Hello Veterans!

I'm looking for responses from Veterans about 18 Months + Post Op. The reason for the time frame is because a lot of times (including myself) we can go a long time without feeling hunger. Then one day a long way down the road it just returns. I was around 2 years out when I finally realized I was feeling actual hunger! Growling stomach and wanted to chew my arm off.

I feel hunger after about 3-4 hours after no matter how or what I've eaten in my last meal. i.e. high protein/lower carb... etc. Of course the hunger is worse or faster setting if I eat something high in carbs.

I'm not sure that I noticed a difference between maintaining at a 4 (where I was happiest with my body) and an 8 (where I'm at now and working back down from) or pre-sleeve when I had a band at a size 10. In a way, the smaller size was easier to maintain because I loved how I looked and felt so I was more motivated to eat well and exercise. I could also see the results of exercise more clearly on my body. And I was less likely to just give up and eat poorly for a day or a weekend.

I have to put effort into maintaining my weight regardless of what weight I'm trying to maintain. If I don't, it starts creeping back up. I'd rather maintain at my real goal than settle at a higher weight. I settled for much too long.

I didn't set my goal for a certain size. I set my goal for 135 which is not skinny for 5'2" , But when I regained up to 150, I was miserable . None of my pants fit and I looked like I was pregnant,

True! Fitting in to all those tiny cute clothes is a huge motivator to stay there. Then a few stack on and clothes get tight... bad feelings creep back in. It's so easy to say... "don't do that" but the reality is it CAN happen to anyone. And yes, if it doesn't your a darn lucky person. Good for them though! I'd rather not have to deal with these issues, but alas such is not my case.

Yeah, it ain't all fun and games! (Til I slip on the size 4 skirt!)

Thank you iegal, I am really grateful to myself to be back. Admitting I am one who needs help is the first step in any addiction therapy group! God Bless! I didn't know you have GB surgery. Wishing you a get well fast.

Hey Miss Diva, so good to see you back on site. You are a rock star!

My hunger has returned at about 1.5 years. I crave different things than before VSG surgery. Yes, this is truly a head game but I do "feel" hunger. Now I want sweets. Prior to surgery I could pass up chocolate, pasteries & other surgary foods without an issue. Now, I live for ice cream and previous. Know what to do, how to do it, now just need to take the steps to get back into the sleeve diet.

Gallbladder sugery was done on this Thursday & I am about 5lbs above surgeons goal. GULP. I am more concerned about staying healthy than a number on a scale. But of course my skinny clothes are now tight too.

A shout out to all my fellow vertrans - even at three years out I know I can still be a loser!

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I did get down to a zero, mostly 2s and 4s though. I truly loved being small. Though I was that small I was still curvy and for me I felt I looked good. It all is a matter of personal perception. I wasn't doing that for anyone but me! My health and darnit my happiness. Its okay to want to be thin and attractive. There's not a dang thing wrong with it. As an extremely obese person ( I used to wear size 28 and 4X!! ) I know how it feels to be miserable and not like how I looked or felt physically.

I never in my dreams imagined I'd get that small. I thought it was impossible because I was too "big boned" or my loose skin would prevent it. But I was wrong.

thanks for your input ladies. I am not speaking from experience yet at 7 mos, just hoping:) I would like to hear more from others who have not gone down to 0-2-4. I don't even think my BONES are size 2-4, so I really don't think I would ever get there, but quite happy if I get to 10/12. I was just hoping maintaining would be easier there, but maybe not.

I agree being smaller was easier to maintain. I stayed in my tiny sizes for almost 2.5 years. I went up so fast my head spinned. It's all good though since I've made the extra effort to get back down again.

I'm not sure that I noticed a difference between maintaining at a 4 (where I was happiest with my body) and an 8 (where I'm at now and working back down from) or pre-sleeve when I had a band at a size 10. In a way, the smaller size was easier to maintain because I loved how I looked and felt so I was more motivated to eat well and exercise. I could also see the results of exercise more clearly on my body. And I was less likely to just give up and eat poorly for a day or a weekend.

I have to put effort into maintaining my weight regardless of what weight I'm trying to maintain. If I don't, it starts creeping back up. I'd rather maintain at my real goal than settle at a higher weight. I settled for much too long.

Edited January 28, 201412 yr by LilMissDiva

Hey Miss Diva, so good to see you back on site. You are a rock star!

