Question:
HELLO ALL, I HAD SURGERY 9 DAYS AGO, AND FEEL LIKE 20Z OF FOOD ISN'T FILLING.

IS THIS NORMAL? I HAD ROUEN Y    — JENNIFER W. (posted on July 20, 2007)

July 20, 2007
I had a very difficult time early on determining when I was hungry and not. Ask yourself and answer honestly - are you truly hungry or is it head-hunger that you're feeling? Also, what size pouch do you have? Size can depend on the surgeon. At 9 days out I'm betting that you only think you're hungry. But call your surgeon or nut and ask how much food you should eat. Head hunger is very normal. Whenever I want to eat - and I know I'm not truly hungry - I repeat the saying "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." Good luck to you - you can do it!!!!! ~Sarah in VA (15 mo. post op, 126lbs)
   — platypus

July 20, 2007
I can't believe these surgeons that allow people to have food in such a short period of time after surgery! I was on liquid diet for the first 2 weeks after, then pureed foods the 3rd week, then after my one month, I could do lean meats, veggies and fruits. But I also had problems eating the food as I got so full so fast and yes I chewed my food! Good luck!
   — crystalsno

July 20, 2007
at 9 days out i was on full lig. then soft and blend food for 2 weeks, that where I am now, are you getting your fluid and protein in. If I have good protein I am in good shape, still think I am hungry but it my mine. So I wait 20 min. and if still hungry I get jello or something.
   — carman

July 20, 2007
LIke previous posters, I was also on liquids for 2 weeks and didn't feel real hunger, but I could tell when I was empty. Pre-op, empty was the signal to fill 'er up! At almost 5 weeks post-op, I do get hungry, but it's when I haven't eaten for 3 hrs or more (I'm supposed to eat every 2-3 hrs). The hunger is different from before - it's much easier to ignore! Something I read said one of the differences between people of normal weight and obese people is that normal weight people know that hunger isn't a dire situation. Obese people take it as a cue that worse things will follow. Harkens back to our origins when life was solely about finding enough food to stay alive. In other words, we had not evolved as far as normal weight people. So, WLS is our tool to progress on the evolutionary scale! It really does allow us to get in touch with our real body cues. Best of luck on your new life!
   — cleo66

July 21, 2007
Jennifer, this is not unusual at all. You are head hungry. We have listened to our head for hunger most of our lives, that is why we are obese in part. Head hunger will lead to you stay obese, so don't listen to it. You have to learn to listen to your body and feed it what it needs, not what it wants. It is a battle, but a battle worth winning. Keep up the good work, and keep a good balance of protein, water and exercise. Those three things are your keys to freedom from obesity, not your head or even hunger. Take care. Patricia P.
   — Patricia P

July 22, 2007
I suspect the reason that the 2oz of food isn't filling because you are probably eating liquids, purees, and soft foods. The goal of the stomach is to liquify food before passing to the intestines...the foods you are eating are already partially liquified so they spend much less time in your stomach than whole foods will. I think that you will find, once you start eating "regular" foods, that 2oz will fill you up.
   — mrsidknee

July 30, 2007
Why are you on solid foods already? Your stomach needs to heal! I could not even eat 2 oz at a time for months and months, but everyone is differrent, and if you are losing weight you are doing okay. You do need to figure out the idifference between real hunger and just wanting to eat something.
   — Novashannon