What causes the Honeymoon period to end?

I was asked today by a pre-op friend what has changed that causes me to be hungry and to crave carbs when I really haven't felt hungry since surgery? What changes in our body/mind that now we have to start the hard work and fret constantly about weight gain? Karen A

My own theories gleened from lots of sources... 1. Initially after surgery, we are stressed to focus on proteins and eat carbs last. When you do not eat many carbs, you do not crave them. As time goes on and you are bored, want more texture to what you are eating, what to diversify what you are eating, are able to eat more... you eat more carbs tand cravings get triggered. 2. A morbidly obese body will burn more calories than someone much smaller. As you lose weight, your body requires less calories to function. As you lose weight, you lose muscle tissue in addition to fat. Muscle mass means an increased metabolism. So as we lose, things slow down. Weight loss slows down. Also, you are able to intake more calories as the pouch stretches - this stretching is normal and expected. 3. Depending on your body, your intestines if not getting enough protein along your journey will hypertrophy... meaning grow. They grow to try to absorb more nutrients. They can grow feets and not merely inches. The surface area available to absorb is increased so there is potential to counter some of the malabsorption of calories that comes with this surgery. This does not hold true for vitamins. We won't increase our absorption of those through hypertrophy. Kathy

It was explained to me like this - right after surgery your body is bumfuzzled at to what happened. It's not used to a pouch, it's not used to processing food the way it's being asked to now, it's all dazed and confused, BUT, the human body being the wonderfully adaptable creation that it is, figures it out! Self-Preservation! When it figures it out, and adapts for it, is when the honeymoon period is over. Becky

There is a hormone in the stomach called grehlin (sp?). This hormone controls the cravings and hunger and satisfaction. Morbidly obese people have more of this hormone than normal sized people. They are still studying this hormone. They are trying to figure out if we have more because we are big or if we make too much and that is why we are big. But, anyway, when they do the RNY it suppresses the hormone. It supposedly will stay suppressed for up to 6 or 8 months or longer as long as you don't reintroduce simple carbs and sugars back into the diet. These foods awaken the sleeping giant thus awakening the cravings. That is what I learned at a seminar for weight loss surgery. Melissa Rny 1/15/04 277/135

Wish someone had warned me about waking te sleeping giants Melinda 17 months out and craving sugar!