Question:
FOOD TASTES AWFUL HOW LONG WILL THIS LAST

   — Hershal H. (posted on February 15, 2004)

February 15, 2004
Well I am almost 5 months out now and some things finally taste ok, but other things like breads still taste gross to me. GOOD LUCK!
   — Saxbyd

February 15, 2004
Sadly, not long enough! Hehe...you will begin to enjoy food again, I promise. Some people it just takes longer than others.
   — Rachael B.

February 15, 2004
I'm 1 year post op and food still doesn't taste like they used to a year ago. But, do I mind? Heck No! Actually, I don't relate to food as I did pre op with the help of a great therapist. I no longer need food as a support/crutch only to nourish my body now. I eat to live rather live to eat. Seeing a therapist was the 1st best thing I did next Lap RNY. Good Luck!
   — Hazel S.

February 15, 2004
The five of us in my family who have had RNY surgery all agree that food generally tasted and smelled "awful" for the first 3 months....then we simply didn't care about food at all for the next 6 months and just had to watch the clock during the day to remind ourselves that it was time to eat....then things started looking/smelling/tasting good for the next 6 months, but we still had no appetite and could "take it or leave it". Then, unfortunately, after about the 15-month-mark, appetite gradually returned and we completely understood the phrases about "the honeymoon period" and "the window of opportunity". You will have that first 15-18 months to completely change all those old negative eating habits that helped to make us obese to start with. That is the "honeymoon period" when nothing tastes good, smells good, looks good anyway. Hopefully, by the time your appetite returns....and it will....you will have adopted new and healthy eating habits that will maintain your new health, your new attitude, and your new figure for the rest of your life. Our surgeon told us that almost every WLS patient will experience a slight regain of weight after they reach their lowest weight. That is simply our body's way of "normalizing" itself after such a rapid and dramatic weight loss. However, he feels that any patient that regains more than 10-15 lbs. from their lowest weight, is likely beginning to graze and eat/drink "empty-calorie" foods. In other words, long-term weight maintainence is going to depend entirely on the "lessons" that you have learned in those early months, and in your ability to continue to follow the "rules". Your "pouch" will never hold as much food as your previous stomach could, but WLS patients can "eat around" their surgeries and gain weight in later years by going back to eating frequent, small portions of all the wrong things. Look at this time of everything tasting "awful" as the best classroom experience of your life. The eating habits that you develop now will be the ones that will maintain your weight loss for the rest of your life. Best wishes!
   — Diana T.