If you have had weight loss surgery you are no doubt intimately acquainted with the fact that there's more to hunger than physical hunger; you quickly realize there are all sorts of little "head hungers" lurking in your mind telling you to eat when your body doesn't physically need a meal.
One of my hungers apparently hits during work hours. During the hours when the tasks are more drudgery than fulfilling work, I find myself looking at the clock and wondering if maybe it's time to take a breakfast or lunch break.
Of course, I have others,...but seeing as I spend five of seven days of the week at work, I am hitting this little demon more often than the others.
Do you have this "distraction hunger?" What do you do to cope? Hints? Tips?...
If you know of any other bariatric patients that roam the webbertubes please feel free to steer them this way if they may have hints or advice to offer. I'd love to get comments with hints and tips on dealing with some of these issues along the way (and of course, if you're already reading this which you obviously are, feel free to comment with your own hints too!).
Head hungers are probably the number one reason the surgery fails and is, at least for me, one of the biggest stumbling blocks on the way to losing weight. Between head hunger and controlling your emotions through the various changes your body must adjust to it's amazing how difficult a little task like "losing weight" really can be. Bariatric surgery is like ripping the band-aid off a whole slew of psychiatric disorders in one fell swoop and dealing with them is...remember the scene in Ghostbusters when the jerk turned off power to the containment unit? Yeah, that's what it's kind of like.
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3 weeks ago
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I know what you are going through. This is the biggest roadblock to weightloss.
ReplyDeleteBut, if you work at it for a few more months, your weightloss will overwhelm you, and the problem will decrease.
I never thought that would happen to me, but it has. It's not gone completely, but it is much less worrisome.
Hang in there!
I understand where you are coming from. Some things that work for me include drinking more water. I also like to flavor that water with those little tubes of sugar free drink mix. The raspberry is one of my favorites. I'm a big iced tea drinker and like to include the powdered lemon, lime and/or orange to my drink. Now if that doesn't work, start bringing food in one of those insulated containers. A hard cooked egg at mid morning or a few nuts will help. Or a cheese stick and some whole grain crackers. Also, are you getting protein at breakfast? Even if you don't like normal breakfast food, consider a slice of pizza (make the pizza yourself though). That protein will help you get through the morning a little better. In the end, just try to ignore the hunger for a while. You'll find, as Lee said, it WILL get better.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the suggestions and comments!
ReplyDeleteI used to use a protein supplement from Kellog's (30 calories a tube, flavored...my favorite was the black tea...but the doctor said not to use protein mixes. I don't know the rationale. I think he might want to focus on losing weight first then once it levels out play with food quantity...but again, don't know. Eating a dixie cup of food three times a day would help you lose weight regardless of what you're eating, I suppose...
Protein at breakfast: yes, I try to get a meat or cheese in with every meal. Usually it's an egg, or something with shaved ham, or maybe cottage cheese (previously dieting people around me have been so focused on calories and fat...myself included...that I didn't realize how much protein was in cheese!). The advice you give on protein to stave off hunger is probably pretty good since the tubes of protein supplement for flavored water had a little note saying it helps fight hunger pangs on it.
Lately my meals have been these little flatbread rounds (let me check the label: SandwichThins), pre-sliced and about the size of the palm of my hand, and put some shaved (uber-thin) ham and a slice of 2% American and depending on mood some home-made BBQ sauce to flavor and/or a fried egg (or egg beaters equivalent...). The bread rounds are 100 calories and high in fiber, something the cheese-meat diet for proteins wasn't really giving me. Sometimes I eat the sandwich, sometimes just a part, I try to stop if I feel at all uncomfortable or if I sense the fullness.
I'm still doubting my effectiveness in this department though. I do know that the times I have felt "uncomfortable" I stop immediately and it's the end of the meal; the feeling goes away in five minutes or less so I'm hoping I'm not doing too much damage.