serious

Wasa, I basically cook my collards the same as the OP; in chicken broth with minced garlic, BUT, I use turkey wings as the meat. I am originally from Atlanta, so I appreciate good southern cooking. I cook mine in a crock pot and can eat that meal for days. Plenty of good Protein and Vitamins in it. :001_tt2:

Eyfura, You know you can also do ice chips, (different textures) and sf popsicles. I used to get Vitamin Water and make ice cubes from it. I tolerated frozen things better during the liquid phase than just liquids. This was the only way I was able to get enough in. For one thing, you can hold frozen things in your mouth and just let it melt. Even at three months out, water and such has to be very, very cold or slushy. I went hiking the other day, and got nausaeous off of room temperature water.

I am a band to sleeve revision. For me, the sleeve not only provides restriction, but my tastes have changed. I am past three months post op, so I don't see that changing. Anyway, my point being, that pre sleeve I was a big time sweet eater. I could eat sweets all day long and I loved candy. I would eat candy everyday. When I had the band, that was a recipe for disaster since the band allows you to eat slider foods and didn't affect my sweet tooth therefore I gained weight. With the sleeve, I cannot tolerate anything too sweet. I am finally able to do what all the diet books advise; I can eat maybe a bite of something sweet when I do get a sweet craving, then I'm done. It's like miracle. I never considered the RNY because there are way too many people reporting complications that never seem to end on the complications forum on OH. Also, I only had about 60 # to lose. I am a little over 3 months out and am now only 20# from goal.

I am one of the ones whose tastes did change: and I think it's here to stay because I am now past three months post op. Plain water is boring, I can only drink it if it is super cold. One trick I have found that works for me is to cut my juice with water; like 1/4th juice with 3/4th water. That way I can get some flavor and get my water in at the same time. Juice, vitamin water etc, are all too sweet by themselves, so this works for me.

I agree totally with everything Wasa said, but I wanted to add a comment about attitude. I an an RN and have worked in many hospitals throughout the country. It is no secret that part of healing and winning the weight loss game is your mental attitude. That's why the attitude of your health care provider is important. You need someone who does not mindlessly quote statistics, but sees you as an individual who can do this. It's a partnership. Your health care provider, imo, should be one of your biggest cheerleaders, afterall, you are entrusting him to perform this service for you. I don't pay anyone, whether it's a doctor or a hairstylist, if I feel they can't work with me. Telling someone they won't ever be skinny can become a self fullfilling prophecy. The human mind and body in the hands of a skilled and positive surgeon can work wonders. I've seen it.

Lafayette, Indiana. Great hospital and staff, by the way!

I have only told two people, one of them is my sister who is very level headed and will be able to give medical info in case I have some sort of emergency where I am unable to speak for myself. I worked three months in the frozen cold of an Indiana winter to pay for this surgery and I did this for myself. I don't need anybody's judgement or monitoring. I certainly did not tell my co workers; that would be the equivalent of calling up CNN and telling them.

That was kind of happening on our VSG forum on lapbandtalk. Alot of us had bad things to say about the band BECAUSE A LOT OF US ARE REVISIONS and did not have good experiences...thus we vented about it. But the bandsters still came to our forum and basically tried to stop us from saying anything negative. I am so glad we have this forum now. I remember after being banded about 6 months, I used to go to the boards grasping at straws, hoping that someone would give me some advice to make this thing that I had paid for work for me. That is when I first started hearing and reading about the VSG. I was one of those who said, "But I don't want 80% of my stomach removed!" I even went so far as to email Dr Curry and ask him about the lapband vs VSG. He basically told me he would not recommend VSG.... Fast forward: post VSG I am 20# away from goal and I haven't even reached the 3 month mark yet. I don't miss my removed stomach and am glad it's gone....and Dr Curry is doing VSGs on anybody who signs up with him.

Bravo! Very well said. Incidentally, They paid for their own tickets.

Speaking of addictions: I have been so very used to logging into lapbandtalk that I still go over there first...am having to get used to coming here now. Well, here I am, and I find Wasa and Mac debating fine points....and I think, this is a good site, the gangs all here! Feels like old home week.

Yes, yes and yes! I had the same thing with the band... I also become easily nauseated, so I have to be super careful what I choose to eat.

That's the thing; I basically eat healthy, I just wanted something that helped me to eat less. I love veggies and fish and lean meats. I think I just had a simple case of band intolerance from the beginning; once I started solids, no matter how much I chewed, chewed, chewed, solids always felt weird going down. I only had one tiny fill the whole time, and I had an experienced band surgeon, ( no slip or erosion), so it wasn't that. It was the sensation of food going down that made me uncomfortable, made me feel like someone was sitting next to me choking me everytime I ate something solid. I tried to work with the band, since I was a self pay and thought this was just the way it was, but eventually my more rationale side won out and said this can't be the right, so I started researching the VSG. Also, since I really couldn't tolerate solids I would eat slider foods, because I WAS STLL HUNGRY! For me, the band did nothing to abate my hunger, thus my problem with overeating was exacerbated since I couldn't eat solid heathy food, so I ate junk and sweets that went down easily. So, I gained instead of losing. I also became more and more depressed, and some days, it was very difficult to get out of bed. Fast forward to the sleeve. I am able to eat healthy foods, just less of them. I get full on a few bites. I have hunger, but it is quickly satisfied with the few bites. If I try to eat too much of something sweet, I get very nauseated. So, where before, I used to eat maybe four candybars at a sitting, now, I can be satisfied with a piece of peppermint candy every now and then. I had my revision on March the 11th, and currently weigh 160#, 30 # from goal. The results I've had with the sleeve are what I wanted; ability to eat healthy but less, something to bring my sweet tooth under control, weight loss without having to kill myself in the gym. THIS is why I wanted WLS and THIS is what I got with the sleeve.

