Regaining Taste
While recovering from COVID, I lost my sense of taste and smell for 35 days. Over this period, I lost weight at a rate of ~ 1.5 kg per week. I lost weight because I enjoy eating. When you are sick with COVID, food tastes like water. Drinking water past the point of feeling full is unpleasant.
Normally, eating provides two distinct benefits, nourishment and pleasure. Once you lose your sense of taste, eating past the point where your stomach is full feels downright nauseating. I realized that less than half of what I ate when I was healthy was required to fuel my body. The rest was simply hedonism.
For the first two weeks, I thought I’d try to use my lack of taste to my advantage by eating cleanly. Not surprisingly, after about two weeks, I caved in and went to grab a slice of pepperoni pizza. I sat down outside in the make-shift booths erected for outdoor dining to comply with COVID restrictions, ordered a slice and water, and once the server arrived, I sniffed the pizza; nothing. Still optimistic, I folded the slice and took a bite; nothing. Undeterred, I ate more, hoping for a glimpse of something other than the taste of water. Deliberately, I used my tongue to explore all around, longing to detect a trace of the pleasure that I knew was in there. Nada. Water, water, everywhere and only it to drink.
Last week, I prepared dinner for Sophie and quickly noticed a change. I could smell the mapo tofu I had boiling on the stove! Just like that, out of nowhere, my sense of smell came back. I grabbed a spoon and sampled the sauce. Wow, I used way too much salt!
Though I could only taste the tofu at about 10% of my usual taste clarity, I knew I turned the corner. At this point, I have about 60% of my taste back. My normal appetite has returned, and I’m regaining some of the weight that I lost. I’ve learned that smell, taste, and body weight are deeply related. Weight gain is a side effect of our tastebuds and our will to indulge them.