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After surgery, are you still hungry?



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I have not had any hunger. I am just over 2 weeks and can have my Protein Shake sitting right in front of me and still forget to drink it because I'm not hungry. But I am tired of liquids at this point. I have had a few soft foods lately but am trying not to go overboard since I don't really get to start soft foods until Monday on my plan. I have heard that some say they have hunger but it can be head hunger or too much acid in the stomach?

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Pre-op liquid diet is definitely the hardest. Although pretty boring, during the post op phase you will not be as hard. No worries, just get through the preop diet!

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I didn't have hunger for a couple weeks. Now I get hungry and it makes me crazy.

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Yes, been getting hungry every 1-2 hours and its kinda annoying. During the first week or so on the liquid phase I didnt get hungry much but now a little over 2 weeks after surgery I get hungry often. And I also get pretty angry and pissy when I can't eat when I'm hungry.

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As stated above, the two weeks is the most difficult. I was two weeks post op Monday and yesterday was the first day I felt hunger. It was usually 2-3 hours after eating. But it when away within a few drinks or bites of Protein.

People mention head hunger, but I'm not sure what that feels like.

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Yes I do get hungry. But it's very, very different. So I get hungry when I haven't eaten in 3-4 hours, and I felt this hunger within 1-2 days of surgery. This is not the "what shall i eat for funsies?" type of hunger. This is the "feed me now or I will pass out" type of hunger.

I get light-headed, slightly nauseated and must eat right away. But then I eat 2 oz of food, and I'm good for the next 3-4 hours.

I'm 8 weeks out and there has only been one day where I found myself standing in front of the pantry wondering what I should eat. At that point, I know it's head hunger not real hunger. Real hunger for me is light-headedness etc. PLUS I will eat whatever you give me including a piece of dry, tasteless chicken just to get fuel.

And I find it is a LOT easier to control than the old days where I would forage like a wolf seeking prey and could not stop myself from eating useless food and useless calories. It is much easier to manage!

I will tell you though that I found post-op much harder. It goes on a lot longer than pre-op. Weeks of Clear Liquids, full liquids, soft foods..and all the while you really want something crisp, salty, cheesy, gooey, etc.

The consequences of breaking post-op could mean complications and death. This is serious stuff.

That's why getting into the right mindset at pre-op is SO important. Once you start to think of it as necessary for health, and necessary for success, you're getting there. Once you start to believe and insist on success without cheating, you're getting there. Once you refuse to take any unwarranted risks, and hold firm, it gets easier.

If you keep thinking "I can cheat with no consequences as long as it is (insert excuse here)" or "I'm losing weight on pre-op so I'll just have a (insert bad thing here)" you're leaving the door open for bad choices. I am very creative about excuses and I can convince myself that chocolate is good for me. I have to not start debates with myself because my evil twin wins those.

You kind of have to think of compliance with pre- and post-op as NON-NEGOTIABLE.

I know not every one agrees with me on this, but this is just what worked for ME. YMMV :)

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Just hope the two weeks of liquid diet after surgery isn't as bad as the liquid diet before. I hear I will not have an appetite.

If you hold steady and do your two-week pre-op liquid-only diet WITHOUT CHEATING :lol: you should not experience the same nasties after surgery that you did when you started the diet. On the fifth day of mine the headaches were gone, I felt good, and I got my energy back and it stayed this way even past surgery.

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I know not every one agrees with me on this, but this is just what worked for ME. YMMV :)

You seem to have nailed all of the points perfectly!

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Gamergirl....I love your posts. :)

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Gamergirl....I love your posts. :)

awww..thank you! I think it's just coz i talk too much :P

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Yes I do get hungry. But it's very' date=' very different. So I get hungry when I haven't eaten in 3-4 hours, and I felt this hunger within 1-2 days of surgery. This is not the "what shall i eat for funsies?" type of hunger. This is the "feed me now or I will pass out" type of hunger. I get light-headed, slightly nauseated and must eat right away. But then I eat 2 oz of food, and I'm good for the next 3-4 hours. I'm 8 weeks out and there has only been one day where I found myself standing in front of the pantry wondering what I should eat. At that point, I know it's head hunger not real hunger. Real hunger for me is light-headedness etc. PLUS I will eat whatever you give me including a piece of dry, tasteless chicken just to get fuel. And I find it is a LOT easier to control than the old days where I would forage like a wolf seeking prey and could not stop myself from eating useless food and useless calories. It is much easier to manage! I will tell you though that I found post-op much harder. It goes on a lot longer than pre-op. Weeks of Clear Liquids, full liquids, soft foods..and all the while you really want something crisp, salty, cheesy, gooey, etc. The consequences of breaking post-op could mean complications and death. This is serious stuff. That's why getting into the right mindset at pre-op is SO important. Once you start to think of it as necessary for health, and necessary for success, you're getting there. Once you start to believe and insist on success without cheating, you're getting there. Once you refuse to take any unwarranted risks, and hold firm, it gets easier. If you keep thinking "I can cheat with no consequences as long as it is (insert excuse here)" or "I'm losing weight on pre-op so I'll just have a (insert bad thing here)" you're leaving the door open for bad choices. I am very creative about excuses and I can convince myself that chocolate is good for me. I have to not start debates with myself because my evil twin wins those. You kind of have to think of compliance with pre- and post-op as NON-NEGOTIABLE. I know not every one agrees with me on this, but this is just what worked for ME. YMMV <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />[/quote'] I needed to read this. Thank you

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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    • KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
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      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
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