Smelling foods & hunger

As I sat at work today before I took my lunch break I started smelling someone's lunch heating up in the kitchen. I started to feel hungry from the smell.  So I began to wonder if after I have my sleeve done and *should* feel less hunger will I still have the same response to smelling food?  If so, how have some of you dealt with this kind of a response to smelling food when you can't just indulge as was an easy fix in the past?

Smelling food is SO HARD.  It's often a trigger for us.  It stimulates our brains and there's little to be done about it.  I just had this happen to me about 15 minutes ago when someone was heating up lasagna in the office microwave.

All I can suggest is find a distraction.  WALK AWAY.  Put your head in a different place.  Come to OH and post.  Drink water.  

i have that problem while i cook my family dinner. I have a sugar free popsicle or sugar free pudding to help that. for me its just to have something,

Yeah,  foods smells trigger hunger and cravings in me. You can't help it,  its a physiological response. The body is turned on by sights and smells. You see and smell something delicious cooking and your mouth literally waters and starts producing enzymes. Your stomach says,  "Yeah baby,  let's eat! ", despite not wanting it to.

I usually drink a butt-ton of water and play the mind over matter trick. I will say,  it's a bit easier after surgery to ignore the cravings. 

I find that I'm not as enticed by food smells anymore.  But I'm at the point where I don't really have an appetite so it's all linked.  

I think it's because you're still restricted on what you're eating.  Give it a couple months.  I thought I was immune because I don't have an appetite either, but the smells of certain foods go right to the pleasure center of your brain.  It's not about hunger.  It's about emotion.  And it sucks.

I'm actually looking forward to that, since this lack of appetite thing sucks.  I mean, I'm looking forward to the lack of hunger that surgery will provide, but having to force myself to eat is a drag.  

And then I'll have to deal with smells triggering me.  If it's not one thing, it's another, eh?

It's a journey with a lot of pot holes.  But better to be on the road than sitting on the sidelines.  

That's kinda a mixed metaphor, but you know what I mean  

I'm only about 3 weeks post-op and the smell of most food is actually making me feel sick to my stomach.  Any really strong food smells, particularly garlicly smells, makes me feel queasy. I don't know how long it will last.

In the pre-op phase, it's really hard because everything is still connected and smelling yummy food just triggers that hunger reflex.

Very very common to have strong, negative reactions to certain smells directly after surgery.  The smell of my husband was even grossing me out