Question:
is there a reason why i'm hungry evry 2 hours?

i had my surgery 07/30/03. ihad open vbg.i lost a 16lbs the first week and 5lbs the second week. now i believe i'm at a plateau and i'm also hungry all the time. nothing come back up. i was becoming extremely weak and sleep all the time. i have no energy. i try walking and feel dizzy. so i started trying to eat more protein. now i want something to eat every couple hours. i don't know what is going on.is any of this normal and am i making any since?    — stephanie S. (posted on August 26, 2003)

August 25, 2003
Wow... I thought I was alone! I had open RNY on 6/24/03. I lost 12 the 1st week, 8 the 2nd, 1 the 3rd and then plateaued the 4th & 5th. Then I lost 8 in the last 2 weeks! I am hungry all the time, too. I just figured I was eating too many carbs and not enough protein, so I started having (finally) an EAS soy protein shake twice a day. Does me no good, I am still hungry every 2 hours. But at least I am getting the protein in instead of crackers (carbs) or junk (carbs). It doesn't make any sense to me either, but at least now I am losing and not gaining. Good luck!!
   — ttilles

August 25, 2003
I am no medical expert, but I've had the RNY and I know this: eating carbs increses your blood sugar, causing your body to produce insulin. When your insulin level drops, you begin to feel hungry. For me, as hard as it is, I try to eat mostly protein and that keeps me from getting hungry as quickly. To break my plateaus, I up my protein (that gives me more energy) and push water (which makes me feel full). Good Luck!!! Kelly
   — klinzey

August 25, 2003
I had this problem too at first. I felt like I was always hungry. Then I realized I wasn't hungry as much as it was just old habits creeping in. It may be different with the band, but whenever I felt hungry, I would sit and ponder if I was really hungry or I just wanted to eat. I soon realized the difference. After years and years of just eating to eat, and not just when I was hungry I had forgotten what it was really like to be hungry. It really is quite different. I still really don't get hungry often but want to eat constantly, it is a never ending battle, and the reason I had the surgery in the first place. Load up on protein and there really isn't too much wrong in eating every couple of hours, as long as it is done smartly. My doctor wants us too eat 6 times a day. I never could, but eat when I remember too now. I try to stay busy, so that my old habits don't come creeping back in of eating out of boredom. Remember this is just a tool, and there is still ALOT of hard work to be done after surgery. Getting through the surgery is the easy part!! Open RNY 11-11-02 Down 150lbs
   — dkinson

August 26, 2003
How much are you eating at a time? How many calories are you getting each day? I know when I had my open VBG, i wasn't getting enough calories and that was why I was always tired and weak. I managed over a period of months (!) to get close to 800 calories a day and my energy level came WAY up. Before you decide to eat every couple of hours, sit and think about if you are truly hungry or if you are getting head hunger. I do eat 6 times a day, but I usually get no more than 130 calories in each of those 'meals'. Put yourself on a regular schedule of eating. I did this and now (1 year out) I only get hungry when it's time to eat. Email me if I can help you out in anyway. Open VBG 8-26-02, 315-183
   — salymsmommy

August 27, 2003
Try cutting your carbs waaaaay down, and add a couple of protein shakes - pre-digested whey. It's more bioavailable. A previous poster explained the insulin response well - eating carbs invariably makes you hafta EAT 2 hours later. And if you're not eating carbs, then maybe aspartame is doing it to you. Aspartame (NutraSweet) gives me carb cravings worse than sugar. And Theresa Tilles - RnYs can't really absorb the soy shakes, switch to pre-digested whey, K?
   — RWH G.

August 27, 2003
You aare less tha 1 month out, please be patient with your body while it heals. If you are on liquids at this point as I was, you will not feel ver full at any point. the liquids drain right thru the stoma. I hit a plateu at 4 week, and my doctor said that was perfectly normal. You will lose faster some weeks than others. After a while you will see your pattern, Many people in my support group only lose 1 week out of every month and stay the same the other 3 weeks. try to get in you fluids as best as you can, tired and weak also can be dehydration. You have just had major surgery , you are going to be tired for a while , I didn't get back my energy for about 8 weeks post op. hang in there and heal!
   — **willow**