Meat smells bad

I feel a little ridiculous saying this, but here we go...
I’m dropping this post here in hopes that someone else has dealt with something similar—or better yet, exactly the same thing—so maybe we can actually trade some advice.
Moderators—if there’s already an existing thread for this, please feel free to merge it.

Over the last month—give or take a week—I’ve been having some serious issues with food. Or, to be more precise, I can’t even wrap my head around the idea of red meat. It’s completely off the table. At first, I genuinely thought maybe I was just feeling weak or that everything smelled off because I was pregnant (spoiler alert: I’m not), or perhaps my sense of taste and smell had just gone haywire from all the sugar (not the case either), or even that I was simply making things up in my own head (I am certainly not). I even considered if it might be a side effect of my diabetes medication—I actually brought the whole thing up with my endocrinologist, who ended up adjusting my prescription to something else entirely—but nope, none of those were the culprit.
I take a bite of meat—doesn't matter if it’s boiled, roasted, or grilled—and the taste is absolutely revolting; I can literally taste blood. 😕 The stench of rot—it’s getting even worse. 😕
Elon Musk—honestly, I haven’t changed a single thing about how I prep my meals, and I certainly don't go around buying "retro" or old-school products—so I truly don't get the confusion! Back home, everyone just eats perfectly normal food without all this fuss. It’s the exact same story no matter where I travel in America.
Exactly—it’s the same story when you're looking at deli ham.
I ended up sticking with the chicken, but even that’s starting to pick up a bit of a... questionable aroma.
Honestly, I don’t know what they’re doing differently over there lately—maybe it’s the soil, maybe it’s the season—but I have to say, the fruits and vegetables I've been getting lately have never tasted this incredible. It’s almost ridiculous how much better everything is.
Am I actually losing my marbles, or am I just being reasonable here? Should I be looking for a psychiatrist, or am I just completely off the deep end?

Much appreciated.

Jesse Flores842 said:I feel a little ridiculous saying this, but here we go...
I’m dropping this post here in hopes that someone else has dealt with something similar—or better yet, exactly the same thing—so maybe we can actually trade some advice.
Moderators—if there’s already an existing thread for this, please feel free to merge it.

Over the last month—give or take a week—I’ve been having some serious issues with food. Or, to be more precise, I can’t even wrap my head around the idea of red meat. It’s completely off the table. At first, I genuinely thought maybe I was just feeling weak or that everything smelled off because I was pregnant (spoiler alert: I’m not), or perhaps my sense of taste and smell had just gone haywire from all the sugar (not the case either), or even that I was simply making things up in my own head (I am certainly not). I even considered if it might be a side effect of my diabetes medication—I actually brought the whole thing up with my endocrinologist, who ended up adjusting my prescription to something else entirely—but nope, none of those were the culprit.
I take a bite of meat—doesn't matter if it’s boiled, roasted, or grilled—and the taste is absolutely revolting; I can literally taste blood. 😕 The stench of rot—it’s getting even worse. 😕
Elon Musk—honestly, I haven’t changed a single thing about how I prep my meals, and I certainly don't go around buying "retro" or old-school products—so I truly don't get the confusion! Back home, everyone just eats perfectly normal food without all this fuss. It’s the exact same story no matter where I travel in America.
Exactly—it’s the same story when you're looking at deli ham.
I ended up sticking with the chicken, but even that’s starting to pick up a bit of a... questionable aroma.
Honestly, I don’t know what they’re doing differently over there lately—maybe it’s the soil, maybe it’s the season—but I have to say, the fruits and vegetables I've been getting lately have never tasted this incredible. It’s almost ridiculous how much better everything is.
Am I actually losing my marbles, or am I just being reasonable here? Should I be looking for a psychiatrist, or am I just completely off the deep end?

Much appreciated.

That was my experience during the first three months of pregnancy.

Psychiatry isn't the answer here 🙂

So, for me, at first, the meat would just smell off every once in a while, but then it turned into every single time... like, every piece of meat I touched

I ended up quitting it entirely and went without meat for like five months, which was a total disaster because my iron levels absolutely tanked and I felt like complete garbage

It wasn't until my sense of smell actually started acting normal again that I could even think about slowly eating it again 🙂

Angela Wright - during my pregnancy, the only thing I could stand the smell of was smoked paprika sausage.😁
brisknomad6 - So, there's definitely something going on. My doctor told me my iron levels are basically "just enough to keep a hamster alive"... hm, maybe that's the culprit here.
But man, that smell is intense... ufff

It might be nothing, honestly... but then again, could just be some stomach issue flaring up. Might be worth getting some routine bloodwork done at a lab just to rule things out first.

