Hey all! So for the last couple of weeks, hungry-hunger has been back in effect for me. I can't figure out why, nor how this is happening? I am 5 months out, have lost 52 lbs, scratch that, I have lost 50, because somehow I have gained 2 lbs back. :scared0: I'm starting to get a little freaked out, being that the "hunger" seems to be back... did anyone else go through this? Are any of you going through this now? I know how tough the hunger pangs are in the beginning, when the Ghrelin is leaving the body, and when we're on mushies, etc. But this shouldn't be happening again, now, right? I'm just worried... I had felt hungry from day one of my sleeve, until I got the treatment for the H.Pylori. After that, I had a couple of awesome months... no hunger. Now it's back.

Help me. I'm cracking... :001_unsure:

Are you still on a PPI?

Have you added more carbs recently? Some have reported getting actual hunger pangs when they consume more carbs?

Just tossing ideas out there. . .

I'm sorry you're experiencing this, and I can only imagine how scary and frustrating it could be. I still don't get hungry, and pray it doesn't change. It's a big reason why I'm staying on my Prilosec.

Thanks for chiming in, Tiff. I was hoping you'd have some advice... yes, I'm still on the Prevacid, however, I'm thinking about changing over to something else? Maybe this will shake things up? Perhaps I need to take it twice a day, once in the morning, once at night? I don't know... might that help?

On the food front, I've been having cravings and things like that too... it's been hard in that department too. I feel like as I go along I can also eat noticeably more food (noticeable to me, everyone else keeps giving me S*** about not eating). I have indeed added more carbs, so perhaps that's part of it too... I'm thinking I need to start over, go back to Protein, protein, protein, and go from there? I haven't been doing my protein "shake" every morning like I used to... It just gets so tedious. But, perhaps that has to be happening too.

Let me know what you think... I'm starting to believe I'll be one of those sleevers that is just going to have to deal with the hunger, suck it up, and tough it out? Gaining back two pounds has been so discouraging too... I need to keep myself off the scale for a bit, and ride this out I guess... :001_unsure:

The carbs get a lot of people because of that spike in glycogen.

Try the 5 day pouch test before increasing your PPI.

Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test

These are questions many weight loss surgery post-ops find themselves asking occasionally during their journey. Perhaps it feels like we can eat more food or we know that we are eating more food. Sometimes these questions are asked when there has been a weight regain.

This is the 5-day plan that I have developed and used to determine if my pouch is working and return to that tight newbie feeling. And a bonus to this plan, it helps one get back to the basics of the weight loss surgery diet and it triggers weight loss. Also, it is not difficult to follow and if you are in a stage of carb-cycling it will break this pattern. Sounds pretty good, right?

Order the 5 Day Pouch Test Owner's Manual

The 5 Day Pouch Test should never leave you feeling hungry. You can eat as much of the prescribed menu as you want during the day to satiate hungry and prevent snacking on slider foods and/or white carbs. You must drink a minimum of 64 ounces of Water each day. A reduction of caffeinated beverages is suggested, but do not stop caffeine cold turkey.

Weight loss is not the intent of the 5 Day Pouch Test, however, many who have tried this plan report a significant drop in weight. More importantly they Celebrate a renewed sense of control over their pouch and eating habits and easily transition back to a healthy post-surgical weight loss way of eating.

Understanding Hunger, Appetite and Satiety

Below you will find a brief list of the menu for each day. Please click the "Read more" links for further detail and hints and tips that will enable your success with the 5 Day Pouch Test.

Days One & Two: liquid Protein

low-carb Protein shakes, broth, clear or cream Soups, sugar-free Gelatin and pudding. Read more.

Day 3: Soft Protein

canned fish (tuna or salmon) eggs, fresh soft fish (tilapia, sole, orange roughy. Read more.

Day 4: Firm Protein

ground meat (turkey, beef, chicken, lamb), shellfish, scallops, lobster, fresh salmon or halibut. Read more.

Day 5: Solid Protein

white meat poultry, beef steak, pork, lamb, wild game

Read more.

Good luck! I believe you are going to like the results when you give this plan an honest try.

Cheers!

Kaye Bailey

I know it says pouch, and we have a stomach, but several VSG'ers have found success with detoxing the carb monster using this method. You may just need to do the day 3-5 part of the plan for a week or so.

Cravings suck. Believe me, I have them, but I also think naturally skinny b*tches have cravings too. The difference between them and us, is they can eat 1 cookie and we like to eat 10. The sleeve really keeps me in check, but I've been eating a bunch of junk lately.

Once you get about 6-8 months out, you'll notice you can eat more. I'm eating the same amounts that I was at that time, but I can eat a lot more junk foods than I had any desire to during my losing phase. I've pushed it a couple of times just to make sure my capacity is the same.

You know I hate Protein drinks. Try a poached egg with some cheese, or other protein rich food for Breakfast. I know my surgeon isn't a god or anything, but he truly thinks that 25grs protein from food sources will hold you longer than 40grams of protein from a shake.

If you are buying your Prevacid OTC, I have a $4 off coupon, and it expires next month. If you want it, I'll mail it to you. Prilosec is a lot less expensive OTC, and I only have to take it once daily, 1 hour before I eat anything. I pop my pill with water or some juice, sip on my coffee for an hour, and start eating an hour later. I get my Prilosec RX because it's through the base.

I'm having issues with wanting sliders. You aren't alone, and even though I'm not hungry, that doesn't make those cheesy poofs taste bad or any less wonderful LOL. I've had to actually quit buying them. I just finished off my tropical Starbursts and Snicker miniatures. I just find myself mindlessly picking up 3-4 Starbursts here and there instead of the 2-3oz of beef Jerky I used to eat. I'm not gaining, YET, but I know I can't keep up these behaviors. It'll end up biting me in the butt, literally.

Hang in there.

Tiff,

You rock! I will definitely try this "pouch test" thing, and see what happens. I think part of my problem is that I have now encountered some dreaded "slider" foods, and I cannot have them in my presence, especially in the house. Also, I'm not going to lie... I have a lot of public functions and social activities that are involved with food... where it's not a problem to eat a little bit, but it's a problem what is often available. I've tried the "i'm not hungry," or "i already ate" stuff, but this just isn't going to cut it for people when you're out to dinner for a friends social gathering... the small amount of food i'm eating seems to really bug some people anyways, so not eating... they would totally get on me about it. I think I just need to make better choices, and learn to work things out better.

I am taking Prevacid still... I think I might try Priolosec once the Prevacid I have now runs out (I have about 10 more days left before I'll need to buy anything else). I wish I could get my stuff RX, better dosing for our tummies, but that's ok... I'll make it work.

Honestly, one of my major problems with Protein is eggs... I can't choke them down for anything. I've been like this forever, but with the sleeve, I've tried and tried, and it's just worse now than ever. I do have the beef and/or turkey jerky, I'll try to throw in the protein again, and perhaps I'll just get back to doing high-protein yogurt in the morning. Honestly, I think part of my problem is the protein, and part of my problem is the boredom of eating the same stuff, over and over. (I'm sure you know what I mean.) Nonetheless, I am going to do this pouch thing, and get my act in gear.

Will keep you posted, and thank you again for being so awesome and supportive (and helpful!!)... :001_unsure: