Forgetting to Eat

I know, I know I keep saying I'm going to write about my kitchen gadgets and other things I use but this came up yesterday and I thought I'd share before I forgot.  Considering I only eat 400 calories a day my brain is not quite up to par at the moment.

Before I get into the title I will tell you I weighed in yesterday at 216 lbs.  That is 18.4 lbs in 3 weeks and 1 day. Not too shabby especially since in the world of Weight Loss Surgery I am a lightweight.  I'd really like to be at 210 at 4 weeks but 6 lbs this week may be asking a bit much.

Back to what I started writing about.  Yesterday, I took the kids to the commissary and then to the PX to buy some batteries for that stupid scale.  When we arrived home it was about 12pm.  I noticed I was feeling light headed and just off.  It suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't eaten at all.  I'd drank around 32oz of water (yeah me) but not one ounce of food or protein shake had crossed my lips.

Of course even previous to surgery I've skipped breakfast and not eaten till lunch, but I certainly knew I hadn't eaten it didn't come as a surprise.  Now, I literally have to set a timer to eat and drink.  Otherwise I forget.  It's quite nice to now watch a food commercial without a craving kicking in.  I even watch Food Network (a lot) and I know rationally the food would taste good but it doesn't send my mind into overdrive looking for a quick food fix.  It is heaven, I tell you.

The downside to this is that it normally doesn't last.  I don't have hunger or cravings because 80% of your bodies Ghrelin hormone, the one that tells you that you are hungry, is in the fundus of the stomach and I just had mine removed.  The other 20% are created in other organs of the body and it usually takes about 6-8 months for those other parts to ramp up production.  Ghrelin will never reach pre-surgery levels, more like 60% of original, but I will eventually get hunger and cravings back.  So it is VERY important for me to set good patterns now, while it is relatively easy.

I do want to point out that not everyone who has this surgery wakes up without hunger or cravings, there is a percentage that unfortunately don't lose that at all.  I am one of the lucky ones and I'll take it.  I don't think there has ever been a time in my life where food meant so little to me, and I'm loving it!