I just joined this forum. I had my Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy on 1/24/24. I apologize if this topic has been created before but I didn't see a place to search. I am 5 days post-op. Doing full liquid. My doctor says to concentrate more on hydration than protein at this point but I am drinking a protein shake and Protein20 in addition to water, so I'm getting at least 45 grams of protein a day. In addition I'm trying to get a few more grams here and there with yogurt and pudding with unflavored protein powder added. My long term goal. is 60 but the doc said not to focus so much on that right now. I am absolutely stunned to find that I am hungry! Genuine hunger, not appetite (which is not really present at the moment). I was not expecting that at all. Has anyone else experienced this? What did you do? Help!!!

Exactly around day 5 i experienced a hunger like no other. I honestly didnt know what to do i went from shocked, angry, depressed i went through the motions. I never felt that hunger during my pre op liquid diet so i was stunned. Wasnt the point of this surgery to NOT be as hungry because so little will fill you up? Lol i probably slept my way through that day and the next 3 after that it was not pretty but im at day 12 now and its not as bad as that time it will get better for you too i will hope i wish they warned us about that moment before hand lol.

If its a specific food you crave then its head hunger and you need to ignore this as much as possible. You will see it written time and again on here that just because you can eat it does not mean that you should. You have to remember the fragility of your internal stitch line. The rules are - follow your doctors orders. So just keep drinking.

Once you hit 6 weeks out and you are eating regular [ish] foods again and your new stomach has almost healed. You will find a restriction kicks in in a big way.

10 hours ago, Raevor85 said:

Exactly around day 5 i experienced a hunger like no other. I honestly didnt know what to do i went from shocked, angry, depressed i went through the motions. I never felt that hunger during my pre op liquid diet so i was stunned. Wasnt the point of this surgery to NOT be as hungry because so little will fill you up? Lol i probably slept my way through that day and the next 3 after that it was not pretty but im at day 12 now and its not as bad as that time it will get better for you too i will hope i wish they warned us about that moment before hand lol.

Thank you....I was SO not expecting this, and I'm pissed off! I feel exactly as you felt---didn't I do this to NOT feel hungry? I think I need to follow my body's cues and try to get more protein in the form of maybe yogurt and pudding with added flavorless portein powder. I am definitely getting enough hydration because I am urinating several times a day and it is almost clear.

5 hours ago, summerseeker said:

If its a specific food you crave then its head hunger and you need to ignore this as much as possible. You will see it written time and again on here that just because you can eat it does not mean that you should. You have to remember the fragility of your internal stitch line. The rules are - follow your doctors orders. So just keep drinking.

Once you hit 6 weeks out and you are eating regular [ish] foods again and your new stomach has almost healed. You will find a restriction kicks in in a big way.

Thanks for responding. I'm not craving a particular food, or even necessarily "food" at all. In fact, I don't even really have an appetite just yet. I just have plain old hunger pangs and growling. I am plenty hydrated and feel I can maybe get more grams of protein in with some yogurt or pudding with added protein powder...both allowed per my doctors, so I'm not breaking any rules. It's just hard to get it all in 1 ounce at a time! I totally was not expecting to feel hungry and I'm curious if others have had the same thing happen.

Um, your doctor should have told you that not ALL bariatric patients lose their feelings of hunger after surgery. And even when they do, hunger eventually comes back for almost everyone. Hunger is a normal body sensation! It would be nice to have a break from it, but not all of us get that. I woke up in the recovery room and was STARVING! It wasn't a vague hungry either, I would have eaten seafood in that moment and I generally hate seafood (though post op I now like fish, oddly). I felt really annoyed, especially because before surgery I had not experienced hunger in a long time.

I have had some instances of head hunger post op. Like Summerseeker said, if it is a particular craving, it is most likely head hunger. If you'd eat a protein you don't even like, or plain chicken breast, it is probably genuine hunger... Either way, your digestive system isn't ready for any solids yet, so expect to feel hungry for a while. I never found increasing protein helped it. The only thing that helped was the soft food stage, and even then, it took a while to settle.

Also, if you aren't on a PPI, the extra acid in our tummies can cause you to be ravenous when you aren't really hungry, it is a gnawing stomach pang sort of feeling caused by the acid irritating your new tummy.

53 minutes ago, ChunkCat said:

Um, your doctor should have told you that not ALL bariatric patients lose their feelings of hunger after surgery. And even when they do, hunger eventually comes back for almost everyone. Hunger is a normal body sensation! It would be nice to have a break from it, but not all of us get that. I woke up in the recovery room and was STARVING! It wasn't a vague hungry either, I would have eaten seafood in that moment and I generally hate seafood (though post op I now like fish, oddly). I felt really annoyed, especially because before surgery I had not experienced hunger in a long time.

I have had some instances of head hunger post op. Like Summerseeker said, if it is a particular craving, it is most likely head hunger. If you'd eat a Protein you don't even like, or plain chicken breast, it is probably genuine hunger... Either way, your digestive system isn't ready for any solids yet, so expect to feel hungry for a while. I never found increasing protein helped it. The only thing that helped was the soft food stage, and even then, it took a while to settle.

Also, if you aren't on a PPI, the extra acid in our tummies can cause you to be ravenous when you aren't really hungry, it is a gnawing stomach pang sort of feeling caused by the acid irritating your new tummy.

