This post is gonna sound fake as hell...and like the kind of post I'd wince at reading last year.

"Oh good grief...don't be such a liar! Seriously?!! Oh, come on!!" is kinda what would be going through my head.

But I swear on huskies everywhere...I'm being dead honest. (and I really, really like huskies)

Ok...here's the deal...

I love oatmeal now.

Like...it's one of my favorite things in the world to eat. It tastes amazing to me.

And I've hated it my whole life.

Now? I can't get enough of the slimey crap. I want to top it with nuts and apples and peaches and blueberries...and make it all fancy...because it's honestly delicious to me now.

And I had mashed potatoes the other night...which I have always loved....and they tasted...kinda blah to me...like damn, why did I love these so much? I didn't want the quarter of a cup that I put on my plate. They just seemed utterly Meh.. Same with french fries....which used to be a favorite. I just don't really care much about them now.

Sugar is different. I still love sugar. And I've tried a little bit..and wanted more. But if I eat anything more than two bites, I feel crappy. Like nauseated and just rough. I want a glass of water and to just sit for twenty minutes. Like mild dumping syndrome. I still love sugar...but sugar hates me and the conditioning is working. I don't want it anywhere near like I used to want it. A cookie doesn't look like five minutes of joy anymore....it looks like twenty minutes of yuck. Sometimes I'll have a nibble...and run away before the sugar monsters sicken me.

I crave apples with peanut butter. But I don't like Jiff anymore. I used to love Jiff. Jiff tastes waxy and creepy sweet now. I like that weird healthy ground peanut butter with no additives. That stuff...on an apple...is heaven.

I don't crave bread anymore. Bread kinds hates me and gets stuck a little more than other things even when I chew really well. It holds little satisfaction.

I want olives. And blasamic vinegar. And fresh basil. And homemade humus. And honey lime chicken.

I don't crave fast food...at all...it even smells gross...which is astounding to me. I loved fast food.

I love protein bars. It's like candy...without the sugar monster to make me sick afterward. I cut them up into four 50 calorie pieces and use them as "dessert"

I hate eggs and ham...which sucks because I used to really enjoy them.

and I know how contrived this all sounds...and a fair number of people will think I'm spewing bullshit or wishful thinking or something....but I'm serious as a heart attack. Your cravings change. And the things you like might be WEIRD.

What the hell did the aliens do to me?

I recognise so much of this.

Tonight I am out of town, meeting people - one has a grandchild with her, so MacDs was arranged. Everyone eating. I loved a Big Mac - tonight I ordered a burger, opened it, ate half a beef patty for protein but yum. I REALLY wanted lettuce and tomatoes and light things. I can honestly say I have never ever ‘wanted’ that sort of food before this month.

I wanted pizza. Fast food. Not I want light, fresh. I want subtle taste, not a 150g bag of crisps. I am not craving sweets, fries, biscuits, buns at all. Nor nearly as much salt. Seasoning with chilli or chipotle - I want less flavouring. Drinking - I want lightly fizzed water, 20% light cranberry - don’t miss my usual apple cider (sweet sweet) at all.

I am finding this basic shift in my food desires quite mentally disconcerting! Do you think it will settle, and we’ll revert?

Agree on so many levels. Things I used to not enjoy I do. Things I used to love I hate, but typically those are things such as fast food, fried foods, sugary things, etc. One thing I take pride in is that I haven't had a McDonald's cheeseburger in over a year, and that used to be at least a once a week thing for me. I've eaten there a handful of times being out on the road with friends but have kept it to salads or chicken tenders. Otherwise fast food is a thing of the past.

Veggies haven't changed much for me, but cravings for things I used to go crazy for such as breads or pastas are gone. Every once in a blue moon I get the urge for bread, and I may have a small piece, but that's it. And again I'm okay with that and don't feel like I've lost my best friend.

My weird craving thing now is mixed nuts. I've always loved peanuts and any sort of mixed nuts container, but now it's like crack to me. I don't let myself have it that often but that's now become as much a treat to me as it used to be having half a cake.

