Question:
I am constantly hungry and need help

Help! I am 19 months post op and constantly hungry! I'll never reach my personal goal at this rate. I get in 80-100 grams of protein a day (mostly from food) and drink tons of water. My exercise was off awhile as I had a TT and BR a month ago but I'm starting up again as soon as my doc gives the ok. I take my iron, B12, Calcium and other vitamins. I have tried taking Stevia and Relora to stifle the carb cravings but nothing is working. Seems like I can eat any thing at any time. I had open RNY, transected 7/25/01 but the "tool" seems to have stopped working--Help!    — LLinderman (posted on March 16, 2003)

March 16, 2003
Hi, I don't have an answer just wanted to say you are not alone. I can and do eat things that I should not. I am below goal and still losing. I am terrified of gaining back the weight so I go sometimes for a couple of days just nit picking. I might manange to get in 1000 calories a day with the wrong foods.... I don't know I feel I am on a self sabatage mission.
   — TONYA B.

March 16, 2003
Linda, are you following the pouch rules for dummies - located at http://www.digitalhorsewoman.com/pouchrules.htm ? I'm only 5.5 months out and feel hungry much of the time. I've only begun to gulp water - I wasn't able to do so for the longest time. Since I'm close to 6 months, I'm trying to use the pouch rules to prevent overeating/grazing. I also track my food intake at fitday.com so I can see immediately when my carbs start creeping up. Good luck!
   — JoAnn B.

March 17, 2003
Yes, I am following the "pouch rules" but it doesn't seem to help. Going back on protein drinks alone didn't help either.
   — LLinderman

March 17, 2003
Hello! I am about 17 Months post op and experiencing the same thing! My appetite is back, and although I knew it would happen, dealing with it is a whole new ball game. I started getting my appetite back slightly around 8-10 months post op but now I experience the ravenous hunger I used to get pre-op and its scary. Now it is mind over matter. It is not head hunger though, its real hunger. So I have to make the conscious choice to eat things that will give me the most amount of "fullness". I stay away from carbs almost all together-always have a bag of Beef Jerky or Chicken/Turkey Jerky with me-I prefer the Steak Nuggets though, not tough like regular jerky and very tasty. I keep nuts readily available as well. As long as I always have some kind of snack with me I can nip the hunger in the bud and then it doesn't get to the point that I am so hungry I end up over-eating when I do eat. I found once I stayed away from carbs all together the cravings went away-and upon reading literature on this there is actually evidence about carbs affecting your glucose levels, and the more you eat the more your body will "crave". So I pretty much detoxed that out of my system, reduced artificial sweeteners to almost none a day (I was having 4-5 diet soda's a day, 4-5 coffees with 3 splenda's in each, s/f jello, 3 yogurts a day, chewing gum, about a gallon of crystal light a day...etc). I had no idea I was consuming about 40 servings of aspartame/sucralose a day, and since cutting back to about 4-5 servings a day I have noticed a huge change. And I was having digestion problems that seem to be a little better since reducing this. So try reducing your carbs to as minimal as possible-I only have yogurt with carbs usually, and reduce artifical sweeteners-can't hurt right!?! Good Luck, and email me if you want to chat some more!
   — Alli B.