Question:
How has your taste in food changed since WLS?

I was just wondering how everyone's taste for certain foods has changed since WLS....what foods "did" you eat that you don't like now...and what foods did you "not" eat before, that you do now?? I am finding this fascinating... the food modification that our "mouths" go through...lol Thanks in advance! Lisa Open RNY 11/02 ~ 286/195/140    — medium (posted on October 17, 2003)


October 17, 2003
Sucks - cause I still mentally crave certain foods - like french fries - but one or two usually cure the craving (or make me feel ill - usually!). I don't crave sugar like I used to, but I still find it hard to ignore when it's in my face. My control IS improved greatly, but the food demons live to rear their ugly head - I try and stay dilligent and make good choices, but I do allow for some slippage :>) Good luck!
   — [Deactivated Member]

October 17, 2003
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!! Nothing is the same to me anymore! I use to love cheese and sour cream,and now they just leave a bad taste. Things still smell wonderful,but just don't taste the same to me. I really think it is helping to not eat as much because I don't want that taste..
   — Amy M.

October 17, 2003
I am only 2 1/2 months post-op, so I have not had any problems yet, except that being Diabetic before WLS, I did not eat much sugar, but could cheat once in awhile, but now I can not even cheat, if something has 3 grams of sugar, it makes me sick.
   — cindy

October 17, 2003
I have a logical explanation for why this happens. My surgeon told me that it would. THe bottom right quadrant of your stomach makes a hormone, I can't remember the name of it, this hormone gives you yuor food likes and dislikes. After the surgery you are no longer connected to the bottom right portion of your stomach so you have very little of this hormone circulating through your body. The drug companies are scrambling right now to come up with a drug to give people this effect without surgery. I just thought that was fascinating. Leda
   — lmaxwell

October 17, 2003
My tastes have definitely changed. I am now 8 months out and this past week have had terrible cravings for carbs - for the first time. So, I gave in a couple of times. I tried a bagel with cream cheese the other day. It tasted terrible! I ate about a quarter of it and threw the rest away. The same thing with a baked potato. And they both left me feeling terrible also. It will be a long time before I have either one again. And these were a couple of my favorite foods pre-op! It makes it easy to eat the right things.
   — kathyb

October 17, 2003
There are five of us now in my family who have had RNY surgery, and we have all experienced the same phenomenon....the things that we craved before the surgery, now have no appeal at all, and many of the things that we never chose to eat before the surgery are now our favorites. We have all laughed about the fact that we were a real "double quarter-pounder with cheese" kind of family before....now the salad bar is our favorite place to hang out, and we can't seem to get enough fresh fruits and veggies. Pizza, or most fried/high-fat foods have no appeal at all, and actually create the same kind of "dumping" symptoms that sugars produce. I wondered if this were a temporary side-effect of the surgery, but now that two of us are almost four years post-op, I guess that it's here to stay! However, I consider this just another one of the great benefits and blessings of the surgery. Best wishes!
   — Diana T.

October 17, 2003
Oh Lisa, my tastes in foods have changed so much!! Before surgery, I was addicted to Diet Coke, Chinese Food, bread, pasta, chocolate, desserts, etc!! Now, I can't stand to eat Chinese food, I never eat bread, pasta or rice and I no longer crave chocolate!! I don't eat chicken that much because I hate the way it makes me feel after I eat it. I really enjoy healthy foods now and I never thought I would!! I don't miss any kind of foods. I love water, cheese, seafood, salads, etc!!
   — Terri G.

October 17, 2003
Hello Lisa. Like the previous poster, my tastes have changed drastically. The bread I use to LOVE makes me feel yucky. I absolutely HATE meats. I can tollerate white fish, but I could easily become vegitarian but I know the protien is necessary. I use to be a carb/junk food/diet coke junkie too. I use to love things like chili, and I can't stand it now. I really love things that are good for me now.
   — Happy I.

