Hi again, I am nervous nelly... I have been reading A LOT of support groups and many people are saying that after surgery they hate food, food makes them sick, water makes them sick, certain foods they loved they now hate, certain drinks they loved and now hate. Is this a normal thing? What causes this? I have a plan and am preparing by trying different things and trying to figure out for example which protein shake I like best, which water flavor I like best, saving recipes to try from purée foods, to Frozen slushy drinks ( I live in Florida) to have to still get my water intake and help with nausea. I’m just worried all this effort will be for nothing? Am I wasting my time? Should I just wait until after? Do your taste buds change? What is happening?

Immediately after surgery, you have many of these issues, this is for a period of time, not forever. I found a protein drink I like, better on ice and it is Ensure plus. Two of those and a clear protein drink and I have my protein requirements. I dilute the clear drink with caffeine-free tea as it can be pretty strong. This is a life long process, not a one time fix.

Your taste buds change and they keep changing so don’t stock up on heaps of stuff presurgery

I agree with the above poster. Do NOT stock up on protein. Try samples AFTER surgery. I spent so much money and I couldn't tolerate whey protein after surgery. What a waste, I gave it all away.

Yes, your taste buds change, but you will find you love food after surgery. It takes awhile because eating at first can cause pain, but you will get more in eventually. Good luck!

Thank you everyone! I definitely will not be stocking up on anything until after. We will be traveling out of state for the surgery, will they provide samples or what should I try while in Atlanta? I won’t be able to bring it back on the plane.

9 hours ago, Deegirl31 said:

Thank you everyone! I definitely will not be stocking up on anything until after. We will be traveling out of state for the surgery, will they provide samples or what should I try while in Atlanta? I won’t be able to bring it back on the plane.

get packets of protein powder. You can take those on a plane (I've done so many times). The ready-to-drink ones (already mixed with water or other liquid) you can't, but powder - yes.

None of that happened to me. I have no trouble getting down protein or water and my tastes haven't changed that much.

I stocked up on chocolate Premier Protein shakes pre-op. After surgery they tasted so sweet I couldn't stand them, and poor hubby had to take them back to Costco. However, 2 months later they tasted great again and are now my go-to for a handy shake I can take to work when I don't get a lunch break.

I was a really big coffee drinker. I switched to decaf prior to surgery, but now I can't stand any coffee at all. Doesn't even taste like coffee. BUT..... I love herb teas now. Green tea used to taste so bitter and astringent, but now tastes sweet.

Used to love cod and eggs (I have my own chickens so the eggs are delicious), but just can't eat much of either now. My tummy revolts. BUT... I love salmon and calf liver. Both are easily tolerated. So go figure. Things change, but change isn't bad - just different. You will discover your "new you" after surgery and that includes new taste buds!

So I had same experience as @GradyCat—nothin much jacked with me except heavy calorie dense foods. My tastes did change in that I now crave healthy, clean, light foods. Still don’t eat many casserole type high cal junk—just don’t want it. Protein drinks did taste sweeter but that was easily handled. I just dilute the clear ones with water or tea and dilute the creamy ones with decaf coffee, decaf teas and Greek yogurt and cultured cottage cheese. NBD.

i have a firm philosophy with my self —it’s called “The suck-it-up-buttercup” defense. I went into the surgery with a hardline attitude that I wasn’t gonna allow my new anatomy to make me its little bi*ch. So anytime a food didn’t sit well I’d set it aside for a couple weeks then retry. I can now eat all.the.foods. I knew I wanted to get in, get out and get on with living my best life and didn’t want to get stuck in the attention/seeking loop that is our pre-surgery and post-surgery life. By definition we must focus selfishly on ourselves and I wanted to minimize that phase for the sake of my rl relationships.

I wasnt 100%perfect—no one is, but mindset is important and can make a difference to everything even post op food tolerances!!!

Edited July 20, 20197 yr by FluffyChix

I found when I had the band years ago, food and I had a different relationship. I only deserved the best, clean, protein-filled food. The other stuff was not my friend and it would not make me happy. My new life and energy made me happy. I'm about 10 days from surgery for the sleeve and on the pre-surgical diet, I see my head getting into the right place again. I am once again losing, feeling good about my control over myself and setting daily goals for healthy eating. Counting down on my new life.

On 07/20/2019 at 07:19, catwoman7 said:

get packets of Protein Powder. You can take those on a plane (I've done so many times). The ready-to-drink ones (already mixed with Water or other liquid) you can't, but powder - yes.

Oh great! I will get some for sure! Thank you for the suggestion I had no idea!

On 07/20/2019 at 09:41, FluffyChix said:

So I had same experience as @GradyCat—nothin much jacked with me except heavy calorie dense foods. My tastes did change in that I now crave healthy, clean, light foods. Still don’t eat many casserole type high cal junk—just don’t want it. Protein drinks did taste sweeter but that was easily handled. I just dilute the clear ones with Water or tea and dilute the creamy ones with Decaf coffee, decaf teas and Greek yogurt and cultured cottage cheese. NBD.

i have a firm philosophy with my self —it’s called “The suck-it-up-buttercup” defense. I went into the surgery with a hardline attitude that I wasn’t gonna allow my new anatomy to make me its little bi*ch. So anytime a food didn’t sit well I’d set it aside for a couple weeks then retry. I can now eat all.the.foods. I knew I wanted to get in, get out and get on with living my best life and didn’t want to get stuck in the attention/seeking loop that is our pre-surgery and post-surgery life. By definition we must focus selfishly on ourselves and I wanted to minimize that phase for the sake of my rl relationships.

I wasnt 100%perfect—no one is, but mindset is important and can make a difference to everything even post op food tolerances!!!

Thank you! Me too! My plan is go into this head first and to just do what I have to do! The eating thing just got me. Thank you for the advice!