Dealing with head hunger

Hey folks -

Head hunger i****ting me HARD today...worst its been since the surgery.  I just at about 2 hours ago, have snacked on a protein bar, and am trying to make it another hour before lunch.

I noticed the same thing yesterday - wierd constant hunger.  Admittedly, I'm fighting a cold right now, so maybe that has something to do with it, but this is driving me batty.

Anyone have any tips on dealing with head hunger at work?  At home I have no problems with it, or dealing with it, but at work parked in front of a computer all day it seems to be at its worst.  

Any advice would be helpful.  Thanks!

Don

PS - I'm not buying these lindora protein bars again - they're lower in calories, but they really don't make a dent in my hunger.

I chew gum.

Hey Don,

I chew ALOT of gum....it helps i think because i can chew and chew and get that satisfaction with out many calories.

How about yogurt? Have you tried the greek yogurts like chobani or fage? The reason i mention is because they are much higher in protein than a regular yogurt but taste pretty good and i think they fill me up to a certain degree.

Head hunger sux.....sometimes i want a candy bar soooo bad.....but i do not want to puke....yuck.


good luck,

michelle =)

Don - Hello

My name is SUSAN .. I was wondering - how far along do you have to be to have
protein bars & which are the best ?
I am 2 months out & lost 80 pounds - I had to have another 911 surgery april 14.
Anyway, I have read many things from your blogs - YOUR SO FUNNY & REAL ! 

PEACE & BLESSINGS - SUSAN

Hi Susan - wow!  80 pounds after two months!  You're amazing!  Congrats!  And thanks for the nice compliment.  :-)

I started on protein bars after about 10 or 12 weeks, but keep in mind that all food plans post surgery are a little different.  You should check with your nutritionist to see when your particular program allows you to start incorporating them.

A word of caution that I heard from Aaron on these boards: while one or two a day are a welcome thing, careful of going above two - the sugar alcohols they use in these things can pile up and trigger dumping.  I haven't had that problem yet, but rarely go above two bars in a day.

My suggestion is to eat only bars that have under 10 grams of combined sugars and sugar alcohols.  My personal favorite is the Atkins Granola bars - they're crunchy, chewy and the chocolate chip one has a rich, dark chocolate taste that really satisfies my chocolate craving.

Another one I've tried is the "Oh Yeah" bar - the smaller one has about 12 grams sugar/sugar alcohol, but I can handle that.  They taste like a snickers to me, again satisfying the sweet tooth.  Careful of these though - again, higher sugar content.  And be sure to only buy the smaller one!  The bigger ones are twice the size, twice the sugar, twice the calorie.  Even though I'm not a dumper, I felt really sick after finishing one of those one day.  The small ones will fill you up!

Other people like the Pure Protein bars, but I find that I don't like their texture and they don't really do it for me.  The plain atkins bars are good, though, and they often sell them at 7-11s, so you can grab one on the go.

Hope that helps!  Keep up the great work!

Don

I am struggling alot this week too.  I am trying to stick with good foods in appropriate portions though tonight I gave into salt and vinegar potato chips.   I think I need to eat more dense proteins (meat!), more regularly.  I find when I eat all sliders the hunger escalates over the course of the week.

They are definitely right about the gum...it is similar to the sucking reflex. You know how babies are calmed just from a pacifier.  Gum helps us with the chewing releasing tension.  The other thing that helps me ALOT is a cup of decaf coffee or tea.  But I heard somewhere that any warm liquid, even plain old water helps.