Should I be hungry?

I am three weeks out and I seem to always be hungry. I am on puree diet and I get full pretty quickly but I seem to be hungry soon after I eat. I am losing weight but I am scared about this, I get really hungry at night.Has anyone experienced this so soon after surgery? Thanks, Andrea

Andrea, Typically you should not be hungry by the medical standards . As your new pouch is still healing and when they perform the RNY they cut the Vargus Nerve that signals the brain that you are hungry . It is what my doctor refers to as " Putting out the Fire " I am thinking that you have terrible head hunger . And can only be combated with changed behaviors . I had to do this as well as many of us here . Now some will tell you they do get hungry and still have that need to eat feeling . I still believe it is head hunger that is not controlled . I am 2 years post op .. and am never hungry .. but I know when my body needs to eat . Something else you need to look at too , is how fast are you eating . You should be allowing yourself about 45 minutes to eat . This gives the pouch time to fill up and process . I hope this helps .. and if you do find it is head hunger .. email me and I can send you ways to beat that monster . Hugs, Natalie

Okay Natalie...How do you beat the Head Hunger monster? Please tell me your secret. Hugs, Dana

Thanks so much Natalie! I do think it is all in my head and I do think I was eating to fast. It's so hard to eat slow after so many years of shoveling it in..lol.. I would love you to email me ways to beat the hungry monster. I hope your foot is feeling better. I hope we will meet someday soon. You reallly seem so dedicated to helping others and I am very inspired by your story and so many others on this forum. Hugs, Andrea

Andrea, you will probably get varied opinions on this. I too felt hunger early on and it was physical hunger not head hunger. My nut expalined that although unusual it does happen to some. The small amount that we are eating that early out combined with the pureed factor (helps it digest better and quicker) contributes to this. Your dr. or nut should have given you instructions on how many times a day to eat and how long it should take you to eat a meal. My instructions were to eat 3 times a day, no more than 5 hours apart with 2 protein shakes a day, in between the meals. I am also supposed to take about 30 minutes to eat but no longer than that and preferably no shorter that 20 minutes per each meal. If you haven't been provided with this information then check with your dr. or nut to see what their program is. Courtney

Thanks Courtney! I think it is in my head. Old habbits are hard to break. I needed to slow down as well. I tried eating slower today and WOW.. I was full and haven't felt hungry all day. Thanks for all the advice. Hugs, Andrea