Feeling Hungry????

Hello everyone ....I am begining to feel a little worried these days. My appetiete seems to be increasing and I am able to eat more these days then in the past. I am maintaining my weight and that is mostly due to haveing more good days then bad, and making right choices most of the time. I am looking to you guys to see what your coping mechanisms are....I use my ipod often and when feeling stressed put my music on and try to relax instead of eat. I also try to keep good foods handy so if i do get the munchies or i really feel hungry i choose to overeat on the better foods. What do you do when you feel like eating and its not really a good time to eat, or what do you do when you feel extra hungry but know you shouldnt be eating AGAIN lol.... I even get to the point that i feel full but cant stop and end up puking ....any and all suggestions are welcome....Love you guys.... LisaMarie __________________

Hi LisaMarie, Unfortunately, I am not at that stage yet, so I don't have immediate experience to refer to. Are you eating in response to stress only? Do you know what's at the root of your 'hunger?' Are you not speaking up for yourself or taking care of yourself in some way that makes you feel hunger? Are you actually physically hungry when these bouts occur? These are the questions I would be asking myself (and have many times in the past) when I am doing emotional eating. Are you getting enough exercise? I know sometimes too many carbs in the diet can increase hunger. Would you benefit from a carb fast in order to desensitize to cravings? You have started a new job which changes your whole routine. Maybe you need to find ways to give yourself down time that you used to get when you weren't working? Ipod sounds great. Good foods in the home sounds great. What does LisaMarie really need instead of food? I have great faith in your ability to overcome this. Hugs, Amy

Hey LisaMarie, Sometimes hunger is spurred on by the things we are eating. If your eating simple sugars or lots of carbs they can really make you hungry because they cause dips in your blood sugar level, the same goes true if you drink sodas or fruit drinks. If you do eat those things, if you cut those things out of your diet for a couple of days it does help to control your hunger. Dense proteins tend to stay with you longer then carbs, veggies, and light proteins. For instance a couple of oz of steak, will keep you satisfied longer then a couple of crackers. Avoid keeping trigger foods in your house. My trigger food, salted pistachios...i bought a 6 lb bag of them at a whole sale club, and I ate them within 3 days. YIKES!!..ok i did lose 5 or 6 lbs that week, but thats not a behavior i want in my life. So I just don't buy them anymore. Candy, cakes, chocolate, really aren't my triggers so we keep a bit in the house, but we actually have a bag of hershey kisses that have been in my freezer (mmmm frozen chocolate!!!) for about a month, I eat one every now and then, but again it's not my trigger. So find your triggers and just don't buy them. Exercise. My trainer says the best cure for appetite is exercise. It does help release stress (so if your a stress eater), but it also causes your body to produce appetite suprresors. My trainer told me, when your hungry and you know you shouldn't be, do 50 jumping jacks (i have still yet to do a jumping jack..lol but anyway). His point is when you exercise, you don't get hungry you get thirsty. It really helps curb appetite. Talking about thirsty, drink lots of water. Dehydration will stimulate hunger pangs. Even if you become just a bit dehydrated, you will feel more hungry. I hope this helps. Scott

LisaMarie, Hun I am fighting this same demond so I guess I am not one of offer advice at this time but I am just trying to "think" like a "thin" person, what I mean by that is watching the really thin people around me to see how they deal with the eating. Kind of funny to watch the actions and learn from them. Yesterday at work one women who could be a model, (thin, tall and leggy) was talking about some cookies that someone brought in, she said she does not ever diet but knows if she has some cookies that she will just NOT have something else later that day. Well that sounds simple right but NOOOO. I have the cookie and THEN the some thing else later but before the surgery I would have have 5 cookies at that time so I have to congrats myself for that small change and not get down on myself. So that is what I am trying to learn......a normal way of thinking about food. If that makes sense????? Not sure if that helps ya or not but just know you are NOT alone in this fight and we have to live with this for the rest of our lives... I wish you all the best hun Debra P

