Question:
How can I tell if I am hungry or if its just head hunger?

I am 3 wks post-op with a openRNY and still on pureed food. I feel hungry but just don't feel like eating. How can I tell if I am really hungry or if its just head hunger and if it's head hunger, how do I combat that?    — Peggy D. (posted on April 27, 2002)

April 27, 2002
Thinking back to 3 wks post , I was still on liquids. I watched NO food commercials or food adds. They make head hunger worse. Remember to visualize how tiny your new stomach is , so you know in your rational mind you are filling it. It helps to be aware. Keep your hands busy. Drink often , get your protein in. Anything else is Head Hunger , if your body is properly nurished. For 50 years I ate a certain way and certain amounts so the drastic change that I made in my food intake was unnerving to say the least! I actually worried that I would suffer from mal nutrition. I probably had enough body fat to live off of for a very long time! You will learm soon enough when you are full and when you are not. It took me a couple of months before the signs became apparent to me. (I was a late bloomer). Time will make it better and you will realize the difference before you know it. Good luck and realize how special you are to have made the move towards a new healthy and rewarding life.
   — Rose A.

April 27, 2002
I think you answered your own question: "I feel hungry but don't feel like eating". You ARE hungry. That is your body wants food but you don't feel like eating. If it was head hunger, you would eat whether your're hungry or not. You sound like you may be within eight weeks of surgery? I know my body was hungry but eating was the last thing I wanted to do. (Oh to have that problem again- don't I wish). No, sounds like you are truley hungery. NOT head hunger at this point. Give it a few months and you will have that problem.
   — Danmark

April 27, 2002
I understand what you mean about feeling hungry but not feeling like eating. That describes my life for the first 12 weeks after my RNY. My body was physically hungry (literally starving) and I had the body weakness, dizziness, lack of energy, etc. to go along with it. But food didn't sound very appetizing, because I knew I would probably just throw it up anyway, and I just wasn't in the mood for food. Don't worry. Things DO get better. I am now 13.5 months post-op and can tolerate pretty much everything in moderation. Also, my appetite has returned. For example, for breakfast this morning, I had a scrambled egg. For lunch, I had 1/2 of a personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut. For dinner I had a Lean Cuisine. I feel satisfied on so little food, it is awesome! My total food intake today equaled about 1200 calories, but I felt like the biggest pig!!! LOL I love this surgery and am so grateful for it. I feel like I have my life back.
   — Terissa R.