Food Smells Better Than It Tastes?

[ashley.wells@purchase.edu]

I feel like this was normal even before the surgery, but after the surgery, its so extremely difficult to pass like a NYC street vendor who is selling hot pretzels, or sweet nuts... the smells are amazing... but what about the taste? I can't imagine that the taste is as good...

I am a little over two weeks out and I've been eating organic low sodium fat free butter nut squash soups, vegetable soups (with teeny tiny veggies i can chew in my mouth), and some other soups... but I cannot taste them. I chose the low sodium for a reason - Most soups sodium levels are like between 300-800 mg...it's way too much for us who have had the sleeve; so I like to get the low sodium, or no salt added (so I can add my own to my taste)

But still...I am having a very difficult time tasting things. I can smell things and fantasize about eating some tuna or some lovely baked salmon with lemon sauce, but I can't taste it for the life of me. Anyone else having difficulty tasting what they are eating?

I made sure I was eating VERY slowly...It takes me like half an hour to an hour to finish 8fl oz of soup lol

[Lglow]

I agree! Things smell so good but I don't necessarily desire to taste them either. lol. I am eating regular now and do enjoy a few bites of food that I never thought I could eat again but its all in moderation now for my sleeve.

[Grace]

I think it's a matter of your brain noticing you aren't eating as much so it makes your sense of smell stronger to tempt you to eat.
Just a hypothesis....
And, no, those pretzels would NOT feel good....

[librajj]

I agree! Things smell so good but I don't necessarily desire to taste them either. lol. I am eating regular now and do enjoy a few bites of food that I never thought I could eat again but its all in moderation now for my sleeve.

So - you can eat a couple of bites as soon as 2 months out? Makes me a little more excited about Christmas dinner!

I'm not having any trouble tasting things. In fact it would probably be better if I couldn't taste as much! I can't stand much of the items I can eat - yogurt, cottage cheese - it would be nice if it was tasteless to me. Smells are killing me!! We walked by a Subway making fresh bread and all I could do was sit there and inhale the smell - I wanted to inhale the food, but I know better.

[Kay Black]

For me it really depended on the food. Some things still don't taste right, and others the taste is coming back. After I was allowed to drink coffee again (which I LOVE) it took until about 3 weeks ago, for me to finally say yum! Salty things are good to me right now, and I've heard that could be a lack in iron.

[jane_vsg_ayla]

I wish I were there with you - my sense of smell is now tied with my gag reflex... anything in a can sends it over the edge. I walk around trying to avoid any smell at all because I dont know what will set it off! :-)

[kitsonk]

For me things smell and sound much better before I eat them. I am getting better in the sense that I have "relearned" the smells and tastes that my stomach likes a lot and those things now "wet" my appetite, but for a long time, I would smell and desire things that I know weren't going to work for me. I still do wander around the grocery store trying to find something that interests me food wise. My biggest problem is that I live on my own 5 days a week, only spending time with my partner on weekends, which means that I tend to eat a lot of maintenance foods during the week (mostly nuts and cheese) because I know anything else 1/2 of it goes uneaten.