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My sense of taste was out of whack for a few months post-op. And I've seen the question about changes in the way food tastes come up quite often on the board. This article was posted on WebMD - a UK hospital has evidence that it is pretty common to experience changes in the way things taste and smell after bariatric surgery. My personal theory is that since we are literally forced to give up sugar (between the pre-op diet and going through the food stages post-op), our sense of taste is reset and we're no longer under the influence of sugar and processed foods. Taste Changes Reported After Weight-Loss Surgery Sense of smell also altered for some patients in British study WebMD News from HealthDay By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, April 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- After weight-loss surgery, many patients report changes in appetite, taste and smell, a new study says. One positive aspect of these changes is that they may lead patients to lose even more weight, the researchers suggested. The study included 103 British patients who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, in which the stomach is made smaller and the small intestines is shortened. Of those, 97 percent said their appetite changed after the surgery, and 42 percent said their sense of smell changed. Taste changes occurred in 73 percent of the patients, especially when it came to sweet and sour tastes, the researchers found. They especially noted changes in the taste of chicken, beef, pork, roast meat, lamb, sausages, fish, fast food, chocolate, greasy food, pasta and rice. Nearly three-quarters of patients said they developed a dislike of certain foods, especially meat products. One-third avoided chicken, minced beef, beef steak, lamb, sausages, bacon or ham. About 12 percent had an aversion to starches such as rice, pasta, bread and pastry and for dairy products such as cream, cheese, ice cream and eggs, 4 percent to vegetables, 3 percent to fruit and 1 percent to canned fish. The researchers also found that patients with a newly developed distaste for certain foods lost an average of nearly 18 pounds more after their surgery than those whose taste wasn't affected, according to the study recently published online in the journal Obesity Surgery. Although the study found an association between weight-loss surgery and sensory changes, it did not establish cause-and-effect. The taste and smell changes experienced by many patients after weight-loss surgery may be due to a combination of gut hormone and central nervous system effects, according to lead author Lisa Graham, of the Leicester Royal Infirmary. She noted that patients considering weight-loss surgery are typically told about the possible loss of taste and smell. http://www.webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/news/20140418/appetite-taste-changes-reported-after-weight-loss-surgery

Happy Marathon Monday from Boston. We are BOSTON STRONG!! Info about Boston. The Marathon is always run the closest Monday to April 19th, that is Patriot's Day. In MA it is a holiday and also school vacation. Our spring vacations are not around Easter but this week only. The wheel chair racers started, then the women and finally the men. They have all started. This is a very important day in Boston. For WLS people, every day is an important day, why? because we are all running with our new journey. I am far from a perfect Bander. I eat wrong but my band does say, Arlene, stop eating. This past week I had two stuck dinners. Ate too fast and too much. But I am the marathoner and I will not let this stop my journey. I have been too good with the gym either and my legs were tired yesterday. I thought I would do 5 minutes on the bike. My friend was there, so we talked and before I knew it, I did 11 minutes. It felt great!! Today is my MIL's 91st birthday and we are taking her out for Japanese food for lunch. One of the steak house restaurants. I will have shrimp, a filet, veggies and a little rice and I will feel good about my choices. Well, I hope everyone in WLS land has a wonderful Patriot's Day. That was when the battle of Lexington and Concord happened. In June we have Bunker Hill Day. In March was evacuation day which was also St. Patrick's Day. Boston has a lot of history days. I went to Boston public schools and those were no school days. Enjoy the spring day. Arlene