Question:
Is this normal?
I am almost 8 months out and down 105 lbs. I started at 320 and my goal is 153. I feel pretty good, no vomiting, very little dumping. But in November I felt like I could eat a horse! I felt hungry all the time. I was amazed at how much I could eat and it started to worry me. Now so far this month I have very little appetite and I am forcing myself to eat. I now feel too full very rapidly. Has anyone else been through this? How can I eat like a hog one month and the very next month I can barely eat? Also, I have already been through several plateaus starting my fourth month out. It seems that I do not lose weight every week. Once a month I drop quite a bit at one time. So is any of this normal? — linda A. (posted on December 19, 2003)
December 18, 2003
i am ten months out and what you are going thru has been completely normal.
I think most of us go thru it. I know i do.
— Delores S.
December 18, 2003
Yes, you will want to eat more as you get farther out. One thing to note:
Those days when you want to eat more.... DID YOU START YOUR DAY WITH
CARBOHYRDATES? I can eat a bowl of cerel at night. But don't let me eat it
for breakfast or I will eat everything in site all day and still be hungry.
— Danmark
December 19, 2003
I am three months out and the same thing happens to me but on a daily
basis. One day very little appetite and the next day I feel like eating
what I consider more than normal. I am steadily losing so I don't worry
about it.
— Lisa D.
December 19, 2003
I am just at the 8th month mark and I completely understand what you are
going through. I do the same things. It really worries me that I am doing
something wrong. I just know that I really have to watch the carbs for if I
dont I seem to want to eat more. Congrats on your loss and I wish you the
best of luck in your new adventure in life.
— Holly B.
December 19, 2003
Your scenario sounds just like mine... eat a lot sometimes... hardly
nothing the next time. Lose weight sometimes... don't lose other times.
Starved sometimes... not hungry at all other times. Maybe this is normal.
I had WLS in August 2003 and I am down almost 60 lbs... but I still feel
like I have a long way to go. When I eat a lot I thank my
"Jesus" that we have the malabsorption effect. (smile) God
Bless you In your Weight Loss Journey!
— Eleanore Davis
December 19, 2003
you say you drop quite a bit once a month, how is that in timing to your
period? if you follow your weight loss pattern with your menstrual cycle
you may find the answer. I am only 2 weeks post op, so I haven't really
had time to track mine yet, but I know when dieting I would lose the most
from the end of my period until I ovulated, I would always seem to stall
every month for the 2 weeks from the time I ovulated to the start of my
period. As long as your losing I won't worry about it too much, it's just
your body's way of doing it.
— Patricia T.
December 19, 2003
While this may be normal, keep an eye on the feeling too full very rapidly.
If that continues you could have a stricture forming. It is normal for
our pouches to stretch the further out we get and so therefore we can eat
more. This will happen to you a few more times in your journey before
settling down.
— Cindy R.
December 19, 2003
At about 6 months, I started to feel hunger for the first time
post-operatively. With the hunger, I started to feel that the old demons
were pulling me back, which in turn made me very anxious. Luckily, a
strong support group of wonderful (but tough-love-minded) post-ops and a
great counsellor guided me through this time. These sensations pass but
still sometimes rear their ugly heads (I'm 14 1/2 months out and have
surpassed my goal). As I found out, the goal is to try to establish a
comfortable and healthy regime of regular eating and to avoid catering to
these moods when we feel like we could eat everything. Also, there are
lots of tricks to guiding yourself through these times. I've stocked up on
protein bars and shakes (as the protein will help control the hunger); I
have a ready supply of packs of gum to chew (the cheweing really does
alleviate that need to snack at times); and, lastly, I will make a
superconcentrated glass of Crystal Lite using about half of the packet
(that you'd typically use in a pitcher) along with lots of crushed ice--
something about the tartness helps to control the devour-everything
mentality. Also, many of my post-op friends save their vitamins and
calcium citrate to nibble on throughout the day when they feel the need for
a snack.
— SteveColarossi
December 19, 2003
Congrats on a great job! Yes, just like a "normal" person,
sometimes we get hungry and can eat a lot and other times, not so much.
Watch what you are eating, and don't stray too far off course. If you are
eating more than "usual" kick up your exercise.
As far as a weight loss pattern, it will change and slow down as you go
further along. I personally lose mostly once a month...and that is the
week before or the week of my period. That started about my 7th or 8th
month.
You are doing great! Best wishes! CB - RNY 1/27/03 - down 125!! (start:
298, goal: 175, current: 168, new goal: 160)
— CrystalBroj
December 20, 2003
I am 7 1/2 months out and I am the same way. A few weeks ago I was in a
panic because it seemed that ole "full time hunger" was back with
a vengence and I was sooo worried because I wondered if this surgery
actually worked. I was eating all day and hungry all the time. Then all of
a sudden this last week I haven't hardly eaten. I have to MAKE myself eat
and I'm full in a few bites. Add the hunger time to a plateau I was
beating myself up pretty good. But since I've backed off eating, I've lost
5 lbs. I don't know the answer, but I'm just going to ride the ride.
— Michelle A.
December 21, 2003
It's completely normal - for you, anyway, and for lots of people. I'm 15
months out. I still will have a few days where I have little interest in
eating and other days where I feel like I could eat huge quantities! It's
weird how that changes from day to day. I also tend to be stuck for a week
or so and lose very quickly towards the end of my period and the next
week. I know that lots of people have the same pattern too, they seem to
lose their weight mostly in one week of the month. As long as you're still
losing, all is good!
— sandsonik
December 21, 2003
Thanks for all the support! And I was so relieved to find that many of you
experience the same pattern. To clarify a few points, though, I am post
menopausal. So I don't think my pattern has anything to do with a menstrual
cycle. (But I do remember I used to eat a lot right before my periods so I
am sure that could still be the case for anyone who still has periods.) I
rarely start the day with carbs, I do not enjoy refined carbs like I used
to. I do not dump but I get an unpleasant bloated sensation from breads,
rice and cereals. I can tolerate mashed potatoes but I never cared much for
them anyways. On the days when my hunger rages I am craving sweets. Or
salt.
Also, I dropped 5 lbs over the weekend! I guess my body must know something
my head doesn't:)
— linda A.
Click Here to Return