One week post-op & Struggling

Yesterday was one week since surgery. I am healing well and even went to the gym this morning for light cardio. The problem is, I cannot fathom the thought of another protein  shake and head  hunger, as the vets say, is killing me. I want something that tastes good but nothing does. I know its too early for pureed foods but I really can't believe how strong the emotional/ psychological hunger is. I cannot tell if I'm  really hungry or not and it's driving me crazy and making me doubt myself only 1 week after surgery. Am I one of the unlucky few that will not lose the grehlin and constant feelings of hunger? It gets so much better right?This is all in my head right?  AGGGHHHHHH!

PS What does NSV stand for?

Are you taking a PPI?  A lot of hunger signals can be acid related.  

But, remember, your stomach and nerves were all severed and your stomach is still all "WTF DID YOU DO!!"  So the feelings you're feeling now are not what you'll be feeling once you're healed up.  Don't worry.  It'll get better!  

But sheesh - I am totally with you on the liquid fatigue.  It's been 22 days for me and I'm tired and bored and so ready for the next stage of my diet to kick in.  I never thought I'd be so excited to get to eat mush!  

NSV = Non Scale Victory.  I.e., the successes that aren't on the scale - like being able to fly without a seatbelt extender.  

I had surgery a week ago yesterday too.  The shakes are getting very old!  I mix some protein powder with Greek yogurt for a change.  I just said to my husband this morning, "what if this doesn't work for me?". I am so glad I'm not the only one who feels that way. 

I made meatloaf for my family on Sunday and it smelled amazing.  I had to look away when my son was eating his baked potato with sour cream!  But, the thought of eating any of it was very scary and unappealing. 

I feel your pain! try to find something to distract yourself when head hunger strikes. Stay up on your liquids and talk when you need to. it will get better! it just sucks now lol you can do it!

It's interesting how people have such a varying range of responses to surgery.  Some people suddenly like certain foods and hate others when that wasn't the case before hand.  Some people still experience hunger, or head hunger, other people just have no appetite or desire to eat.  I personally rarely have an appetite.  That sounds like it would be a good thing, but actually it means that at about 5 weeks out, I'm still forcing myself along just to get in 60g of protein, when I'd really like to get more (especially now that i started working out, and that I'm concerned I'll start losing my hair!).  It also means I struggle to get in all the water that I should.

I would imagine that once you can incorporate more of a variety of foods, even if they are soft foods, that some of that head hunger will go away.  Everyone wants what they can't have, so this is probably just something like that.  Don't worry, it will get better!

It gets so old! I was tired with liquids by the end of my first week too. I also had those thoughts of doubts of "what if" this isn't going to work for me. I felt so much better after my post-op appt and I've been feeling great about everything since then. Your going to do great. Just stick with it, follow your plan and you'll get through it. It does get better :)

Hang tight.  It's head hunger talking to you right now.  The protein shakes get old very quickly, but there are ways to doctor them up to make them less repetitive.  Look for a book on Amazon called Bariatric Foodie Guide to Perfect Protein Shakes, or go to her website.  I could only handle the RTD shakes for about 3 days before I wanted to throw them against the wall.

What got me through them was adding a tablespoon of sugar free fat free pudding mix to the shake, along with Torani syrups to help mask the taste.  You won't die from drinking liquids for a couple of weeks.  You need to let your stomach heal.  It's mind over matter at this point.  

Don't be surprised that you won't feel a restriction until about 5-6 weeks out.  The nerves in your stomach have been cut and there's not a great deal of sensation there right now.  Stick with your surgeon's dietary plan.  You've come this far.  Don't talk yourself out of it and make bad choices so early in the process.

Are you on a PPI?  If you're not, that can generate ghost feelings of hunger.  Good luck to you.  You can do this.

EXACTLY!

You're not alone. It's not necessarily all in your head. I was blessed with the absence of the head hunger for the most part. I think I was also scared as hell to eat anything! Not afraid of sliming or puking, but of gaining back the pitiful 14lbs that I lost presurg. I do know and feel completely 100% about is that you may NEVER be truly satisfied but you certainly aren't hungry the way most people feel hunger. The way you used to feel! And it's hard to compare those feelings when there's no going back. Nobody or no thing (except yoursefl) made you stop eating impulsively until now, right? So how do you know if you really were ever hungry every time you ate before? Hmmmmm. Interesting. I do that I tested myself daily: was this bite of cake or whatever was calling my name, WORTH it in the long run? Even in the short run? One true bite of anything will never derail you. But *****ally quits at one? I don't know of one person in my life. Not until the bag is gone LOL. The hardest part of going through the liquid part is, IMHO, there's not much taste. Better than nothing, definitely? It was for me.  I loved my protein shakes and the bars. I couldn't stand boring bland broth. I simply strained any canned soup and got all the flavor and satisfaction from the liquid. Still, better than nothing.

Since this whole thing is a brain warp anyway, when I really used a lot of different methods to psych myself out. When people would constantly whine about how hard it was, I would really visualize HARD things to do. Is being in the Army hard? Is being homeless hard? Is running a marathon hard? Is being dyslexic hard? Is cancer hard?

Well, this may be the hardest thing any of us truly do in our lives, but not eating certainly is never going to make it on top of my chart, I can promise you that.

When you start eating your first soft foods, you will start fantasizing about what you'll make first, etc. Pay attention to how it smells, the feelings you feel, don't eat standing up (sit down and savor it like it's your LAST meal-ever), don't rush, use small plates, don't drink with your meal. Women and general people in a hurry tend to stand up and eat. Don't do that to yourself.

Inspiration: When you get to the point that none of your clothes fit, and it WILL happen before you know it, use a psych trade off: You won't eat that bad thing because it will keep you from getting to buy new clothes one more day. And you've waited long enough. I did a LOT of shopping. Lots of window shopping. Lots of fantasizing about shoes etc. Lingerie. Yeah, concentrate on that. It's soooooo fun!!! You are never gonna miss that bite of cake or whatever it is that you think you want. Never.