Post sleeve and head hunger -- what is it like for you?

[Skywalker 170]

I just wanted to throw this thought out there, because I've been thinking over the last couple weeks about the difference between legitimate hunger and head hunger. In the past, I have not done well on Weight Watchers because I would be out of points at the end of the day, and my stomach would still be hurting/growling. This is something I expect WLS to fix.

Now, I think this kind of hunger is different from the hunger where you are bored or you are celebrating a social occasion, and you have that extra slice of pizza or extra beer because you can (you have room for it), and it just tastes so good.

An anomaly I've experienced, however, is this--whenever I have the flu, especially if it's accompanied by a fever--food is the last thing on my mind. And that's a good thing. I'm not ever hungry, I'm tired, and I'm preoccupied with keeping my nausea down and minimizing my sore throat, so I tend to only want diet 7-up, and have to remind myself to eat Soup. As a person who's not gone through WLS, having the flu is when I find it the very easiest to follow a diet, and not to obsess about food. I can sometimes lose a good five pounds during these weeks, because food just doesn't mean anything to me, and I'm focused on other activities of daily living.

So my question to people who have had WLS--do you now feel like how I've felt in the past when I had the flu? Like your hunger signals are gone and you are just ready to focus on other things? Or do you still try to down that extra piece of chocolate cake and then experience discomfort? I'd be interested in hearing your experiences.

[Bob2013 326]

For me, hunger is almost completely gone. When I have gone 4+ hours without eating my stomach will growl a bit and a 4oz or half cup of food and I am stuffed. In the evening when I am home, bored watching TV I do get a little head hunger. But I satisfy it with a dense Protein. lately its been beef Jerky. I weigh out a 1 oz serving and it gets rid of the craving.

A recent experience that I had. After eating a piece of chicken for dinner my family pulled out the birthday cake for my nephew. My wife had a piece and I took two small bites or hers and I had no interest in having any more.

One thing I find is over eating doesn't give me the same discomfort as before WLS. For me its 10x worse. Almost a gagging feeling.

[Skywalker 170]

One thing I find is over eating doesn't give me the same discomfort as before WLS. For me its 10x worse. Almost a gagging feeling.

I guess that would be a good thing. It sounds like (if I'm understanding you correctly), it takes just a couple bites after WLS to get to the same "OMG, I can't handle any more" sensation that would take a non-WLS several bowls to achieve.

[Seela 1,187]

I guess that would be a good thing. It sounds like (if I'm understanding you correctly), it takes just a couple bites after WLS to get to the same "OMG, I can't handle any more" sensation that would take a non-WLS several bowls to achieve.

That's exactly right, but you still need to make good food choices or in time the pounds can come back on little by little

[Comfy_Blue 285]

In the beginning it was really hard for me to fight the head hunger. I was in the puree phase of my diet when my grandfather died and I unexpectedly had to fly 10 hours away in the dead of winter to be with my family. I spent about five days at grandma's house and the stress made me want to emotional eat, plus Grandma was cooking and people kept bringing over tons of food to express their sympathy. I would shovel down food, then have to excuse myself because my chest was tight and burning and I'd lay over in the bed in agony. It would feel like there was food stuck in my chest and at the back of my throat. After 20 minutes or so, it'd go away and I'd go back in the kitchen and have myself another cookie, or piece of chicken until the pain came back.

When I got home I had gained about 5lbs. I can't shovel down food like I used to, but I'd say at least once or twice a week I would forget and take too big of a bite or eat too fast, then that pain would come back. It was hard because I am an emotional eater and I would have all these underlying issues but not be able to soothe myself with food. I confess that I once wanted the greasiest Chinese take out so bad but I was on full liquid phase and I actually started crying in my car because I couldn't have it.

