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Wed 30 Jul, 2008 09:28 am
I've been under the weather since Sunday (Really on ill Sunday, slowly feeling better each day)
I wouldn't say I have a lack of appetite exactly, more like nothing tastes that great so hardly worth thinking about eating. My taste buds are just turned off.
Don't worry, I've been eating all the right things, but only because my stomach tells me it's been empty for awhile.
If I kept this up, I'd probably take off 10 or more pounds.
I wonder if there's something that could safely turn them off for enough time to take off weight, by only eating because your body tell you to?
I know spicy foods curb your appetite at an idividual meal, but I mean in general.
I remember when I first started taking zoloft my appetite went away for awhile. It was great. Sometimes I'd be hungry and think "so I'm hungry. doesn't seem worth the effort to eat something"
Re: Is there a way to "turn off" your taste buds?
Chai wrote:I wonder if there's something that could safely turn them off for enough time to take off weight, by only eating because your body tell you to?
I've a friend on chemo that's been affected this way. Doesn't seem worth it....
yes, that does seem a bit drastic.
I suppose if I get a craving I could go read something written by argote, spendius or hawkeye.
that should put me off my feed.
Chai wrote:I wonder if there's something that could safely turn them off for enough time to take off weight, by only eating because your body tell you to?
I was at a party once where a friend was telling us that since taste and smell are closely related senses (a quick Google search pulls up a site that claims 75% of what we experience as taste actually comes from smell... maybe a biologically knowledgeable person here can verify), hampering one's sense of smell will drastically hamper one's sense of taste. To show this, he had us all plug our noses and take a sip of wine. Most people reported that the wine nearly tasted like water. I wasn't so sure--I could have sworn it tasted more or less like wine, but maybe my skepticism was playing psychological tricks on me. Maybe you should give it a try! Before your next meal, try to block your sense of smell with a swimmer's nose plug or something, and see if that does anything.
Also, letting ice cubes dissolve on your tongue supposedly deadens the taste buds temporarily, though I don't think the effect lasts very long.
Except my ears get plugged if I swallow while pinching my nose....
I am going to put on my Speedo Nose Clip tonight when it's supper time.
This might work as well....
It'll be mighty hard to eat with that thing on, but at least your eyes will be protected from lemon juice or food projectiles.
Sounds kinky! (Or maybe I'm sick in the head.)
I'd say, as was suggested, plug your nose. You can also drink water at the start of the meal. It doesn't turn off the taste buds but it does help with filling up. Also, eat more slowly, letting the brain/stomach get the "I'm full" process before more than the minimal amount of food actually gets eaten.
Old dieting tricks.
Shapeless wrote:Sounds kinky! (Or maybe I'm sick in the head.)
Those two are not mutually exclusive.
I once saw a study that claimed if people sniff peppermint oil it seems to take away feelings of hunger, especially if the eating is more emotionally driven. Can't hurt.
Radiation works, as I understand it, from comments re the serious chef in Chicago with tongue cancer.
He had the tongue cancer before the radiation, I presume. If not, I'll just forgo the treatment.
I've heard that if you pinch someone's nose and cover their eyes they can't tell the difference between a piece of apple and a piece of raw potato...
That's a weird and tough story and I don't mean to make fun. But he's been continuing chef-ing with little or no taste ability, relying on his crew who know his takes. I wish him well for sure.
As we would wish anyone well who tries to negotiate rough waters with secondhand knowledge...
OK, a link, and maybe not the last article I've seen -
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/12/080512fa_fact_max
Excruciating, given his interests and abilities.
I can't even smell, but I can work up to imagining being him.
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