Why You Want to Snack Even After Weight Loss Surgery

Will you have to battle hunger and cravings for sweets even after weight loss surgery? Possibly. But understanding what causes these desires to eat when you should be physically full can help you stay on track with your weight loss goals.

There are basically two reasons we eat: physical cues and psychological cues.

Psychological cues include the desire to eat because you’re bored, lonely, or stressed. This is often called ‘emotional eating’ and is something that you will need to learn to cope with even after weight loss surgery. The best way to curb emotional eating is to keep a food journal to document how you’re feeling when you get hungry. If you notice a pattern of specific emotions being linked to a desire to eat, you can develop a list of new ways of addressing that specific emotion that don’t involve food.

Physical cues, on the other hand, can be a little more difficult to ignore, and it may be in your best interest not to ignore your brain’s signals to eat. Even after weight loss surgery, you may find that your brain is telling you to eat something when you shouldn’t need food. Specifically, your brain may be telling you to eat carbs.

Eating carbs, except for the carbs contained in fruit, helps your body produce serotonin. A lack of serotonin can cause you to feel fatigued, irritable, and restless. Your body might then signal you to eat something that is high in carbohydrates in order to quickly boost your serotonin levels. What should you do?

If your body is telling you that it needs serotonin, you should listen. However, there are ways to feed your body carbs without derailing your weight loss goals. Look for low-fat carbohydrate options such as brown rice, potatoes, or popcorn instead of ice cream, cookies, or other processed carbohydrates. In addition to avoiding unwanted calories, eating these healthier carbs will actually allow your body to produce serotonin more quickly than if you ate the sugary, fatty carbs you may have reached for in the past.