Did you solve your “head hunger” before surgery?

[Chevron 49]

I still have head hunger /desire to eat when not hungry and I’m due for surgery soon.

I’ve tried psychology but it didn’t work.

Half of me wants to delay it, but I know I won’t lose the weight by myself.

[MargoCL 677]

I did not solve my head hunger prior to WLS. It wasn't until after that I finally understood the difference. And sometimes even now I need reminding. The most important thing to remember is to drink, drink, drink. The more fluids you consume the less hungry you are.

[DaleCruse 756]

I didn't really understand head hunger until after surgery. Here's what works for me: I imagine a big, juicy, perfectly cooked steak in front of me. Then I ask myself if I'd eat it. If I answer yes, then I'm actually hunger. But if I answer no, I realize that's head hunger.

Of course the point isn't steak. Choose your own substitute.

Good luck! You are not alone.

[J San 1,072]

Nope, agree with @MargoCL when I get head hunger I have a few sips of Water. If it goes away because my belly is full and doesn't come back for some time it's head hunger. When I'm actually hungry There is definitely a different feeling. It's just constant no matter if my belly is full from water. That's not a reason to postpone your surgery.

[Matt Z 4,140]

5 hours ago, Brissie said:

I still have head hunger /desire to eat when not hungry and I’m due for surgery soon.

I’ve tried psychology but it didn’t work.

Half of me wants to delay it, but I know I won’t lose the weight by myself.

It'll never fully go away.
But understanding the triggers helps.

For me, I stood in front of the candy Isle and looked at all the candy that I love, and internally said "F you candy, you are tasty but you are not good for me, you only work to make me feel like crap, yes, I'll enjoy you for a moment, but the damages you cause are not worth the momentary good taste."

I confronted everything I wouldn't be able to or shouldn't eat again, head on.

It's helped out greatly.
I also found swaps for things. Finding something that will satisfy the craving while still being within your diet restrictions helps greatly. I was a HUGE Ice Cream guy. Can't do that crap anymore, I found Halo Top "ice cream" that's super low in calories and fits my post bypass restrictions. I typically only eat 1/8th of a pint or so, but even if I ate the whole pint, it's still only a max of 320 calories or so. Things like that, find things you can substitute for the bad stuff. It helps get you through the mental BS. It did for me anyway, maybe it'll work out for someone else.

[TakingABreak 2,733]

2 hours ago, Matt Z said:

I also found swaps for things. Finding something that will satisfy the craving while still being within your diet restrictions helps greatly. I was a HUGE Ice Cream guy. Can't do that crap anymore, I found Halo Top "ice cream" that's super low in calories and fits my post bypass restrictions. I typically only eat 1/8th of a pint or so, but even if I ate the whole pint, it's still only a max of 320 calories or so. Things like that, find things you can substitute for the bad stuff. It helps get you through the mental BS. It did for me anyway, maybe it'll work out for someone else.

@Brissie

I agree with so much. If you can find healthier alternatives to things you used to find comfort in, go for it! Also for me, post surgery I find that I have things that are staples in my diet. I crave crunching on things, so I eat a lot, I mean a lot, of sugar snap peas with greek yogurt veggie dip. I used to be a big chip eater.

Maybe for other people this is a no-no but I suck on SF jolly ranchers if I get a inkling for something sweet and it won't go away. Now, that being said.... it is still 5 calories per piece of candy... but a couple a day might prevent me from raiding the vending machine when I'm on my lady friend.

Obviously, you change your life style and those "head hunger" eating habits will slowly diminish. You are training your body and mind to not resort to food in times of stress, boredom, ect.

[Jendkopp 62]

@matt z - have you tried Enlightened ice cream? the chocolate is even better than halo top with the same type of stats

[Jazzy1125 1,010]

Right now i am on my Pre Op diet. I did this last night. It was close to bedtime and i could have had one more Protein Shake, but didnt want to add the extra calories. I laid down, and drank Water while watching tv before bed.. after 45 minutes i was still "hungry" so i went and got a shake. Its a good method to incorporate and i have started to incorporate it now so i can be prepared for afterwords, but really good advice. Thank you

[Starsmore 60]

Honestly? No, I definitely didn't resolve it before surgery. I don't think I really went through the actions of trying to identify what kind of hunger it was until well after surgery.

