I am currently pre-op, and I have a question for those of you who are past honeymoon phase: once the healing is complete, and hunger comes back, how bad is it? Are you able to manage it with the smaller portions? I am not talking about cravings, but rather about felling of not having enough of the regular food that you are actually allowed to eat.

Allow me to explain: I've been very successful in the past with loosing weight on the low-calorie diet. Keeping it off- not so much you know the story. Largely because I can go only so long while feeling starved /dizzy / weak. My body always wins, and eating comes back with vengeance. After starving/gaining/starving cycle for more than 20 years I got to the point where I am simply afraid of having to go hungry for weeks and months again ((

So tell me pls, what it's like for you? I so do not want to get it done and to find myself counting minutes until the next meal comes (

Thank u!

Edited December 15, 201510 yr by Primha

Primha,

It’s different for everyone, but a lot of WLS patients (as you can see) don’t have too much physical hunger. I wonder, though, if your low-calorie diet is really so low that it made you shaky (which is beyond hunger), maybe your calories were a little too low? I know some WLS patients who have also gotten shaky when they don’t eat enough.

Personally, I got the lap-band, and would say I have normal hunger – I get hungry when I need to eat, and do not have terrible head hunger. As for counting minutes until the next meal, I don’t do that anymore. When I did, before WLS, it was because of head hunger, not physical hunger.

I had my surgery 2 years ago and have never suffered hunger....i am able to eat everything but in smaaaalllleeerrrr portions, but thats ok....very satisfied...i always have a protein bar in my purse just in case, and eat small bites of it until i have time to eat my lunch or dinner.

Pipsqueak,

I have heard many say/type that. I am hoping you were taught that sipping small amounts of water all day long is key. Adding no flavor protein powder to the water will help hopefully. It is so dangerous to not get the protein and water in.

I know you know this. I just want to support you in your progress. There are several new kinds of protein liquid shots available that look like the 5 hour energy shots of liquid. They are not the full approved protein I learned about in my classes but they are better than not putting anything in your body.

Go to the store here on BP and search liquid protein. The BP store is backed up on delivery so you can check Amazon.com to get the liquid protein faster. Hopefully you learned about the different kinds of protein and why these are not recommended first. But if they help to get you to eat something. ..

I hope you are posting all over this site to gets lots of advice. It is indeed dangerous to not eat!

Are you taking your vitamins daily??? I got the Barimelt ones from the BP store here to make sure I was getting the first month post op my best chance to heal and stay healthy.

Can you set a timer for every 15 minutes? We learned in class to drink 1 tiny 1 ounce cup every 15 minutes. So now I have my timer on my phone set for every hour to keep me mindful.

I am sending you my best wishes to you and hope your surgeon can help!!

I find that I do get hungry especially if I go 24 hours without eating anything more than a pickle and some lunch meat. My stomach will even growl, but my attitude is so different. A growling stomach is no longer an emergency as it used to be. I don't do this often, but it happens sometimes.

Nowadays, I am satisfied by very little food and will even throw up if I drink more than a sip with my meal. Prior to surgery I could eat a whole dinner plate full of spaghetti or some pasta dish. Now a tiny portion on a salad plate is sometimes hard to finish. I end up eating the meat and mushrooms and leaving most of the pasta.