Question:
Has anyone experienced a change in their taste buds post gastric bypass?

I am so happy; I am 1 yr post op down 85 lbs from 215 to 130 lbs and 5'3 1/4 inches. I just don't enjoy food anymore. Nothing tastes good. I used to love food. I am so grateful and I know it's a good thing, but I wonder if anyone else had this happen to them? I do take a Bariatric multivitamin, so I wonder if that could have anything to do with it?    — ellen L. (posted on July 20, 2004)

July 20, 2004
Yes, I have noticed that things taste alot differant. I am 4 1/2 months post-opand have lost 85 pounds.
   — poppink

July 20, 2004
I went through the nothing tastes good stage for about 6-8 mos following my WLS. I think the thing that amazes me is my tastes in food have actually changed. Things like dairy products I used to love, I can't stand any more and things I used to rarely eat, I now really enjoy.
   — Cathy S.

July 20, 2004
Yep, my tastebuds have changed. I used to LOVE seafood and now I just don't like it much at all - it actually makes me kinda' ill just thinking about it. Especially salmon. I used to eat salmon all the time and it's so darn good for you. I've tried to eat it three times and I just can't stand the taste in my mouth. I know what you mean about not really enjoying food that much anymore. I think I used to enjoy getting to eat bite after bite after bite of delicious food and now those bites are 4-5 instead of 20-30! and so it's just not as big a deal. I do crave foods but I get satiated very quickly and then wonder what was the big deal about the craving. Like ice cream, for example - I've always been a big lover of ice cream - still am, but now I can have 4 small spoons of it and I've had enough - actually I have to make myself stop there or I'll get really sick. Dairy makes me sick as heck now whereas before I could eat as much as I wanted. I, too, am grateful for this tool and for what it's done for me to change my relationship with food. Yippee!
   — [Deactivated Member]

July 20, 2004
My tastes have changed. I no longer like really sweet tasting things. I tend to like healthy food better than I use to. Food still tastes (too) good though! If it's those Bariatric vitamins, I should start taking them!
   — mom2jtx3

July 20, 2004
I think many of us experience taste changes. I used only like fish a little bit, now I'm addicted. I used to love cheese, now I can do without it. Sometimes it's for the best!
   — brinkman_d

July 20, 2004
I'm 17 months post op (2/11/03)and have only recently began to enjoy the taste of some foods. I had this metallic taste after surgery for many months. Be it the surgery and or a deep cleaning to my teeth I had several months post op added to the situation. More like I had tin foil in my mouth at all times. Whichever, food never tasted good. To this day I enjoy the flavor to some foods a tiny bit and non to others. I eat only healthy steamed/broiled/baked/grilled food. Actually, I only eat because I make it a daily routine too... I have never experienced hungar, since surgery. I really don't know what difference one multivitamin over another would do, when it comes to taste. So many find themselves experiencing this as a new post op. I really believe taste and hungar or primarly a head thing. I never had head hungar/missed or mourned the old foods from pre op. I love my fruits/vegetables and would choose these over anything.... 1st! I used to love food also,as a pre op, but only as a comfort thing. Seeking a therapist's help prior to my surgery helped me come to terms with deep seeded issues that caused me to abuse food to the point of my becoming obese in these last 5 years. But, thin or obese these issues have been with me from my childhood. With the issues gone and my Lap RNY.... I no longer see food in the same light. I eat to live rather live to eat. Such a wonderful feeling. We are given this window of opportunity to work our tool and get the max results. This given time is when we change our old ways and learn to live healthier by making the better choices with food & exercise. It is a lifestyle change for lifetime. I'm very happy and proud of myself also. I weighed 250 day of my procedure.... I'm 5'4" and 53 years young. lol I dedicated the rest of my life to remaining healthy by living a healthy lifestyle. I knew what being thin was, since I was most my life, but I never loved myself inside and out as I do now. Thanks to my therapist! My life has changed in so many positive ways due to me regaining my health. Loosing weight was the bonus. I was a size 26 and in 6 short months I had lost 107 pounds and was a size 6. By 12 months post op I was a size 4 and weighed 140. For my height and weight I should wear a size 8, but due exercise I had lost many inches/toned and was in a much smaller size. After my full TT (4/28/04)I have dropped to a size 2. The smallest I have ever been in my life is a size 6, so being a 2 is mind boggling. lol Enjoy your accomplishments, but never take them for granted. Work your tool and regain your good health and maintain it. Enjoy your journey as I have and will mind for lifetime. Congratulations!!!
   — Hazel S.

July 20, 2004
I had the same experience as Paula O. I can't stand the taste of salmon, though I used to eat it 2-3 times a week preop. I can eat and do enjoy most everything else though (darn it!).
   — Yolanda J.

July 22, 2004
My experience has been slightly different. There are some foods that make me gag because of the texture. I used to love shrimp, and every time I've tried to eat them, I gag. The smell of other foods make me nauseated. Makes me wonder if before surgery I just never paid attention to the texture or smell, or if it really is something different about me.
   — Chris S.