Altered Taste

[Swanton_Bomb 522]

Many people report changes in taste after WLS, and there have been studies to support that. I wonder if it has something to do with the surgery itself, and changing hormone levels or if it is the result of being forced to stay away from certain foods during the recovery period (sort of like if you quit soda and then try one it tastes weird and not as great as you remember). Have your tastes changed, and if so, how? Are there things you no longer like, or stranger, things you like now that you never did?

[newmeinfla 92]

My taste buds have changed. Before surgery I could have sf Jello or pudding, sf popsicles and yogurt now I can not stand them. I have try but I feel they are way to sweet for me and just do not like the taste. I am only 11 post op, and still on liquids. Hope my puree phase I can stand egg, tuna and chicken salad that I can have.

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[Bryn910 519]

My taste buds have definitely changed. It isn’t that I dislike anything but after a few bites, food begins to taste off & weird. I use this as my way of knowing I have had enough to eat. The food I am eating legit starts tasting gross

[SueperGal 93]

The only thing that I have really been put off of from before surgery, are sweets. I loved the nectar powders mixed with fat free fairlife in the months before surgery. I tried one last week and I could only get a few drinks in before I had to pour it out :-(. I have had this struggle with everything sweet I have tried, including chocolate Premier Protein. I do not crave anything sweet anymore and I was an ice creamaholic in a previous life. Not a horrible side effect :-).

I have noticed that I feel more attuned to the flavors in things now, or better yet, the salt and/or chemicals. I eat a lot of meat and cheese roll ups. I have to go for the low sodium stuff or I feel like I am just eating salt. I have also found that I taste something chemical in some deli meats (maybe preservatives?). I have found this in a few other items as well, like sugar free drinks and even popsicles. Some things just taste off to me, especially if they are not natural.

Part of it may be that I used to barely even taste my food before I swallowed it. Part of it may be that I don't have cover ups for the flavors anymore. I am not putting my meat on bread or eating it with Condiments. Part of it may be the 8 weeks of liquids I was on between pre and post op. Part of it may be that I am eating so little now and I have to take so much time to chew that I taste everything. It is definitely interesting and not quite what I imagined when I saw people mention it when I was preop. It's all good, it is just making me shift towards different brands and be even more aware of labels and ingredients.

[CrankyMagpie 509]

I'm pre-op, so just reporting things I've read elsewhere, but there are apparently lots of people who can't stand the sweetness of standard Protein Shakes, post-op, and have to Water them down to be able to drink them. I sort of hope I'm in that boat; my sweet tooth is a problem for me, right now. And right now I don't like the Quest Protein powders unless they're mixed with milk (plus I have a nut allergy, so I can't do almond milk); it'd be great to be able to have them plain and not hate them.

[Frustr8 7,886]

Can you drink soy? If so that might be an option, more plant based. I buy some items at my,local health food store, Down to Earth. Have you checked the Vitamin Shoppe or GNC for alternative shakes. And in my state, Ohio, Giant Eagle, Krogers , Meijer, Target, Wal-Mart have good selections of items. Even 711,does, as well as RiteAid and probably CVS.And as a non-local source check things out at the Bariatric Pal, I'd go to Amazon last, why make that megalomania place richer? At least Bariatric Palcares about,Bariatric clients welfare.

[CrankyMagpie 509]

I just googled Fairlife, and that might be an option for me. I'll look at soy milk and rice milk, too, but iirc they're a little too high in carbs for me right now. (I've voluntarily started a low-fat ketogenic diet, so that I can reach my doctor's 10% weight loss goal for before my surgery. After the procedure I plan to be a bit more moderate in my approach to things. The irony that I'm more restricted now than I will be a month after surgery has ... not escaped my notice.)

They make peanut milk, now, too, which I know literally nothing about, except that it exists. I'll also have a look at that. I vaguely recall coconut milk won't work, but I might be mixing up Keto and WeightWatchers in my head? I'll look.

I'm only really invested in using up the Quest powders because I have them in my house right now, you know? When I replace them I'll try something else. People seem super into the Syntrax Nectar, so that's a possibility. And I liked Muscle Milk OK in the past. (I liked Premier Protein, too, but my team won't allow it because the first ingredient isn't Protein isolate. Other kinds of protein are, in their minds, inferior. Since there are so many options out there, I'm not going to fight with them about this.)

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions! And also, I'm with you on avoiding Amazon!

[AtlantaRed 651]

My NUT said things may taste too sweet. I did not have a preop diet, so I did not come off of sugar or anything like that. I'm having the opposite in that my premier chocolate shake tastes like Water and the sugar free Jello that I used to like, has no flavor at all.