach. my doctor told me that if after 20 min I still feel hungry then eat another 1/4 cup meal and wait another 20 min. call the doctor and see what he says. good luck

I am on day 6 and I feel the gurgle in my stomach when I am hungry, but I am also having a hard time telling when I am full... it almost feels the same to me...very strange I hope that it because more definitive later.

I get those to and DANG they are ANNOYING as ever ! I sip my water or broth and I have even done a chore to get it off my mind...It is stressful ! Ohh yeah today I have been banded a week !!!

There are ways to get protein in, when you are on liquids. I had to find a way because I am diabetic and do not do carbs at all. I pureed the food I made for my family. Meats cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, etc, can all be consumed on liquids. I put them in the blender and thinned them to the consistency I needed with chicken broth. The lack of protein is making you hungry, and those of you who are only doing sweet things, you are making more insulin which is a hunger starter too.

Also you will be hungry on liquids because these slide right through, and do not stay in your pouch. This is bandster hell. You could be in it for awhile, so just hang in there and find ways to get protein. Hugs!!!!!

Hey Girl, I was banded April 9th and I am hungry, the broth and popsicles are not getting it. If you can, I would naturally speak with the nutritionist, try having a protein shake with each meal. I think the protein is essential so we don't lose muscle and look sick. You are not alone, stay encouraged and I will stay in touch.

Wow! Looks like most of us had surgery on the same day! I had my Band installed 4-14-10 as well! Today is the end of week one! Yay! I went to the store and bought some soup! I had low sodium soup for lunch today.. very filling and satisfying! I too, also had the hunger rumblings! Not nice, very nagging! Although I was/am not hungry, I could still feel my tummy grumbling. I would drink some broth, or a protien shake to try to stop it.

How are yall doing now? I am still sore.. mostly when I try to bend over, but still have nagging soreness in general. At least I am sleeping better and am able to roll over without too much pain. I had a bad day yesterday. I guess I gulped down a shake that was frothy in the morning before taking kids to school. I started feeling sick at my stomach on the way to school. On my return trip I thought I might have to pull off the road and get sick, or call for help, something. It was scary! i did not know what was going on or why. I felt light headed and weak. I managed to get home OK, and go to the bathroom. I had to use a supository for the nausea, then lie down. That helped a lot and an hour or so later I was ok, but still weak and drained. I just watched movies all day until I had to go pick up kids. Today I am better, although I still feel a little out of it, kinda weak. Maybe I tried to do too much? I don't know, but that was scary.:smile:

Have any of you had any problems so far?

It's day 3 for me. I had surgery on Sunday the 18th and it's Wednesday night at 8pm and Im STARVING!!! Tuesday was a breeze because I wasn't hungry. Today, I have a headache and all the food looks and smells good to me now. Im going for my third cup of soup-broth. I don't think I can manage through 2 weeks of liquids only. I'm going to need some mashed potatos. I need to make a post-op with my doctor very soon too.

It's day 3 for me. I had surgery on Sunday the 18th and it's Wednesday night at 8pm and Im STARVING!!! Tuesday was a breeze because I wasn't hungry. Today, I have a headache and all the food looks and smells good to me now. Im going for my third cup of soup-broth. I don't think I can manage through 2 weeks of liquids only. I'm going to need some mashed potatos. I need to make a post-op with my doctor very soon too.

Put some chicken, fish, meat, cheese, or cottage cheese in the blender and thin it with chicken broth or what ever liquid you think will be good with it. You are hungry because you need some nourishment. Broth by itself wont do it and sugar only makes the hunger worse. If you keep your mixture fairly thin, you will be fine!!!!

Well after tracking the foods I have been eating on the Livestrong website I realized that I was so hungry and feeling horribly because I was only getting about 40-50g of protein when I am suppose to be at 60-80g. I also went to my doctor today. I told her I was having a tough time tolerating protein powders. I have tried the CVS brand, GNC, Matrix, and now Unjury. (Choc, Vanilla, Cookies and Cream) I even tried Muscle Milk Light. Non of them really have set well with me. She told me that I am better getting my protein in soft foods like sugar free pudding or yogurt than drinking them. I tried mixing the unflavored Unjury in mashed potatoes tonight and it want bad at all! I did try the unflavored with Crystal light. YUCK!!! Any suggestions there? I think tomorrow I am going to try milk, unflavored powder, and frozen strawberries in the blender, Ill probably add some splenda. I am determined to find something that works. Oh the unflavored unjury in the yogurt wasnt bad either. I was also told that i was not hydrated. I todl her i was frustrated with trying to get in all the 4 protein drinks and then I had to do 6 cups of water on top of that! I need to walk around with and IV in my arm! Her suggestion was if I put my powder into the yogurt or pudding, I would be albe to get more water down. As long as I am getting the protein, it can be in liquid, shake or pudding form. (I assumed that we had to drink all the protein) I guess I have to have something to bite into rather than drink. My doc also said that if I cant tolerate the unflavored, she is going to move me up to pureed meats. I hope all this helps! But remember, talk to your doc!

I finally found a protein shake I like! Unjury unflavored, yogurt, skim milk and a few ice cubes! Yum! it tastes like the smoothies you buy in the yogurt isle of the grocery store. Do any of you have any other good protein recipes?

Day 3 for me. I am pretty hungry. Today I smooshed up 7 green beans and ate 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. There is no way to be on the liquid diet for another 10 days. (20 days total) I think the protein shakes are way more fattening than eating veggis etc. I do my yogurt with like 3 huge scoops of protein mix--almost like paste and just try to gut it down to get the nutritional requirements. I think I should go see a nutritionist because my doctor is so different than what everyone else has been told to do.

Day 3 for me. I am pretty hungry. Today I smooshed up 7 green Beans and ate 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. There is no way to be on the liquid diet for another 10 days. (20 days total) I think the Protein shakes are way more fattening than eating veggis etc. I do my yogurt with like 3 huge scoops of protein mix--almost like paste and just try to gut it down to get the nutritional requirements. I think I should go see a nutritionist because my doctor is so different than what everyone else has been told to do.

You are supposed to be healing right now. Relax and just do that. Do not get the idea that it is not okay to eat. Thin down protein like meat, tuna, salmon, eggs, cheese, etc, in your blender. Some get the idea that liquids means, you need to drink Water or fruit juice. That is not the case. The more sugar you use, the hungrier you get. Try to just do protein, in the form of the former, or Protein Shakes. You will not be thin tomorrow, it takes a year or more. Please try to be patient.... Hugs!!!

Jojo, you ROCK! Thanks for the tip. I was so hungry and so over broths, popsicles and juices. My doctor told me to wait two weaks until I started blending foods, so I actually was instructed to stick to the clear thin liquids. But I am able to tolerate the thicker, blended soups as I have discovered tonight. I went to dinner with my family and got a cup up tortilla soup, without the tortilla strips, cheese and avocado. So basically it's a think broth, loaded with veggies and chicken breast. I sipped on the broth til I was full and brought the rest home, stuck it in a blended and got my veggies and protein in. I also got full really really fast. But it was yummy! I felt more satisfied this with this too.

So, thanks for the tip! My tummy appreciated it! And my body will at a pound lost a week : ) Only 64 weeks to go - yipeeeee!!