My hunger has returned at about 1.5 years. I crave different things than before VSG surgery. Yes, this is truly a head game but I do "feel" hunger. Now I want sweets. Prior to surgery I could pass up chocolate, pasteries & other surgary foods without an issue. Now, I live for ice cream and previous. Know what to do, how to do it, now just need to take the steps to get back into the sleeve diet.

Gallbladder sugery was done on this Thursday & I am about 5lbs above surgeons goal. GULP. I am more concerned about staying healthy than a number on a scale. But of course my skinny clothes are now tight too.

A shout out to all my fellow vertrans - even at three years out I know I can still be a loser!

.

Welcome back, you have only gained a little bit, and I think you are at just the right place to get that off and clean up the habits so it doesn't happen again. I like sweets too, and have some every day, but I mostly make them myself, so I know whats in them, reduce the sugar/carbs and fat, and still enjoy! I know cold turkey is the way for many, but I choose moderation. Have you checked out eggface? She has recipes for Protein ice cream, cake and Snacks, that are just fine to include in a day. Its one way to go.

I'm 2.5 years out. My hunger never left completely. But it's definately improved from pre-surgery and easier to manage :-) ! I'm with-in 3 pounds of my low weight from surgery... With some effort. My desire to not go back is the biggest factor in my weight maintainence... Not my actual sleeve restriction at this point because I can totally eat around my sleeve if I want. ( and I do once in a while )

I suppose I'm in the very lucky minority. I do not feel hunger. I'll feel empty or my stomach will growl or I'll get dizzy before I feel that old hunger feeling.

In every single instance where I say "I feel hungry" I'm using the wrong words. It's always hormones, not real genuine hunger, that has me peeking my head in the fridge. And I still sometimes have a problem with acid. Quite often I'll go a few days and realize I feel very hungry...but if I start taking my PPI for a while that feeling immediately disappears.

Unfortunately, disordered eating habits mean that I don't need to feel hungry to stuff my face. I'll do it just because I can, just because I'm bored or just because something sounds good. I didn't realize that was the case prior to surgery. I honestly thought that I was only eating because I was hungry and I was only fat because I ate too much. It's so much more complicated than that, and it definitely makes maintenance trickier to navigate successfully.

~Cheri

Thanks to all you wonderful vets for this thread. I'm almost 1 year post op and have been struggling with hunger for the past 2-3 months. I'm 10 lbs shy of my goal weight and really struggling to get there. I keep saying I'm going to try the 5:2 diet but can't seem to make myself actually do it. Shades of pre-sleeve behavior! (Cue scary music). The thing is I'm quite comfortable where I am now, compared to how I used to feel and that scares me a bit. Also my capacity to eat has increased a lot and it seems like I don't feel satisfied with what I've eaten for very long. I've tried different foods and while protein and good fats seem to keep me happier a little longer it's not much difference, regardless I'm starting to feel hungry again after 2-3 hours. I've tried eating healthy snacks i.e. nuts and jerky but they just slide down. Maybe I just need to eat a hunk of meat instead? Not sure what the right balance is for me yet. I guess I'll have to keep trying different foods to figure out what gives me the best sense of satisfaction. I am aware that some of this is psychological but also, I feel there is a physiological, hard-wired to eat, aspect of my struggle. BTW, I'm 6' 1&3/4" tall and my goal weight is 220lbs. Seems high to all you sweet petities probably and for some of you perhaps your pre-surgery weight. I feel it is important to be realistic in my goal setting about what I can maintain, long-term, and also at my age 54. My surgeon never gave me a goal weight and when I told him he thought it was fine. When I get to 220 then I might decide to go a little lower and have some wiggle room. Ironically, I'm having more difficulty finding cloths that fit me properly at size XL on top and 16w on bottom (big butt!) that when I was a 24/26w. It's partly my height but also I am overwhelmed sometimes by having so many more choices which is a happy problem.

