I'm 4 weeks post-op and I'm ALWAYS hungry. Any suggestions? Is this normal?

I am 4 weeks post op and seem to be hungry alot. I am really working on differentiating between actual hunger and head hunger. I also find that making my Protein shakes with some skim milk helps. I have seen others suggest adding egg beaters into them.

I seem to be eating very little yet I haven't lost anything in 2 weeks. I know I need a fill but I am going on a volunteer project in Africa and am waiting until that is over. I just hope I sweat some of it off there:).

Honey, you're normal, normal, normal, normal!! Your band is not doing anything to dim your hunger until it's adjusted, so at this point you have nothing between you and your normal appetites. If you're hungry, I say eat. Don't gorge, and don't snack all day. Pay attention to your bodily signals and stop eating when those hunger pangs are gone.

Your adjustments will change all this and as you know any weight lost pre-fill is a bonus. So why torture yourself? If you eat healthy foods starting with the Protein first there's absolutely no reason to suffer with hunger pangs.

Good luck!

Maybe add a little tablespoon of fat to a Protein shake? Good fat like olive oil or flax oil? I found I was about to hurt someone being so hungy (tummy GROWLING) and so one Protein Shake I added some fat and it helped. Fat helps you feel more full.

Also in the liquid stage, ALWAYS having something you are sipping on. Just keep something with you always because that liquid moves through the ol' system quickly so always be ready. It's best to get ahead of hunger....having something to sip BEFORE you think you might get hungry. Don't let yourself get super hungry as it will be hard to "come back" from that place.

Yep. Normal. No fill = hungry. This is healing time. No worries, you will feel restriction soon. The post op phase really sucks doesn't it?

It will get better with the fill! Promise!

Thank you so much for your replies. I was worried because I stopped losing weith and I feel like I'm eating to much.

Yep...you're in band pergatory... that awkward time between surgery and adjustments. There are SOME lucky people who have profound satiety and just simply do not feel hungry. I wasn't one of them! I got HUNGRY! And the professionals at my bariatric program thought that was over stating my case. I was very early in the banding program. They only had experience with RNY folks who really don't get hungry for at least the first 6 mos. Now, I try really hard to talk about hunger during support group. It's real, and the only thing that will fix it is the appropriate amount of adjustment!

Hugs,

if you are hungry, eat. You've got no fill, so your band in in hiberntation.