Do your tastes change?

Is it true that after the surgery you lose the love for food & your tastes change ?  

I have foods I love and I hope after surgery I never crave them again. I'm 8 days away from starting the pre op liquid stage.  Looking forward to the surgery but I'm worried I will still want to eat bad foods. 

My sister-in-law had the surgery 11/12, and I have an appt this Friday with a cardiologist (stress test found a slight irregular heartbeat) then it is time for submission to insurance.  Anyway, she said the way you look at food changes, taste buds do change.  I am in the same boat as you, hope it changes so the bad stuff (potato chips are my weakness) doesn't taste good.  But on the other hand, can possibly change it on the good stuff too.

Yes for some that's true. I was worried I would not like eggs. Thankfully I still love them and my pouch does as well. I was pleasantly surprised to find I like cottage cheese now! It would make me gag prior to my wls, but its so good for us, especially early post op, so I had to try to eat it and holy, it was great!

So far I haven't found many things I don't like, but each of us are different. Good luck on your journey 

Annette

I'm sorry but the surgery isn't going to cure your cravings. My taste have changed but not in a major way. For example I use to love Honey cured ham and turkey now I can't stand it, I like the smoked meats instead which I didn't like before. Some of the protein powders that I drank every day before surgery taste awful to me now.But I still have cravings, I catch myself reaching for my kids snacks or treats and have to stop myself. You just need to train yourself on how to stay away from all the bad stuff and eat the way that you need to eat. You have to learn to ignore the cravings if you do have them, give yourself a pep talk, find something else to eat. There are healthy alternitives to almost everything. Get you some SF Choc Pudding, SF popcicles or something similiar to that so that when the cravings for sweet**** you have something on hand to munch on.

Not true for me, food still tastes the same to me and I still love certain foods.   I have spent the last six years learning that I cannot always control some cravings, but I can find things that satisfy me without weight regain. 

I love strawberry ice cream.  I have an ice cream maker and make strawberry ice cream with frozen whole strawberries, splenda, lowfat Lactaid milk, vanilla and sugarfree cool whip.  It takes more time than buying ice cream from the store, but I can have a huge bowl of my ice cream for the same calories as a half-cup serving of the full fat and sugar stuff.  And the scale does not go up.

If I want potato chips, I can slice up an English cucumber and snack on that.  If I want lasanga, I can have a bowl of ricotta with some sauce on top.  Sometimes I will buy protein potato chips.  Instead of cookies, I have a Quest chocolate chip cookie dough bar.  Sometimes, I just want the real thing and have it.  There was no magic in the surgery that changed my taste buds.  Some people do report that certain foods no longer taste good to them.  I never experienced that part of the surgery.

Everyone is different, as you can see by the replies. I will tell you that I still love all the things I used to love (unfortunately), but I now like things I used to hate - which is great because they are all things that are good for me - onions, blueberries, cottage cheese, yogurt, and a few others.

Bottom line, you will probably still want to eat bad foods. The surgery is on our stomachs, not our heads. Some people are able to employ successful coping methods on their own, and some people enlist the aid of a therapist to help with this. The fact that you are concerned enough to ask about it shows you are already pro-active in this journey, and I predict you will do very well!

Not true for everyone, but true for some.  Other than the fact that I eat fried food very rarely because I taste the grease more than the food, my overall tastes have not changed a bit.  Just my eating habits and how often I indulge the the things that I love that aren't very healthy.  Don't COUNT on your tastes changing because chances are you will still have cravings and your favorite fat, sugar, and calorie laden foods will still taste good and you will need to exercise your willpower.

Lora

It's true for me!  I eat foods I hated before - yogurt for one - and can't eat anything even remotely sweet!  I usually drink plain water or hot tea. last night I was in the mood for something different, so I put some Crystal light into my water and I had to keep diluting it because it tasted s sweet!!!

I am only 2 months out but I don't think anything tastes good. There are a few foods I've thought sounded good, but they just have no pizzazz at all once I actually take a bite, and after chewing that bite to applesauce consistency I'm really tired of the taste. The only food I really like is ham and beans, and they're limited because of carbs. I had roasted Brussels sprouts last night, and they were good. Maybe because they're a strong flavor, and were so tender they almost melted in my mouth. 

Who knows what will happen down the road, but I'll be happy if it stays this way! 

Yup, mine changed! I now hate eggs, can't eat chicken, find potato chips repulsive and most dairy products, holy mackarel, they are a no-go. 

The good news is that if you try and eat the bad foods, you may find the reaction so horrifically violent that you'll never do it again. I, like many, have tested my pouch. You know - one bite of cake, just a tiny candy bar etc - then spent the next few hours on my knees on the bathroom floor PRAYING for death LOL as I dry heaved into a toilet. Once you go that route, it's pretty tough to ever look at that food the same way.