Hunger or thirst?

Your nurse was wrong. I am not even six months out, and I get hungry if I don't eat often enough. You are already snacking, so you might as well plan two snacks instead. Some good choices are greek yogurt, cheese stick, cottage cheese, or hard-boiled egg. Once you are further out, you can also add almonds and jerky. Just make sure you measure and keep track of everything. You really need to focus on getting enough protein, and there is no way you are getting enough by eating only three meals a day and not drinking protein shakes. I still can't get enough protein in a day without five meals and/or a protein shake.

That was my thought! I was just going to have a baked sweet potato (1/2 cup😊) tonight, but decided to mix it with kidney beans and measure from that batch. Even my PA said its different for everybody. I'm hoping to fill up enough that I don't need to snack, but if it comes to that yogurt is a much better choice. I wouldn't do the full 1/2 cup, right? Thanks for your patience with me! I just don't want to fail!! 😓

1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt is 65 calories and 12 grams of protein, so eating the full 1/2 cup is not going to throw you off plan. It is flavored yogurts that can add a lot of unnecessary calories and carbs. That is why you really should be keeping track of everything so that you know how many calories and grams of protein a day you are getting. It makes it easier to figure out where to make adjustments and determine what foods are good choices.

I am rather concerned that you are not drinking protein shakes and eating sweet potato with kidney beans as one of your three meals. There can't be more than a few grams of protein in that. You are going to lose a lot of muscle mass and hair if you aren't getting adequate protein. You should be working your way to 60 grams of protein per day. If you only eat three meals a day, that means each meal needs 20 grams of protein. A 1/2 cup of just kidney beans only has 7 grams of protein, and the sweet potato has almost no protein. That means your dinner has maybe 4 or 5 grams of protein. I understand that it is difficult to get to 20 grams of protein per meal. That is why I eat five meals a day and supplement with protein shakes as needed. Either way, you can do better that 5 grams of protein per meal. I'm not surprised that you are hungry if you are eating that little protein. Please work on eating more protein. You will feel better and be more successful.

Hmm. My doctor hasn't talked to me at all about the numbers of grams of protein I should be eating. He just ran some blood work, but I don't think that tested for my protein levels. Ironically, I do have an iron deficiency detected during this process! I can eat salmon, eggs, and flaky white fish, but with only 1/2 a cup of food per meal is only eat the fish or egg and still wouldn't get enough protein according to what you're saying. Back to the drawing board again tomorrow, I guess. I'm not sure if I should call the nurses (we know how that's gone) or the dietitian. What would you recommend?

Protein is vital, and making sure we get enough of it is the 1st rule of WLS. It is especially important during the healing process because it is necessary to rebuild muscle and cells. The reason we supplement with protein shakes is because we can't eat enough early out. Eventually we can, but at four weeks out it isn't likely. Definitely call your dietitian for nutrition advice, but I will warn you that many of us on this site have received bad advice from our dietitians. I compare the advice I receive from my surgeon's office with the official recommendations from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery to make my own informed decisions. We must advocate for our own health, but we still need to get information from reliable sources. Here is a good place to start:

http://asmbs.org/patients/life-after-bariatric-surgery

Awesome! Thank you so much! I thought it was strange that I stopped the protein shakes after the second week post-op but then was given instruction the third week to eat only up to 1/4 of a cup of egg, salmon, or tuna with toast or crackers. This being my fourth week, I can eat up to 1/2 a cup, and believe me that's just what I did the first meal, of all that previous food, hard boiled egg, flaky fish, soft cooked veggies, soft fruits, hummus, legumes, couscous, tofu, etc. they even have Mac and cheese or small pasta with sauce on the list! This I've avoided because I knew it wouldn't fill me up. I really appreciate your advice on this! I feel like I'm going crazy because I'm so hungry! I'll check out that website! 

That nurse doesn't know what she is talking about!  MOST people get their hunger back just a few months after surgery.  

That's pretty much what the pa said, too!

You are best off the first year eating mainly a hi protein/low carb diet so meat first always then a bite or 2 of a veggies if there is room. That's it we don't need the carbs they are just fat in disguise! It sneaks right on to your thighs and butt! lo

LOL!  That's what I'm trying to avoid!!! :-)