Head hunger

Thanks for saying it!  Clearly I NEEDED TO HEAR IT AGAIN!  Keep me honest!

This is just my experience.  However on Opti is it actual head hunger?  900 calories a day is low and I was hungry simply because I wasn't eating 'enough'.  At this point your body is still producing all the hunger hormones to try to get you to eat.  Some people once in ketosis find they aren't hungry often, others this may vary.

However after surgery for me I have little to no hunger.  Going without eating is easy, too easy.  I am only a 2.5ish months out of surgery but I have no 'head' hunger and very little regular hunger.  I have no issues eating pretty much what ever just very small amounts but it isn't 'important' as it used to be.  

It is true about the saying nothing seasons food better than hunger.  Without it I find food is just something I have to do.

I am not post-op, but I made a huge lifestyle change last month. The first couple weeks were the absolute hardest. 

The only thing that has helped with me is drinking water. I ALWAYS have a water bottle and I drink about 2-3L of water a day. Usually I get distracted and forget about it. It takes lots of practice and mindfulness. 

No. It never, ever goes away. There are many tools and techniques to fight it but it will always be there.

It's a daily battle for me but more often that not I win, which is how I've been able to maintain my weight almost 5 years out.

Head hunger is around, you just have to learn how to control it.

I have hardly felt hungry being post op for 3 weeks now.  However, I'm at work and can smell people's food and I am hungry right now but just a tiny bit and I know once I have my 1/4 cup I won't be hungry after for the rest of the day. 

I am not craving anything anymore luckily but I know this won't stay like this forever.  

I'm 7 weeks post op and I struggle with head hunger every day.  It gets easier, especially when you start seeing results and people start commenting, but I believe this will never go away.

Our overeating and quest to eat is a lot of habit as well.  Through the opti and liquid phases you realize how little you actually require to survive.  I rarely eat from hunger.  I eat for a million other reasons !!!  Bordom, celebrating, stress, lonliness, pure habit, cause it's there, because someone else is, I'm anxious!!!!  You can call all these examples of head hunger.  Mindless eating that got me obese and miserable. 

Mine left for a couple mths post op, but returned.  It's a lot of mastering mind over matter.  Figure out ways to distract yourself til the feeling passes.  Journaling helps some people.  Jot down when the feeling hits, note what is happening and how you feel.  Look for patterns.  Food ws our" friend" and often was used to soothe uncomfortable feelings.....you need to find a healthy replacement that works for you.  I always think of the  phrase.....if you are looking for answers...they are NOT in the fridge.   

SO TRUE!  There are NEVER ANSWERS in the fridge!  Thanks for pointing it out to me again!

Try chewing gum. I did that while on opti and I think the chewing tricks the brain to think you're eating. They are sugar free too.

Hi,

I had head hunger during my first week of Opti, and then it went away.  I had surgery a week ago today and have not had any head hunger at all so far.  This morning I was a little late starting my premier protein and my pouch let me know it wanted something, but after two sips of my shake I was satisfied.  It takes me all day and night to drink my 2 shakes, my water, and a cup of soup broth. I start sipping when I wake up and don't stop until I go to sleep. I sip, wait, sip, wait, all day long, lol. I keep water by my bed and sip when I wake up in the night too.

My friend has eaten Chinese food, steak, chocolate, etc.,  in front of my, and it smelled lovely but I had no craving for anything and didn't wish I could have it or anything.