Just curious if any of you Decorators have had Weight Loss Surgery. I had the surgery last week (so thankful) but am struggling to combine my passion for cake decorating with the requirement of not consuming fat/sugar (just a little can make me really sick).

Not sure how to even taste something to know if it is "right". My taste has changed so much that even if I spit it out I'm not sure it would be accurate.

I have my first cake coming up next week and am just a little nervous about how it will go. I had just begun having friends and family ask me to do cakes (that is the extent that I want to do it) so I hate to lose the momentum.

Welcome to the other side of life first off! I am 4 1/2 years post op myself.

I had my surgery a month and a half after my daughter's 3rd birthday so I was off the hook as far as cake making for awhile. I do not remember making any cakes for anyone for awhile after surgery. Not that I refused but they didn't ask and I didn't offer I guess.
I know what you mean about the taste being off for yourself. BUT if you stick to your tried and true recipes, don't sweat it. Most bakeries can't or don't taste test everything they make. If it is a new recipe then I would ask a trusted family member to be your taste tester. I still to this day will not touch my buttercream icing because I no longer care for the taste. And because I don't measure the vanilla, each batch may be different but I assume that I eye ball it correctly and just go with it. I haven't had a complaint yet.
I am such a prude when it comes to sweets and things that while I bake up a storm because I love it so much, I find that I do it for the sake of doing it and seeing others enjoy it because I no longer care to put it in my mouth. I simply do it just for the "therapy" of doing it. Matter of fact at my best friend's daughter's birthday party this past weekend I decided to indulge in a cupcake. But upon removing the wrapper, I immediately took the buttercream and wiped all of it off. My best friend laughed at me and said "If we weren't all friends and family, everyone would think you are scared of your own icing and wouldn't want to eat it."
So, don't let the fact of what you are baking stop you. I find that I enjoy it more because it is no longer my enemy, it is my friend...
Gloria

I had WLS about 4 years ago and have not had a problem. In the beginning everything tasted unpleasantly super sweet to me so I needed to use the opinion of the people around me to help determine what tasted good. As far as dumping though, each person's sensitivity is different and I noticed that for me, if I ate batter/frosting I needed to eat a little protein to avoid getting the nausious shakiness. My tolerance has gone up the further out from surgery I have gotten so may for you as well (though as you can imagine, that's a double edged sword).

I had the lap band procedure done 2 1/2 years ago and haven't had any problems. I don't have any restrictions on what I can eat, I just can't eat as much... I guess it's different for those who have had gastric bypass.

I haven't had wls, but I have a medical condition called fructose malabsorption which means I can't digest wheat, fruit, and all forms of sugar except glucose. So,like you, I cannot taste my own cakes....even a little bit will make me really sick. I can't even lick my fingers!

As cookieelf said, stick with your tried & true recipes as much as possible. I rely on precise measuring, rather than tasting as I go along. When I do try a new recipe, I ask family members for their critique and find it helpful to ask specific questions such as, "Is the texture firm, soft, crumbly, silky? Can you taste the rum flavor? Does the chocolate taste too bitter? Is the mint overpowering? Would you prefer it with more filling?" That way I get better feedback, rather than just asking, "Does it taste good?"

I have 3 kids who are young adults, and they, along with their friends, are always willing to serve as taste-testers. DH specializes in tasting booze-soaked cakes! If no one is around, I've taken samples to neighbors, and they've never complained.

Baking is a fun hobby for me, and I love making people happy with a pretty cake or plate of cupcakes. I do it for the pure joy of it.

I have recently lost 70 pounds from diet and exercise, since starting this I have put on 30 pounds. So now instead of having only 20 pounds left I have 50!!! it is so hard to control it. Good luck, I wish the best!

Thanks so much for all the feedback! I have some "tried and true" recipes and will definitely stick with those. How do you handle not sampling? Licking fingers is a bad habit but one I have none the less. I am so afraid that just having the cakes around will tempt me. Of course, if just sampling cake once in a while were the only bad habit I had I wouldn't be in this situation, LOL.

I think I will use this experience next week as a guage to test my control. If I need to refuse someone for now, so be it. I will just tell them that date/event won't work for me (if they don't know about the surgery) but to please ask me again in the future.

Do any of you have any recipes that you have converted to be more WLS friendly?

Wear gloves. Licking your finger is less applying when it is off a glove.

Brush your teeth and use a very minty mouthwash.

Chew a very minty piece of gum.

Keep a healthy snack on hand, so that if you do fill the need to reach for something you can grab a carrot or celery stick instead.

Keep a sink full of hot soap water so that when you are doing using something you can drop it in instead of it laying there tempting you.

And when you trim parts off a cake, throw them away right away.

It really is about breaking habits and you can totally do that. It just takes being aware of what you are doing and choosing not to do it any more.

I haven't done the surgeries, but I have lost 30lbs in the last few years. I can't say my weight gain was because I did cakes, because I know I had and still have so many other bad eating habits. Just pay atttention to what you are doing. Are you licking your finger because you really want that taste of icing, or are you doing it just because it is there? I've so spit out stuff because once it was in my mouth I realised I really didn't want it at all.