Now I'm about 3 months out and I have a lot less head hunger. When I feel overwhelmed I am more likely to journal, talk to a friend or do something else. The only times recently I have had issues with overstuffing was when we had friends over for a game night. There was SO MUCH FOOD. Everyone brought a dish, plus we had four pizzas and this big, warm cookie that could feed 8 people. I kept eating all night and while I ate little bits so I wouldn't feel the pain as much, it did hurt some.

I think it's important to go to counseling even if you're not crazy (ha ha) or some kind of support group to help offset the lost of our former selves and overeating habits.

[Bob2013 326]

One thing I find is over eating doesn't give me the same discomfort as before WLS. For me its 10x worse. Almost a gagging feeling.

I guess that would be a good thing. It sounds like (if I'm understanding you correctly), it takes just a couple bites after WLS to get to the same "OMG, I can't handle any more" sensation that would take a non-WLS several bowls to achieve.

That's what the surgery is all about. But you do have to constantly remind yourself to eat slowly or you will feel pretty crappy if you overfill yourself before you realize your full. I am one of the lucky ones. I have very little hunger. Boredom hunger is my only enemy. When I am sitting around in the evening I find myself looking for some munchies. But I fill that void with a dense Protein. Beef Jerky or Pickled eggs are my usual choices. And I always weigh out a portion instead of sitting down with the whole container. 1 oz of beef jerky usually satisfies.

[Skywalker 170]

That's a good idea. Before the surgery, I'm going to stock up on Protein drinks (the kind they've been talking about at Costco), and probably soups/juices. After the surgery, I hear people referring to Protein a lot, so I think getting a major stash of Jerky (again, from Costco) will probably be good to keep in the house and last me a long time. I bought a $500 whole food/vegetable blender, so I might end up using that a lot. I like the blended vegetable drinks now, but have found that after 1 hour my stomach starts growling and asking for more (usually carbs). I hope surgery can cure that particular physical hunger.

[danaevett 179]

I just wanted to throw this thought out there, because I've been thinking over the last couple weeks about the difference between legitimate hunger and head hunger. In the past, I have not done well on Weight Watchers because I would be out of points at the end of the day, and my stomach would still be hurting/growling. This is something I expect WLS to fix.

Now, I think this kind of hunger is different from the hunger where you are bored or you are celebrating a social occasion, and you have that extra slice of pizza or extra beer because you can (you have room for it), and it just tastes so good.

An anomaly I've experienced, however, is this--whenever I have the flu, especially if it's accompanied by a fever--food is the last thing on my mind. And that's a good thing. I'm not ever hungry, I'm tired, and I'm preoccupied with keeping my nausea down and minimizing my sore throat, so I tend to only want diet 7-up, and have to remind myself to eat Soup. As a person who's not gone through WLS, having the flu is when I find it the very easiest to follow a diet, and not to obsess about food. I can sometimes lose a good five pounds during these weeks, because food just doesn't mean anything to me, and I'm focused on other activities of daily living.

So my question to people who have had WLS--do you now feel like how I've felt in the past when I had the flu? Like your hunger signals are gone and you are just ready to focus on other things? Or do you still try to down that extra piece of chocolate cake and then experience discomfort? I'd be interested in hearing your experiences.

I am one month post op and I do have hunger. It seems to be real hunger because I can tell the difference between head hunger and real hunger. Apparently I'm not one of the lucky ones who doesn't experience hunger anymore. Oh well. It hasn't slowed me down any. I've lost 23 pounds so far. The biggest problem I've had so far is over eating. I can't eat very much but my head thinks I can. I find myself putting way too much on my plate. (Just like pre-op.) I am learning to recognize the feeling of me starting to get full. If I take it slow, and only take small bites, I can manage pretty well. If I don't, and I get too full, it feels like the food has filled up my stomach as well as my lower esophagus. That is not a pleasant feeling. Several times my mouth has started watering profusely and I have had to throw up. It's interesting though, I only throw up a small amount and it seems to only be the food in my lower esophagus. It doesn't empty my stomach. Just enough that I feel better. Sorry for the TMI. Hope this helps.