Nighttime Hunger

[OnMyWay1956 43]

Happy New Year everyone!! I am looking forward to a much better new year than last year was and hope that we will get somewhere better with this Covid.

I have a issue I am dealing with at night. I am not a good sleeper and haven't been for a few years, but since the surgery, I have been hungry through the night and it seems like I need to eat every 2-3 hours. I really don't like doing this. Does anyone else have this problem and, if so, how do you handle it? I try to eat yogurt, cottage cheese, and things like that, but those things can get boring and I also use them during the day. I did get some Protein Soups from BariatricPal Store and can tolerate it, but you can sure taste the Protein Powder in the soups.....something that I'm not crazy about. Maybe one of you can help me out with this....

[BigSue 1,423]

I don't have this problem, but I find that drinking a warm beverage fills me up pretty well during the day. Have you tried drinking a cup of tea, Decaf coffee, or Protein hot chocolate?

Also, are you taking a proton pump inhibitor (acid reducer)? I think if you have too much stomach acid, the feeling can be confused with hunger. It might be something to discuss with your surgeon.

[OnMyWay1956 43]

Thanks for the response........Yes I take Prevacid. You are correct about the reflux feeling like hunger, but I haven't had much reflux since my bypass. Warm drinks work well during the day for me, but I really like to stay away from to much liquid during the night. I normally have some Soup before I go to bed and that helps me to get to sleep. I have tried to take Melatonin for sleep, but it doesn't do anything for me. If I could just sleep through the night, this wouldn't happen.

[GradyCat 3,697]

I found myself taking Cookies to bed with me and grabbing a few throughout the night. BAD IDEA! 😀 So now each evening after I've eaten all my meals for the day, I drink a hot cup of coffee with sugar-free flavored Syrup and it fills me up and holds me through the night. If I wake up in the night, I drink flavored water and go back to sleep. Most times you think you're hungry, you're really only thirsty.

[Arabesque 7,565]

I wasn’t a good sleeper for years so I understand your frustration. My mother is also a bad sleeper - way worse than me. Melatonin didn’t work for her either. She took it for 2+ years cause it supposed to take a long time to build up in your body to become effective but nothing.

I understood that bypass patients have less hunger hormone in their bodies because the hormone is produced in the section of the stomach that is sectioned off so it can’t circulate through the body as it used too to stimulate the hungry feeling. Which prompts me to ask: Are you really hungry? Or are you eating out of habit? (Did you eat during the night before you had surgery?) Or because you’re frustrated by not sleeping? Or because you’re bored being awake? Working out why you eat, doing the head work, is a big part of the journey which we’re always working our way through.

Are you reaching your Protein goals during the day? The only times I’ve felt real hunger was at night was when I didn’t come close to my meeting my protein goals during the day (cause... you know... life). Both times occurred in this last year after I reached my goal weight. I found a protein rich snack helped - a small piece of meat or a Protein Bar.

Good luck.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Arabesque