Lisa Marie: *(Apologizing for any typos now, in a hurry and tired! LOL) I started working on an article once, never really finished editing it, what comes to mind for me is this. I think your honeymoon is over, the pouch has healed, it has given you 11 months to change some habits, can you think about the changes over the past 11 months? What BESIDES the swollen pouch (the tool working 90%) have you changed? Food choices, fluid intake, exercise? What coping have you developed to deal w/ emotions? #1) Forme exercise is key, reality for me is daily (with few exceptions) totalling 10 hrs/week and 6 is cardio. it revs the metabolism so I can eat more (as I can and do), it is a natural stress reliever and makes me feel good about self. #2) Fluid loading is another thing, when I drink my 16 cups water (yes 16) a day I amn full and quite frankly BUSY sipping! If I am drinking I do not eat, *I DO NOT break that rule of the pouch!* #3) Using the 90/10 philosophy to eating, it is what i do 90% of the time that matters.. (I can have a slice of pizza once ever 10 days for example!) this fosters personal awareness and accountability but allows for humanness and realization there is no perfection only progress! #4) I realized carbs were the enemy, south beach speaks to me, not the diet, but the way of life, it is how I live and have since 1 yr out when I started my regain (My honeymoon was 7 months, my hunger came bac as did the ability to eat more variety/quantity of foods, just when I was thinking this was a piece of cae! LOL),luckily I hadn't been too bad misusing the honeymoon! I abided by most rules (no sugar, no caffeine, no soda, no alcohol, no eating/drinking together, no grazing) BUT I had not yet started protein shaes, I though milk was o, well at 13g sugar a cup for a mesly 8g protein it just didnt wor, so the shaes saved my protein levels which went into the toilet as well! I ate protein but I also ate TONS of bread! I thought Sugar free was o, WRONG for me it was a wolf in sheeps clothing, It hadtago, once I detoxed off the bread, potatoes etc I wasnt hungry all the time, protein filled me, water ept me hydrated it was like (DUH!) The tool is there I was just overloading it w/ bread/crackers and making my insulin/sugar spike causing hunger..I try to live on south beach phase 2/3 but when scale creeps I go to phase 1...carbs the multigrain/complex ones are good and even beter when mixed w/ protein... Life can be a slippery slope catch it NOW! #5) I realized the brain needed to be changed, support online and in person, therapy all help..it is EMOTIONS and the MIND that will make us successful longterm, most who have WLS will lose for a year, but those that change habits/life will maintain that loss. I NEVER new the effort needed to maintain a wt loss, hec I lost 100# 3x iI am excellent at gaining or losing but no exp. w/ maintaining, what i have to do selfresponsibility adn accountabilty and CONSISTENTLY daily to keep self where I am at. WOW is it an eye opener, but I accept the challeng vs see it as a difficulty. Harness your mind! A great book I have recently bought/used is (cheap) $10 or less on amazon by Linda Spangle RN MA "Life is hard, food is easy" WOW this is me! IT HAS helped, I still am challenged at 4 yrs out, I use the fear of regain as power to fuel my consistency esp. when I get complacent! OK here is the article: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DO YOU NEED TO GET BACK-ON-TRACK? You dreamed this would be the last time you would need to lose weight. Weight loss surgery was the answer to your weight loss failures of the past. You were doing so well. Weight seemed to fly off so to speak in the beginning, almost effortless. No matter what you did you couldn't possibly take in enough to not lose weight. For many this was the first time in your life you didn't experience physical hunger. You felt full on so little. You were limited in the variety of foods you could have. Sugar, fats or large portions made you sick. If you didn't chew well enough, or slow down to eat or if you drank with our food you got sick. Dumping syndrome, although not an intentional part of weight loss surgery works as a strong behavior modifier. Who wants to experience nausea, vomiting, sweating, chest pain, palpitations, diarrhea, fatigue, and lethargy and have to lie down for one cookie? But over time your motivation wore off. Fast forward a year or two, you heard the window slam shut, the golden period tarnish and well quite frankly the honeymoon is over. This is normal & expected but you still are surprised & horrified! Denial works for a while but after the ' 10-20 pound bounce back weight' hits you decide you can no longer live in denial. Your clothes don't fit and you are scared to death. Many think their pouches have stretched. In reality it could possibly be a mechanical problem, but most likely it is the honeymoon period ending. You are then faced with the questions, "Did I use my time wisely?" & "Did I make the lifestyle changes needed to be successful long-term"? If you answered yes to both of these questions then congratulations & do not read any further. But if you can't answer yes to these questions and you find yourself OFF-TRACK, keep reading! You remember hearing about it months ago, bariatric professionals educate regarding its existence & significance; it has many names, 'Window of opportunity', 'Golden period' & 'Honeymoon phase'. Did you really believe, understand and utilize it? Or did you think that weight loss surgery was magic and you were invincible? The first 12-24 months after weight loss surgery is a time of change, growth and rebirth for many. It is the beginning of a wonderful journey. It affords us to experience life unchained by Morbid Obesity and all its limits & complications. You have heard this mantra before a thousand times, weight loss surgery is only a tool and they operate on your stomach not your brain! What you sometimes forget is it isn't the end of your food issues. You are not alone! Do not allow yourself to be alone! It is in isolation that you continue to struggle and stay off-track. Your surgery hasn't failed; you are just not using your tool to its potential that is all. It is there still; you need to get back to basics though. And yes this means you now have to work harder than the tool! Remember it isn't the surgery alone that makes us lose weight it is the lifelong lifestyle & behavioral changes you make that enable us to lose weight and keep it off. It is the tool that gives us the opportunity to make these changes. It levels the playing field