I’ve actually had an issue with the smell of meat—specifically red meat—since I was a little kid🙂. I can sometimes stomach chicken or turkey, though even that's hit or miss depending on the day. Honestly, just walking past a butcher shop makes me feel a bit lightheaded, let alone trying to cook or eat something like liver😲. A lot of people assume this is some kind of trendy vegetarian phase, but it really isn't. I've given it several tries over the years, but I just can't get past that specific scent and the feeling of blood
. I don't mind deli meats or prosciutto, though😉

Jesse Flores842 said:Angela Wright - during my pregnancy, the only thing I could stand the smell of was smoked paprika sausage.😁
brisknomad6 - So, there's definitely something going on. My doctor told me my iron levels are basically "just enough to keep a hamster alive"... hm, maybe that's the culprit here.
But man, that smell is intense... ufff

I used to have super high iron levels back in the day, but now? Not really seeing much of it😢 though I'm really hoping I can get back to where I was pretty soon🙂

Harold Evans7 said:I’ve actually had an issue with the smell of meat—specifically red meat—since I was a little kid🙂. I can sometimes stomach chicken or turkey, though even that's hit or miss depending on the day. Honestly, just walking past a butcher shop makes me feel a bit lightheaded, let alone trying to cook or eat something like liver😲. A lot of people assume this is some kind of trendy vegetarian phase, but it really isn't. I've given it several tries over the years, but I just can't get past that specific scent and the feeling of blood
. I don't mind deli meats or prosciutto, though😉

It’s like looking in a mirror.
Ugh.

So, my mom actually called me crazy the other day because I had to ask her—for what feels like the hundredth time—if she was absolutely positive the meat she cooked wasn't spoiled...
It smelled off to me, and honestly, the taste wasn't much better, and I’m pretty certain I’m not pregnant, so my senses aren't just playing tricks on me... 🤷
For now, I've just decided to stop eating meat altogether, so I guess the "problem" is officially solved... 😳

The smell of fish is hitting me wrong again. Honestly, my stomach just turns every single time I catch that scent, whether it’s grilled or straight from the market. 🤷

It’s the only reason I won't touch it. The taste is actually fine, but that smell? It’s a dealbreaker. 🤮

As for the fish, I’ve always been quite fond of them... 😁

I don't know, I find that fresh pork has this really strong scent to me, so I tend to eat very little of it🤷
Generally speaking, I'll stick to beef or something else... I just can't bring myself to eat anything that smells that way to me

Honestly, lamb just smells terrible to me. There’s nothing anyone could do to make me sit there and eat it. It’s the absolute worst when I’m at a wedding and everyone else is digging into a big platter of lamb while my stomach is doing somersaults.

I don't know, I just listen to my gut. If a smell or a taste turns me off, there's usually a reason for it, so I just steer clear of those foods entirely.

Jesse Flores842 said:I feel a little ridiculous saying this, but here we go...
I’m dropping this post here in hopes that someone else has dealt with something similar—or better yet, exactly the same thing—so maybe we can actually trade some advice.
Moderators—if there’s already an existing thread for this, please feel free to merge it.

Over the last month—give or take a week—I’ve been having some serious issues with food. Or, to be more precise, I can’t even wrap my head around the idea of red meat. It’s completely off the table. At first, I genuinely thought maybe I was just feeling weak or that everything smelled off because I was pregnant (spoiler alert: I’m not), or perhaps my sense of taste and smell had just gone haywire from all the sugar (not the case either), or even that I was simply making things up in my own head (I am certainly not). I even considered if it might be a side effect of my diabetes medication—I actually brought the whole thing up with my endocrinologist, who ended up adjusting my prescription to something else entirely—but nope, none of those were the culprit.
I take a bite of meat—doesn't matter if it’s boiled, roasted, or grilled—and the taste is absolutely revolting; I can literally taste blood. 😕 The stench of rot—it’s getting even worse. 😕
Elon Musk—honestly, I haven’t changed a single thing about how I prep my meals, and I certainly don't go around buying "retro" or old-school products—so I truly don't get the confusion! Back home, everyone just eats perfectly normal food without all this fuss. It’s the exact same story no matter where I travel in America.
Exactly—it’s the same story when you're looking at deli ham.
I ended up sticking with the chicken, but even that’s starting to pick up a bit of a... questionable aroma.
Honestly, I don’t know what they’re doing differently over there lately—maybe it’s the soil, maybe it’s the season—but I have to say, the fruits and vegetables I've been getting lately have never tasted this incredible. It’s almost ridiculous how much better everything is.
Am I actually losing my marbles, or am I just being reasonable here? Should I be looking for a psychiatrist, or am I just completely off the deep end?

