Drives me crazy when people call every kind of hunger "head hunger." Head hunger is when you've just eaten a balanced full calorie meal and you see a donut and think you want it. THAT is head hunger. Or you've just eaten the last of your maintenance calories for the day....and your husband is eating ice cream in bed and you think...damn some ice cream would be good! That's Head Hunger. Or you have a carefully balanced small piece of pizza and a salad, and you think...damn, another piece of pizza would be better than this salad....that's head hunger again. Your nutitional needs have been met, but you are craving something that you don't really need.

When you've just had surgery and you are subsisting on less than 1000 calories a day....you are HUNGRY. Like, really genuinely hungry. So hungry, in fact, that your body's needs are NOT being met by nutritional intake, so it is consuming itself.

Anytime you are losing weight, by definition....your body is genuinely hungry. Your body is so desperately hungry, in fact.....that it is eating human fat (and hopefully not muscle) to meet its fuel needs.

Lack of food and consuming body=HUNGER.

Most of us are hungry. A lot. Being in denial about it and telling people they're lying to themselves about being hungry isn't helpful.

Hunger isn't a dirty word. It's ok if we're hungry. We've got a lot of stored calories and excess flesh to consume.

But YES, I am HUNGRY when i'm losing weight. And yes, hunger sucks.

Sometimes, I think this lie worsens the pathology of food addiction. We already have enough issues with a history of lying to ourselves about food. Sometimes honesty is healthier and better.

When I lose weight...I'm freaking hungry. It sucks to feel hungry, but it's necessary. It feels good to be thinner, it feels good to be healthier, and good health is worth it. I can handle feeling hungry. Enduring hunger is part of the work. Resisting cravings is another part of the work. Two different things. Both are tough.

Describing this honestly...is a hell of a lot easier to swallow, in my opinion, than "No, you're not hungry, your head is playing tricks on you."

We know better. Lies don't help.

Is it normal to want to eat every few hours like a meal? I seem to be constantly hungry

12 hours ago, KayBee1972 said:

It's usually 2-3 hours post last meal when I feel it. I'm also chronically under-hydrated, but drinking Water makes it more pronounced.

I'm not particularly extra active, but the day I was ravenous I had done a 30 min super light exercise and stretching routine before lunch. I know other people subsist on 600 calories, but as soon as I went back to work, even though it's desk work, that hunger kicked in. Mental work takes calories? Idk.

As far as weight loss it's been down maybe 1 lb in the last week.

A friend who had this surgery said she stalled and then got her period and weight loss kicked in again. Maybe I'm retaining water?

There's so many things that I could talk about in this response for one thing I typically gain 5 to 10 lb when I get my period. It's the bloating for sure you definitely retain water. I chew definitely get hungry every 2 to 3 hours for a meal not a snack. I tried to eat healthy like cottage cheese or some kind of cheese or meat or some kind of protein. I eat a lot of eggs. I also struggle with being under hydrated however I feel like all I do is drink water I am constantly thirsty and the doctor's say there's not really much of a reason for me to be constantly thirsty. Except that my enzymes are high but they said that is normal for the surgery that I had. So I am consistently thirsty so there's no reason for me to be dehydrated because I drink all the time. Even though I still am dehydrated

On 3/12/2021 at 2:15 AM, victoriaciminelli111 said:

Is it normal to want to eat every few hours like a meal? I seem to be constantly hungry

I mostly eat mini-meals throughout the day. I start eating at about 6 AM when I have coffee before work and I eat every 2-3 hours or so until about 6-7 PM (like maybe 6 AM, 8 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM, 5 PM and 6-7 PM). I'm naturally more hungry in the daytime and not so much at night, so I don't usually need to eat at night. It adds up to just under 1000 calories per day and I am just about exactly maintaining on that amount. Some people consider the way I eat to be problematic grazing, but our bodies all work a little differently.

One other thing, make sure you are getting enough protein and fat when you eat. That keeps you full between meals/snacks. I can eat baby carrots as a snack and feel really full right afterward, but it won't keep me satisfied as long as a cheese stick, for example. You mileage may vary. There's a bit of trial and error in figuring out an eating pattern that works for you. Hugs. ?

