I had my surgery on Friday (8/20) and I woke up from surgery very hungry. I thought that the surgery would help end hunger for the first year.

I'm hydrated, I just want the hunger to end. Any suggestions?

In all likelihood it’s head hunger. You’ll discover that real hunger feels different from what we thought was hunger. That hunger was cravings, emotions, habits, etc. not that your body was in calorie deficit & required food to function. At the moment you have a lot of stored energy (fat) your body can burn.

A large part of the area that produces the hunger hormone in your tummy has been removed. It’s why you won’t really feel hunger for 12-18months after surgery. By that time, the other smaller hunger hormone producing areas in your body kick in more. It’s why it’s important to understand what hunger feel like for you. For me I get restless.

Fighting head hunger is not easy. There’s no easy answer. It’ll always be there to lead you astray. Therapy can help develop strategies to manage the cravings, etc. Look for distractions (read, watch a movie, play a game, craft), sip water, herbal or green tea or some broth. Go for a walk (help get that gas out of your body), ring a friend, … I find making myself wait 30 mins or more helps - by then any desire to eat has usually passed.

Good luck & congrats on your surgery.

Two out of the five family/friends that have has WLS have constant hunger. The only saving grace is they have a food restriction due to the surgery. Their surgeons tell them that in some people, like them it is normal. The one piece advice that I can give you and that they practice is, do not eat around your restriction. Meaning, once you feel full (even after a few bites) STOP eating. The restriction despite your feeling of hunger will do it's job and let you know when it's time to stop eating. Do not eat around it. Both are two years post op and both have learned that the surgery did not stop them from feeling hungry. They did learn that the restriction is their most potent tool to lose weight and to try to keep it off.

I was starving after surgery also. Moving towards real food helped - particularly the step from full liquids to purees. This is where I started to be able to eat some normal protein containing foods, like eggs and cottage cheese. (I really, really hated protein drinks until I discovered my protein powder latte.) After 1-1.5 months, when the amount I could eat also increased somewhat as the swelling went down, I went from starving to really full. Now I'm 18 months out and I still feel much reduced hunger.

Personally, I think when people feel starving right after surgery, it is often because they aren't getting enough protein and their body has started to eat its muscles. I was reading a study the other day that says out of all the muscle mass you'll lose in the year after bariatric surgery (about 10-15 lbs on average), you lose half of that muscle mass in your first two months. That's almost certainly because people aren't getting enough protein at the very beginning because of the liquid diet/small amounts you can eat.

Sure, it may be head hunger. But either way, I'd try increasing your protein first. Any time you feel hungry, start with whatever you can tolerate/is currently on your diet plan that contains protein.

Thanks everyone. I realize my protein intake is lacking a bit, mostly because everything has artificial sweeteners and I hate them. They cause me diarrhea and bloat. I am hopeful that once I hit the soft food stage, the real foods will help with the hunger. I only have one more week and I should graduate.