Am I hungry or what?

Yesterday I didn't get to eat my lunchtime meal until about 5:00 PM, & I still had to have supper! So, later that evening my stomach started to gurgle...not quite like hunger pangs, but close to it! Then I started to feel like I was getting hunger, a teeny tiny nauseous kinda feeling...so I drank alot of water to help control it. This has happen before, but I haven't waited that long in between to eat either! Now I know we're not suppose to feel hunger, so what is this? Anyone else ever get like this...any suggestions? Anastasia

Yesterday I picked my motorcycle up in Roanoke and headed to Lexington to get prescriptions. By the time I finally got to Lex. I could really tell I hadn't eaten. It had been 7 hours since lunch. I don't know about others, but it is a hungry feeling, but not like PRE-surgery. I don't get the gurgling, it is more of a REAL empty feeling. Since I was in a CVS I cruised the diet food aisle and selected an Atkins Advantage bar, which was VERY heavy (compared to my Power Crunch Bars). I ate half right there in the store. When I got home I ate the other 1/2 and then wished I hadn't it felt like concrete in my stomach. Learned my lesson on that. Anyway, the liver reads our blood sugar and make determinations about hunger and satiety. The stomach walls send info. about satiety to the brain as well. All this info is sent to the hypothalamus, and the brain determines hunger. My brain still works as do my liver and stomach and I stil receive info about when I should eat. This is just my own experience. I teach psychology and the part about the liver, stomach walls and hypothalamus are part of the intro. curriculum. The rest is my own experience, purely anecdotal evidence. I am not giving medical advice. Lois

Thanks Lois, It sounds as if I waited too long in between to eat something. Also I've noticed that alot of you WLS'ers have a snack in between meals...is that okay to do? My nutritionist said no snacking in between meals eat only the 3 meals I'm allowed to eat each day! Thanks for your input, Lois. Anastasia

Anastasia -- (first of all, love the name...nice reference) If you were told you weren't supposed to feel hunger, that is incorrect information. Everyone is different and you will most likely have hunger pains, just probably different 'pains' than pre-op. If you got naseous, it was probably your body saying "hey, it's been too long, I need some fuel!" and your blood sugar may have started to drop, too. Water isn't enough. Even if you don't get hunger pains, you MUST schedule meals. Every several hours is the general guideline. Make it a snack, small meal, whatever works for you. Bu****er doesn't cut it to satisfy the body in lieu of food. Hope you feel better! Dawn 10 months post-op

Dawn, Knowing that I CAN get hungry makes me feel like I NOT so . I thought maybe it was just weird-little-old-me! (Well...little later down the road...not now!) Anastasia

Hi Anastasia, Our doc says to eat 5-6 small meals a day. So, no way do I have only 3 meals per day. Sometimes I just grab one bite of something like a Power crunch bar, to assuage that "almost hungry" feeling. I have to be careful I do NOT have too many carbs and calories that way, but it is something I have to do. Now that I have upped my protein from 50-60g/day to 80-100 I am losing faster, finally. I now consider carbs wasted calories, for the time being. Good luck! Lois

Good morning Anastasia. You are definitely not crazy. We do feel hunger and like you, I was feeling mine early out. You will find that everyone's doctor/nutritionist has told them different things. Mine also says to only do 3 meals a day with my 2 protein shakes in between. I did find after getting a little farther out that only 3 meals a day wasn't working for me because I have two jobs and I run 16 + hour days and needed more. So I talked with my nutritionist and worked out a plan that would work for me. Courtney

Hi Courtney, I'm thinking of adding a protein bar or cookie in between the day...maybe this will help! Anastasia