3rd week post op & hungry again

[CocoNina 210]

I'm exactly 3-weeks post op today. The first two weeks, I never felt hungry. All of a sudden, 2 days ago, Saturday night I started feeling hungry. I do take my Protein every 3-4 hours as recommended. But now even the protein isn't helping to stop my hunger.

I know the hunger hormone is supposed to be cut off with my stomach. So, why am I hungry? This is my last week of liquids only & I can finally puree my 4th week.

I'm scared that I'll be like my old self. Always hungry & wants to eat. I already lost almost about 28 lbs since my pre-op liquid diet. I don't wanna go back.

I always read that people forget to eat & have to remind or force themselves to eat post-op. I thought this would happen to me too, but I'm hungry.

Height 5'0"

Weight for WLS consultation: 216 lbs.

Surgery date: 2/13/17

Goal: - 71 lbs for healthy BMI (about 145 lbs).

Current weight: 185.2 lbs

My profile picture is not me. It's my "FitSpiration" body.

[Joann454 1,329]

I keep reading about head hunger but I don't know how you know the difference. Others have posted that drinking Water helps. I have no experience because I'm pre op still.

I worry about the same thing. I don't know how you could go back though because your stomach can't hold much food.

[anina 17]

I completely understand you!!! I am exactly on my second week post surgery. My doctor also only allows liquid for the first 4 weeks post op. I've been hungry since the beginning.... it's a horrible sensation. I thought I was ready, but this is way harder than I expected! I'm sick and tired of all my Proteins already, and I still have two more weeks of liquids to go.
From what I read, it is normal to feel hungry just with the liquids, but once we are allowed to eat real food, we will feel full faster and for longer... I guess we just have to keep being strong and wait! Glad I'm not alone in this though

[CocoNina 210]

I keep reading about head hunger but I don't know how you know the difference. Others have posted that drinking Water helps. I have no experience because I'm pre op still.

I worry about the same thing. I don't know how you could go back though because your stomach can't hold much food.

I understand what head hunger is. I had it my 2nd week. When I smell food, I miss it. We had a warm week last week and people were grilling/BBQing. I yearned for it, but did not mind not having it. I felt full or not hungry anyway.

What I'm feeling is different. My stomach wants food. I'm actually hungry. I feel low energy & the liquid Proteins isn't doing it for me anymore. I noticed I have been consuming more Water to hold down the hunger.

Height 5'0"

Weight for WLS consultation: 216 lbs.

Surgery date: 2/13/17

Goal: - 71 lbs for healthy BMI (about 145 lbs).

Current weight: 185.2 lbs

My profile picture is not me. It's my "FitSpiration" body.

[CocoNina 210]

I completely understand you!!! I am exactly on my second week post surgery. My doctor also only allows liquid for the first 4 weeks post op. I've been hungry since the beginning.... it's a horrible sensation. I thought I was ready, but this is way harder than I expected! I'm sick and tired of all my Proteins already, and I still have two more weeks of liquids to go.
From what I read, it is normal to feel hungry just with the liquids, but once we are allowed to eat real food, we will feel full faster and for longer... I guess we just have to keep being strong and wait! Glad I'm not alone in this though

I'm sick of all my Protein Shakes too. What helped me was buying beneprotein & adding it to broth. I enjoy the broth so much more than shakes now. I also add beneprotein to pudding just to have something to actually "eat". If you like Jello, you can add Protein to it too.

Easier said than done because it does get boring/tiring. Hang in there, it is hard but we have to remember why we did this. I keep telling myself it won't last forever. I'm consuming more Water now because of the hunger. It's hard but if we made it through our pre-op diet, we can do this!


Height 5'0"
Weight for WLS consultation: 216 lbs.
Surgery date: 2/13/17
Goal: - 71 lbs for healthy BMI (about 145 lbs).
Current weight: 185.2 lbs
My profile picture is not me. It's my "FitSpiration" body.

[Andrea F 48]

From what I understand this feeling of hunger could be acid reflux. Another explanation is head hunger. And lastly, as the swelling and inflammation goes down in our new tummies we tend to get a feeling of being *hungry* and that should subside once we move on to more denser foods such as puree and soft foods.

[Joann454 1,329]

7 hours ago, CocoNina said:

I understand what head hunger is. I had it my 2nd week. When I smell food, I miss it. We had a warm week last week and people were grilling/BBQing. I yearned for it, but did not mind not having it. I felt full or not hungry anyway.

What I'm feeling is different. My stomach wants food. I'm actually hungry. I feel low energy & the liquid Proteins isn't doing it for me anymore. I noticed I have been consuming more Water to hold down the hunger.

Height 5'0"

Weight for WLS consultation: 216 lbs.

Surgery date: 2/13/17

Goal: - 71 lbs for healthy BMI (about 145 lbs).

Current weight: 185.2 lbs

My profile picture is not me. It's my "FitSpiration" body.

I'm sorry you're suffering.

I'm following the newly sleeved folks closely so thanks for posting because it helps us preop people know what to expect.

