Was sleeved on Nov 14 (6 weeks out) down 40lbs. I am trying to eat cup of food only when hungry. My issue is I don’t know what hunger feels like anymore.

Any advice would be appreciated

This is super weird, I’m sure... but before I got the surgery whenever I was hungry... and I mean all out hungry my body needs food, the back of my neck would like twinge or fizz... like a fizzy kinda sound/feeling. Not painful at all. Anyway, I’ve noticed that when it’s been awhile since I eat now my neck still does the fizzy thing. So I roll with that.


5’6”
25 yo
SW: 256
CW: 236.9

*12/04/2017*

most of us lose our hunger for a few months. Mine came back at six months out - for others, it can be up to a year. Right now, you're like a car - you just have to re-fuel once in awhile so you keep running properly. Some people do it by the clock (e.g, they eat something every 3-4 hours). I just sort of figured out it when it was time...

I had mine on 12/20 and I’m already getting hungry. Not nearly as hungry as I used to, but hungry nonetheless. A shake usually takes care of it, and I’ve noticed that, if I stick to my meal plan, I won’t starve to death.

I think it varies quite a bit... For me I'm only a few weeks out, but I definitely have hunger, but it is different than before, it's easily ignored if I busy myself and it is satisfied fairly quickly (for example I just ate .5 oz of ham because I was hungry). I've been trying to really focus on the feeling and make sure it's not just a habit or head hunger. I also make sure it's been at least 3 or 4 hours since my last meal. At this point I'm just eating whenever I feel true hunger, but due to portion limits that still has me at 600 to 800 calories, which is fine.

One tip my nutritionist had was that if a little bit of protein doesn't satisfy it, or you don't want protein then it's not real hunger.

Fullness is hard to 'feel' too!

I got hungry...REALLY hungry... a couple of days after surgery. Maybe because I never had nausea, and had little pain. Maybe because I continued to walk 5-7 miles a day. But I was hungry.

Tummy wasn't growling, but I felt that kinda foggy low blood sugar feeling and like I was uncomfortable, needing fuel. Craved food. Healthy food. But it was pretty clear my gas tank was empty.

I still get hungry. But now, I eat half a thing of yogurt, or a half a cup of something nutrious, a little handful of nuts or cheese cubes...and I feel pretty content for 3-4 hours. I do get my 1000 calories in each day, but sometimes that means drinking a lot of decaf with a ton of protein drink in it. LOL. I do eat complex carbs with my proteins, and fruits without skins.

I still don’t have hunger but I know when I need to eat. It’s a strange feeling for sure and hard to explain. Never felt hungry after the surgery and don’t now, I’m not complaining!

That’s interesting and something I haven’t thought about. I think for some of us (definitely for me) we have eaten a lot without feeling truly hungry, which is why some of us are in the situation we’re in. I’m also afraid that I won’t know when I am truly hungry and I’ll continue to eat without measure. Hopefully that won’t be the case and like some of you said, look more at for of as a fuel.