Sunwyse

Thank you Laurinda. I'm feeling very confident I will finally be able to have the vegetarian diet/lifestyle I've always wanted :biggrin: Its been a good news day all round.

After my surgery I plan on returning to a vegetarian diet. I wanted to hear from anyone out there who is a vegetarian or changed to being a vegetarian/vegan after the op. I'm interested in how legumes and pulses go, passing through the band, if anyone's had any problems with it. Thanks. Michelle

Thanks Chickie, its good to know these things can go down :Banane37:

For those who can access yahoo groups, I've come across for specifically for people who have had WLS and are or are considering being vegetarian/vegan. [/url] vegetarianbandster : Vegetarian Bandsters WLSVeggies : WLSVeggies veg-wls : Vegetarian Weight loss surgery If you can't access the groups, don't worry. I will join them and I will share here what information I find out. Michelle

Most people slice eggplant then layer it with salt for an hour or so, to draw the moisture out. After that, they wash the salt off, then cook it a number of ways. Its supposed to have a bitter taste if you don't take this moisture out, but I never have and its always tasted fine to me. There are a thousand and one things you can do with them. You can cut them into thick slices and put them on a grill plate to cook. They don't take too long, few minutes each side. You can cut them into thinner slices and layer then in a pan to make moussaka, which is just like lasagne, only you use the eggplant instead of Pasta sheets. You can cut it into cubes and stir fry with other veg, or steam. Have you had zucchini? Its quite similar to that to cook and is similar in texture once cooked.

i chose Other ~ please explain. After I'm banded in October, I'm planning on returning to a vegetarian diet. I only have to do Optifast for 2 weeks before surgery, so I don't have to think about things before then. I'm waiting til after, so I know the amount I eat will be controlled and all I need to think about is what I eat. I also prefer low carb, but couldn't have 2 choices.

Don't loosen the band! You work toward getting it to a point where you can eat healthily and comfortably, but not too much, so you can maintain your new weight. Loosening the band won't let you eat bread or pasta if you end up with a problem with them. It will just let you eat more of what you can eat, which means more weight put on.

It has nothing to do with the surgeon and everything to do with what your BMI is. If you are at the lower end of the approved range, you don't really need it. Its only once you get up over 40 that its advisable to have it. It shrinks the liver and helps get it out of the way so they can see what they are doing. My doc also said he likes his patients to do it, just to see if they can follow rules and how committed they will be to making the lifestyle changes afterwards.

Just to answer the question put, yep its a requirement of the Dr I'm seeing. Its partly to see if I will follow rules, but its also to make sure I'm doing the op for the right reasons and not expecting any ridiculous outcomes (like to walk out of op looking like Paris Hilton!) Don't laugh, you'd be amazed at what some people expect. As far as I'm aware most doctor's require you to see a psychologist or a psyche and dietitian before surgery. The US banders also have to do the 6 month diet thing to qualify for their insurance companies, we don't. But seeing a dietitian is not a bad thing, after all, I need to learn to re-adjust my eating habits after.

If your doctor said Tony Ferguson was OK, then just do that. But don't do 3 TF shakes and no food. The two diets are calculated completely differently. Optifast is designed to only have that 3 times a day, where as TF you need to have that 3rd meal of food. I did Optifast about 3 years ago for 5 weeks. I did 2 shakes a day and then just a normal meal in the evening (with small portions of course). It worked well that way. Just go with whatever the doc says.

We met up at coffee club last weekend. Can you access yahoo groups? There's one in there called Ozband, which has members from all over Australia and there are also state specific groups. I'm a member of brisbanded as well. Here's the URL for the oz group. ozband : ozband - oz support group for wls

I've never heard of such a thing! I've been told even just losing 10% of your weight would greatly improve chances of getting pregnant, but never been told you have to do it to get clomid. Instead of getting info from the internet (which can be dicey at times), go to your local chemist/pharmacist (whoever is authorised to give out medication where you live) and ask them. They have to know just as much about various illnesses and even more about drugs, so you can save yourself the cost of a doctor's visit by asking the chemist first.

I watch my food all the time...from the plate to my mouth.

Made my appointments today for the psyche and dietitian! Psyche is on 15 August - can't wait, it's one step closer.

The best advice I can give you is, you've made the decision to go ahead so concentrate on a positive outcome. Things can happen down the track, but they can also not happen. Don't stress over what may never be, take things as they come. Good luck.

Hi Danni, welcome to the forum, we're a pretty friendly bunch here really.

I've been told not to expect any miracles. PCOS means you lose weight slowly, the band is no different. Frustrating I know and as my op is in October, I'm still hopeful that my story will be different. Have you taken measurements? Sometimes we lose the weight at the same rate all over, so it can look like our biggest parts aren't losing any, but if you take a measurement you might be pleasantly surprised.

How's your friend going?

Stress would have added to the problem I think. I wonder though, if the reason it happens is our system is used to a certain mix of hormones and when that mix starts to change because of weightloss, our body sort of goes into shock and the hair growth stops? As soon as it recovers it gets back to something resembling normal. Just a thought...

And there are always going to be dinosaurs...er, I mean men, who just don't get it.

Australia has a pretty good medical system. Sure we have long waiting lists in the public hospitals, but hey, at least we can get FREE medical treatments here, even lap bands have been given to some in the public health system (costing them $0). We may bag our health system at times, but I have to say there is NOWHERE else in the world I would want to go than AussieLand.(with the possible exception of New Zealand).

Hope all has gone well lellow. See you back here soon :wink2:

You look awesome Danni!! And I aint just saying that cause I know you've had the surgery. It can be plainly seen by anyone. As for compliments, take them all as given. One thing I've learned about people, they don't like to give out compliments that much, so any given is a pretty big thing. Besides, you'll know if they are being insincere, its just a feeling. Way to go, girl!

I've heard a couple of people mention the hair loss, so I'm wondering if it isn't hormones trying to get back into balance? As for the run, I took a quick look at the link and it sounds like it was designed for people who might have been a bit overweight but more unfit than anything. Maybe for someone who has had excessive weight for a long time (ooh pick me!) it might be too much too soon. Slow it down a little and let your body guide you to what it feels ready to do when. Good luck with it all.

Chickie, I answered why not in my post above yours. Because a wax does NOT last 3 weeks for someone with PCOS. It lasts barely a week and is pretty much a waste of time and money. The only real solution is to either have laser, take pills to stop hair growth or hopefully, have hormones go back into balance after getting down to normal weight. A wax is a great suggestion for someone who doesn't have that much of a hair growth problem and if you can get it to last for 3 weeks, thats excellent. Most women with PCOS however, are not so lucky - and the Original Post was about women with PCOS.