Any tips on hunger?

I'm 11 days post op, still on fluid diet, had one cheat, but I'm struggling with constant hunger.

My tummy is growling pretty much all the time. I am having lots of water. Did anyone else experience this? Any tips on how to stop food being continually on my mind? xx 

Is there a medical reason you are on a fluid diet 11 days post op?  Because that seems ridiculous to me.  My tummy would growl too if it didn't get real food eventually....

No, you shouldn't cheat... and that's a psychological issue you need to deal with.  But when you have idiotic post-op advice from your nutritionist, that doesn't help any.

Unless, as I said, there is a medical reason, it's time to puree some meat, eggs, etc and start some real food.  Nutritionists are not gods, as vets on this board have learned over time...

Audrey

my Center has you on each phase for 14 days so the poster may be on the same schedule that my Dr. does

For one thing,noises coming from your tummy does jot necessarily mean you are hungry now that your insides are rearranged. Even at 4 years out my tummy rumbles and growls after I eat as it begins to move food or drink through my digestive system. The best thing to do is drink even more. Try different temp liquids like some warm herbal tea so some warm chicken or beef broth. Find other hobbies like knitting,reading,puzzles or organizing your kitchen to keep you busy. Remind yourself  that this is a journey that involves learning new habits and we have to learn that food is not pleasure or comfort any more it is fuel for our bodies only. Make a list of things you want to do when you lose some weight but can't do now. Post your list in a prominent place on your frig as a reminder. When you open the door ask yourself is this a food choice that will get me to these Goals? If not,leave the door closed. Hunger is not an emergency and a good portion of the time it's really only in our heads. Food has been our everything for so long we miss it now. At 4 years post op I will say that some days I still would love a bite of some of my favorite sweets but then I look at my before picture and am reminded of where that thinking got me. All the way to 275 pounds is where. I have been 118 to 120 now for 31/2 years and now good decisions come a bit more easily most days. My surgery was my best decision ever. Pics to follow.

Karen, great advice and I love when you post those two pictures!  Such a success story.

Like Karen said, don't confuse stomach noise with hunger.  It's not.  My stomach makes a lot of noise and I'm 6 years out from RNY.  They rerouted your plumbing.  It's going to sound different.

It's ok to allow yourself to feel hunger.  Many of us have never truly allowed ourselves to feel hunger.  Hunger is not an emergency requiring immediate action.  It's ok to make yourself wait until your next scheduled mealtime.   If you are eating a little something every 3 or 4 hours your blood sugar will be stable.  Nothing bad will happen to you if you resist the impulse to eat.  Many of us have impulse control issues.  We say "I want" and then we cave into the craving.  Now is the time to retrain your mind.  It's not easy, but it will be essential to your success.

Your stomach has been lying to you for many years telling you that you're hungry when you are not.  Giving our stomachs the power to tell us how much to eat is how we all got obese. You need to retrain your self to eat at only scheduled times and only the amount you measure out.

Don't rely on it to tell you that you are full either.  If you eat until you feel full, you've eaten too much.  Before surgery I ate until I felt full (and that meant I was "Thanksgiving Day stuffed").  I am a food addict.  I don't understand what full means.  I don't understand what a proper portion looks like, so I have to measure my food to keep my addiction in check.  

Food was my emotional crutch.  It was comfort to me.  I have learned to busy myself with gardening, reading, walking, adult coloring books, etc. when I feel the need to stuff my face.

Great advice.  I am only five weeks post-op and have been weighing my chicken.  Two ounces is an unbelievably small portion (although right now it is almost insurmountable ;)).  I lied to myself about portions for probably 40 years.  I am shocked every time I weigh or measure something.

Food addict, ab-so-LUTELY.

Rocky you always say this about hunger not being an emergency. It is such good advice. I am still learning this...

...still learning here, too.  The easy part is hating what I have learned. 

Are you on clear fluids or full fluids? My program was clear fluids until home, full fluids for 2 weeks, then to pureed food for 2 weeks, and soft foods at 4 weeks out for the last two weeks and then I can add food as needed.

The stomach noises are pretty normal I'm learning. Mine does it all the time. When I eat, when I don't, when I drink. When I stare randomly at the wall, it will make noises. My "hunger" test for myself is to look at the one food item in the house I'm allowed that I really don't like and say, am I hungry enough to eat that right now, or is it just my head making me crave food? 99% of the time it's my head telling me I'm hungry, not my body. 

Keep pushing the protein and fluids. If you're on full fluids try more of the more "solid" foods like the yogurts, sugar-free pudding/jello, cottage cheese. I found that things I can chew, even a little, really helped me feel like I was having a meal.

Also, acid can make you feel like you're hungry, so if you're not on a medication for that you may want to ask about it. If I take my omeprazole too late in the day I tend to feel more hunger, where if I take it mid-day I never really feel hungry.