October 17, 2003
One of my strangest taste changes was....While I was working at a different location of work everyone seemed to snack on pretzels....I hated pretzels....but.....I tried them out of desperate hunger one day and now I crave them sometimes. It may very well be the salt but there are a lot of saltly food that seems I would prefer but now I just love pretzels!!! I now hate pasta. I would have mauled someone for cheese and mac before surgery.
   — Oldsoul

October 18, 2003
I definately do not like really sweet things now - at all. Even artificially sweetened foods are frequently too sweet for me. And I don't crave things like chips, cookies, Cokes, etc. I don't like pasta and it tends to make me ill. As far as things that I didn't eat before surgery, there weren't many. I am still not wild about broccoli but I eat it as I did before surgery. I've always liked fish and seafood but I actually CRAVE it now. I would eat fresh salmon 7 days a week if I could afford it. And I eat a lot of cottage cheese - with onion, peppers, cucumber and salt and pepper. I always liked it like this but not like I do now. If I eat anything more now than before it's probably nuts - any kind of nuts.
   — Patty_Butler

October 18, 2003
I had my surgery on April 8th (down 116 lbs). I was a BIG carb and Beef eater (bread, cakes,bugers, pizza etc.) I find I eat more soy products and no do eat hardly any carbs. I get my carbs in vegetables and fruit. It's not that I don't like beef any more but I find soy has more taste. I have alot of soup with FF cheese or soy cheese and add vegetables. Because I love to drink water and with the restrictions for drinking before and after I find myself looking for more liquids as meals (example: soup or protein drink) so I don't have to wait as long for my next glass of water (1 hr waite instead of 1 1/2 hr) It is very interesting how your tastes change. I would never have eaten soy products before the surgery. I read labels all the time. It takes me forever to get out of the store because I'm always looking for new and exciting different foods that I can try. I eat more fish. Shrimp, tuna, samon and have a salad with tomato, onions, green peppers, etc. I also found this great salad dressing that is SF and tastes great. The maker is Walden. They even have a great chocolate syrup that is SF and Carb Free and 0 calories. I make myself a cup of hot water add a TB of Swisse Mocha SF add a tsp of chocolate syrup and some skim milk and I have a great SWISSE MOCHA COFFEE for about 50 cals. IT's Great! Check out their products on WWW.WALDENFARMS.COM I bought several of their salad dressings and choc. syrup. The Thousand Island dressing is really good. Good Luck to you!
   — Linda R.

October 18, 2003
I can eat spicier foods now, saltier (I know that's not good), and I don't do milk products or sweets. I used to drink milk like water... intolorant now... sweets are just not appealing anymore.
   — MF

October 18, 2003
Before surgery I loved bread, now I can't stand the taste or texture. Still love the smell of it being baked though. I no longer like sweet things, most likely because I have been so long without anything sweet. I always liked watermelon before but now I CRAVE it. I really have to watch myself or I over do it. At least watermelon is better then a bag of chips.
   — TheresaC

October 18, 2003
I have no desire for anything milk-based(milk shakes, ice cream, skim milk). I am sure I am now lactose intolerant. Otherwise my TASTES are about the same, however I have little desire for sweets. My eating PATTERNS have definitely gotten weird. Ever since about 2 months post op, when I found something that I enjoyed/agreed with me, I would eat it almost every day. Early on I can think of Taco Bell tacos (about 1/2), arby's french dip sub, Wendy's chicked nuggets, or chili. I would honestly eat one of these daily depending on which food "kick" I was on. Each of these food cravings would last a couple of months and then just as quickly as it came, I no longer wanted that item and the thought almost made me nauseated. It's been interesting to say the least, but I am learning to accept that I am just different. My husband can't believe that I can eat the same item that frequently. There have also been some not so good items that I would indulge in-for example Hershey's kisses ( about 3). But I would have these every day!! Now, the thought of these is totally unappealing. For those of you concerned about my longterm success, don't be. I am almost 3 years post op. Check out my profile. Shelley
   — Shelley.