Thank you, this is helpful. It is definitely not head hunger....I know the difference between that and genuine hunger. I know not to eat anything solid. I'm finding that something a little thicker helps a bit. I'm on Pepcid. Guess I'll really be looking forward to the soft food stage! I'm mostly relieved to find that it's not abnormal!

Congrats on the surgery! Expect the first month to be a roller coaster of emotions, hunger, anger, and a day or two of regret. That's a rite of passage for us, where I think everyone second guesses their decision. By week 5, I finally started getting a better handle on things and I'm still very happy with my decision. 10 weeks out and I'm in better shape than I've been in decades!

As others have said, you feel hungry because you are hungry. Your body is used to the previous amount of eating, and panics when it realizes you're not eating what you used to. Since you were a candidate for surgery, then your body has enough fat cell reserves to live off of that for a few weeks, which is why they have you focus only on water the first two weeks, while working in more protein to prevent you from burning muscle. However, our bodies don't understand that logic and kicks into survival mode. It only understands "food" or "no food".

The first six months is critical to the process because that's when we have the best opportunity to retrain our mind and bodies to adapt. In a sense it is traumatic to our bodies, and it will fight until it understands that this new normal is safe, because that's its job, to keep you alive!

Once you're back to solid foods, that's when recognizing head hunger becomes more important. Around that time (somewhere around weeks 4-6), you'll have worked up to eating enough calories to be sustaining metabolism, while still running enough of a deficit to burn fat. At that point, your body will try to tell you "hey, we're close to the old normal again, go ahead and eat more!". As my therapist reminds me, remember to listen specifically to your stomach, and not your mouth. Practice eating enough to where your stomach feels full, and not pressured from too much, but at the same time, study your habits to see if you're eating to stay busy, to deflect stress (I'm guilty of this), or just because your body thinks you should keep your stomach topped off.

During that period, if you feel like your stomach is craving more, double check what nutrients you are getting. If you're deficient in vitamins or minerals, you will develop insatiable cravings, but your body can't tell you exactly what its missing. It just yells "I'm Hungry!". Check with your doctor on which supplements to add or remove, and also branch out with different styles of food as long as they fit your calories/macros. I felt like I was starving for most of last week, then I got some Korean food (sort of a bibimbap inspired kale and cabbage salad with beef) on Friday, and the cravings stopped. I'm still trying to figure out what itch that scratched, but obviously I was missing something in that!

Also, be very careful with sugar, starches, breads, rice, etc. That can send you into a craving spiral that lasts 2-3 days. Some sugar alcohols like Sorbitol and Xylitol also trigger that for me, while Monk Fruit, Stevia, and Splenda don't. Everyone is different, but pay attention to those ingredients, because that can make the hunger feel worse!

3 hours ago, SomeBigGuy said:

Congrats on the surgery! Expect the first month to be a roller coaster of emotions, hunger, anger, and a day or two of regret. That's a rite of passage for us, where I think everyone second guesses their decision. By week 5, I finally started getting a better handle on things and I'm still very happy with my decision. 10 weeks out and I'm in better shape than I've been in decades!

As others have said, you feel hungry because you are hungry. Your body is used to the previous amount of eating, and panics when it realizes you're not eating what you used to. Since you were a candidate for surgery, then your body has enough fat cell reserves to live off of that for a few weeks, which is why they have you focus only on Water the first two weeks, while working in more Protein to prevent you from burning muscle. However, our bodies don't understand that logic and kicks into survival mode. It only understands "food" or "no food".

The first six months is critical to the process because that's when we have the best opportunity to retrain our mind and bodies to adapt. In a sense it is traumatic to our bodies, and it will fight until it understands that this new normal is safe, because that's its job, to keep you alive!

Once you're back to solid foods, that's when recognizing head hunger becomes more important. Around that time (somewhere around weeks 4-6), you'll have worked up to eating enough calories to be sustaining metabolism, while still running enough of a deficit to burn fat. At that point, your body will try to tell you "hey, we're close to the old normal again, go ahead and eat more!". As my therapist reminds me, remember to listen specifically to your stomach, and not your mouth. Practice eating enough to where your stomach feels full, and not pressured from too much, but at the same time, study your habits to see if you're eating to stay busy, to deflect stress (I'm guilty of this), or just because your body thinks you should keep your stomach topped off.

During that period, if you feel like your stomach is craving more, double check what nutrients you are getting. If you're deficient in Vitamins or minerals, you will develop insatiable cravings, but your body can't tell you exactly what its missing. It just yells "I'm Hungry!". Check with your doctor on which supplements to add or remove, and also branch out with different styles of food as long as they fit your calories/macros. I felt like I was starving for most of last week, then I got some Korean food (sort of a bibimbap inspired kale and cabbage salad with beef) on Friday, and the cravings stopped. I'm still trying to figure out what itch that scratched, but obviously I was missing something in that!

Also, be very careful with sugar, starches, breads, rice, etc. That can send you into a craving spiral that lasts 2-3 days. Some sugar alcohols like Sorbitol and Xylitol also trigger that for me, while Monk Fruit, Stevia, and Splenda don't. Everyone is different, but pay attention to those ingredients, because that can make the hunger feel worse!

Thank you for this insightful information. This has helped a lot. Others are saying "you're not hungry, it's just digestive noises" and denying my reality. It's not just noise...I'm hungry. You've explained why. Thank you SO much for that and for the advice going forward!