Hunger has set in...

[pinkbunies 359]

I've read lots on the forum and wow, its finally happened to me. I am constantly hungry. I have upped my Protein to 120 grams a day. I have upped my Fluid intake as well.

I exercise daily at the gym, an hour a day.

I'm hungry and it isn't going away. Its the first time I've felt like this. I feel like I'm eating too much.

I'm controlling portions but I'm not feeling the restriction any longer like I used to. Granted I can't eat more than 8 or so ounces, it used to be 6.

I have been lifting a lot more. I'm hoping that I'm just burning more calories and my body wants more food.

No idea. I'm gaining weight but not the bad kind. My whole body is getting toned and I have visible muscles.

I highly doubt I have stretched my sleeve as I know that would take a lot. Any advise, info would be appreciated.

I had my sleeve October 2014 so I'm close to 2 years now. I've lost over 100 lbs.

[Oak Park Lorena 162]

Hey, @@pinkbunies! First of all, big kudos for losing over 100 pounds--that's amazing! And good for you for being so dedicated at the gym, it sounds like the lifting is paying off.

I'm not even going to jump into the whole "sleeves stretch v. no they don't" debate. And I'm certainly going to second-guess your Protein intake requirements. I can say, though, that I too have hunger again.

I am nearly three years out and about 6 months ago I suddenly started to experience hunger again or at least a growling tummy. It was weird, it was like someone threw a switch, one day no rumbling, next day rumbling. I noticed, funny enough, watching a food commercial on TV. For years, I had no hunger response to food stimuli, no tummy rumbling when I saw or smelled something appetizing. But, suddenly, while close ups of big gloppy plates of Pasta passed across my TV screen. . .grumble. It actually startled me because I hadn't experienced that sensation in so long. I still don't quite experience "hunger" the way I did pre-sleeve. I am doing a fast day and I don't actually feel hungry even when I don't eat for 24 hours, but if I see something that looks or smells good, I feel "hungry." I do still have pretty significant restriction as well. I do, however, respond again to visuals of food or good food smells again.

There is evidence that the sleeve significantly reduces the body's production of ghrelin, the "hunger" hormone, but as I recall from the research I read at the time of my sleeve, they don't really understand why cutting away part of the stomach reduces or seemingly eliminates the body's ghrelin production. I am assuming that in my case, at least, my body is now producing this hormone again after a 2+ year hiatus.

Building muscle definitely requires a large supply of good quality Protein and muscle burns significantly more calories than fat, so it's possible that your newly muscled body does need both more protein and more calories. However, you may, like me and from what I see anecdotally from my perusals of articles on this subject on line for other sleevers, may be producing the hunger hormone in larger quantities than you were after the sleeve. I've come to accept this and accept that it doesn't necessarily mean weight gain, just makes it a bit harder. I don't know that I have any specific advice other than to say that you should be aware of this and come up with strategies to determine what your body actually needs in terms of fuel v. a renewed desire for food.

I wish you the best of luck!