[Joann454 1,329]

7 hours ago, CocoNina said:

I understand what head hunger is. I had it my 2nd week. When I smell food, I miss it. We had a warm week last week and people were grilling/BBQing. I yearned for it, but did not mind not having it. I felt full or not hungry anyway.

What I'm feeling is different. My stomach wants food. I'm actually hungry. I feel low energy & the liquid Proteins isn't doing it for me anymore. I noticed I have been consuming more Water to hold down the hunger.

Height 5'0"

Weight for WLS consultation: 216 lbs.

Surgery date: 2/13/17

Goal: - 71 lbs for healthy BMI (about 145 lbs).

Current weight: 185.2 lbs

My profile picture is not me. It's my "FitSpiration" body.

I'm sorry you're suffering.

I'm following the newly sleeved folks closely so thanks for posting because it helps us preop people know what to expect.

[orionburn 1,024]

Oh that stinks...we got to do pureed foods after two weeks. I didn't have hunger pains in the liquid stage, but I went through that feeling of wanting to some how be able to stab a Protein Drink to death because I was so sick of them. With each phase things will get better. Hopefully once you hit the pureed stage that will settle things down. Tomorrow marks 6 weeks post-op for me and I've been cleared to eat probably 80% of whatever I want. There have been times where I felt hungry, but honestly I think it was head hunger. 90% of the time I'm still eating because I have to eat.

I think your fears will calm down once you start eating again and actually get a full sensation off of 4-6 oz of food. I remember the first time eating a single egg thinking "yeah, I'm going to be stuffed eating this" and then 3/4 of the way through I was out...lol. Hang in there, it will get better.

[marfar7 1,533]

I was starving by day 4. I drank 1 oz of Protein Shake every hour (as per insruction) and broth, cream Soups, Jello, and popsicles in between. I was on liquids for 4 weeks. I thought Id literally starve to death. I didn;t cheat once (cuz Im married to the food nazi and I knew he'd tattle to my dr) but nothing worked. Cream soups lasted about an hour then I was hungry again. I musta had alot of ghrelin that they left in there cuz I was seriously hungry, not head hunger.

I white knuckled it until I could have soft foods. I planned those refrried Beans with a little melted cheese and sour cream. It was like steak and lobster. I made it! And u will too. And dont worry about eating too much when ur able to eat. When u get solid food in ur stomach, it will tell u when you've had enuf. I could only eat about 4 tiny bites of those beans. I was hungry an hour later (Ate often, just not much) but I got full really quickly. Im almost 4 yrs out now, almost to goal (had a setback) and still the same way - can only eat very little but hungry soon afterwards.

Good luck!

[CocoNina 210]

I was starving by day 4. I drank 1 oz of Protein shake every hour (as per insruction) and broth, cream Soups, Jello, and popsicles in between. I was on liquids for 4 weeks. I thought Id literally starve to death. I didn;t cheat once (cuz Im married to the food nazi and I knew he'd tattle to my dr) but nothing worked. Cream Soups lasted about an hour then I was hungry again. I musta had alot of ghrelin that they left in there cuz I was seriously hungry, not head hunger.

I white knuckled it until I could have soft foods. I planned those refrried Beans with a little melted cheese and sour cream. It was like steak and lobster. I made it! And u will too. And dont worry about eating too much when ur able to eat. When u get solid food in ur stomach, it will tell u when you've had enuf. I could only eat about 4 tiny bites of those Beans. I was hungry an hour later (Ate often, just not much) but I got full really quickly. Im almost 4 yrs out now, almost to goal (had a setback) and still the same way - can only eat very little but hungry soon afterwards.

Good luck!

Thank you. I'm knuckling through it too. I refuse to cheat. I can't wait for puree next week. This week will be the longest week ever. LOL about the beans being like steak & lobster. I can't wait to have that too.

[CocoNina 210]

And lastly, as the swelling and inflammation goes down in our new tummies we tend to get a feeling of being *hungry* and that should subside once we move on to more denser foods such as puree and soft foods.

Interesting! It makes sense, when you're swollen inside, it does feel stuffy/bloated/full.

[Glitterisalwaysappropriate 17]

I had my surgery a week ago today and can now have puréed foods. The puréed cottage cheese was great but I still felt hungry. However when it came to the two scrambled eggs mixed with 2 oz of mashed potato.... I could barely finish half of it!

Liquids that long would be old, but you're almost there!!!

I still feel so swollen and puffy in my stomach. I'm about to purée some tuna (lord help me) because I need a different flavor in my life.

It feels like I'm eating all the time, but then I look at my food tracker and the calories are still below 1000!!

I'm just trying to take it day by day. I enjoy the smells of all the food and when people apologize for eating in front of me I make them stop. I like talking to my husband about his meals and trying to face that head on. I have found myself thinking of I'll just take a small bite than immediately I laugh when I realize again my stomach can't handle a bite of any of that right now!!

You got this!! I think our brains and tummies just need time to sync up on the new us.