Everything tastes gross! Help!

[HoneyBeBrave 3]

I have had a number of complications including cdiff after surgery so I am behind on the food progression. Cottage cheese didn’t work well and the only thing I can stomach the thought of is yogurt. I have tried tuna, canned chicken, and gauc. Pre-surgery I would have gladly eaten it all but post-surgery it all grosses me out. Does this pass? Do I need to force myself to eat stuff so I can get past it. I can also no longer handle anything sweet. And the Protein Drinks aren’t working very well for me. Any suggestions?

[Frustr8 7,886]

Do you also think plain Water tastes bitter, surely, I Am Not,the only one who thinks so. 😋🍸

[Jessbear345 24]

The only way I can drink Water is with ice and very cold now. It’s going to be a trial and error to see what your pouch likes now. Just take your time. It took me some time before I found a new Protein Shake that I liked.

[HoneyBeBrave 3]

I’ve been living off sonic ice. I have seen some people say Water tastes bitter but for me it just makes me feel nauseous.

[elcee 3,341]

put some kind of flavouring in it

[Matt Z 4,139]

9 hours ago, HoneyBeBrave said:

I have had a number of complications including cdiff after surgery so I am behind on the food progression. Cottage cheese didn’t work well and the only thing I can stomach the thought of is yogurt. I have tried tuna, canned chicken, and gauc. Pre-surgery I would have gladly eaten it all but post-surgery it all grosses me out. Does this pass? Do I need to force myself to eat stuff so I can get past it. I can also no longer handle anything sweet. And the Protein Drinks aren’t working very well for me. Any suggestions?

Post-Op taste changes do suck... but they do go away. I'd say suffer through it to get what you need to for nutrition... as long as those items aren't causing any gastric issues, just taste issues, you should be fine. Lots and lots and lots of Water helps.

[GreenTealael 25,156]

Tastes may change but you can adjust flavors (seasonings) to your new standards if you make most things fresh (freshly made fish and chicken instead of canned may make a difference)

Safe Journey!

[AnnaWallace 35]

I'm not post-op but I dont tolerate most Protein Shakes or waters due to the taste and after taste. I have found a few things with Protein that I do like from Bariatricpal.com Try the nectar fruity drinks like the caribbean cooler, Fuzzy Navel, the Bariatric Fusion Meal Replacements like the Red velvet, Orange Cream, chocolate Peanut Butter. I also ordered the hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. It's a Protein Drink but it tastes just like real hot cocoa. Good luck!

[FluffyChix 17,414]

14 hours ago, HoneyBeBrave said:

I have had a number of complications including cdiff after surgery so I am behind on the food progression. Cottage cheese didn’t work well and the only thing I can stomach the thought of is yogurt. I have tried tuna, canned chicken, and gauc. Pre-surgery I would have gladly eaten it all but post-surgery it all grosses me out. Does this pass? Do I need to force myself to eat stuff so I can get past it. I can also no longer handle anything sweet. And the Protein Drinks aren’t working very well for me. Any suggestions?

Gosh so sorry about the c-Diff stuff. That's just brutal and it could also contribute to taste changes and food aversion.

I'm sorry you're experiencing this problem on top of everything else. My only thought to you is...it's kinda a compromise ok? Mind-set wise that makes it easier is to "Embrace the suck." And just move forward cuz realistically there will come a time down the road where everything tastes AWESOME SAUCE and you find yourself struggling with old habits and bad behaviors. LOL. So kinda make hay while the sun shines.

BUT... and it's a big butt...

You still have a responsibility to satisfy those needs that are gonna keep you healthy:

1. Fluid requirements

2. Vitamins/supplements

3. Protein requirements

4. Exercise/movement (ie walking)

And honestly, beyond those big 4, everything else is optional. Some how, some way, that is non-negotiable, you must drink a minimum (and it's a bare naked ladies minimum) of 64oz of fluid a day with ideally 36-40oz of those being Water. But it's more like 100-120oz of fluids daily.

You must get your Vitamins and supplements down some how, some way.

You must get your protein in (60-80g per day). If yogurt floats your boat? Why not. It's gonna help build your gut, but don't add sugar. Use Greek Plain Yogurt and add liquid stevia or some small amounts of berries, vanilla extract, etc. Sugar will only populate your gut with bad bacteria. Try kefir plain too. It will also help re-populate your gut. White Mountain Yogurt is a Bulgarian yogurt that has an excellent probiotic combination. Flavor these plain yogurts and kefirs with things like Walden Farms Blueberry and strawberry pancake Syrup, or SF DaVinci or Torani syrups or liquid flavored stevia. Also powdered Peanut Butter can add protein as well as yummy flavor. Maybe even use a tiny bit of smashed banana and applesauce (no sugar added) if you tolerate them.

Also, when you can, try adding small amounts of fermented veg. but that will be much later down the road. Much much later down the road!!!

Try adding just a small spoon of Protein Powder (any low carb/low sugar flavor) to your yogurt. Not so much that it taints the taste, but enough that it adds about 6g or additional protein per serving.

Also, try Fairlife Milk (high protein) and fortify it with either protein powder or Powdered Milk. Then make SF chocolate Milk using Hershey's SF Choco Syrup. But milk may give you probs after c-Diff...so you gotta balance it.

Try easy to digest Proteins like white fish baked in a foil pouch, or tuna mixed with cottage cheese. Try spices!!! (not hot spices, things like Everything But the Bagel Spice from TJoe's) Vary temperatures! If hot is hell, try cold, or room temp. Some how you will find what you can tolerate to the extent it allows you to have 60-80g per day.

I often think the people who develop lots of food aversions and nausea and taste changes are those who have gotten "too deep down the rabbit hole" of dietary ketosis. So they are semi-anorexic because of higher ketone levels in the blood. You change those levels by eating food. So yeah...you gotta eat through it to feel better...

Anyway, hope this helps!!! Take things slowly with the c-Diff gut. It's gonna take some time and figuring things out. Bone Broth is literally your best friend. As is small bites of things like avocado. Think baby. You have to reintroduce food like a baby tummy. pumpkin canned and seasoned slightly, butternut squash roasted, those kinds of bland foods. You can add tiny spoons of protein. Small amounts of protein powder added to everythign that goes down your piehole will allow you to get your protein in without as much angst. Also protein water helps too--dilute it and vary the temperature if you need to! Or make popsicles or ice cubes or slushes out of it with Sonic ice! You can do this. You just have to be creative. ((hugs))

Edited November 28, 2018 by FluffyChix

[sillykitty 10,727]

If you can't do sweet, then I really enjoyed some of the Soups they have here on BariatricPal

[notmyname 593]

My doc says that of something doesn't work for you, try it again in a couple of months. I wouldn't force yourself to eat stuff you can't stand. Some things that have worked for me:

Ricotta bake (google eggface's ricotta bake).

pureed black Beans with a bit of cheese

Lentils

Homemade cocoa (1c fairlife fat free milk, 1TBL unsweetened cocoa, 1 packet stevia)

eggs

white fish

yogurt - no sugar added (maybe try different flavors to cut up the monotony) - I like Oikos tripple zero and Chobani

Good luck - I'm sorry you're going through this.

[HoneyBeBrave 3]

Thanks for the advice. I really like the okios triple zeroes.