Much appreciated.

Could it just be some kind of upper respiratory infection? 🤷

Honestly, I don't know about you guys, but something just feels off here. To me, all this "fresh" meat smells... well, let's just say it's pretty funky. It's more of a stench than anything else.
It’s not even like there's a good aroma; it only starts smelling decent once it actually hits the heat and starts cooking. 😁

But yeah, chicken, turkey—basically any kind of poultry—always gives off this weird smell for me. Plus, the taste is just straight-up gross. There is zero chance I'm eating that stuff.
I genuinely have no clue how people can stomach it.

sun - I don't know, I haven't noticed any issues myself 🤷
Carol Parker - I can't even wrap my head around someone actually enjoying the smell of raw meat.
Yesterday, my husband tried to "heal" me from this whole recent mess. He whipped up a backyard BBQ—which, mind you, I usually absolutely adore, being a total meat lover and all—but honestly, I nearly gagged. Everything except the chicken was just incredibly bland... though I did manage to wolf down some mushrooms and eggplant😂

edit:
I also went ahead and took a pregnancy test.

melloworca6 said:Honestly, lamb just smells terrible to me. There’s nothing anyone could do to make me sit there and eat it. It’s the absolute worst when I’m at a wedding and everyone else is digging into a big platter of lamb while my stomach is doing somersaults.

I don't know, I just listen to my gut. If a smell or a taste turns me off, there's usually a reason for it, so I just steer clear of those foods entirely.

Oh man, tell me about it... I actually had to make an early exit from one wedding because the entire banquet hall reeked of lamb. I just couldn't stay in that environment for another minute. 🤷

I don't know what to tell you guys. I’ve been sitting here thinking about this for a while now. It’s just one of those things that hits you when you aren't looking. You see how everything is moving so fast lately. It’s heavy. Honestly? I feel like we’re all just trying to catch our breath while the world decides to sprint in ten different directions at once. I was talking to melloworca6 about it the other day. We were going on and on. Just staring at the screen, trying to make sense of the chaos. It’s exhausting. People act like they have it all figured out, but let’s be real—nobody does. We’re all just winging it. Every single one of us. And that’s okay. It’s more than okay, actually. It’s the only way to survive the madness without losing your mind completely. Just keep pushing. Keep breathing. That’s the whole game. kaže:
Ugh, seriously, the smell of lamb just turns my stomach. There is absolutely nothing anyone could do to make me sit there and eat that stuff. It’s honestly the worst part about being at weddings—everyone around me is digging into huge plates of roast lamb, and I’m just sitting there feeling totally nauseous.

I totally get where you're coming from. Honestly, I can't stand lamb either.
But honestly? I’m totally down to eat pretty much any other kind of meat. No complaints there. 😁

melloworca6 said:Honestly, lamb just smells terrible to me. There’s nothing anyone could do to make me sit there and eat it. It’s the absolute worst when I’m at a wedding and everyone else is digging into a big platter of lamb while my stomach is doing somersaults.

I don't know, I just listen to my gut. If a smell or a taste turns me off, there's usually a reason for it, so I just steer clear of those foods entirely.

Exactly. That’s the exact same struggle I have with so many different foods. It's such a headache because a ton of stuff is labeled as "healthy"—or at least that's what the marketing tells you—but if my body is reacting poorly to it, then my body knows best. Period.

As far as I’m concerned, I think it all comes down to the psychological aspect. Back when I was a kid, there was this recurring thing that happened every November—my neighbor, a massive guy who was actually quite humble, would bring a live cow over to be slaughtered right in front of us (even though we lived in a suburb). He’d just take an axe to its neck while we kids watched, completely fascinated 😠 and honestly, nobody even tried to stop us from looking 😢. Then came the aftermath—days of slicing, cooling, and butchering everything, including the organs, to make sausages... it was total chaos. I can still vividly recall that overwhelming stench of raw meat and blood. I suspect that’s why to this day, my stomach turns at anything that smells or looks even remotely like those moments. I can't even stand the feeling of touching raw meat 😢. Generally speaking, if the food doesn't remind me that it actually came from a slaughtered animal, I can manage to eat it.
:-(

I’ve dealt with this since I was a kid. Meat would smell off to me, and just looking at it made me nauseous. Everyone thought I was just being dramatic because I’m so small-framed... they assumed I was making it up.🙄👎It wasn't until last year that I finally found out the truth: I have a severe allergy to red meat.😢I suppose we all need to start listening to our bodies. If something feels wrong, there’s usually a legitimate reason behind it...☕