Thanks to all you wonderful vets for this thread. I'm almost 1 year post op and have been struggling with hunger for the past 2-3 months. I'm 10 lbs shy of my goal weight and really struggling to get there. I keep saying I'm going to try the 5:2 diet but can't seem to make myself actually do it. Shades of pre-sleeve behavior! (Cue scary music). The thing is I'm quite comfortable where I am now, compared to how I used to feel and that scares me a bit. Also my capacity to eat has increased a lot and it seems like I don't feel satisfied with what I've eaten for very long. I've tried different foods and while Protein and good fats seem to keep me happier a little longer it's not much difference, regardless I'm starting to feel hungry again after 2-3 hours. I've tried eating healthy Snacks i.e. nuts and jerky but they just slide down. Maybe I just need to eat a hunk of meat instead? Not sure what the right balance is for me yet. I guess I'll have to keep trying different foods to figure out what gives me the best sense of satisfaction. I am aware that some of this is psychological but also, I feel there is a physiological, hard-wired to eat, aspect of my struggle. BTW, I'm 6' 1&3/4" tall and my goal weight is 220lbs. Seems high to all you sweet petities probably and for some of you perhaps your pre-surgery weight. I feel it is important to be realistic in my goal setting about what I can maintain, long-term, and also at my age 54. My surgeon never gave me a goal weight and when I told him he thought it was fine. When I get to 220 then I might decide to go a little lower and have some wiggle room. Ironically, I'm having more difficulty finding cloths that fit me properly at size XL on top and 16w on bottom (big butt!) that when I was a 24/26w. It's partly my height but also I am overwhelmed sometimes by having so many more choices which is a happy problem.

I am right there with you, Girlfriend! And BTW, I have always thought you are STUNNING!! Your size is perfect. I understand the "vanity" 10 pounds and did that myself. 5'8" 139-144 bounce. This time last week I was at 142 higher than week before 139 and now 144 the very TOP of bounce because as I said on another thread I want to EAT all the time.

Like you, I've compared and can't see that protein versus others keeps me satisfied any longer. I do know that I still cannot eat a lot at one time if I eat dense protein but then I want something else a couple hours later and have been really giving in to my favs, PB crackers!!!!!!

Gotta get hold of myself. LOL.

Thanks Georgia for the sweet compliment!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one struggling with hunger issues. Part of the reason I chose the sleeve over RNY was that I was told that I wouldn't be hungry because they remove the upper part of your stomach that produces the grehlin. Apparently that has not been the case for me. Regardless, I still wouldn't want the RNY because of the whole dumping syndrome. I know it's an addiction for me but if I couldn't eat a sweet treat once in a while I think I might become evil and mean!

I too am in the minority and don't have hunger issues. I am a slow loser (always have been). I occassionally will have head hunger. My solution is to either drink Water or a Protein shake. I still do shakes several times a week at Breakfast.

I don’t get hungry ever I openly admit there have been days I haven’t eaten a thing just drank my shakes because by the time it enters my head I haven’t eaten its like 9pm and I don’t want food anyway so I think meh tomorrow.
For me though that’s nothing new pre op I would also go hours without eating some times almost the whole day.
One of the few people told off and told to increase food intake months and months before the op I bet lol
It was a combination of my ibs being so bad I just got to the point I didn’t want to eat for the hours of pain I have from eating and getting side tracked working.
I work from home so I would go to my desk and start working and just not think about it for hours suddenly look at the time and think oh not even eaten yet today and 6 or so hours have passed.
I also smoke and back then I drunk a lot of coke, first thing I would drink was coke until I went to sleep!
So pretty much killed off my appetite with that instead of food.
So dunno if it’s the sleeve or just how I am from years of a habit of not thinking of food or thinking about eating.

I'm 16 months post op. Up until the first year I would forget to eat for 8 hrs& be satisfied with tiny meals. Now 16 oz is a small meal& I feel ravenous about every 3-4hrs. I'm on the recommitment plan now after indulging in several non nutritious foods.

Heck ya, I'm two years out and I get ravenously hungry. Have for quite some time. The good thing is I get full so much faster. I can still do a LOT of damage in a small amount of space though. The Grehlin is flowing again!

Maybe it's also to do with our metabolism. I know mine is shot now because of years of skipping meals and binging plus yo yo weight and exercise. After 2 years with a sleeve I'd guess that eating smaller, regular meals and exercising would mean your metabolism is speeding up. You are therefore burning more and need more food, hence hungry. Could also be related to muscle mass, as more muscle in the body requires more energy. The trick for me will be keeping clear of fast carbs when/if I fell this!

I've also been thinking about the hair loss. It is definitely to do with undernourishment of course, but about 3 months after major surgery you should expect hair to fall out because of anaesthetic. Our hair goes into a kinda shock and snaps at the very root, it then takes about 3 months to reach the scalp surface where it falls out. There is already a new hair growing behind it. I was a hairdresser.

I think, worse, my bad habits are returning moreso than my hunger. I find myself wanting fast food or soda, or heading to the kitchen because I'm bored. I'm trying to fight it but I've even gained back about 10 pounds. In the grand scheme of things thats not much, but I refuse to get even close back to the way I was before. It makes me nervous sometimes, but I just have to keep fighting it.

Edited April 2, 201412 yr by kittenkate