I know, isn't it great! But initially, since it was a trial run, I could just envision myself choking, then pbing right there on the beach, ( because I hadn't scoped out where the restroom was), in front of everybody, ruining everybody's appetite. So glad those days are behind me! I was so abused by my band, I still need reassurance that this time it's different.

I am not getting in 60-70 grams either. My blood work is also normal, I feel great and I am losing weight and, with all the exercise, gaining muscle. Untill I see something negative physically, I will continue as I have been. I do still do a protein shake in the am to keep the number up. I did not like the protein hot chocolate. I also love veggies, so I follow the "macmadame plan" where I eat a little veggies first, then follow with protein. I don't have room yet to finish off with veggies.

Hi all, I am in St Croix doing a 13 week contract. I went out to eat with some other traveler's I met here. This was my first "test run" with eating out and with eating with people who don't know I had the surgery. I perused the menu with trepidation, thinking it would be like when I had the band: one or two bites then the inevitable choking on anything solid and not dripping with sauce. The menu had shrimp with fries where you get four jumble, and I mean jumble shrimp. So, I ordered that. I was able to eat three of the shrimp and two french fries. The other two ordered, we ate talked and had fun. No one paid any attention to what I was not eating, (but after all, who eats all their french fries?). We all asked for to go containers, and I ate my one shrimp and four french fries for lunch today. :mad2:

Hi all, Was in Whole Foods this am getting Vitamins. Went to get coffee at the coffee stand, they had bits of this new organic, dark chocolate out as samples. I took one small piece and proceeded to checkout. Boy, was it sickenly sweet! I was suprised because this is dark chocolate, which I used to find not sweet enough pre VSG. I have finally cured my sweet tooth which was my downfall with every diet and the lapband. I'm so happy. I am also down 30# since surgery, and back in my medium scrubs!:biggrin:

Wow, I give this board two years, then it is going to "revise" to VerticalSleeveTalk.

I didn't develop any problems with the band like reflux, erosion, slippage; I just had band intolerance. I had my band for 2 years and 3 months and like Wasa, can't think of any positives associated with it compared to the sleeve.

I could have advanced to a regular diet, but have stayed with the soft foods longer, just getting used to the feeling of fullness. I still do a protein shake in the am, and have been eating a lot of tuna fish. I plan to advance to regular tommorrow. I think I'm ready. I had some chocolate which I was craving during my cycle, so I bought a hersheys with almonds which I used to love. The first bite was good, the second left a weird taste in my mouth, so I threw it away. Haven't really craved anything sweet since. For the first time in my life, I can go food shopping and not be hypnotized by the bakery or the candy section. I, too, am craving healthy foods. :smile2:

WASa, I didn't know Dr Campos was getting a sleeve. Ernesto (the driver) told me he was getting a sleeve the first week in April too.

Hi Jackie, I know you from OH. I am a revision from a lapband to a sleeve. In fact, there are a lot of us here; people who revised from a lapband to a sleeve. Welcome!

I buy things in very limited qualities; #1, because I can only eat a few bites and I don't want it to go bad on me, and, #2 because of the "smell/taste" thing. MAC - do you know what causes this? (the smell/taste thing), I'm just curious. Enquiring minds want to know.

I stayed on Full liquids for the seven days, then went to mushies. That is when you will really see how this sleeve works. I am staying on mushies longer because I am still in the learning process, and I get full on 3-4 bites of whatever. I can't imagine eating anything more solid right now. Fortunately, with mushies, there is a variety of things you can eat. Yes, things "smell" differently. When the lady would come and clean my room, I had to ask her to stop, the "sweet" smell of the lemon scented stuff she used made me nauseous. I went to the library, ( New Orleans has this wonderful old library that is a converted mansion) a couple of days ago, and went to use the bathroom. They had used ammonia to clean it. When I closed the door, I thought I would die. I asked the librarian if they poured a whole bottle of ammonia in there, because I almost passed out. She said no, they cleaned it two days ago and the window had been left open. She went to investigate, and said she could barely smell the ammonia. Easter Sunday I will be a month out, so I don't think it's the anesthesia!

I thought I would do the liquid phase for 10 days, move to the full liquid phase for 10 days, move to mushies etc. I thought this would be easy, afterall, I had to do this with my band. Well, the mushy phase is definitely a learning process. During my research on the sleeve, I had read where people say, "once sleeved, it is a baby stomach, and you have to take baby steps with it." How true, how true. I vomited once yesterday and again today. I am not getting "full" signals like others report: a runny nose, hiccoughs etc. I have a voice inside of me that says, "oh, you can eat one more bite." No I can't. I now measure out 3 bites on my plate and put my spoon down between mouthfuls, and listen to my body. This is definitely a relearning process for me, relearning how to eat; learning how to listen to my body. Learning that my full, in the past, was damaged from years of abuse secondary to food addiction. I am having to wrap my mind around the fact that this new full is normal, (for now), and that it's okay, and to take it slow, and to learn from my mistakes. This new full is teaching me that no, you don't have to eat the whole container to be satisfied, and yes, you can throw what you can't finish out. It definitely is a new way of life.

Mac, Where are you getting the protein hot chocolate?