I had surgery exactly a week ago. I feel hungry all the time and my temptation for bad food has come back. I haven't dared gone near it even though my entire family eats fast food and delicious carbs around me all day long. I can't really tell the difference between being full or having gas? But i ate yogurt about 3 hours ago and am starving! Is it normal to feel this hungry all the time at this stage?

Also anyone have really good meal ideas for this week? I'm getting tired of the same thing always.

On a side note any one have recommendations for next week meals when I get to start adding meat?

After my RNY gastric bypass surgery, I was on full liquids for the first 4 weeks followed by pureed foods during the next four weeks. It was only on week 9 that I was permitted to transition to solid foods such as chicken and steak. Even then it was pretty rough on my stomach. Your stomach needs time to heal. There is no reason to rush things.

The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight.

Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as protein shakes.

I think it's important to distinguish between "head hunger" and real hunger. During the first couple of weeks I had a lot of trouble with this. I constantly though I was hungry and starving but in reality I wasn't - it was all in my head and I was craving carbs and bad food (likely detoxing). I had the same situation - my family who came to take care of me while recovering were going out to eat and enjoying all of the old stuff I used to have and it was tough. Also if you have a lot of acid bubbling around in your stomach you can also feel hunger. Are you on a PPI like pepcid or nexium? If not you might talk to your dr about adding one. Also be honest with your doctor or nutritionist, let them know how you are feeling and they can help provide more suggestions.

I am 6 days out. I was on clear iquids for one week, full liquids for one week, and now on pureed/soft foods for a month. My soft foods incude some lean meats and chicken. If you are that hungry, you may not be getting enough protein. Try two 30g protein drinks a day and see if that helps with your hunger. When I started soft foods, she told me to do only one 30g protein drink in the morning. But I have never felt hungry!