Do things really taste differently? How so?

[kaytiebugs 0]

I've heard that your taste changes post op. Do things literally taste different? Or you're just wiser and want to make better decisions?

[Kat817 19]

I believe it to be some of both. One of the requirements post op is to chew your food VERY, VERY well. When you eat highly processed or high fat foods, and you chew them well, the taste literally changes as the food breaks down. For instance I took a bite of my granddaughters Little Debbie oatmeal Cookie awhile back, and by the 5th or 6th chew, it tasted like I had a mouth full of lard---the sweet was gone, it was not good!

On the other hand you find that real food, does not change how it tastes.....chicken turns to mush, but still tastes like chicken. Vegetables are the same way---they continue to taste the same first chew to the point of swallowing.

Another issue is aversion therapy. When you eat something that causes you pain, either because it is too hard for you to digest, or you eat it the wrong way, you tend not to want it again because it HURT!

I know part of it is actually my brain working and telling me I need to eat healthy---which has been my goal---but I truly believe that my tastes have changed. I have been without a fill for several months, I had it removed prior to surgery, and have yet to refill it----but still have aversions to foods I used to gorge on.

Good Luck!!

Kat

[Mariposa 0]

Yes food does taste different. I do believe its because you have to chew it well, very well. Instead of inhaling it like we use too. I use to eat tuna with no probs. Well I hate tuna, now! lol Its nasty! Now that I have to chew it forever. Dont care for burgers either. chicken is still good, ribs still good, potato's whether fried or mashed taste good and of course chocolate taste good! lol Veggies and fruits taste good, I think some junk food taste the same, but it depends on the junk ya know? I am becoming a picky eater!!! Thats crazy! lol

[chicamam1 1]

the thing that tastes the worst for me is unflavored Water. I have to have a crystal light in it. it takes very metallic because my breath is icky right now. I dont like tuna very well either. it gets too gritty chewing it too much. yuck. but i eat it once in awhile because it has great protien.

[Apples2 19]

I noticed that the brand of coffee I had drank for years tasted different after LB surgery. It took me awhile to find one that did not have an off taste. But, found it. Texas Pecan using no tap Water, only bottled. Now I'm hooked on it.

I also notice that I only crave food that I CAN have. Weird, huh? I used to love, love, love popcorn. Well, tried one of the 100 cal bags awhile ago and got stuck. Nope, not eating popcorn anymore....it doesn't even sound good to me.

Part of my job is to cook for our hired men. I bake and cook ALOT every day. I think I love cooking and baking more now than I did when I used to taste everything. I have no desire to have anything that I shouldn't.

[HeatherO 7]

I dont' really think my taste has changed other than after so much healthy eating I have begun craving healthy food. Sometimes I just want a little salad with feta cheese where I might have wanted french fries or something similar in the past.

Something tastes awful when you chew them to mush but are fine if you swallow them half chewed as before banding . . . that is certainly true.

Fatty foods make my mouth feel weird now and just don't taste as good. Sweets seem overpoweringly sweet now. I had a small sip of stale diet coke months ago . . . and gag, did it always taste that bad, lol??? However, I still think this is just my tastes adjusting to different dietary choices. I think you get used to whatever you are eating.

[Guest Leslie2Lose]

I don't think my taste pallet has changed as much as my cravings have changed. Everything tastes the same as it did to me pre-band, I just don't want a lot of the old foods I used to crave.

I crave milk now - especially after a good workout. I don't crave Pasta or high carb foods as much - mainly because I just don't eat them like I did pre-band. My body isn't looking for instant energy or to keep me going (which I think is why I wanted the carbs/sugars). I have energy now because I am lighter and healthier. I don't eat the processed foods I used to either. Don't get me wrong, I still want certain things every now and then; Zaxbys sometimes, chocolate, popcorn, Hushpuppies - those are my main cravings. I have them on occasion. Why those things? I'm not sure...like the milk.

[Jachut 487]

Not so much taste different (well for me anyway) but more that you go off some things.

Like pizza still tastes like pizza but when you've eaten it five times and each time was tedious and you had to chew till you nearly fell asleep and it gave you pain and pressue in the chest, and you just didnt really enjoy it that much, the sixth time you'll opt out of pizza. You start to associate certain things with unpleasant experiences and you just dont want them.

[flowers 0]

I cant tell any difference in the taste of food. I do know when I diet and stay away from fats and sugars, after a while if you eat something say high fat like a fast food taco, it didnt taste as good as before dieting, but no idea why having surgery would make food taste different??? That sounds wierd to me since there should be no way the band would actually affect the taste of food.

[speck 1]

I just don't want a lot of the old foods I used to crave.

I don't crave Pasta or high carb foods as much - I don't eat the processed foods I used to either.

I've been banded a month now and I just keep praying that the feeling won't go away.

I forgot to add that today I had a cucumber(seedless) for the first time with my tuna. I thought it was disgusting. lol

Edited October 7, 2008 by speck

[Brandy~ 2]

I don't think the flavor of food changes.. atleast in my case.

Since I never feel a hunger pang I don't crave things. I eat alot of different textures that I didn't before and flavors. When I eat I eat much more slowly and chew so much that my mouth takes in the whole flavor of the food.. Before as a volume eater it was as fast as I could shovel and I only had the initial flavors. I can season a piece of chicken now and taste the different flavors within the chicken and herbs. I love it and I really enjoy the flavors now instead of the volumes I could eat before. I call it taste trippin.

[thatDEgirl 1]

Things changed for me...especially drinks. I used to hate plain Water and now anything else is way too sweet.