I seem to be way more hungry all the time post op then I was pre op. Every hour! I am not kidding or using hyperbole!!

I eat every 3 hours " on purpose" and then a spoonful of cottage cheese, an ounce of chicken, an extra energy square or some other helpful food in between (try and limit to 50 calories). I have even been known to eat an extra low carb/fat Protein bar (200 calories!!). Arg!! I am getting tired of needing to eat so often mainly because it is so distracting and I worry a little about it.

This has been going on since month 6 and am now month 9. Even though it seems like I never stop eating during the day, my weight stays about the same, maybe down a little bit. My weight is hovering 178-182. The hunger strikes the most between 11 and 3 pm for me. I normally eat at 12 pm and 3 pm as part of my plan, but oh how I want to eat more in between.

I stopped tracking what I am eating in between planned meals so cannot tell you exactly how many calories are coming in. My planned meals are about 1200-1400 calories during the day. Always drinking Water too in order to keep well hydrated, especially for exercise.

I eat mostly animal meats, leafy green veggies, Protein Bars and shakes. My supplements in terms of Vitamins and minerals are also complete. I eat good carbs and low to moderate fat. My protein is 150 g or more during the day. I do not think I am depriving myself of anything that is needed from a nutritional standpoint. I am not eating or drinking junk food or soda. I do have splenda and caffeine in my coffee.

Anyone else want to rant about this??? Can someone just come snip my Vagus nerve right now to take this hunger from me?

What do people think about using the appetite suppressants to deal with the hunger' date=' like Hoodia or something related. I don't really want to hear that the only tool we can use is our tool. Heck, I use supplements, exercise, run, cross fit, do yoga, hike and other things to help with weight loss / maintain?[/quote']

Fiddle we do use a lot if different "tools" but hoodia and the rest of those appetite suppressants are "fads" and not healthy for you! Listen you are doing great. Track food for the day and see the numbers before you take the next step.

Okay' date=' some of these remarks may be relevant to fiddleman, some may be relevant to others.

I had no hunger once I was on solids until about 7 months post op and the hunger returned. I squelched it by going low carb. Now that I am at maintenance and allowing myself more carbs... I get hungry again. It is in control though and I have decided that I won't die if i feel the occasional hunger pang so for me I am watching it closely but managing...

As for fiddleman, you know all that, but i still think you are eating fairly low cal for a guy who is so active. I seriously wonder if you just need to eat more?

I don't track, but I think (guess) I eat around 1200 cals a day and I am a girl, 5'5" tall and probably older then you too....and i am maintaining my goal weight with that. I too workout. I also go out from time to time and I am sure those days are higher calories, and some days I am probably under 1000. Anyway, i know it is scary, but what about eating a little more and seeing what happens?[/quote']

Sure - could try eating more. I will also try and cut back on my carbs some. Most of my carbs come from energy squares ( nuts.com) and low carb Protein bars (2 g from sugar). I know I really started to eat them more in between month 5 and 6. Before that, no carbs really and I never really dealt with hunger as I do now. So good point. However, I do know it would be hard to live life very low carb from now on without good carbs. My synapses would stop firing. Lol.

It's a balancing game for sure. I had to add carbs to stop losing weight, and of course, the Carb Monster sets up housekeeping the minute you let him back in the door!! I agree, eating carbs makes you want more carbs. But if I don't eat carbs, I lose weight.

At first it was hard to eat the 2000+ calories per day, but I've become accustomed to it now. But it's impossible without the carbs.

I am at 10 weeks and hungry a lot to but I have found a way to curb it... it works for me in more ways then one.

I have been doing this for the last 2 weeks. At the start of the week I take 1 pack of mixed greens and combine it with 1 pack baby spinach and store in in the fridge. I take about 2 cups of 0% fat free fage greek yogurt and mix it with a packet of hidden valley ranch dry mix seasoning. It taste exactly like a very rich ranch dressing but without the calories and less than 1g carb per tablespoon and over 5g Protein per serving.

I grab about 2 handfuls of salad' date=' peel and cut up 2 mini cucumbers, mix in about 2-3 table spoons of dressing and season with a little garlic salt. It taste so amazing and refreshing. I usually eat it in the late evening after dinner or if have a really late dinner I will have it in the early evening.

I was having a BM about 1-2 times a week and it wasnt easy. In the last 2 weeks since eating this salad everyday I have a BM once a day and some days even twice... and its a normal BM with no constipation feeling.

If you enjoy a good salad this works for me.

