Head Hunger - the feeling you have when your brain is telling you that you are hungry, but you are not. You might be thirsty, you might have just seen or smelled something that awakened a craving, or you might have just stumbled upon a trigger that used to cause you to eat (emotional stress, a time of day, a social situation..)
Real hunger isn't something that my stomach can feel yet - it will probably be 12-18 months post-op before I feel that again. That's part of why this is called the "honeymoon" period.
So this week has been enlightening in several ways. First - head hunger. I have experienced this numerous times before this week and dealt with it OK; drinking more fluids, sucking on a cashew, distracting myself. This week I experienced a stronger feeling, about 1 1/2 hours after dinner. I felt hungry. Not thirsty, but like I didn't have enough to eat. So, given that I had eaten 1/3 cup of cooked lentils with a couple tablespoons of greek yogurt for dinner, I thought "OK, I'll get a little more lentils.". Note - not craving something "bad" - head hunger can be sneaky! I got another 1/4 cup of lentils and started chewing slowly. After two bites, the "Uh oh" feeling hit, and I went and threw them up. Yuck. I cuddled up with blanket I thought about the other head hunger episodes I've experienced and realized that evening time is a trigger for me. A couple hours after dinner (about the time the kids start saying "can I have a snack") my head is trying to get me into my old habit of having a snack. I can distract myself, drink more fluids, etc, but it is still trying to fight me. Weird talking about your brain as if it's another person. Anyway, I decided the best thing I can do is put it out there. My kids (and sweet hubby) are never happy to listen to me get sick - so when I said "Hey guys, I just realized I should NEVER eat after dinner. It will only make me sick. Drinking and sugar free popsicles are OK, but no food" they listened and I knew I would be held accountable. Hah! Take that sneaky head hunger!
I made need an intervention in the future about my consumption of sugar-free popsicles, but for now I will let it slide.
So, a couple of fun things this week. I have been struggling with what I will wear to my son's first communion and my best friend's wedding reception. All of my dresses in my closet are too large. I went online and found an adorable cotton & silk dress that I thought would work for both, and I was going to order my current size, when I realized that the next size down would be $15 cheaper. We will discuss my rage issues regarding the overpricing of plus-sized clothing another day. ;) Hmmmm. Given that I'm losing about 2 pounds a week right now and my friend's reception is about 45 days away... I ordered the smaller size. So, that's my little leap of faith - that I will fit into smaller dress size in 45 days. At my heaviest I was a size 22 dress, now I'm down to feeling like a 18 is roomy. And a 16 is on it's way to my house!
My other fun thing happened yesterday - after getting my hair done my curiosity got the better of me as I passed by a Talbot's outlet store. Oooooo, nice clothes... Talbot's is a store I haven't set foot in for over a decade. Too expensive, and my body wasn't Talbot's size. But the big posters in the window saying "Additional 75% off already reduced prices" lured me in and boy was I in for a surprise! First of all - Talbot's has plus sizes! I don't know when that started - I don't remember seeing plus sizes in other stores in the past - it might be just because it's an outlet store. But for all of you who might wear plus sizes now - check out Talbot's! Second of all - I don't NEED to wear the plus sizes! I fit very nicely into several pairs of shorts and pants (size 14) and actually narrowed down my choices based on what looked BEST. Huh, enough things that fit that I could say "I prefer the way this one looks to that one." Best of all - sale prices! I got a wonderful plum corduroy blazer, two pairs of shorts, and four blouses for under $40. SWEET.
My last thought - Passover. For those of you who don't know me personally, my religous background is confusing and I have not ever formally been a part of any religion or congregation. However, my faith is very strong and I have found a lot of comfort praying Hebrew prayers and celebrating the high holy days for the last decade. Someday I might make the step to conversion, but right now I have quite enough converting going on in my body and mind (thank you very much). My family is very supportive - my husband was raised Catholic but fits more into a Zen-buddist Catholic mindset than anything, and since I didn't have a strong religious background to raise our children in, they have been raised in a similar open-minded, inclusive Catholicism. So this is the first Passover in quite some time that I'm not participating in a Seder (either my own mini-one or one thrown by friends) and while I'm not having anything leavened/ hametz that is more part of my medical journey than spiritual one. It feels strange. And my kids miss the matzah! One step at a time. But my prayers are just as strong (or stronger) and I know they are heard.
