Uncontrollable hunger!
I am 4 months out of surgery and honestly, I can't believe I am writing this..I'm embarrassed! My weight has gone up and down 4 pounds for the last MONTH! I am starving all the time...I mean famished...utterly ravenous!
The holidays are here so, of course, I have cooked all my families favorites...I'm not even having dumping! What the heck is wrong with me?? Some days I eat like 4 of those lil cutie mandarin oranges at a time and i don't even feel hardly full! Whats that about?
I notice I am eating a whole lot more than before too. SOme times its not so bad but...I am able to finish a whole lean cuisine meal, for instance...no problem...then eat a couple of cuties..lol.
It isnt funny..Im more hungry than I everused to be and craving oranges and cuties and fruit like crazy.
I get my protein...my water...I take all my vitamins..etc
I live rurally so my Dr is very far away and I had one appt after surgery and back home I am...I know I need to call them..I need to go see a counselor...and maybe a nutritionist..I dunno..but this sux!
And...Why all the gas? There I said it!
To make the RNY surgery work it is necessary to eliminate almost all carbs from your diet. That means you eat dense protein and only a few non-starchy vegetables. You do not eat potatoes, bread, rice, cereal, corn, pasta, noodles or fruit. No cookies, pie, cake, ice cream or candy.
As you learned, eating carbs will just make you crave more carbs. It will stop your weight loss and make your surgery fail.
A Lean Cuisine is not appropriate during the weight loss stage. It is way too many carbs. You need to measure, weigh and track your food. Know how many calories, how many carbs, how much protein, how much fiber and how much fat is in everything that you put into your mouth.
Your meals need to be a serving of dense protein - steak, pork, eggs, ham, turkey, chicken or fish. You need to weigh the food before eating it and need to track it in an application like My Fitness Pal. For effective weight loss most of us kept our daily calories under 800 and our daily carbs under 50.
The gas is from eating carbs. It is also from consuming sugar alcohols.
I personally do best when my protein is at least 80 grams a day and my carbs between 18 and 22 per day. Two cuties would be all the carbs I could eat in a day. For that amount of carbs, I could have three cups of cauliflower or ten cups of romaine lettuce.
Learn to spend your carbs wisely and you can succeed at this weight loss journey beyond your wildest dreams.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
I am 2 1/2 years out from my surgery...April will make 3 years. I lost 162 pounds and fluctuate 5 pounds here and there due to mild constipation or bloating from menstruation. The most important thing is maintaining exercise and your protein!...If you are always hungry you are not getting enough protein! I use Myoplex Protein shakes. They have 42 grams of lean muscle building protein and I have not craved anything BUT Flaming Hot Cheetos, which I allow myself occasionally. Soft melons were what was suggested to me fruit wise...oranges are high in sugar..stick to cantaloupe, water melon and honey dew. Sometimes eating something not a part of your regular diet is ok...but even still I avoid slider foods such as bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes. Sometimes I will eat a couple of bites of sweet potato or saute it in with asparagus heads and white flaky fish, shrimp or scallops. I add Trader Joes salt/garlic in the grinder and use olive oil. So yummy. Even after all this time I do not eat more than a cup of food. BUT MAKE SURE you stay active also...very important for your muscles to do resistance training and I spend a lot of time doing core exercises and have recently
taken up surfing. I wish you well..and if I can offer any other advice please ask!! Another tidbit...I use romaine lettuce leaves as the bread to my sandwiches and it tastes great! the first picture was before surgery at 298 pounds...surfing picture 2 weeks ago at 136
I couldn't write it any better than White Dove.
Do you know why people like fruit? Because it's a lot of sugar. Just like candy. The more you eat, the more you want. And it's mostly liquid. You could eat cuties all day long, with no restriction.
Dense protein. Weigh it. Log it. Quit carbs. You'll have withdrawal for a while, but you'll feel so much better after a few says or a week.
6'3" tall, male.
Highest weight was 475. RNY on 08/21/12. Current weight: 198.
M1 -24; M2 -21; M3 -19; M4 -21; M5 -13; M6 -21; M7 -10; M8 -16; M9 -10; M10 -8; M11 -6; M12 -5.
I have felt hunger since day one (I wish I were one of the lucky ones who never feels hungry) but some dense protein always makes it go away. If I ate fruit, I would stay hungry.