Sometimes I also will have 2-3 mini cucumbers, the ones from costco, with a little salt as a snack. Helps curb the cravings as well.[/quote']

I do something similar, except that I use an Italian dressing mix or a Green Goddess mix, and I sometimes add a little fat free sour cream or a small amount of Parmesan to give it a different flavor. It's awesome as a raw veggie dip, and as long as I haven't gone overboard with the additions it's pretty much guilt free snacking even if I have a quarter cup, since I often have FF Greek yogurt with some fresh fruit at mid afternoon.

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I think I have partially figured this out today. My Protein bars, while organic, have 2 grams of refined sugar in them. I think even this small amount is making me hungry because of insulin response. The rest of the bar is good and organic.

I am going to try something. Instead of trying to go very low carb all the time, I am going to increase sweetening carbs by getting them from natural sources like honey. Honey may cause less of an insulin spike then the 2 grams refined sugar of my nu go bar. Honey will be adding 17 grams carbs in the paleo bar I found today called Am rap Nutrition Refuel bar (100% paleo).

What do you think? Will also slowly start to add good carb fruit like apples back into diet.

Personally, I think the fruit is the better option. If you switch to honey, you want raw honey - processed honey isn't all that much better for you from a glycemic index perspective than refined cane sugar. You might also want to consider agave syrup.

Personally' date=' I think the fruit is the better option. If you switch to honey, you want raw honey - processed honey isn't all that much better for you from a glycemic index perspective than refined cane sugar. You might also want to consider agave syrup.[/quote']

Thanks for your thoughts on the honey. I checked the package of these Paleo bars and see raw honey in the ingredient list. I had one today after cross fit today and they were pretty tasty and worked well as a refuel bar ( was seriously fatigued after workout. Phew!!). No desire to eat another one ( or anything else) after that, so +1 for the Paleo bar. The only negative is that they are pricy. $3 a bar in store and from Amazon.

I've been chewing some gum

I think you're getting really great feedback. I can hear my team about the shakes. I drink shakes because I need more calories because I work out a lot and I ca not eat enough so I have to drink calories. Although this is changing!

So they tell other people to get off the shakes, if you are hungry more often than every 3-4 hours, and eat more dense Protein, veg and fruit. Back to the apples and Peanut Butter thread. Lol. Dense=Harder to digest so it stays in the sleeve longer and leave you feeling satisfied longer.

For me, cottage cheese is a slider! I mix it into other foods for protein but on its own, slider! Not so with Greek yogurt. Weird, eh?

I have a plan in place for when I start getting hungry again.

Raw vegan diet. Best thing ever as far as taste,, ultimate in health (with meat occasionally) and you lose very well on it. I lost 60 lbs in 4 mos eating this way.

I won't ever go 100% rv again, but I learned a lot eating that way. You can make the YUMMIEST Desserts that actually are perfectly suitable for any meal. I ate a lot of dates, green smoothies, nuts, raw veggies and fruits (although I'm really not above heating either) and now is throw in occasional meat. Like say. 3x a week? You can eat all day long and never gain an oz and that's with a full sized stomach!

I think you're getting really great feedback. I can hear my team about the shakes. I drink shakes because I need more calories because I work out a lot and I ca not eat enough so I have to drink calories. Although this is changing!

So they tell other people to get off the shakes' date=' if you are hungry more often than every 3-4 hours, and eat more dense Protein, veg and fruit. Back to the apples and Peanut Butter thread. Lol. Dense=Harder to digest so it stays in the sleeve longer and leave you feeling satisfied longer.

For me, cottage cheese is a slider! I mix it into other foods for protein but on its own, slider! Not so with Greek yogurt. Weird, eh?[/quote']

Thank you! Great comments. Apples and peanut butter. Nummy in the tummy. . Cottage cheese seems to cause some restriction for me and I love the taste of it. I don't normally eat it, but steal a spoonful here and there in between meals. My wife loves cottage cheese with sliced up fruit almost every morning. She is noticing my spoonfuls lowering the available cottage cheese for her. Lol.

I have a plan in place for when I start getting hungry again.

Raw vegan diet. Best thing ever as far as taste' date=', ultimate in health (with meat occasionally) and you lose very well on it. I lost 60 lbs in 4 mos eating this way.

I won't ever go 100% rv again, but I learned a lot eating that way. You can make the YUMMIEST desserts that actually are perfectly suitable for any meal. I ate a lot of dates, green smoothies, nuts, raw veggies and fruits (although I'm really not above heating either) and now is throw in occasional meat. Like say. 3x a week? You can eat all day long and never gain an oz and that's with a full sized stomach![/quote']

Good stuff. I don't think it would work for me because I am too much of a meat eater. Lol. However, I am sure it will help some other folks out. Even 3x a week would be serious deprivation for my meat eating ways !!