[Rev]

Eight weeks out and I'm up to 77 lbs lost. Twenty three lbs more to hit 100, and 30 days left before my first 90 days is up. My wife altered a pair of slacks to fit so they'd stay up, I had a belt shortened, and I've purchased suspenders (braces) to help keep the loose slacks in place. Hoorah!

Now, my concern: Almost none of the foods that I used to enjoy taste good anymore. Watermelon is great, but I prefer carrots and low-fat ranch to most meat now. I still enjoy hamburger, but even that doesn't taste as good as it used to. I went into dumping the other night after eating chicken with some home-made bar-b-que sauce that shouldn't have bothered me. My total food consumption yesterday was a protein shake, half an egg (deviled), watermelon, about 1 1/2 oz. hamburger patty with low-fat cheese, and sugar free popsicles. My wife is worried that I'm not eating enough, but I'm not hungry, nothing sounds good, and I feel fine. (Got a little winded leading music at church yesterday, but that's not unusual, even before surgery.) If I bend over, then straighten up quickly I get a bit light headed (had a flat tire yesterday, and while helping my son-in-law with the changing of the tire I got light headed doing so, but it was 103 in the shade, too).

Most of the things that have concerned us have turned out to be normal, but the eating thing is getting me down a bit. I apparently have a "medicine" breath that my wife wonders has something to do with changing my taste buds.

[DocSanae]

You breath--is most likely ketone breath, which is normal when you are going through starvation--and starvation you are going through, due to the restricted amount that you can eat. This can be improved by hydration. Water will help flush out the ketones from your body. How is your fluid intake, are you getting in at least 64oz? Now that it is getting hotter, you probably will need more than 64oz to prevent dehydration. Dehydration can also make food taste wierd.

It is very normal for you to find that foods that you thought tasted good don't any more. Most of these foods weren't good for you anyway, they are the ones that got you to where you needed surgery to correct a whole lot about your life. So, for the most part, these stuff not tasting good, is actually good for your body. Have you tried cooking with crock pots? Most people seem to do well with meats that are cooked in crock pots, so you should give that a try. There are a lot of crock pot recipes in the Gastric Bypass Recipe section, so check that out, and try a few things.

The light headedness is most likely what is called orthostatic/postural hypotension, so look that up. This is pretty common with rapid weight loss, your body can't keep up yet with the changes in circulation that accompanies weight loss (you lose a lot of mass, so the pressure from the tissues to the blood vessles are reduces, and also, the blood vessels that supplied the excess fatty tissues are now getting to be surplus) and a quick positional change is accompanied by a drop in the blood pressure that temporarily reduces brain circulation. Just taking care to move or change positions slowly, stand up slowly etc will improve this.

One other thing that needs to be take into consideration if you feel that you have no appetite at all is depression. A lot of people face this issue because food used to be their coping mechanism, or a soother for emotions, and losing this can be hard. If this is the case, you may need some professional intervention.

Also, you are getting in all the vitamins and supplements that you have been instructed by your surgeon, aren't you? If not, you need to stick rigorously to the program you have been give.

All in all, everything that you are experiencing is quite normal, and some one or another has posted about them in the past, so do a search with key words like ketone, hypotention, appetite etc.

[wannabe skinny]

rev - you are doing awesome, congratulations
as far as things just not tasting good - that is very normal ~ you will find new things to eat and eventually your taste buds will return to normal.

[MsVickie]

This is the worst breath to have and taste acutally. It will pass. It seems like your eating enough. Your wife will learn that you good eating what you are for now.

[MaggieEley]

You've already gotten some good advice here, so I'll just add that some of the things you are eating are, or can be, a bit high in sugar, which can account for dumping. Watermelon and barbecue sauce may be culprits there. Just keep getting in your protein first (about 80-90 grams), fluids second (at least 64 oz), then everything else on your nutritionist/surgeon approved list last and you won't have to worry about getting enough. Taking your supplements is very important as well, so don't forget those even for a day! Your tastes will change more than twice over time, then things will change again. I'm 5 months out, and I still have to be creative on some days to balance my nutrition with foods I can tolerate at any given time. Plain water is still the worst for me, no matter how slowly or at what temperature I drink it.

Good luck on your journey, and congratulations on your success!

Many Blessings,

Maggie

[ksummer19]

Just wanted to say you are doing a great job. It will probably take another couple of weeks before food taste good to you again. Hang in there it will get better.

[GinaGurl]

food didn't taste good to me either and i also had and sometimes have the breath good luck and you are doing a great job with your journey

[stylindi]

Ya this surgery doesnt come with a hard copy of whats good and not for each one of us. I still cant stand hamburger...but i can suck back a steak pretty efficiently. I cant stand paper coffee cups ( or coffee for that matter) anymore...i can taste the coating on the paper.Odd. I dont question. BBQ sauce: katchup,mustard and brown sugar...dude...
Thanks for asking that ..it made Doc provide me with a heap of answers. Like why do i have to hold on to the fence everytime i stand up in the garden? The neighbours were wondering why i kept yelling OH LOW BLOOD PRESSURE DAY!! Now i can tell them exactly why.
Try to not let this worry you or your wife , it passes. Stick to the protein and try lots of different things...ie seafood. It helps with hairloss down the line.

[klong]

Hang in there, it does get better. It gets repetitive to hear, but keep in touch with your doctor. I was very light headed and was suffering from extreme sensitivity to light. Turns out my blood pressure was down to 90 over 70, and I needed to come off my high blood pressure meds.