for weight loss and maintenance with those who are not Morbidly Obese! In this delicate time many things happen: dumping may decrease or stop, you are able to eat a larger variety of foods, you can eat larger quantities of food, you get over the newness of surgery and may let some habits slide, the malabsorbtion may decrease as the body tries to normalize! Basically life happens. So how to get back to basics? You have to just take one step at a time; it doesn't have to be all or nothing that is old thinking! Getting and staying on-track and making is the global goal. Now break down the lifestyle habits you need to stay healthy and on-track. What do you feel you can conquer first? Write down your goal for the week, then work on it, once you have one goal under your belt start on another, be patient and kind to yourself, no one said this was easy! It is hard and no one is perfect! But you can change. The negative habits didn't happen overnight so neither will positive ones! But they wont happen if you don't start somewhere! Asking for help and admitting the problem is a great first step! Life will always be busy but you need to place health as a top priority and taking care of yourself has to be more important than anything else. Below are some ideas to help you refocus and get back on track. Remember everyone's needs are individual so use the following as a guide in how to break down habits. It is meant to help you feel not so overwhelmed. If you held on to some basic fundamental pouch rules you are ahead of the game. How many are you already doing? You may not be as off-track as you thought! Look at the positive and build on that! Follow-up: Ø Resolve to recommit to your lifelong aftercare program. When was the last time you went to see your bariatric surgeon, clinical nutritionist, dietician, primary care provider? When was the last time you had a complete set of labwork? Life-long follow-up is necessary for your health and can be a motivating factor for your long-term success! Do not feel ashamed of regain, empower yourself and surround yourself with professionals who can assist you on your journey! Fluid: Ø Resolve to drink 64 ounces daily, this will keep you full longer and keeps a small amount if tension on the pouch. Make sure most fluid is non-carbonated, non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic & non-calorie. In other words don't drink your calories! Many times when you think you are hungry you are simply thirsty! Fluid load before meals, by drinking a cup or two of water before you eat you can curb that hunger. Ø Do not drink with meals and wait 1-2 hours after meals to start drinking, or you will just make yourself hungry again sooner! You can eat a lot of food by sipping with meals and washing the food down because the pouch has no pyloric valve controlling the flow of food, it is now a leaky drain and after a little time you have more room in the sink to fill so you can all eat a while after you eat. Vitamins: Ø Resolve to take a multivitamin, calcium citrate, B12 sublingually or parentally as directed by your labwork. And of course any other supplements you may need such as iron, magnesium, thiamine, zinc, Vitamin A, D, E. Meals: Ø Resolve to journal your food either online or in a notebook. You can't possibly know what you are eating or need to change until you visually see it! This also helps you be aware & accountable to yourself. Some free sites for this are: http://www.fitday.com/ http://www.onlinefitnesslog.com/ http://www.dietagenda.com/ http://www.nutrawatch.com/ Ø Resolve to eat ONLY 3-4 small meals a day over 10-20 minutes no longer, and NO grazing. Just because you may only eat a few bites here and there, over the course of a day you can eat thousands of calories mindlessly NEVER getting full! Portions are important! Measure, don't guess that handful of peanuts you think is ¼ cup may really be a ½ a cup! Ø Eat protein first! Composition of meals should approximate: 50% protein leaving 25% of meal for veggies/fruit and 25% high fiber, multi-grain carbohydrates. Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates such as candy, cookies, cake, crackers, bread. These refined carbohydrates are a 'waste of space' and you can easily consume many calories with little nutritional value, and they'll make you hungry sooner! It doesn't have to be 100% of the time but should be the way you eat more like 90% of the time! Many people seem to be carbohydrate sensitive while others are calorie sensitive. Finding the balance that works for you is imperative. "Diet plans" work because people are mindful, accountable and usually eat less. It is still about calories in and out for most of us. Exercise: Ø If you are not exercising start by resolving to exercise 30 min 3x a week, then increase to 60 min 3x a week or 30 min 6x a wee****il you are exercising 30 min daily (or more)! It helps you cope with stress, so you don't turn to food, it will help the weight loss and also give you energy! You will feel better about yourself and be less apt to go for the food. Support: Ø Resolve to either get involved in a local support group monthly. Weekly would be better but at least once a month. There are also many online support groups that can help also. Or get into therapy to deal with your food issues and look at why you are sabotaging your happiness. Most of us have food issues and we all need to face them eventually. The surgery is a great help but the brain is slow to change. It is hard work but looking at the issues and wanting to deal with them is the first step! Be proud of yourself for that and you can do it. What purpose is food serving for you? Do you need to hold on to old unhealthy habits of numbing your emotions with food or can you develop new, healthier habits to deal with stress? Today is a great time to start, not to change everything but to change one thing. Stop the excuses! If you wait you may have another 20 pounds to work on. Holidays and parties are always going to happen, you can always find an excuse to wait or a reason why you can't. Its difficult but search within yourself and find a reason why you can and do it. Remember why you started this journey and what you told yourself not so long ago! The power of positive thinking is yours! Think progress not perfection! You are worth it! Take Care, Jamie Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh 320/163 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery) Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/profile.php?N=c1132518510 "Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"

