Hello! I'm scheduled for surgery December 19th (YAY!) but I'm nervous about the pre-op and post-op diets. I am an extremely picky eater - and I don't like any vegetables. It's a major setback and always has been but I try to make up for it in other ways. I trick myself into eating vegetables by loading fruit on top of greens in a smoothie and that works well but I don't want to live off of smoothies forever (sometimes I really get bored of them). I'm wondering how likely it is for my palate to change after surgery, I've heard it happens for some people.

Any advice?

Hello! I'm scheduled for surgery December 19th (YAY!) but I'm nervous about the pre-op and post-op diets. I am an extremely picky eater - and I don't like any vegetables. It's a major setback and always has been but I try to make up for it in other ways. I trick myself into eating vegetables by loading fruit on top of greens in a smoothie and that works well but I don't want to live off of smoothies forever (sometimes I really get bored of them). I'm wondering how likely it is for my palate to change after surgery, I've heard it happens for some people.
Any advice?

I can't speak from a surgery standpoint (I'm only on nutrition class 1 out of the 7 required by my insurance) but I also hated vegetables and used to do smoothie. I started exercising vegetables better after going meatless for 6 months. Cleansing my palette of meat changed my tastebuds so much. I eat meat again but I enjoy vegetables more. Have you thought about trying veggie burgers? You may tolerate them better. Congrats on your surgery date and good luck!

Tastes do change - but work on it now. Have you given up all fast food? It is so loaded with stuff that you get used to craving those flavors. Have you stopped drinking soda? Soda made me want high sodium food like pizza.

Try roasting veggies in the oven. Slice up parsnips like fries, put on oiled parchment, sprinkle with sea salt and garlic and roast at 400 - there are other veggies you can do this with - look on the internet. Make a soup with chicken, white beans and kale - add italian seasoning. You just have to keep trying different things. Get a zoodler and make veg noodles. Learn to stir-fry. You can sneak chopped up veggies in meatballs too.

Like already mentioned, using spaghetti squash in placement of noodles. You can also get a spiralizer and use it for making "French fries" and "noodles" with vegetables. Personally, I love making cauliflower rice (bird's eye has a brand that comes in a steam bag) and cauliflower mashed potatoes. Honestly, we don't even notice the difference anymore, especially in stir-fry. You just have to find the milder flavor vegetables. Edamame ALOT of protein in it and it has a very mild "veggie" taste.

Vegetables are a super important part of our new lifestyle. This is where you are going to get a lot of your nourishment from after surgery. I was a vegetarian for three years, and love almost all vegetables now. I started with meatless Monday. I did all vegetables, fruits and grains on that day. I then did a two week juice fast after watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. That changed my taste buds for sure. I was so happy to eat after the two weeks that I actually ate a raw beet on my first day of eating food after the fast.

I have been eating lots of veggies ever since. Oven roasting and grilling are great for adding flavor to veggies. Roasted carrots, green beans, asparagus, beets, sweet potatoes, onions, and squash of all types are good. Try adding spinach, onion and tomato to egg white omelets. Ease yourself into other veggies by first starting with mixed veggies at lunch and/or dinner. Look up good recipes for thing like cabbage and collard greens. A pot of these can be spread over many meals.

Stuffed bell peppers and/or poblano peppers are really good. There are tons of recipes on line of that as well.

You have some time. Start now though. You do not want to go into your post-op diet not liking vegetables. Meat, cheese and eggs are great, but they will not be enough to nourish your body long-term.

Your tastes WILL change after surgery. The trick is to only introduce those foods that you want to keep eating. There will be a wonderful window of time when sweet is too sweet and salty is too salty. If you"push through" and eat the foods that don't taste good, and aren't good for you, your tastebuds will soon adapt, and you've missed an opportunity.

You may wonder why anyone would push through, eating junk they don't enjoy. Habits, cravings, social expectations, hunger, stress eating, addiction... all of these motivators are more powerful than your tastebuds.

I don't worry about whether you eat veggies now. It'll be a month or two postop before you are eating them much anyway. After weeks of protein shakes, dairy, and eggs... veggies will be a welcome addition. Just be sure you are open to trying them. (It may take multiple times, cooked different ways to figure out what you'll like).

Lots of people don't like fish preop, but crave it after surgery. That's a tougher one than veggies!