I'm also a hobbit. Breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch, tea, supper, dinner...lol. My total daily calorie intake is about 1400-1600 a day and I maintain well. (I'm pretty active, lotta muscle mass) But yep, I can't put more than 200-300 or so calories into my sleeve at a time (unless it's a slider food)....so I eat more often. Meh...it works for me. Like Jaelzion says, everyone's different and finds their groove:)

Example of my weird eating habits: Breakfast...whole grain english muffin with one tablespoon peanut butter 200 calories. (or two packets of reduced sugar oats, or a big bowl of coco wheats) Morning snack one ounce of chicken breast, one ounce swiss, 9 reduced fat whole grain crackers (or some other snack that has over 10g of protien)... 200 calories. Lunch...food on the run, maybe half an Impossible Whopper at Burger King 315 calories (I eat this in two sittings, a quarter of a sandwich at each sitting, and the other half of the sandwich goes home or is given to a friend), Fuit in the afternoon...two pieces...200 calories (or one fruit and a cheese stick or a hard boiled egg), Dinner I like to start with eating veggies, potatoes and beans. I eat a 200-300 calorie plate of veggies first (I like a small baked potato with 1/3 cup of black beans dumped over it with salt and pepper). Then I make whatever the family likes for dinner and eat a 200-300 calorie portion of it. And that leaves a hundred calories or so to satisfy my sweet tooth. A little square of dark chocolate, a Yasso bar, or a sugar free pudding.

I aim for 50-60g of protien a day, 25g of fiber, less than 1600 calories. This works good for me.

*For weight loss, I was eating about 1200 calories a day....so portions were a little smaller back then.

Edited March 13, 20215 yr by Creekimp13

On 3/13/2021 at 1:39 PM, Jaelzion said:

I mostly eat mini-meals throughout the day. I start eating at about 6 AM when I have coffee before work and I eat every 2-3 hours or so until about 6-7 PM (like maybe 6 AM, 8 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM, 5 PM and 6-7 PM). I'm naturally more hungry in the daytime and not so much at night, so I don't usually need to eat at night. It adds up to just under 1000 calories per day and I am just about exactly maintaining on that amount. Some people consider the way I eat to be problematic grazing, but our bodies all work a little differently.

One other thing, make sure you are getting enough Protein and fat when you eat. That keeps you full between meals/snacks. I can eat baby carrots as a snack and feel really full right afterward, but it won't keep me satisfied as long as a cheese stick, for example. You mileage may vary. There's a bit of trial and error in figuring out an eating pattern that works for you. Hugs. ?

I'm also almost two years post op. So I'm beginning to maintain instead of taper off. I do eat alot of fat. I get the streatorrhea and so I know I am actually consuming too much fat but I usually consume about 100g protein a day. I don't track calories as much as carbs and protein.

On 3/10/2021 at 8:02 PM, KayBee1972 said:

So I'm angry because I was told that I wouldn't be actually hungry for months. Nearly 5 weeks out and my stomach starts gnawing at me. Not head hunger, I was happily working away at my desk and suddenly I'm getting very impolite signals from my abdomen. WTF is that about? I was looking forward to ignoring food for months. I mean, obviously eating at appropriate times for Protein and whatnot, and I'm betrayed by my own stomach.

And to make matters worse, I've stalled. scale no budge and I'm following the sample diet plan food/portion sizes.

I can't be the only one, right? I worry that I just took a bunch of time off work and spent thousands of $$ to lose 25 pounds.

I was on liquids for five weeks and I can say I felt starving. But alot of it was that head hunger and just wanting to actually eat real food again.

Maybe we should also talk about "shoulding"? (pun intended, lol)

As obese people we...

... should only want to eat low calories food.

... should exercise everyday.

... should to love exercising every day.

... should definitely try everything to lose weight.

... should be listening to other people who "seemingly know better".

... shouldn't trust ourselves with food ever.

... shouldn't crave "unhealthy" (aka high calorie) foods ever.

... shouldn't have any desire for food at all.

... shouldn't accept our bodies.

