Hi all! I am new to the board and just wanted to say hello. I am tentatively scheduled to be banded on 4/18/06, pending insurance approval. I just have a question for experienced bandsters. Are you hungry????

Are you hungry????

Not at the moment. I ate Breakfast about an hour ago. I should be good for another three hours. But if I do get hungry before then, I'll eat 3/4 cup of something healthy and be good for another 3-4 hours.

If you are asking if I feel like I'm constantly hungry.. constantly deprived, then the answer is a definite no. I still get the head hunger but that is something my brain and I are working on. Learning what is true hunger and what is imagined hunger. Often times I'm just bored, frustrated and looking for my "fix", or even thirsty. Many of us mistake thirst for hunger.

Anyway, the whole idea of the band is to hold the food in the small pouch longer so we have the feeling of "fullness" which is actually a lack of hunger (satiated) until it is time to eat the next meal.

Oh geeze, where are my manners?? Welcome to LBT!

Thanks for your reply. I have just read posts from a few other people on obesity help that say they are constantly hungry, that the band has not curbed the hunger even though they can only eat small amounts. To be hungry and not be able to eat enough to satisfy that hunger would be like a prison sentence. I guess what I'm looking for is someone to verify that these people are the exception and not the rule. I am perfectly ready to consume small portions, I just don't want to still feel like I'm starving, even though my pouch won't hold any more.

There are some who eat foods which are high in carbs, go through the band easily, and leave you feeling hungry even though you are eating more. Carbs such as sugars and breads (all forms of flour products) are the worst culprits. When I hear someone complaining of eating a lot yet always being hungry, this is the first thing that enters my mind. They aren't following one of the most important bandster "rules" and that is to eat your protein first. Proteins break down slower and stay in the stomach longer, therefore keeping you from getting hungry so soon. It also supplies the body with the nutrition it is craving. When you eat empty calories, your body will keep pestering you with hungry signals because it requires certain things to remain healthy.