I need to know if y'all have any tips on being able to tell the difference between head hunger and belly hunger. I get a fill on Wednesday, and my Dr. does not have me on any calorie restrictions, but I'm going to have to limit myself anyway because I know how I am. So I'm hoping y'all have some tips .

~~~Stephanie

myfitnesspal.com is the best way to track your food ... your dr. should have given you some guidelines or if you have a nutritionist that consults you on a regular basis.. anyhow, you probably will do okay on 1200 calories a day or maybe less... I do 1100 right now and I lost around 1.5 lbs per week... concentrating on protein of course.. fitness pal will track that as well... my nutritionist says at least 60 grams protein and to keep your sugar intake low , 5 gms or less per meal...good luck

Head hunger is so obvious to me now that I'm banded. I wait until my stomach rumbles or growls a little before i check the time to see how long it's been since i last ate. I'm trying to keep track of how long it is before I'm truly hungry. They will ask you that at your appt. This helps them decide if you need a fill and how much fluid you need.

I was eating from head hunger I wasn't truly hungry so before it got out of hand and fell into my old ways I stopped. I now go by a scale and before I put anything in my mouth I rate 1 to 10 how hungry I am if I'm 7 or above I eat if below I take some water and see how I feel. It really is reprogramming yourself and changing your habits.

to me head hunger is me seeing (hub for example) eating lays bbq chips....do i want to eat them because he is? if i do, then it is head hunger.....if i am hungry, i can def tell the difference and i eat....but if i thinking i am hungry, i drink something and it usually solves the issue for me.....found that out in pre op liquid stage...def mind over matter.

I agree Carolinagirl. Drinking nonstop all day helps with my hunger immensely and greatly increases the amount of time I can go between meals. If I don't drink something I get hungry in an hour or so but if I drink something, especially warm like decaf coffee or tea then I can easily go the four hours I'm supposed to.

My surgeon suggests asking yourself "would I eat a hard-boiled egg right now?". I happen to love hard-boiled eggs, so not sure this works for me...but clearly the idea is distinguishing craving vs. hunger.