If a person has the proper fill - is there any reason to ever be hungry again (after of course a normal - nutrionally exceptable meal)???

Patti

The only type of hunger I fight if I eat right during the day is head hunger. It's a nasty thing!

Being banded doesn't render you non-human. Of course you're going to be hungry from time to time. But with decent restriction it is absolutely possible to get FULL on a small amount of food. Since being banded I have never had to stop eating a meal before I was satisfied physically. Mentally is another story--it definitely takes a LOT of getting used to when you see so much food left on your plate and you're simply unable to take another bite.

But that's what this is all about, right? Eating less?

Absolutely, I feel true hunger at times. Probably more often than I did before I was banded. But the difference is that it takes just a small amount of food to satisfy my hunger.

The interesting thing about having my band is that when I do get hungry, it never seems as if I am hungry for anything specific. But that helps me make better food choices.

The interesting thing about having my band is that when I do get hungry, it never seems as if I am hungry for anything specific. But that helps me make better food choices.

YES!! That's the difference between physical hunger, i.e., true HUNGER, and "head hunger." Head hunger is just a craving for something specific and has nothing whatsoever to do with being physically hungry. It can always be safely ignored. Being banded makes it harder to pop something into our mouths in response to cravings, and so gives us time to see the difference.

That's a super-liberating thing, to separate the two and realize that head hunger is what makes us fat. Eating when we're really hungry is about nutrition. Eating when we're having a craving is where all the extra calories have come from over the years, and how we got into this mess in the first place.

Here is a good example of true hunger for me- I had a bowl of Cereal for Breakfast at about 9 a.m. about 2 p.m., I was in the grocery store and all of a sudden I was really, really hungry. So I had three samples from the friendly samply ladies...a Pasta salad, dried fruit, and a tiny piece of pizza. And I was satisfied. I kept on shopping and ate dinner about 5:30.

So yeah, I get hungry. But it's a hunger that I never felt before. You'll see!

Megan

What intrigues me is why doesnt your body exhibit the other signs of hunger - weakness, shakiness, feeling sick? Like your stomach can not feel hungry but if you're taking in only 700 calories a day your body should be! It's amazing the way it works.

Jacqui-

I'm not an expert but the signs of hunger you talk about are actually signs of low blood sugar not hunger.

Hunger feels different than that...but it's hard to describe. Kind of an empty feeling.

Megan

I will tell you I am over 3 years out and I have to stop eating about 3 hours before I go to bed to avoid reflux. I do definitely get hungry at night. I am learning to ignore it.

I read something interesting on an Australian website put together by my surgical team about lack of hunger between meals. It's thought that the pressure the band puts on the stomach just by being there to a small degree has the same effect as the pouch being full, the pressure tells the stomach it's full so you feel actively "not hungry" a lot of the time.

Of course, when your body really needs food it will tell you so. I get hungry for meals but not otherwise.

I think it's nice to feel the physical hunger before eating but not that constant head hunger. It makes me feel "normal" -- like I felt when I was a kid.

What intrigues me is why doesnt your body exhibit the other signs of hunger - weakness, shakiness, feeling sick? Like your stomach can not feel hungry but if you're taking in only 700 calories a day your body should be! It's amazing the way it works.

Jacqui, sorry, but refresh my memory, you were just recently banded and are still on the liquid/soft stage, right?

I just spent a month at 700 calories and felt terrible. Of course, over the course of that month I only lost 1.5 pounds in 4 weeks. Once you move to solid foods you might find that 700 calories is not nearly enough. I do know that we have several bandsters that do just fine on 700 calories, and are infact losing weight rapidly at that amount of calories.

Well you just answered my question, lol. I felt terrible on that amount too - I'm on mushies now, getting in more like 1000 and feel loads better.

usually I don't get hungry between meals but I just got hungry and ate a few nuts - that was PLENTY enought to fill me right back up. Pre-band I would eat a "snack" around 4 that was basically another meal.

It is very rarely that I am physically hungry anymore. If I could just tell my head that I would be just fine. Some days are easy, some days I am kicking and screaming with myself about my head hunger. I have to tell myself one day at a time!