Hi all! Just wondering how many of you experience hunger and how long post op? :)
It really is such a mind game isn’t it - I feel like I am constantly worrying I’m over eating, eating too little., have I stretched things.... gah!

I have been hungry since about 3 days after surgery. I have spoken with friends who have had surgery, my surgeon and also on message boards and have gotten mixed responses.

It sounds like most people are not hungry for about a year, so I guess I just got unlucky in still having these feelings. When I post on message boards, I just get inundated with responses like "Its just head hunger!" "You need to take the omeprazole!", which is defeating because... i obviously do take my medicine. And I am 36 and have weighed almost 300 pounds, I know the difference between wanting to eat in my head and actually being hungry lol. When I have head hunger I drink water, go for a walk or do something else to pass the time. But I get painful stomach hunger cramps a few times a day that I need to at least take a few bites or sips of protein shake to alleviate.

I honestly got the best advice from my surgeon who said that this does happen, that some people have hunger and some don't, and to do what I feel like my body needs without going overboard. If I have hunger and I need to have a few bites, do it as needed and stick to bites of high protein food. Make sure I'm getting my water in. That every body and every body's needs are different.

It can be very frustrating to have such a different experience than so many others, but you just need to embrace that this is YOUR journey!

Thanks for your reply! Yes so true sometimes we get too caught up in everyone else hey. I agree that you have to listen somewhat to your bodies queues! Thanks again :)

I will preface my response with the fact that I was never hungry or full before surgery. I ate almost all day and it really affected how my stomach and mind felt. I do experience fullness after having surgery and I believe I have been hungry a few times now but it is not very common yet. Even if I do not get hungry, I am very content with just feeling fullness. I also try to eat on a schedule with a few snacks throughout the day. This helps me to stay on track and at this point I am working on going into maintenance.

I’m 6 months post op and I do feel hunger on occasion, but it’s far less “urgent” than it used to be, for lack of a better term. It’s there, but I could easily ignore it if I wanted to.

I have felt “hunger” daily since surgery but if I’m super busy and don’t look at the clock I totally forget to eat so I know it’s entirely in my mind.

Thanks for your responses! It’s definitely a different hunger post op and you do get full up quite quickly. I think I’m still trying to navigate all the feelings still! :)

It’s a totally normal concern! I know personally I feel like hunger ruled my life pre-op. Like my whole life was feeling hungry, thinking about food, wanting to eat, etc. I know I’m still in the honeymoon phase but dang is it nice to not feel ravenous all the time.