BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?

Subject: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 01:37 AM

Ever since I got out of Hospital 11 weeks ago, a rather strange thing has been happening....not awful or painful or even annoying.... just strange. If some remember, I told about having a cancerous kidney out on June 20th, and how pleased I was to have my life and all the good stuff back. Still am, although the almost fifty pounds I lost through being sick, has shot back on VERRY quickly (very close to the 220 I was at for several years). Probably some of that has been because I vowed never to puff another fag again......three months smoke free, 7.50 a pack, three packs every two days....Jeesus, that's a lotta money saved! Plus I can REALLY breathe again.

Nope, I'm very happy with my recovery....BUT.....my taste buds and choices of food are WAY out of whack. I used to LOVE (and eat very regularly)

Baked Beans (literally every day for breakfast) , Every kind of pasta, with all sorts of home-made sauces, Oatmeal (for breakfast). Lotsa soups (homemade AND Campbells), and tons of stews, stir fries, and caserole thingys. Ohhh, and the delicious Grilled cheese and "crab-flavoured" fish product.

NONE of these appeal to me the way they used to anymore (since the day I got home from the hospital). They don't make me sick or anything, I just make far more chicken, fish, beef, lamb, pork etc. on the Barbeque. (The Barbeque itself is new....I practically obsessed about one til I got it a few weeks ago) Oh....I eat lots of salads now and here's the REAL strange thing....I've had one Milkshake a day now since exiting the hospital....even bought a Braun mixer. I've NEVER drank milshakes before......maybe had twenty in my whole life....but now they taste unbelievably good.

As I say, it's not a big deal, but does anyone have any idea why there would be such a dramatic change in appetite? It's either connected to the kidney surgery, or the stopping of smoking....or is there something else I may be missing?

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Bert
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 02:53 AM

The only time that I've had drastic changes are when I first started cycling, I lost my appetite and started eating much smaller meals.
And another time when certain foods started tasting funny and the quack said it was stress.

When Tree stopped smoking it affected her taste and some foods that she had liked suddenly didn't taste so good.

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 04:12 AM

Now you've stopped smoking and your taste buds are recovering, maybe you don't need such 'over the top' flavourings to be able to appreciate your food.
Or maybe your body's trying to tell you what it needs, as it does with pregnant women, hence the reports of women eating such things as coal (although they are unaware of a carbon deficiency in their diet)

Nigel

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: mack/misophist
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 05:12 AM

I'm sure Mr Parsons has a point but when I quit smoking, about 4 months ago, I guess, My tastes underwent no such change. What the hell, as long as you're well, what does it matter?

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: MMario
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 08:26 AM

sometimes an appetite change can be a signal that your body needs certain nutrients;

most of your 'previous' food choices appear to be high carb (the seafood flavoured substitutes are about as high carb as any "meat" product can be); whereas your new 'favorites' tend more towards high protien - or rather low-carb (not always the same thing)

Perhaps it does have to do with the kidney and changes in your metabolism.

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 12:30 PM

Thanks folks...I'm checking the net for info....especially on the kidney cancer websites that Heather (naturally) bookmarked six months ago.

That thing about someone WANTING to eat coal is amazing, and Jeri mentioned (on the phone) to me about wanting to eat "chalk"(!!) at one time. The body IS truly amazing obviously, and I know very little about it. I'm gonna do some catching up over the next few weeks.

I DID use a LOT of heavy spices before (while I was still puffing) and use very little now. People were right!!

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 12:39 PM

I agree with Mmario. Are you feeling well eating what you are eating? I would trust the body. They say that if children had daily access to a fully-stocked buffet of all things good, they would choose each day what they actually NEED, absent any accumulated distresses over food.

Our senses of smell and taste are there for a reason. In my own recovery I have been through some pretty bizarre preferences. Come to find, after the fact, with research, that each one DID atually have a role in healing at that particular stage.

Right now it's cumin-- which actually is a documented anti-spasmodic, and THAT's why I can eat Indian and Mexican and not have a bad time digestively, whereas any of the same stuff MINUS the cumin, and I'm in trouble. Even the smell of the cumin works-- the essential oil used as aroma therapy-- because I am inhaling the healing thing and absorbing it through the nasal membranes and lung tissue, just as much as I would if I were using a nebulizer with a prescribed item.

So, enjoy, and keep exploring why each thing is important so you can use the cravings more intentionally.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: GUEST,Just Amy
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 12:42 PM

The disease where one eats things of no nutritional value is called Pica. It was very common during the Victorian era when woman wore those horrible corsets. Animals also get it and my dog had it when he was dying of cancer.

The reason so many people gain weight after they stop smoking is because more foods taste better.

Rick - congrats on getting the cancer removed and on stopping smoking. The rest is just gravy. Amy

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: allanwill
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 12:57 PM

Kendall

You're not pregnant are you?!

Allan

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Jeri
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 01:35 PM

Allan, I think you have your post-cancer former smokers mixed up.

Could have sworn I posted in this thread! I nibbled on chalk as a kid, but my real fondness was for library paste. Heck, it was healthier than lead paint chips!

As to gaining weight after quitting smoking, it isn't just that foods taste better. Smoking surpresses the appetite and also the metabolism. Your body doesn't use food as efficiently.

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: allanwill
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 01:50 PM

Whoops - sorry, I meant Rick. Now, why would I have Kendall on the brain?

Allan

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 01:56 PM

Allan, I'll leave you to your fantasies!!

But no, I ain't pregnant!!

This is very interesting....thank you.

