3 weeks pos op...is this normal?

I am having good success with my weight loss and I am exercising and drinking my water like I should. I am having a bit harder time with my protein but I usually drink 2 shakes a day for sure. I am now finding that I am actually getting hungry and I am able to eat more than I was. I still don't eat a lot but If this keeps up I will get worried. My stomach actually growled at me Saturday. That was a bad day. I was out all day and just wasn't prepared and it showed. But in general, is this normal?

Everyone is different but I had a few days like you. Then I started carrying protein powder in my purse in case of emergencies. I would buy a very cold bottle of water and drink some out of it and then add my protein powder to it. It helped a lot when I was running errands all day and was too lazy to pack what I would need for the day, lol.

Not to be weird but were you really hungry or head hungry.  You should not be hungry.  If you stomach growls its just normal body sounds - doesn't mean hunger.  I can only tell when I need to eat because I can tell my sugar is starting to tank - because my hands start to tremble.  Drink water or a protein drink - but hunger is not something that  you should be feeling.

Yep ... sounds about normal to me.  What I like to do is have a "go to" when I am out and about.  I have found that if I am out and it has been awhile since having something to drink I find some place close by where I can get a Propel Zero.  Like a gatorade and I actually have found that I prefer to drink it at room temperature.  I usually buy a 32 oz bottle and know that will keep me going for awhile as it is after all 4 cups.  

As for your shakes, is the trouble that they are too thick?  I also discovered very early on that mixing with almond milk as opposed to water or anything else was the way to go.  I actually love mine to be real thick.  So I would add in 1/8 tsp of Xanthan Gum which is a thickener.  Sometimes twice that depending on the protein mix I used and how thick it was naturally.  I love em thick like a frosty.  Also if you are not doing well with the protein shakes the other issue is that they may be a little too cold for you.  See if you can't drink them a bit warmer and closer to room temperature.  I know that would be difficult with almond milk you just got out of the fridge but you can always get those almond milks that are shelf stable and not refrigerated until after you open them.  

The only other thing I can recommend is that you get something like Quest protein bars.  The chocolate chip cookie dough is great.  The chocolate brownie is also great (warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave for an extra good treat).  There is also a peanut butter supreme, vanilla almond crunch, apple pie among others.  Some flavors do have sugar alcohols and I tend to avoid those as they can have a laxative effect and make your stomach do funny things as well.  The ones I mentioned above do not have these sugar alcohols with two exceptions sort of.  The cookie dough one does have sugar alcohol but it is only one gram and it is erythritol which doesn't have the same effects as maltitol and sorbitol which are the two more commonly used ones.  The other exception is that the Apple Pie has two forms ... one with and one with out.

Hope this helps.

 

Thank you guys! I am sure it is a hunger and not a head hunger. I am almost afraid of eating and I am thinking that I may actually not be taking enough in. But I also didn't think I was supposed to feel hunger, much less have my stomach growl! I have had it making all kinds of noise but this was an honest growl and it has done it several times now. I still don't eat much but I quit really early. I am not even sure that I am full....which also sounds funny but it's true. LOL! I don't have trouble drinking the protein, I just simply didn't have anything with me. I was just really unprepared. 

My stomach growls from time to time and did pretty much from the get go post op. No big deal. I talk back to it. I don't feel hunger though. Just growling sometimes. I just eat on a schedule no matter what. I find that works best for me in terms of planning and sticking to it. Sometimes I deviate anyway but not too much. Are you taking an acid reducer? Maybe the growling is excess acid? Its common early on. Or thirst? Some say that hunger mimics thirst or visa versa.. anyway, stick to your planned quantities and quality of food and drink according to your program and doctor and you will do great.

I am not taking an acid reducer but I could try that. I am doing what you said and trying to stick to a schedule. I have tried to think of the growling tummy as it being an indication that it is eating fat away! Ha! If I stay on track and am prepared, I start my morning with a protein and a couple hours eat something. Then a couple hours another protein and eat and repeat one more time. I am still on the purees so my eating options are pretty bland at the moment.

talk to your surgeon about a PPI - don't self medicate even with OTC stuff. 

my surgeon had me on a PPI (Nexium) presecribed for six weeks post op to coat the stomach lining and help in the healing process also through a reduction in acidity. I stopped it as instructed at 6 weeks post op and never had (so far) an issue with acid reflux or anything like that. 

Good luck with the purees and so on... it's a great tool that you have now - use it wisely!

Okay, I will. Thank you so much!

Oh and one more thought - you know how they say that you won't feel hunger and all that - well, there may still at three weeks post op be some ghrelin in your system so perhaps your hunger will go away in a little while. I was lucky in that I didn't feel any right away when i woke up from surgery and haven't felt any since basically but some people do feel hunger so don't think that you are weird or anything like that or that the surgery didn't work on you - some feel hunger a lot! For some it goes away and for some it doesn't. And for some of those who don't feel it right after surgery it may come back some months later. The body adjusts and ghrelin may be produced elsewhere other than the stomach. So you never know. You just have to do the best you can with what you got.