Hungry 3 weeks post op

[Redbull121 4]

I’m 3 weeks post op I had a poached egg for Breakfast I ate it all and 2 hrs later I’m starving is that normal

[summerseeker 2,413]

You are very early in your recovery and your inside, stomach stitches are not fully healed. You dont want to push food that might do some damage. Do you know that you can't drink with food ? because that would push your meal straight out of your stomach.

It is said that the hungry signals are false and could be too much stomach acid working on no food causing the rumblings. Some say its dehydration. It is always best to follow your surgeons regime at this time because it seems to be different from anyone elses. FYI, I was still on liquids at three weeks. It is a massive change in our eating habits and it take a while to get your head around.

At about 6-8 weeks when your stomach has healed, your true restriction will kick in and you will be surprised how little you can eat. Just try to hang in there until you get the go ahead to eat meats etc again. They will stay longer in your stomach and you will feel full for longer

[ShoppGirl 5,073]

1 hour ago, Redbull121 said:

I’m 3 weeks post op I had a poached egg for Breakfast I ate it all and 2 hrs later I’m starving is that normal

It’s not particularly common but it does happen. I actually “eat” every three hours. Something small And I have seen others on here who eat every two hours but they are much further out from surgery than you and me. Also, this is something small and it’s all Protein high protein food so if you log all of the calories and macros you can eat more often but still stay on plan. Maybe run this by your team. My nutritionist that I talked to you before my surgery did not think it was a good idea but the nurse practitioner said it was actually fine so long as I wasn’t eating more portion wise than I was supposed to while everything healed. I think the problem with it would be in the future as portions grow a bit if you’re eating five meals a day then you are eating five bits more instead of three bits that adds up faster. as long as you know that you’re able to control the portions and the quality of the food that you’re consuming your team may be on board.

In the meantime, check in with yourself to make sure that it’s not what we call head hunger. Are you tired, lonely angry or bored or anything like that when you’re feeling hungry? If so, then talk to your team about that and maybe try journaling to get your feelings out or an alternative behavior such as working on a puzzle or craft or something like that. If that’s not it, there was a lady on here years ago that struggled with hunger that never went away, and she tried everything to get to the bottom of it. In terms of it being head hunger, and it didn’t seem to be she finally said that one thing that helped was warm liquid such as Soup, broth, or tea or warm coffee. Another thing is there is not a whole lot of protein in one egg. I know your pouch is small and you can’t consume a lot food wise at this point, so maybe you need to supplement that protein with a little bit of a Protein Shake in between. I actually have what I call proffee for breakfast for that very reason. I am able to consume an entire protein shake over time with added chilled coffee and that keeps me full until lunch. Of course, don’t go against your teams plan without discussing these ideas with them, but hopefully something here helps. You have to remember that they give you a cookie cutter plan when you start out. But you are very individual and it’s possible that what they gave you just doesn’t work for you so make an appointment to talk to them sooner or email through your patient portal and tell them what’s going on.

My suggestion would be to log what you’re eating and your activity and show them so they can have a better idea of what’s going on. I used a Fitness watch that is connected to an app on my phone for my activity and the Baritastic food app, which is free on the phone, but there are others as well. Also, pay attention to your mood or feelings because a lot of of us are emotional eaters. I know that I turned into food a lot of times out of just boredom. But also stress and anxiety. Basically, I realize this by sitting there with my hungry feelings for a few minutes and thinking about what had happened that day and whether it was particularly stressful or how I was feeling about it. If you really take inventory and it doesn’t coincide with emotions, though it is possible for the hunger to come back sooner, it has happened again just very uncommon. It will be easier to explain to your team if you have done a feelings inventory and tried a journal or really thought about if you were, I can’t remember there’s an acronym, but I think it’s stressed, lonely bored or tired. Something like that.

After reading the comment above, it reminded me when I was early out. I did not eat food, solid food that often I had shakes in between. Also, yes, it is possible that it’s stomach acid too so ask about a PPI if you aren’t on that already. And please don’t just adjust anything without talking to your team because I don’t even know what surgery you had and everybody’s situation is different but you could run those ideas by them.

Edited October 20, 2024 by ShoppGirl

[Arabesque 7,610]

Great advice from @summerseeker & @ShoppGirl. I’ll add that your head can be your toughest enemy during this process. It is most likely that you are experiencing head hunger not real hunger as @ShoppGirl mentioned. Emotional triggers are the likely cause this early out. You’re going through an emotional & stressful time now & so many of turned to food to comfort and sooth us in time of stress and emotional upsets but you can’t now. Also your head tells you that eating such a small portion is no where near enough food for you. It is and your head is just comparing these portions with the portions (& frequency) you used to eat.

Are you craving a specific food, flavour or texture? For example, many talk about craving something g crunchy during the purées & soft food stages. This is head hunger.

Yes, a warm drink can be helpful. This is a good time to go for a short walk or some other activity or try to find another distraction (distraction is a very useful strategy). Read a book, play a game, craft, contact a friend or family member, check your social media or this forum, etc.

Another consideration that it ‘s more likely head hunger is that many nerves were cut during your surgery so messages about feeling hungry or full either don’t get through or are twisted in their meaning until you are fully healed.

And yes, contact your team, they are there to help & support you.