foods i can no longer tolerate-temporary or permanent?

At 19 years post-op I can eat pretty much anything I want. HOWEVER, I still have a hard time eating some dairy. I can have cheese (cottage or cheddar) as much as I want. Yogurt and ice cream I have to be in the right mood and even then only a few bites. Drinking milk (1/2 cup or more) gives me a pretty bad upset stomach. I only do that about once a year, and I won't do that on an empty tummy either. Sometimes I have cravings for something health and sometimes it's something naughty. I think it all depends on the hormones of the day. I have noticed that if I've been really good for a few (3-5) months, I'll go through a phase of craving nothing but sugar and carbs for a solid month and nothing healthy sounds good to me. During that time it's like I'm completely burned out on protein and veggies. After that month to 6 weeks I'm usually able to get back on track for another 3-6 months again.

You'll find you tastes will change and what you can't eat now you'll be able to eat in the future. The reverse also happens. Somethings I could eat in the beginning I can't handle now. You'll find your body and cravings will change as frequently as the waves in the ocean. Just remember what you did to need surgical help and be determined not to go back.

Cereal and milk make me nauseous and I vomit.

It changes to some extent but the further out from a particular trigger food you are, the easier it is to resist or for me, it has been. My food tastes really didn't change much. I have always preferred healthier cooking. What got me in trouble was I don't like to cook and so I quite frequently indulged in fast foods and I was a binge eater. My trigger foods were ice cream and sweets, sometimes together and in large, large amounts. I have found an "acceptable" ice cream, "Breyer's Carb Master Chocolate". I portion it out, put a bit of sugar free hershey's chocolate on it and am not tempted to eat more. Freaky. Today, one of my students gave me a bag of candy for teacher appreciation. I ate 1 mini Reese's PB cup and gave the rest away and was quite satisfied, IPre-surgery, I'd have eaten every bit of it, even the 3 muskateers which I don't even care for. It was sugar. have troubles more now with salty stuff but it's occasional. Also don't know whether the lack of temptation is permanent or temporary.

I have also found that some foods make me kinda sick one time and I'm fine the next time and sick the next time. Weird.

I don't know what your experience will be, but here's how I'm faring ....

I'm almost five years out and, thanks to the way I've been eating for a very long time, I'm much more attracted now to nutritious foods, less processed foods, and food that's lacking nearly any actual nutrients other than calories (think potato chips, french fries, white rice, sugared drinks).

That's not to say that, offered a beautiful dessert while on vacation or at a really, really excellent restaurant, I will always turn it down. However, I certainly don't choose a dessert just because everybody else (or even one other person) at the table is ordering it -- especially if it's at a chain restaurant.

And because I'm still planning and tracking my food daily, I know that chocolate cake at Ruby Tuesday's is nearly 800 calories. I also know from experience that it's absolutely NOT the kind of chocolate cake that's worth nearly 800 calories.

I've also learned that on those occasions when I do choose a treat that smaller-sized servings satisfy me much more than giant one, which make me feel physically bad.

I would urge you to build a lifestyle that emphasizes nutritious food that makes you feel good. Over months and years of eating mostly that way I am betting you'll find that you've taught your body what to like. And believe me, it will definitely tell you what it does NOT like.

Best wishes! :)

thanks so much for your feedback. now that i am 8 months post op i really don't like the bad stuff and i do get sick if i eat it. last night i had a stuffed green pepper that had mostly chicken, ground turkey, and a little bit of riced califlower, onions and an egg added to it. it was pretty good. in the beginning did you try new healthy foods that you have never tried before? for me it was fresh baked kale leaves, baked fish with hot sauce added, chicken tacos w/out the cheese, and for dessert i tried fresh baked pears w/stevia and cocoa powder. is this weird or what? again thanks

In the beginning I didn't get very creative at all. But in the last four years I've definitely branched out. For instance, I would MUCH rather have kale or arugula or brussels sprouts than plain spring lettuces. And now prefer quinoa and all kinds of colored rices to yucky bleached white rice. I'd probably eat fresh-caught fish every day if I could get it. I can't remember the last time I ate a baked white potato or white loaf bread or macaroni or boxed cereal.

Yesterday I had 11 servings of veggies and fruits (from cucumbers, tomatoes, arugula, spinach, veggie burgers, broccoli, blueberries, strawberries), yet my total carbs for the day were only 101 grams, which were still lower than my protein grams of 114. So it's easy to visualize how healthy I'm eating. :)

Best wishes to you as you continue to build your own healthy lifestyle. :)

At almost 5 years out I can pretty much eat anything...not that I do or want to, but I could. That is why good habits are important to develop.

There are things this years I only started being able to eat...

I would say it's a little of both. Some of my tastes have permanently changed and some have come back. Specifically, there are things I like now that I didn't use to: Avocado, smoked salmon, mushrooms, just to name a few.

On the flip side, I still like sweets. I get the urge every few weeks to go out and get some FroYo. Every-single-time I will put way too much in the cup and after 3-4 bites I just feel completely turned off by eating more. On the same token, there are certain types of candy that if they're in my presence, I just keep eating them (looking at you sour gummy bears!).

As far as "bad" food, I never stopped liking red meat and eat that whenever I want. It doesn't turn out to be super often since right now we're in an apartment and aren't able to grill and that's my favorite way to prepare it. About 5-6 months post op my appetite came back and with it the cravings for things. The only way I manage that is to eat the things I crave now. However, for the most part, my body cuts me off after a few bites. I can't say enough how much my cravings for sweets went away by adding back in carbs (which I did somewhere between the 18 month and 2 year mark post-op). I now eat sweet potato, rice, alternative pasta (like chickpea), farro, orzo, etc and sometimes a piece of toast/english muffin/half a bagel with breakfast. When I added those things in balance with the rest of the meal, I stopped craving things like protein bars and candy.

I still eat low-carb compared to the general public - about 100-150g per day on a heavy carb day and spread over the course of the day (I'm diabetic, and oral medication controlled).