I had gastric bypass 3 months ago. I had really hoped to be the kind of person who never felt hungry, and could go half the day without remembering to eat. That hasn’t been the case. I’m hungry every couple hours, and on top of that, I don’t always feel my restriction when I’m eating.

Sometimes, I’ll eat 3 bites of something and know I have to stop. I wish that happened more often, because other times I don’t feel it at all. For example, I just ate almost a whole bag of popcorn, and I feel just fine. Physically, not mentally. Mentally I’m feeling mad at myself for doing that instead of eating some chicken. Mentally, I’m worrying that the way I was in the past is going to win out and my surgery will be a failure. I’m terrified that my “last resort” won’t get me where I want to be.

I guess I’m just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience or any tips. I do know I should be sticking to a Bariatric diet, and I’m working on that. Just had a moment of weakness.

My dietitian told me to up my protein when I was constantly hungry. I was eating too much processed stuff and carbohydrates. I started having more clean things like chicken and it worked.

I know my restriction is in place, but could easily eat a bag of popcorn if I chose. Popcorn, chips, and such chew down to practically nothing and slide right through. Of course, I don't do this at all often because 1) It's not on my plan; and 2) such generally makes my stomach unhappy for a while afterwards;

I focus on staying on plan consistently because when I don't it causes me problems. By this I mean eating badly or not at all, both create problems.

There are days when I have no appetite where I have to push myself to eat at least a couple times. There are days when I have a good appetite and eat to plan.

The trick is to stay on plan consistently. No one is perfect, least of all me. But if I can do it right the vast majority of the time, the times I can't aren't going to end the world.

You are still young in the process. It's still almost impossible not to lose weight. But, you can eat well and the weight loss becomes positive feedback for doing it well, or you can eat badly and losing weight becomes positive feedback for doing it wrong. Your choices now will be your choices later when the weight loss wanes.

Good luck,

Tek

Popcorn is a well-known “slider food” for bariatric patients because it slides through the pouch without making you feel full. That’s why it’s so important to eat the things of which you can only eat three bites and then have to stop (mainly lean protein and veggies). Eat the foods that fill you up so you’re not hungry for a whole bag of popcorn.

13 hours ago, BigSue said:

popcorn is a well-known “slider food” for bariatric patients because it slides through the pouch without making you feel full.

My nutritionist set me straight regarding high carb foods. She called them slider foods that do not fill you up. That is why my diet consists of dense proteins like chicken and fish. If you were to say that you ate a whole chicken, that would be a concern but a whole bag of popcorn is not. (as it pertains to restriction) I have two friends who had were are always hungry after surgery. That is until their brains caught up to their stomachs. One started feeling less hungry around four months the other after six months. Keep to the proteins which are healthier and will fill you up and eventually your brain will catch up to your stomach.