Always hungry

No I'm drinking tons more since I saw him the 1st time it's been water only I have a 64oz bottle I drink from and I usually do 1 and 1/2 or more depending on how thirsty I am I am also taking psyllium capsules in the morning and a protein drink in the afternoon on top of what I am eating mostly salads veggies boiled or raw as a snack and lean meats and chicken and tuna and hard boiled eggs. I also chew or sick on ice chips and my seeds no breads starches potatoes rice sometimes brown if I need to bulk up a meal no pasta and lots of Greek yogurts I was having watermelon when I had a sweet cold craving but I can stop that. I'll be going in for surgery the day before school starts so I have been busy cleaning rooms sorting clothes back to school shopping making sure I have what I need for the hospital and when I get home cleaned out our suv walking doing as much as I can with the kids and all our appointments and such.

I hate to break it to you, but this is actually...a good thing. Kinda. 

The reason you are hungry all the time now is because you've developed better eating habits that have spiked up your metabolism (eating less, healthier, and more often - 4 to 6 small meals/snacks, right?) As you are losing weight the "right way" (by making your metabolism speed up to burn more instead of simply restricting your calorie intake), your metabolism (that slow thing that never worked in your favor) is starting to pick up and you start to burn more calories (which is an excellent thing), your body responds by saying "Woah! we are burning stores too fast, our supplies are diminishing, feed me more".  It's an evolutionary process from back in our caveman days, where the ones that conserved energy by way of storing fat in their cells were the ones that survived  when food was scarce. It's why we crave carbs even though they are not good in large quantities, and why we get hungry when our metabolism kicks up. It's the hardest part of the weight loss process because we have to actively fight against our own evolutionary instincts. We gotta constantly trick our bodies, since our instincts have not kept up with the times.

Honestly, making small changes in your diet here and there may not make a HUGE difference if it's your metabolism that is making you hungry. Protein-rich foods do tend to get absorbed a lot slower than carbs, making you feel full for longer, but at the same time, they are is making your metabolism speed up. 

I suggest you try to break up your meals into smaller meals if you are only having 3-4 meals a day - having high protein/low carb snacks (e.g: lowfat yogurt, sunflower seeds, protein shake) is not going to help the hunger go away completely, but it will definitely help you keep that metabolism up (which trust me, you WANT!), while having to wait shorter periods between meals - ideally, try to divide up your overall calorie intake (e.g: 1200 calories a day) so that you have a snack every 2-3 hours (5-6 meals/snacks). This will help you lose the most weight (your metabolism starts falling again after the 2-3 hour mark )while also distracting your hunger. Another idea would be to try getting more fibers into your diet. Fibers also take a long time to be digested, making your stomach feel fuller for longer. Whatever you do, do not have meals that ONLY have carbs - try to incorporate protein into every snack/meal. Carbs get absorbed right away, making you hungry faster. Fruits are very carb rich/protein poor, so avoid having only fruits as a snack. Also, not all fruits are made equal - check out online which ones are high in fiber but relatively low in carbs.

You can also try making your meals last longer by slowing down - waiting between bites, and chewing lots and lots. It will give you practice for what eating will be like post-op, while also helping deceive your body into thinking you're giving it more food than you are in actuality. 

Lastly, it's mind over matter, and you're just going to have to try your best and live with the burn. Instead of just feeling miserable because of the hunger, remember that every time you feel the hunger, it means your body is doing something right. It's super hard, but luckily you'll only a bit more to go before your surgery.

Good luck, and I hope this helps a bit. 

That helped tremendously Thank you very much I was doing smaller meals but every 4 hours I will try prepping ahead in the am and breaking it down every 2-3 hours. I will fight this its just hard but if it was easy I wouldn't be where I am :) Thank you everyone for the advice I will try all the ideas and put a stop to this before it drives me up a wall :)  counting down a week till my liquid diet I can get through it glad you all are here to help!

Eating every 2-3 hours is like grazing.  I would look into behavioral therapy pre op. I did it because I was freaking about hunger also. Post op the therapy is part of what has made mea 12 year post op success. 

Eating planned meals/snacks 2-3 hours apart is NOTHING like grazing ...   I do hope people on here are taking your "advice" with a pinch of salt.  

While I have every suspicion that you are a troll, some people who are newer to the boards may not immediately recognise this and may feel that you know what you are talking about (especially bandying around the 12 year vet thing) rather than playing around with them!

PSA:   All posters on here should consider the source of information, along with profile and posting history ...

Eating every 2 and 1/2  to 3 hours, but staying within your allotted daily caloric intake is certainly not grazing, although I can understand why you feel there is no distinction. However, many nutritionists/weight loss coaches/doctors today will in fact recommend this in order to speed up your metabolism. It is the golden rule in weight loss, as it optimizes your metabolism and makes you burn fat at a prime rate.

I think the issue here is that you are looking at this mainly from a therapist's limited conclusions, that assumed that what YOU were doing was grazing, and that may have in fact been so. Indeed, if someone were snacking all day, I would assume they were grazing too. The problem with grazing is not the constant eating, but the caloric input that happens between our planned meals, sometimes doubling if not tripling our daily caloric intake, as well as the maladaptive behavior of eating to alleviate anxiety and boredom.  As someone in the psychology field, I understand your reservations and your concerns in regards to this, but rest assured that done the proper way, this is not a bad behavior. 

While I think that therapy for anyone looking to have bariatric surgery is a great idea, I don't think that throwing OP into a frenzy over her hunger pains is healthy, by making her believe that her hunger is in her head and not her stomach (when it is, indeed, in her stomach, as her metabolism is kicking it up). We on this site need to be more careful than ever that we are proving accurate information and checking our own biases before making a suggestion (although this is very hard to do...). While it is very important to identify the psychological factors that have led us to becoming obse, it is also very important to be able to know the physical limitations of our bodies, and understand the biological processes that are happening in regards to our weight loss journey. 

Since you've had your surgery so long ago, it would perhaps be beneficial if you were to catch up with the current expert recommended weight loss standards, as the field has changed a lot in the last 12 years. 

Well. That was certainly uncalled for.

Can I make a small suggestion to you? And I'm not intending to upset you with this. Could you perhaps continue contributing to posts with your opinion and advice, but go at it from a perspective of "this is what worked for me", "what I've come to learn is this", "my belief is", or "in my experience"? It may not come across quite so judgemental to others.

Karen

Edited to add: Of course, refraining from calling people a ***** would also help.

Not necessarily. When I look at my daily menu (that I PLAN AND STICK TO), I eat 6x per day - 3 meals plus 3 snacks. I see grazing as more "eat a little bit, an hour later, eat a little more, sample a little while I prepare lunch, eat a bite or two after lunch, etc.". This has served me well for 8.5 years and I don't consider it grazing to have planned snacks - no grazing with a bite or two in between.  

eating every 2-3 hours for me is only grazing if I am eating junk food. A mini protein meal every 2-3 hrs is a necessity to allow me to get in all my nutrition.

I'm so glad we were able to help!! :) 

Yeay for the forum!!