Discouraged

Well its been 3 years since my surgery.  I lost 60 lbs but have now gained back 25lbs.  I have never gotten under 200 lbs and don't know how to get back on track.  My problem is that from the very beginning I have always been so hungry.  I eat and get full with little food but shortly after I'm so hungry again and have ended up just putting anything in my mouth.  This has not been the happy ending I expected it to be.  I see myself going back to the way I was before and still very FAT.

Hi, how brave of you to post! It's not easy coming here and admitting that you didn't have that fairy tale ending we all so hope to have.

What I believe you must do is ask yourself if you have it in you to dedicate 16 to 20 weeks to get that regained 25 pounds off. If you do, then great! Time to get started. If not, ask yourself why and when you might anticipate having the ability to work earnestly on regaining control of your eating.

I am going to suggest that you track what you eat for 5 days without changing anything yet. See if you can see where the trouble lies in your current eating patterns. Then set about making the changes needed to lose the extra weight. For me that would be a high protein, low carb, medium fat eating plan with lots and lots of water - 80 to 100 oz per day.

I would also suggest that you contact your surgeon or PCP to discuss your hunger. I had a very similar issue (would eat then be hungry 30 minutes later). I was treated first for ulcers, but that made no difference. Then they put me on a very strong PPI and that did the trick. Sometimes the acid really does mimic hunger. At least, in my case that was true.

Therapy might be a consideration, too. Just sayin'.... I don't know you, but it probably couldn't hurt.

Best of luck to you. I understand your desperation. I hope you find the answer you need.

thank you, what is PPI?

I believe it's the acronym for Proton Pump Inhibitor. A very strong antacid.

ok, thank you

It's a proton pump inhibitor - like prilosec or nexium.  

I agree with Kairk's suggestion of investigating whether a PPI will work for you. Here are a couple of other possibilities in terms of dealing with hunger:

• check out the book The Beck Diet Solution. Part of the book includes behavioral therapy techniques to cope with hunger -- essentially, realizing that it is okay to be hungry. Not okay as in enjoyable, but okay as something you can acknowledge, tell yourself that it sucks, but that you don't actually need to deal with it by stuffing your face. You can live with hunger. It is not an emergency even though it is unpleasant. I found this book extremely helpful in giving me coping techniques.
• give yourself permission to satisfy your hunger all day but ONLY with two specified foods. One of those foods must be a lean protein (think chicken breast or tuna from a can) and the other must be a green vegetable (broccoli, asparagus, etc.). So all day today, you can eat as much (for example) chicken breast and broccoli as you want. You can't put cheese or butter or salad dressing on them! But if you are truly hungry, you'll be happy with your chicken breast and broccoli because they will sate your hunger. And you can't mix it up, chicken breast for breakfast, tuna for lunch, lean beef for dinner -- the same foods all day, no exceptions. This will help you distinguish between true hunger and head hunger/eating for entertainment. If you eat chicken breast and broccoli today, you can switch to tilapia and brussels sprouts tomorrow -- but you have to stick with the two foods you pick all day. Plus if all you are eating is lean meat and green veggies, it is going to be very hard to gain weight.

sounds good, thank you

great advice.  I think I will do this on my crazy hungry days if the scale isn't happy with me.  

check out the ppi and then start tracking your food and limit your carbs to less than 30 gm a day carbs might make you hungry

 all carbs should come from fruits or veggies , or maybe a few whole grains when your doing good