I can agree with this as well. The smell of fast food makes me feel nauseous. And I loved, I mean LOVED fast food before surgery. I don't crave it. No bread or pasta cravings either. The thing i miss the most right now. Is Salads. And I'm craving raw veggies like crazy. I still have a month or two before i can try to introduce those. I cant wait.

26 minutes ago, Holls06 said:

I can agree with this as well. The smell of fast food makes me feel nauseous. And I loved, I mean LOVED fast food before surgery. I don't crave it. No bread or Pasta cravings either. The thing i miss the most right now. Is Salads. And I'm craving raw veggies like crazy. I still have a month or two before i can try to introduce those. I cant wait.

I've always liked salads, but damn I love them now...lol. That was one of those strange cravings I had as well after surgery. When I was finally approved to have them I was so happy. Luckily those were foods (veggies as well) that have never really bothered me after surgery.

I haven't tried most non protein foods that I would have eaten before to test everything out - but I definitely feel like things have changed too. I used to crave things like chips, bread or other carbs. I have no interest in bread now, it just doesn't have any particular appeal, same with chips. Same with sweets, i was never hugely into them, but I'd want cake or whatever. We've had a bunch of birthdays so I've tried a little cake and a tiny bit is ok, any more and I also feel sick. It's not something I crave at all. The protein shakes drove me nuts and powerade is tough to drink daily because of the sweetness. I think one of the biggest changes for me is that everything tastes too sweet. I'm hopeful fried food doesn't agree with me. I haven't tried it yet, but that is something I'd like to live without if I can... pizza too for that matter

What I do crave is salt. i really want ANYTHING salty. I really like nuts, but more than 1 oz makes me feel sick. I really like water with lemon, unsweetened tea or cocoa and can't stand artificial sweeteners. I used to drink seltzer, but don't miss it at all.

The surgery definitely has changed my relationship with food. It's hard to describe, but before eating something bad would be amazing, like air for a drowning person. It would feel so good for a minute or two. Now the magic is gone. Food is just fuel and I can take it or leave it. For now I'm happier that way.

1 hour ago, orionburn said:

I've always liked salads, but damn I love them now...lol. That was one of those strange cravings I had as well after surgery. When I was finally approved to have them I was so happy. Luckily those were foods (veggies as well) that have never really bothered me after surgery.

Thats great! I have always loved salads as well. They are def something i am looking forward too and i hope my stomach likes them as well.

52 minutes ago, Losebig said:

The surgery definitely has changed my relationship with food. It's hard to describe, but before eating something bad would be amazing, like air for a drowning person. It would feel so good for a minute or two. Now the magic is gone. Food is just fuel and I can take it or leave it. For now I'm happier that way.

Same here! Eating used to be something i enjoyed. Now i just eat because i know i need it to be healthy. I am learning to eat to live not live to eat.

This is so exciting! I have my surgery in 12 days and last night I ate McDonalds thinking I will be sad not to ever eat it again. I hope to not crave their French fries anymore! I want to start liking onions and peppers because I currently hate them! lol.

7 hours ago, Holls06 said:

Thats great! I have always loved salads as well. They are def something i am looking forward too and i hope my stomach likes them as well.

Wait....what?. I am only 2 months out and I eat a small green salad most nights. I never heard this was off limits.

43 minutes ago, doug548 said:

Wait....what?. I am only 2 months out and I eat a small green salad most nights. I never heard this was off limits.

Fear not - surgeons and teams vary widely in what they do/do not let you eat and when. I was having finely cut salad while still in hospital - others have liquid and purée for weeks. Just follow your team’s advice...

14 hours ago, doug548 said:

Wait....what?. I am only 2 months out and I eat a small green salad most nights. I never heard this was off limits.

Yes per my plan, no salad or raw veggies til 2-3 months post op. Im a month out so in another month i will slowly try a salad.