Question:
Feeling hungry all the time.

I am ten months post-op and I've been feeling hungry all of the time. How do I "trick" my pouch into thinking it's full?    — Demrie63 (posted on May 23, 2003)

May 23, 2003
Unfortunately, hunger does eventually return for most of us. How much are you eating? How often? How much protein? I had a bump in appetite at about 6 months postop and needed to eat more. I went from about 800 calories a day to about 1200. Your body does eventually need more calories. It seems weird to have to eat to lose weight, though! Here's what worked for me: I started eating only protein for breakfast--the more carbs I ate the more I wanted and carbs for breakfast left me hungry ALL DAY LONG. With an all protein breakfast I ate less and felt less hunger. I continued to eat several small meals a day--some protein each time I ate. Also, I upped my protein to 100 grams a day--which is what I need for the amount of muscle I carry. It worked! I felt less hunger and I went on to lose the rest of the weight. Right now I am struggling with hunger and I know it is because I have allowed my protein consumption to drop off. Oh, well. Back to www.fitday.com to start tracking again! LOL<p>BTW, one way you can find an estimate of how much protein you need is using the calculator on www.zoneperfect.com. It shows that I need about 80 grams and I tacked on a bit to account for any malabsorption. Oh! And make sure you are drinking as close to your 64 oz of water a day as possible and taking your supplements (multivit with iron, sublingual or injected B-12, and calcium citrate). Good luck!
   — ctyst

May 23, 2003
There is another way and that is water loading. Drink as much water as possible as fast as you can. It temporarily stretches the pouch and its the stretch that gives you the full feeling. The other way, like Cheri said, is to cut down on carbs and eat more frequently but protein based foods - also try for dense foods like meats, instead of liquidy things like yogurt. It fills you up faster and keeps you full longer. And, of course, do not drink with or right after meals to ensure that you do not wash food out of the pouch, in effect, guaranteeing that the full feeling sticks around a little longer. I'm a believer in eating if you are hungry, however, eating small amounts, and good foods if possible.
   — Cindy R.