I have to say I do not get on here much but I am fighting the weight gain of 15 pounds and need some support . Everyone in my family can see that I have gained and I am ashamed and I guess in denial. I see the scales go up but am eating all the foods that are bad for me. You said that you detoxed all the carbs out and how did you do this? Do you think it got you out of the craving stage I dream of chocalte I get up in the night and eat sometimes. I am embarassed to tell you this because I do not even know you and have never told a sole this. The 15 pounds I have gained bothers me so and do not know why I can't get back into the right frame of mind. I guess I feel like a failure and Want to just give up. I am almost 4 years out and have always stuck to my program and now I am back to a lot of old habits because I now know that a lot of foods do not bother me. I sneak eating again I believe my addiction to food is stronger than it was before surgary I don't know if that is possible but I believe it is. I want to eat all of the time. I guess I am ashamed of myself for failing that I will not ask family for help because I heard so much that it is just another diet and it probably won't be any different my husband doesn't know how to support me about this . I hear you a made a commitment and now you have to stick to it because it is about your health now. I have always had bad self esteem and this 15 pounds is killing me inside but can't seem to stop eating and get it off. I really have just babbled and took up your time I am sorry but any ideas will be well appreciated. You can also email me directly at [email protected] Thank you staci

Staci: DO not feel ashamed please, join me on: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/OSSG_Off_track/ It is a wonderful group of wlsers w same issue as you w/ many back on track tips ok! HUGS Jamie PS suport is one key to success and sometimes they way we eat fosters hunger, ditching carbs helps the hunger decrease for many! PLEASE send me a private email if I can help further! [email protected]

k i used to post this often..... usually a cup of coffee would curb my appetite in the afternoon while feeling pains of hunger... i know for me i was a bordum eater so i keep sunflower or pumpkin seens in the shell to fight off the salt crunch and hand to mouth fixation.... it works and they have protien in them ..... also raw carrots are good to munch on and celery ............ Stacy

LisaMarie, I do get hungery already but it is usually thirst . I water load and the feeling goes away. Another thing I do is to find a food I need to work at ...Nuts in a shell By the time I get them in the feeling goes away..................Kitty