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 02:04 PM

When I was a little kid, I used to pinch our dog's biscuits sometimes. Spillers Shapes, which came in a bunch of flavours, including black charcoal ones. Quite tasty. I didn't like the fish-flavoured ones though. Gave them back to our dog. He was very good-natured about this kind of thing.

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Llanfair
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 06:08 PM

I haven't been able to eat anything with garlic in it since I stopped smoking, even the smell makes me feel queasy!

Pregnancy changes a lot of likes and dislikes, it's like occupying a different body, but the loss of a kidney MUST change the balances of nutrients in the body, thus changing your tastes.

Also, it takes 6 months for the anaesthetic to be totally eliminated from the body, so that may have some bearing on the taste changes, too.

Cheers, Bron.

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: GUEST,Glade
Date: 28 Sep 02 - 05:24 PM

Happy to hear you're feeling good, Rick. First, let me say that I, also, believe in trusting your body's cravings. And now here comes the caveat.

You've had a kidney out - when there is a reduction in normal kidney function, physicians often recommend a low-protein, low-sodium diet to ease stress on the damaged or remaining organ. Please, please check with your doctor about your new diet since it's high in protein.

Don't know what a Barbecue is exactly (a grill?), but if you're preparing fresh meat on it without breading, sauces, etc., that should be fine. When you buy processed meat (lunch meat, frozen or canned dinners) the sodium content goes sky high. I was surprised to find how little sodium a "normal serving" of fresh meat of any kind contains. The sodium content of a glass of milk is a little higher.

Depending on what your doctor says, you may want to buy a food counter - a book that lists the nutritional content of foods, sometimes by brand names.

Best wishes for your continued recovery, Rick.

Glade

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 28 Sep 02 - 05:26 PM

It was a very long operation Bron, so some have said that the anesthetic will REALLY hang around for a while....and hence may cause some appetite changes.

Thanks McGrath....that explains SOOOO much! I think Heather may also have eaten dog biscuits..is it a Scottish thing?

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: alison
Date: 29 Sep 02 - 02:58 AM

I would say its the cigarettes...... stuff tastes better

when I was pregnant I lost my sense of taste... the only thing I could taste was tomato.....everything else was just "hot" or "cold"....

when I had to cut salt out of my diet everything tasted very bland..... then the tastebuds sorted themselves out again and things taste so much better..... now I get pissed off that restaurants insist on pre-salting my dinner before it is served, (you don't notice until you've cut it out).....

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: SINSULL
Date: 29 Sep 02 - 09:55 PM

I have been known to go "off meat" - unable to even endure the sight of it. My strangest food craving is sauerkraut. I wake up in the middle of the night and eat it cold out of the can. One year, a friend gave me 25 different kinds of sauerkraut to help with the craving. Did my body crave salt or iron? Does it matter? Go with it.

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 29 Sep 02 - 10:02 PM

Rick,

Does this mean I've lost a Currie & Roti partner? Have you started craving onions?

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 12:32 AM

Well, just remember Steve it was the LAST Roti from you that REALLY GOT MY ATTENTION doctor-wise!

But actually I think I could handle another one just fine!

Cheers

Rick

P.S. I've started to cut back on the milk shakes since putting this thread in. It's bloody HARD too! I'm substituting orange juice......gotta do something or I'll be the size of Oregon by the time of the FSGW!

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 07:50 AM

Rick,

I think that Tony has mystical qualities about his abilities to combine Chicken, spuds and currie into something that is really special, but it seems that now he has also saved a life in a round about way.

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: MMario
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 08:18 AM

Rick - try orange julius's; oj, crushed ice and a bit od dried egg white powder. the egg white gives it "body"

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: Peg
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 12:12 AM

my sister ate dog food as a kid; the dry kind not the canned stuff!
and I remember at least once having a craving for the sandy, gravelly soil in our neighbor's driveway...dogs and cats eat grass...heck, they say that westerners are the only people in the world who don't regularly eat bugs! (though we are fond of bottom feeders and insect-like things like lobsters and crabs).


Rick, it sounds like your body is adjusting to its newfound ability to taste and smell! Congratulations on quitting smoking. Most friends I know who have done so experience a rejuvenation of their palate. I'd agree with the suggestion that loss of a kidney is a good reason to keep meat consumption moderate...also the kidneys like lots of fresh fruits and veggies to keep them flushed out. Watch sugar consumption, too and of course diuretic stuff like coffee and alcohol. (Lots of diabetes in my family and the kidneys are vulnerable so I have learned to watch what to do for them)). If your urine is relatively clear you're doing things right (sorry to be graphic but it's what all the books and docs say).

good luck and eat well!

Subject: RE: BS: Weird Appetite changes....why?
From: GUEST,Obloquy
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 03:14 AM

All the meat-eating smokers I know (myself included) tend to oversalt their food. We burn out our tastebuds, and alter our natural appetites.

Some of us eat dog biscuits as children, and some of our children refuse to eat much of anything but hot dogs and carrot sticks.   There's nothing wrong with either of those things that an occasional balanced meal or Flinstones Chewable won't take care of. It really is amazing how our bodies try so hard to take care of us.

Don't be freaked out by your appetite changes, but certainly pay attention to them, and learn what they might mean. Eat what you want, but pay attention to how it makes you feel- before, during, and after.

e.g. Before- was there something else you can think of that would satisfiy the same craving? What are their similarities?
During- when you get it, does it satisfy the craving? Pay close attention to see how it feels.
After- Are you still hungry? Are you tired? Refreshed? Dehydrated? Bored?