I'm not hungry... I want food.

[NagathaChristie 95]

Well I am not at all hungry. I even feel full from my Soup.

...but I want food. pizza would be soooooo nice.

Anyone else feel this way?

[VIKING 0424 1,107]

head hunger is a b***h or it was for me any ways and still is cravings suck

[NagathaChristie 95]

Totally agree!

[JMA2019 43]

I actually feel really hungry at times. I’m 8 days post op and I can’t stop thinking about food. 😣

[VIKING 0424 1,107]

you are still on liquids or soft food? i would start seeing a counselor as i did it seem to help me not saying everyone should it helps me a lot

[Bastian 460]

I dreamt I was eating a toasted cheese sandwich last night LOL If you're not hungry but want food it is just your head @JMA2019 it gets easier and you should try distracting yourself with something not food related that you enjoy xx

[Recidivist 1,141]

10 hours ago, Bastian said:

I dreamt I was eating a toasted cheese sandwich last night LOL If you're not hungry but want food it is just your head @JMA2019 it gets easier and you should try distracting yourself with something not food related that you enjoy xx

I have also dreamt multiple times that I was eating prohibited foods like sweets and carbs--lots of them. I was always relieved when I woke up and realized I hadn't sabotaged my diet!

[FluffyChix 17,418]

Head hunger sucks balls! There I said it. LOL. And I thought it was AWFUL in that post op phase where we were on liquids and soft foods!!! But please please please maximize this time and resist urges!!

If you're craving pizza, try making broth with a tbsp of pizza sauce in it, season with basil and oregano, sprinkle with nutritional yeast (tastes like parmesan without it being cheese) and enjoy--guilt free!! Then when you are on soft foods, make The World According to Eggface's Ricotta Bake. It will take care of your pizza craving.

Hang in there and remember drink LOTS of fluid!! Get your Protein in any way you can.

[Jobber 321]

I'm 6 months post-op and the head hunger has come back like gangbusters, holy crap. Like @FluffyChix said, and maximize this time in your post-op phase to develop alternatives to your cravings. It will serve you well in the near future for sure.

[NagathaChristie 95]

Thanks everyone! I got through it! I just licked the pizza and smeared it all over my body. Just kidding. I just waited it out and it went away. But it sucks when it happens!!!!

[AZhiker 2,253]

17 hours ago, NagathaChristie said:

Well I am not at all hungry. I even feel full from my Soup.

...but I want food. pizza would be soooooo nice.

Anyone else feel this way?

Like everything else in life, we need to be able to separate what we WANT and what we NEED. It's hard with food, because we've relied on it for emotional support instead of just physical sustenance. The WANT is driven from the desire (physical, even) for endorphins and norepinephrine and dopamine release from the brain. It is the same as what happens for drug addiction, including sugar addiction. The pleasure centers of the brain get tickled when we endulge in the addictive substance and creates a desire for more. It just feels so darn good to eat! (All for about 5 minutes!)

The real key is to retrain the brain to feel pleasure with healthy options like exercise, gardening, music, meditation, or eating a beautiful, delicious vegetable. It can be done, but just takes repetition. This is what the "Honeymoon" stage of weight loss surgery is all about - using this time to learn new strategies and retrain the brain. The time comes for all of us that we get more hungry, but without the feeling of restriction. This is where folks start to regain.

[Bastian 460]

oh these brains of ours, why can't they just behave!

[KohakuSueda 18]

Ugh yes!!! 😭😭😭

[Peytonkr 20]

On 9/18/2019 at 6:37 PM, NagathaChristie said:

Well I am not at all hungry. I even feel full from my Soup.

...but I want food. pizza would be soooooo nice.

Anyone else feel this way?

The liquids suck and I feel extremely full in an unsatisfying way. The funny thing is I am craving real food but like healthy food like boil sweet potato, cabbage and carrots and boiled soft fish. Lol.

[AZhiker 2,253]

I felt the same way. I was used to eating tons of veggies from my garden and I was not allowed any veggies until week 8. That as a killer. So I made my own clear liquid from my garden greens. I blended them up and then strained the juice and then filtered it through a coffee filter. I added this juice to my water bottle and broth. At first my doc was not happy, but when I showed her that she could see through it, so it was clear, she was OK with it. Told her it was better than artificially flavored or sweetened drinks. Anyway, it made me feel better psychologically and also physically, I believe.

You could do the same with greens, cabbage, broccoli, but NOT with carby veggies like carrots or sweet potato.