Please learn to follow the rules. You owe that to yourself. Get help from a nutritionist or therapist if you need it or you will be back at 346 pounds and this will have all been for naught.
Laura in Texas
53 years old; 5'7" tall; HW: 339 (BMI=53); GW: 140 CW: 170 (BMI=27)
RNY: 09-17-08 Dr. Garth Davis
brachioplasty: 12-18-09 Dr. Wainwright; lbl/bl: 06-28-11 Dr. LoMonaco
"May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears."
I agree with what everyone else said. Stop eating the cuties and lean cuisines! I have not touched a citrus fruit since surgery because they are so high in sugar. If I want fruit, I have berries or occasionally some apple. The most helpful thing my nutritionist told me is that sugar is a carb. Carbs come in three varieties, sugar, starch, and fiber. There is essentially no difference between sugar and starch, and eating them will make you crave more and experience more hunger. Maybe you need to increase your protein goal or reduce the number of meals you eat a day. I limit my meals to four most days and aim for at least 70 grams of protein. It leaves very little space for carbs.
By the way, not everyone dumps, and you should not be eating things that might trigger dumping anyway. And stay out of the frozen food section. The only things I buy from the frozen food section are veggies and berries. All prepared frozen foods are junk that don't belong in your diet.
Height: 5'5" HW: 290 Consultation Weight: 276 SW: 257 CW: 132
Oh my gosh I really hope you read and heed the advice from these veterans!!
I am a newbie. I had my RNY in April. I am also hungry a lot and and find that, when I graze, I can put away a shocking amount of calories in a day. I know that's my biggest issue - I've always been a snacker. so I look for ways to manage the snacking but basically (for me) it's just white knuckling it. I have to pre-plan my food for the day and stick to the plan - pre-planned amounts of food, and only pre-planned snacks. And I have to eat dense protein at those snacks or I will be hungry. Even with the dense protein, I will get hungry after the snack at some point - so when I say "white knuckle it" I mean, I make myself wait for my next planned meal. I drink water. Or tea (with nothing in it). I go do something else. Whatever it takes!
And hey I am not perfect by any means. I have been grazing and snacking during the past few days - all good choices, no starchy carbs - but still, food is food and calories mount up. So I know what I need to do. I know it sounds stupid but for me there is a point where I have to just say no. No eating between meals, no eating more than the planned amount. And no drinking with meals, nor around meals. That's the "White Knuckle" part. One of the vets on here - Rocky - often says, "Hunger is not an emergency." For us at least, we are not in a third world country where food is scarce. So if we get hungry, we can wait. It's not an emergency.
And hey you mentioned gas so... here's my $.02: it may be the sugar alcohols, or the starchy carbs. I was a big old gas bag pre-WLS. I mean, seriously! I was a constant ripper. Now I only get gas when I eat green peppers or if I have any sugar alcohols. We know that green peppers are a "good carb" but they trigger gas for me. I know what to expect when I eat them and plan accordingly! :-) So my newbie advice is, just try to eat clean. No prepared foods. Cut the starchy carbs. See if that improves the amount or "toxicity" of the gas. I bet it will!!
Our surgery is not a guarantee of success and this will only work if we work the tool. I listen to the vets and make wise choices most of the time. Hope you do, or will, too. And please realize that you are definitely not alone!
Hang tough,
Christine
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137 pounds lost - from a 24/26W to a size 8/10!
You guys are rough!
Thank you...I need that. Today I am going to try to stick with 4 meals of dense protein and white knuckle it.
After my surgery...I cried and cried. What have I done to myself, I thought...I am so out of control that I had to mutilate my body.
You are right. I do owe it to myself. I had an accident and my pain levels are astronomical...but with the 60+ pounds gone, its easier to move. I have been in this excruciating amount of pain and my weight has been a hinderance for my life, I so desperately want back. I cannot exercise like most people... that's why I did this.
I feel like I can.
Thank you for the support and your time. It means the world to me.
oh gosh, I didn't mean to be rough. I am new at this, just like you are - I have no history of success (yet) so I don't feel I can really be tough on anyone. I am empathizing with the hunger but saying - you have to be strong. Yes we chose a tough path - we permanently altered our anatomy. This surgery is not for "sissies" so let's dig deep and make it work. Hunger is not an excuse nor is in an emergency. That's all I'm saying.
Hang tough! You can do it!
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137 pounds lost - from a 24/26W to a size 8/10!