8 hours ago, victoriaciminelli111 said:

I was on liquids for five weeks and I can say I felt starving. But alot of it was that head hunger and just wanting to actually eat real food again.

Put a normal weight person on liquids for a few weeks and I can 100% guarantee you that person is going to experience some serious "head hunger" as well.

Why on earth would someone on liquids would label a desire for "real food" as head hunger???? You maybe were experiencing

real hunger, maybe the first physical hunger since a long time! See the post about shoulding above, I guess.

34 minutes ago, summerset said:

Maybe we should also talk about "shoulding"? (pun intended, lol)

As obese people we...

... should only want to eat low calories food.
... should exercise everyday.
... should to love exercising every day.
... should definitely try everything to lose weight.
... should be listening to other people who "seemingly know better".
... shouldn't trust ourselves with food ever.
... shouldn't crave "unhealthy" (aka high calorie) foods ever.
... shouldn't have any desire for food at all.
... shouldn't accept our bodies.

“Shouldn’t be alive” to hear some people tell it.

Edited March 16, 20215 yr by Jaelzion

This thread just goes to show how different each individual and their experience is. I was always hungry before the op (actual hunger). I also found when eating that it took me at least 50 minutes to register the food I'd eaten and feel full. It's part of the reason I gained so much weight!

I felt starving hungry all the time when on the 2 week pre-op 800 calorie diet. But straight away after the bypass I did not feel hunger at all. The nutritionist had said this would happen and I just didn't believe her! I still don't feel hunger (that gnawing feeling in your stomach where you'd wolf down anything), but I do feel what I know is head hunger. It's easy enough to tell the difference I've found. If I feel "hungry" but I don't fancy a nice bowl of spinach & pea soup, it's head hunger.

As for the calorie need, again I think that's very individual. I have no idea how people survive long term on 1000 calories per day (though my sister did for decades when anorexic), and I haven't got to maintenance yet so don't know what my actual basal metabolic rate will be to maintain, but before the op, in my periods of yo yo dieting, I could always lose weight easily when taking in 1500-1600 calories: more than the bmr tables suggest for my sex, age, weight etc.

My personal opinion is that nobody gets to the place of needing wls by having a healthy relationship with food. We all have our own individual & different triggers for eating and it's good to be tolerant of each other.

Have you watched any of Dr. Weiner's videos on YouTube? He's a bariatric surgeon who has a lot of great videos, but he said something about head hunger in one of his videos (can't remember which one now) that really bugged me. He basically said that "stomach growling" hunger feeling is just head hunger, and I was like, "B.S.!"
I am so thankful that my surgery has almost completely eliminated my hunger (so far... I know my hunger will probably return eventually). Before surgery, I felt like my stomach was a bottomless pit, and I could eat huge quantities of food and still be hungry. I tried waiting after I ate since we're always told it takes time for satiety to set in, and nope -- I would just keep getting hungrier. There were so many times that I didn't WANT to eat any more, but I was just so hungry. Sometimes I couldn't sleep because of hunger and I had to eat more just so I could sleep. And I am quite sure that this was real, physical hunger and not just in my head.
My personal theory is that this is one of the factors that makes it more difficult for some people to lose or manage their weight. I truly believe that some people are just hungrier than others, or maybe we feel hunger more strongly -- kind of like a pain threshold. People who don't have that extreme hunger can't understand why it's not as easy as it sounds to "just eat less."
Now, I will also admit to having head hunger -- eating out of boredom or habit, or because something looks delicious and I want to taste it, or I'm eating something so delicious that I want to keep eating more of it, or to treat myself to something I've been looking forward to eating -- and I still experience that sometimes. I still have times when I see something I want to eat really badly even though I know that I'm not hungry. But it is a heck of a lot easier to resist when I'm not actually, physically hungry.

I know this is from a while back but THIS THIS THIS! This is exactly how I felt my whole life and my theory too of why some of us have so much trouble with our weight and I always knew if I could just feel full easier I would be better at losing weight. This surgery is a miracle to me in that I get that full feeling that I never had before!

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Just finished a week long food addiction reset. Very eye opening.

What is a food addiction reset?