Real hunger isn't something that my stomach can feel yet - it will probably be 12-18 months post-op before I feel that again. That's part of why this is called the "honeymoon" period.
So this week has been enlightening in several ways. First - head hunger. I have experienced this numerous times before this week and dealt with it OK; drinking more fluids, sucking on a cashew, distracting myself. This week I experienced a stronger feeling, about 1 1/2 hours after dinner. I felt hungry. Not thirsty, but like I didn't have enough to eat. So, given that I had eaten 1/3 cup of cooked lentils with a couple tablespoons of greek yogurt for dinner, I thought "OK, I'll get a little more lentils.". Note - not craving something "bad" - head hunger can be sneaky! I got another 1/4 cup of lentils and started chewing slowly. After two bites, the "Uh oh" feeling hit, and I went and threw them up. Yuck. I cuddled up with blanket I thought about the other head hunger episodes I've experienced and realized that evening time is a trigger for me. A couple hours after dinner (about the time the kids start saying "can I have a snack") my head is trying to get me into my old habit of having a snack. I can distract myself, drink more fluids, etc, but it is still trying to fight me. Weird talking about your brain as if it's another person. Anyway, I decided the best thing I can do is put it out there. My kids (and sweet hubby) are never happy to listen to me get sick - so when I said "Hey guys, I just realized I should NEVER eat after dinner. It will only make me sick. Drinking and sugar free popsicles are OK, but no food" they listened and I knew I would be held accountable. Hah! Take that sneaky head hunger!
I made need an intervention in the future about my consumption of sugar-free popsicles, but for now I will let it slide.
So, a couple of fun things this week. I have been struggling with what I will wear to my son's first communion and my best friend's wedding reception. All of my dresses in my closet are too large. I went online and found an adorable cotton & silk dress that I thought would work for both, and I was going to order my current size, when I realized that the next size down would be $15 cheaper. We will discuss my rage issues regarding the overpricing of plus-sized clothing another day. ;) Hmmmm. Given that I'm losing about 2 pounds a week right now and my friend's reception is about 45 days away... I ordered the smaller size. So, that's my little leap of faith - that I will fit into smaller dress size in 45 days. At my heaviest I was a size 22 dress, now I'm down to feeling like a 18 is roomy. And a 16 is on it's way to my house!
My other fun thing happened yesterday - after getting my hair done my curiosity got the better of me as I passed by a Talbot's outlet store. Oooooo, nice clothes... Talbot's is a store I haven't set foot in for over a decade. Too expensive, and my body wasn't Talbot's size. But the big posters in the window saying "Additional 75% off already reduced prices" lured me in and boy was I in for a surprise! First of all - Talbot's has plus sizes! I don't know when that started - I don't remember seeing plus sizes in other stores in the past - it might be just because it's an outlet store. But for all of you who might wear plus sizes now - check out Talbot's! Second of all - I don't NEED to wear the plus sizes! I fit very nicely into several pairs of shorts and pants (size 14) and actually narrowed down my choices based on what looked BEST. Huh, enough things that fit that I could say "I prefer the way this one looks to that one." Best of all - sale prices! I got a wonderful plum corduroy blazer, two pairs of shorts, and four blouses for under $40. SWEET.
My last thought - Passover. For those of you who don't know me personally, my religous background is confusing and I have not ever formally been a part of any religion or congregation. However, my faith is very strong and I have found a lot of comfort praying Hebrew prayers and celebrating the high holy days for the last decade. Someday I might make the step to conversion, but right now I have quite enough converting going on in my body and mind (thank you very much). My family is very supportive - my husband was raised Catholic but fits more into a Zen-buddist Catholic mindset than anything, and since I didn't have a strong religious background to raise our children in, they have been raised in a similar open-minded, inclusive Catholicism. So this is the first Passover in quite some time that I'm not participating in a Seder (either my own mini-one or one thrown by friends) and while I'm not having anything leavened/ hametz that is more part of my medical journey than spiritual one. It feels strange. And my kids miss the matzah! One step at a time. But my prayers are just as strong (or stronger) and I know they are heard.
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