Question:
im a bit over 5 1/2 months out and feel hungry all the time now

Why is this and what can i do about it    — icannie (posted on October 7, 2002)

October 6, 2002

   — Tom Z.

October 6, 2002
It happens to all of us eventually-the return of the hunger. You may want to try eating more frequently, like 3 meals and 3 snacks a day. Just choose good healthy things to have, with the occasional treat. I have heard that not eating carbs helps to keep the hunger away, but it doesn't work for me, so I choose to eat carbs, just not alot of them and mostly the good ones. I think the key is to eat when you are hungry, but control it with good healthy foods, like fruit, popcorn, protein bars, peanut butter on crackers etc.
   — Cindy R.

October 7, 2002
GOOD QUESTION!i am also going thru this. look forward to hearing more responses. i started eating more and had a wt gain of five pounds, then it came back off with no apparent reason. but my hunger is definitely there and i crave carbs bad. i am back to slowly losing again even with some carb intake. i am 7 months postop and this started about a month ago. i didnt know if my honeymoon period was over or if this was a plateau. i know my pouch is still working cause i dump and only can eat about 4-8 oz at a time depending on how slippery the food is. patsy in las vegas
   — PATSY N.

October 7, 2002
This hit for me at about 7 mos. All at once I was hungry for more and could eat more. It scared me! I was only able to eat 1/2 cup at a time tops then all of a sudden I could eat 1 1/2 cup. Not every time but enough to make me wonder if I had a staple line disruption. (Come to find out I'm transected. :)<p>I think this was a combination of two things for me: A normal increase in pouch size and eating too many carbs. At that point I still had more to lose so after I floundered around for a couple months, I decided to try to fix it. What worked for me was to increase my protein to 100 grams a day and make sure I started the day with protein, not carbs. When I eat carbs for breakfast I crave them all day. When I eat protein (eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, deli meat, etc.) first thing, I eat less carbs and less overall, and I feel less hunger. I also ate a protein bar for my midmorning snack to give myself a "sweets outlet" but have since abandoned that cuz I finally burned out on them. :)<p>If you are worried about your pouch size, you can do the cottage cheese test. Chances are everything is fine there. Increasing protein and water should help with the hunger. Good luck and happy losing!
   — ctyst

October 7, 2002
Hi, At about 4 months for me, I could not get enough to eat. I think it's actually a good sign, it means you're healthy and your appetite is returning. This is the important time, when you learn to make good food decisions, I eat when I'm hungry, I just try to make good choices and stop eating before I'm stuffed. So far, so good....Down 101 lbs in 7 months. Take care and good luck, Diane
   — Diane B.