October 18, 2003
While I haven't found anything that I will eat now that I didn't before, I've definately come up with quite a few that I liked before but don't care for now!!! The funny thing about it for me is that I will crave it and when I indulge - it just isn't the same! This is mostly true with pasta. I used to LOVE pasta; now I like the sauce but would rather not have the pasta! (any ideas for what I can put the sauce on?) The other day my niece and I baked chocolate chip cookies and I really wanted one - but even while I was wanting one I just knew that I only wanted the cookie part and not the chips! So I nibbled from the cookie a little and if I happened to get a chip I spit it out. I just didn't like it! The bad side is that I'm finding that I can't stomach some of my favorite proteins anymore either; then I use my supplements! Good luck!
   — Pambylah

October 18, 2003
Before surgery I drank several cans of Diet Pepsi in one day, now I have completely lost my taste for it. Another is bread, not even toasted. It seems that the more I chew it, the bigger it seems to get. LOL I can not seem to swallow it. Dry meat is another. I feel like I am going to choke on it. If I put fat free gravy on it then I can eat it a little easier.
   — Wendy G.

October 18, 2003
Original poster here...you guys are AWESOME!! Thank you for all of the amazing feedback! I thought maybe I was "hooked back up" wrong...lol (just kidding) because of all the changes in my food choices...but I resonate with each and every one of you on some level as far as..."used to", "don't anymore"..."never did, now I do"...and the {{CRAVINGS}}... OMG!! And like some of you said...for DAYS at a time! LOL Right now I am on a TUNA kick! Just can't get enough, and I eat a lot of protien, so I am not lacking... Anywho, I appreciate each and every one of you taking the time to share your experiences with me...I'm feeling quite NORMAL now, thank you! hehehehe..... What a FANTASTIC group of folks we have here!!! THANK YOU!!!! Love and light, Lisa
   — medium

October 18, 2003
Hi Lisa. At 30 days out, EVERYTHING tastes like poop to me right now (ok, I don't really know what poop tastes like). I have absolutely hated fish my whole life, & now I crave it. The nutritionist says that this is normal. I think that it's 50% good news. Some fishes are supposed to be really healthy, so I look forward to eating them. On the other hand, the protein shakes that were pretty good before surgery are now pukingly impossible to swallow! Oh well. I'll suffer through it! ;)
   — Annie H.

October 19, 2003
The little McDonalds cheeseburgers. They WERE the bomb, now they are nasty. Soda tastes like chemicals, and any form of hamburger is awful. Thing is, I developed little food 'addictions'. I will constantly eat something for a few months until something else comes along. Several months it was peanut M&M's, then wheat thins, mangos, vanilla ice cream with oreos. I've never had any kind of cravings like this in my life till after my surgery. The mango addictiton lasted the longest, about 5 months. I had 4-6 mangos a week. Odd. :)
   — RebeccaP

October 21, 2003
Lisa, if anyone had told me a year ago that I would ever eat beef jerky, pork rinds, or cottage cheese I would have said they were crazy. Now I really crave and like them and don't go without one of those items every week. Salmon and Detour protein bars are favorites that I would have every day if my finances allowed. Before surgery, I liked every form of tuna. Now I don't care for it...but that could be because it was the first thing I ever dumped on and the memory hasn't faded even seven months later. I was an ice cream (especially rich flavored high end brands) before. I would eat that right now if it were right in front of me. You would know how amazing that is if you could even imagine how much ice cream I have consumed in my life. Thanks for the clever question. Ann in TX
   — Ann B.

October 21, 2003
I used to love breads, snickers ice cream and diet coke. Now I dont seem to love much of anything. I am still trying to find foods that taste good.
   — Liza H.

January 10, 2006
I am about five days post op and I don't like anything that looks sweet. Even the artifical sweetners are sweet to me. The only thing I have a craving for is unsalted crackers. The smells of eggs are making my mouth water which is strange because I am not an egg fanatic. Cold water has been my friend. Broth is making me quesy. I am only able to tolerate on brand of protein shake Met-RX and it feels so good going down.
   — BigGirlSlim




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