Thankfully that hasn't been a huge issue. The restriction from my sleeve helps out a ton, especially when I eat my Protein first (it just doesn't leave room for much). I won't pretend I've been perfect or that I haven't struggled, but you'll learn to identify triggers and you can make adjustments from there. Don't delay your surgery, the whole thing is a learning process

[MikeIL 49]

My surgery is scheduled for the 12th of this month. I've been on the PreOp liquid diet since Monday AM. My surgeon wants his patients on it for two weeks prior to surgery. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be with hunger issues. I've had terrible headaches from the caffeine withdrawal but they seem to be getting better. I'm a huge coffee drinker.

I drink 4 Premier Protein shakes (chocolate and vanilla) spaced throughout the day and lots of Water. Water water water. My only trigger for temptation is the shakes. I hate them. I've started watering them down to dilute the taste. I crave something just to get rid of the taste. Brushing my teeth only masks it. Today I cheated and I drank a cup of chicken broth. 😢 I feel bad about it.

[Starsmore 60]

1 minute ago, MikeIL said:

My surgery is scheduled for the 12th of this month. I've been on the PreOp liquid diet since Monday AM. My surgeon wants his patients on it for two weeks prior to surgery. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be with hunger issues. I've had terrible headaches from the caffeine withdrawal but they seem to be getting better. I'm a huge coffee drinker.

I drink 4 Premier Protein shakes (chocolate and vanilla) spaced throughout the day and lots of Water. Water water water. My only trigger for temptation is the shakes. I hate them. I've started watering them down to dilute the taste. I crave something just to get rid of the taste. Brushing my teeth only masks it. Today I cheated and I drank a cup of chicken broth. 😢 I feel bad about it.

Does your preop diet allow you to add any sugar free syrups? Mine did, so I added sugar free raspberry Torani syrups to the shakes to change things up. It helped a lot!

[MikeIL 49]

8 minutes ago, Starsmore said:

Does your preop diet allow you to add any sugar free syrups? Mine did, so I added sugar free raspberry Torani syrups to the shakes to change things up. It helped a lot!

It's not mentioned. The instructions provided say just 3-4 shakes a day and lots of Water. If you mix your own from powder it says just use water. I asked in the final pre-surgery class and they stressed the rules.

It's kind of frustrating because upon reviewing this site I see that other people had less strict rules. I mean, it was still essentially shakes and water, but I see some folks were OK'd for broth once in a while.

[Medowsweet 52]

I am working diligently on learning to recognize "head hunger" and I am getting pretty good at it.

If I feel "hungry" because I see/smell/think about a certain particular food (sweets or chips for example) I do a mental check in. How does my body feel? Often my body feels "fine", there is no hunger in my stomache, no empty feeling, and if I tell myself, "okay, you can have that left over chicken breast in your lunch sack" my body answer, "meh,no thanks".

Then I lable that feeling I am actually having.

If all I want is one food or one kind of food (i.e. sweet), and it doesn't go away I just want sweets, or I want sweets even when not around them, then I am "cravey".

If I wanna nibble cuz it is there in front of me, or I am bored, or I am maybe a teeny tiny bit hungry but really I'll be fine if I go another hour till lunch and I mostly just want something yummy, then I am "snacky".

If I am see the pink box of donuts and want them only because they are free and in the break room then I am feeling, "opportunistic"

If I am hungy but I try Water and it goes away then I was "thirsty".

Sometimes I lable what I am feeling as "not really hungry" but still give in. It's a learning process and I have 6 months or moreo to teach myself before surgery.

If I used to give in 100% of the time and I now give in maybe 25% precent of the time, that's progress.

[summerset 5,265]

I don't think one can eliminate head hunger. Actually it's a pretty normal thing to have. You can only learn to deal with it.

[chuckwalsh 122]

No.. but I seem to be able to work through the cravings better than I could before.. I know that I cant do it so even when I see the burger ads on tv while it looks pretty dang good.. at least so far I haven't found it necessary to act on it.

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