Is it true ?

[bellabeans 74]

My doctor said after the surgery you won't be hungry !! We remove the part of the stomach that creates the hormone that triggers hunger. ( my problem is I'm never full ) Please let me know who's hungry still ?? Is it true ?? I know you still need to have willpower but did you see a change after surgery ??

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[Sharon1964 2,530]

Being full and being hungry (or not hungry) are two different things.

I'm at 9 months, and I rarely if ever get hungry.

I eat the amount I'm supposed to eat; I don't eat to get full.

[Valentina 2,642]

I'm 5yrs out come June and no, I do not feel hunger.

If I'm going out of the house, I set my cellphone to alarm me when it is time to eat something otherwise I just don't. Oh, I know when I see something that I know would taste good, I want it, but that's "head hunger".

When you learn to listen to your body, you'll be pleasantly surprised all of the "cool" stuff it will teach you.

Good luck and have a joyful journey.

[gracehughes 40]

Yes, it's true. I rarely feel hungry, and I'm learning to listen more to my body.

[MrsKarenC2008 622]

@bellabeans Yes, its true ...

Though my surgeon told me he removes the part of the stomach that contains ghrelin ... he explained it as the hormone that makes you crave sugar ...

I was THRILLED to hear this news ... because some people have a sweet "tooth" ... I had sweet "teeth"!!

And I can tell you ... what he said WAS TRUE!

I haven't craved sugar AT ALL ... I haven't even cared when the office has doughnuts or cake ... or if my hubby wants an ice cream cone ...

It doesn't bother me ... I don't even think it looks good anymore ... To me, it actually has a nasty smell even ...

Such an amazing thing .... Should have had that nasty bit removed YEARS ago !

Edited May 2, 2016 by MrsKarenC2008

[JamieLogical 8,727]

Okay, so here's the deal. Most of us are never truly hungry, even before surgery. We have head hunger and we have cravings. That is not true hunger. My husband's doctor is fond of saying "if you aren't hungry enough to eat an apple, you aren't truly hungry." What that means is, when you are craving specific types of food, when you are maybe eating more than you should, you aren't actually physically hunger. It's all in your head. That type of hunger does NOT go away with surgery.

What does go away is the physical sensation of hunger, good or bad. For me that took some getting used to. In my early months post-op, I found that if I went more than about 3 hours without food, I would get "hangry". I didn't even notice it myself. The people around me would notice and point it out. I went on vacation with my husband and parents at about 6 months post-op and my mom started carrying around peanuts and turkey sticks in her purse and handing them to me at the first sign of "hanger". Since I didn't feel physically hungry, I would forget that it had been so long since I'd last eaten and the hunger manifested itself in a different way, namely bitchiness! I have a much better handle on it now. I eat on a very regular schedule and that keeps the hanger at bay.

[Babbs 14,681]

Most of us are never truly hungry, even before surgery

I concur with this statement.

Most people not living in a third world country don't know what true "hunger" is.

So there's head hunger and true "boy I haven't eating in a while and I'm getting hungry" hunger. I feel all who have had WLS suffer with the most is head hunger, and no doctor cut that out, unfortunately!

[LipstickLady 25,682]

Three years out in May and I get hungry. In fact, sometimes I am absolutely ravenous. It's a totally different kind of hungry, now, than it used to be, though. Before, it was all consuming and no matter how much I ate or how physically stuffed I felt, I could eat more within 20-30 minutes.

Now, I can rarely eat more than 1/2 cup in a sitting. Being full is uncomfortable so I have found my sweet spot of eating just enough, but not one bite more. There are days that I don't have a chance to eat until noon or one because I am so busy and then BAM, the intense hunger hits. The funny thing, though? The hungrier I am, the less I can eat.

My kids love to make fun of me for it. I can walk around complaining about how hungry I am for an hour or so, stop to eat and get down 3-4 bites and suddenly start talking about how full I am. My kids know about my surgery so they laugh. People who don't know about my surgery just think I'm bizarre when this happens.

Most of my sleeved friends do talk about getting hungry, but again, it's a totally different hungry than I experienced when I was a fatty McFatser.

[Dub 10,051]

Not much on the hunger thing here, either.

6.5 months out and I'm good in that department.

The only time it gets anything remotely like hunger is if I had some chips or the like. It's like my body burns if off as fuel and then is asking for more of the same. If I eat Protein and fat.....that doesn't occur and I can go for indefinite periods without hunger. So, for me....staying way from sugar or things that easily convert to sugar...is the key for me.

[AvaFern 3,516]

I don't really feel hungry very often, and while I generally don't forget to eat, if I'm busy and doing stuff, I only really remember I should probably get some food when I start getting a headache feel a little woozy. As an example, usually I have granola for Breakfast, half a sandwich for lunch, a cup of Soup for dinner, and some crackers, turkey, or other Snacks in the middle. This morning I was working on a project with someone and I only had a few meatballs for lunch because we took a lunch break and I figured I should eat. I didn't have time for Breakfast, and it's not 5:00 and while I'm not really hungry I figured I should eat some crackers so I don't start feeling sick. I think mostly for me the lack of hunger comes from not finding any emotional connection to food. I don't eat to Celebrate, or because I'm sad, or because I'm stressed...sometimes I eat when I'm bored at my desk, but food is now pretty much just fuel, so there is no psychological craving for it, and so I don't feel hungry very often. There are times though when I've gone a few hours without food and I get this "must eat RIGHT NOW" feeling and some crackers or turkey makes the feeling go away for maybe 200 calories or or less. I think I don't deal with hunger because my relationship with food is changed.

[Lizardlady 90]

@bellabeans Yes, its true ...

Though my surgeon told me he removes the part of the stomach that contains ghrelin ... he explained it as the hormone that makes you crave sugar ...

I was THRILLED to hear this news ... because some people have a sweet "tooth" ... I had sweet "teeth"!!

And I can tell you ... what he said WAS TRUE!

I haven't craved sugar AT ALL ... I haven't even cared when the office has doughnuts or cake ... or if my hubby wants an ice cream cone ...

It doesn't bother me ... I don't even think it looks good anymore ... To me, it actually has a nasty smell even ...

Such an amazing thing .... Should have had that nasty bit removed YEARS ago !

Hmmm is it really only sugar? I was assuming it did more than that. If that is the case then that kind of sucks for me since I'm not a big sweets person. I can pass on cake and ice cream but I would NOT pass up a slice of pizza or pasta!

Does anyone have experience with it helping the cravings for carbs?

[future Mrs 26]

I get hungry . And it's not head hunger . If I don't eat when I'm hungry I get phyiscially sick and shakey

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[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

To the OP ... when was your surgery?

If you're still in the early food stages -- lots of soft foods, liquids only, etc., you have never gotten to the phase where you're eating dense Protein and have experienced actual restriction of your new stomach.

Just wait 'til you try to eat some chicken or fish. You'll find out what your sleeve can do for you.