Struggling

Hi everyone!

I have never posted anything here but I read the forums daily. I am 11 months out and have lost about 60 pounds. I am very happy with that but I haven't lost any weight in 2 months. I have been eating carbs and was not tracking so I know where I went wrong.

I was not one of the lucky ones who never felt hungry. I am always hungry! last week I started high protein, low carb eating. When I eat protein I get full after a few bites but 45 min later i'm hungry again. I hate the feeling of always being hungry. Any suggestions would help because I want to lose 80 more pounds. I have this amazing tool that I know works but even when I am strict on myself with protein and water I am still hungry all day. I get about 60 oz of water a day and try to get 60 grams of protein a day.

thanks for the support

lele

Well you know what is wrong so you have the first step down and it sounds like you are headed back on track.

Next step is to go as low carb as you possibly can. There are two likely reasons you are hungry all of the time one is that your body is still craving the carbs you were eating (it takes 3 days to a week for that to stop) and the other is you are thirsty. So double down on water (don't worry if you drink 16 glasses instead of 8 you are going to break anything except maybe the toilet).

The reason I am suggesting to go as low carb as possible is that will shorten the time it takes to stop craving and hopefully from being hungry. Is there a protein that you cannot eat much of that makes you feel full faster (mine was chicken). I would say stay away from that because you are not getting as much as you would of something that might take longer to digest. Even for me at 5 years out I can only eat 2 chicken wings. For whatever reason I still do not handle chicken all that well. The problem with that is like you 45 mins later I am hungry. If I eat steak or a burger I do not have that problem.

Also make sure you are not drinking with your meal. If you fell back into that terrible habit that could be your bigger problem. You are using up space with liquid (that goes through your pyloric valve much more quickly than food) that you could be filling with slower digesting protein.

Also remember all your protein first. Eat the whole 3 to 4 oz before you touch a veggie. I am not saying the veggie is not important, but it is not as important as the protein and it will also take up valuable slow digesting protein space.

Lastly if none of the above works I would suggest changing your macronutrient mix to increase your fats. Fats are very satisfying and will keep you from being hungry. I am not suggesting you increase your calories, stick to your range but you can change the mix so if you were say 70% protein, 25% fat, and 5% carbs you could tweak to be 60% protein, 35% fat, and 5% carbs and see what happens. You can do that all the way up to 70% fat. Now I am not suggesting you sip on bacon fat all day. You need to do this with healthy fats like avocado, nuts, and grass fed butter.

Hope this was helpful. I am sure that last paragraph will get a lot of negative comments.

I find a lot of value in your posts. Thank you for sharing.

The thing that I have found is that: what works for one person does not work for everyone and that there are many means to an end.

Case in point: Breakfast - in another post, discussion about breakfast reveals that some can tolerate solids, some can't. Some can tolerate cold, others need warm. Some have to stop at coffee and other can have taco meat and other "alternative" breakfast items. Me, I need it to be warm, solid, and not sweet.

Each person has to determine if what they are doing is working for them. (The scale doesn't lie). If it is not working over a period of time, then adjustments need to be made.

My surgeon advocates for very low carb, very high protein and to not worry about fats (but try to avoid the "unhealthy" fats). So far this is working very well for me. After a low carb, high protein, moderate fat meal, I am not hungry for several hours. If that changes, I can look back at MyFitnessPal and determine what seems to make me feel empty faster and avoid or limit those foods. I have reintroduced real butter and am not scraping and trimming every scrap of fat from my meats. The meals are tasty and filling and satisfying. And if I really have to have that Cheez-IT, I have one or two and savor them. AND log them.

I love this forum. I have learned so much. As long as I don't use it to fool myself (so and so does it so it is ok for me too) and keep it real for myself, I know it will help me succeed.

Thanks to all of you who post your thoughts and ideas and offer your support.

"Hope this was helpful. I am sure that last paragraph will get a lot of negative comments."

Not sure why you feel this way? Lots of us eat a fair amount of healthy fats in our diet.

Historically any mention of increasing fat intake was met with a barrage of hate mail. That being said, I probably should not preempt it.

Probably wise - the forums have changed a bit in the time you've been absent. :)

I thought at first you were responding to the wind. But I realized you were responding to a douche who has me blocked.

I really question anyone who blocks you, Grim. Your sense of humor is legendary and you are a wildly successful WLS patient who has lost over 200 pounds and kept it off. You have been an asset to OH by being here, day after day, offering your sage advice with humor, scientific facts, honesty...and some sarcasm... ;)

You kind of have to wonder why someone would deny themselves that kind of help. That is someone I would be leary of taking any advice from. Those who can't take advice, shouldn't be offering it.

Are you on any type of acid reducer? Acid can mimic hunger and that could the reason you feel hungry after you eat your protein.

I would also suggest upping your water and protein. The water especially. The average person is supposed to drink a minimum of 64oz a day, but those of us who have had WLS should be drinking more. In some people dehydration even a mild case of it can also cause you to feel hungry.

You know what your mistakes were and you are working on correcting them so that is a step in the right direction. Make sure you are tracking what eat and that will help you to keep on the straight and narrow.

You can do this.

At a glance, it seems like your protein is a bit low and your liquid is low as well. Hunger could be from acid, are you taking a PPI?

Since you've been eating carbs, that could also contribute to your feelings of hunger. Try sticking to dense proteins for a week and see what happens to your hunger.