I'm hungry ever 2-4 hours. Is this normal? I'm 3 weeks post op. How many calories should I have a day?

I'm hungry ever 2-4 hours. Is this normal? I'm 3 weeks post op. How many calories should I have a day?

I am 8 weeks post op and I am hungry every couple of hours. Not sure if it is real hunger or head hunger. How do you know the difference?

I have no idea.

I think I figured it out. For me, if I feel my sleeve cramping or kinda gurgling, it's real hunger. Every other type of hunger is head hunger, boredom, habit, or just something to kill time.

real hunger is when you would eat just about anything to satisfy it. Maybe not human flesh or grilled slugs or something like that but just about anything else. Head hunger, boredom, habit - that's more along the lines of "I want some ice cream" or "I need to eat something while I'm watching a movie" or "I want to crunch something in my mouth."

As far as calories go, it really depends on your program. For my program, at 6 weeks out, I was to stay under 600 calories per day.

It might be head hunger so be careful about that cause it can throw you off balance. You should be able to eat every 5 hours at this stage in your process. I was recommended to make sure each meal lasted 20-25 mins as each 5 mins equated an hour of subsisting till my next meal. It worked in my case. Best of luck!

Thank you

How much should I eat every 5 hours. 1/2 cup 1 cup?

In my case I ate 3/4 cup for each meal at this stage :-)

I'm one month post op and have found myself HUNGRY a whole lot as well. What I've found is that I didn't do the basics.

I hadn't had enough Fluid in between meals. I drank too soon or during my meal. I'm averaging about 500 to 700 calories a day now. I log EVERYTHING in my fitness pal, so it's easy for me to keep track.

I seem to be learning "learning the hard way" on so many things. I eat too fast and pay the price and turn around and do it again two days later. <sigh>

I hear yah. I've paid for it 1 time I'm sure it won't be the last. Thanks for the info

I only feel hungry the last 3 hours of every work day.

Yep, definitely I-Wanna-Go-Home-This-Day-Is-Taking-Forever-Head-Hunger.

I hit the break room and make myself some hot tea which takes me like 4 hours to drink so it lasts all the way through my commute, haha.

Edited January 23, 201511 yr by heynowkc

I definitely get hungry (tummy rumbling) every few hours. I have to plan my day to include an afternoon and evening snack.

Head hunger gets Water or a tic tac

At my one-month appointment, I complained to my doc about getting hungry. He told me that hunger is often thirst in disguise; and I've found that to be true. Are you getting enough fluids in? Try increasing them, especially when you feel hunger. Fluids are your friend, in many, many ways throughout this process. Yes, they help you stay satisfied. But they also fight off constipation and provide elasticity for your skin. Something we all care about eventually. And, while Protein is the key to minimizing hair loss, I think fluids may contribute to it as well. Good luck!

I'm just 1.5 weeks post-op and doc said this period is about healing and not to worry about calories. Keep to the liquid regimen they proscribe to avoid complications. Also told me to drink the liquids (especially broth) anytime I feel hungry and also to keep my fluids up.

My hunger is clearly head hunger. I miss real food, I've said goodbye to all my favorites and during the recovery days, I sure wish I could have just one comfort food. BUT that is the attitude that got me here. So I'm sticking to the plan, healing and getting well are my primary focus. This is for me....eating something that isn't on the prescribed list just isn't worth the chance of complication on my new greatly reduced stomach.

BTW- After 3 weeks including the pre-op diet, I never thought a watered down, blended bowl of mushroom Soup could ever taste so good! I have a small amount twice a day along with my Protein Shakes. That's about it until next week.