PollyEster

A list of resources for pre- and post-surgery bariatric patients interested in a whole food plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle. Let's build up this list into a comprehensive resource, and keep it updated. Please add your own tested-and-approved recommendations. Processed Foods and Ultra-Processed Foodstuffs Nutrition Database An open source (read: imperfect but continually evolving), collaborative, global food products database (there's also an app) that anyone can use to make better food choices. Assigns all processed foods a Nutri-Score grade from A to E in terms of nutritional quality, and ranks processed and ultra-processed foodstuffs by NOVA group levels (1 for minimally processed up to 4 for ultra-processed): https://world.openfoodfacts.org/ Plant-Based Nutrition Studies Cornell University Distance (entirely online) Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies: www.nutritionstudies.org Whole Food Plant-Based Diet Guide (the basics): https://nutritionstudies.org/whole-food-plant-based-diet-guide/ Plant-Based Sports Nutrition: Expert Fueling Strategies for Training, Recovery, and Performance by D. Enette Larson-Meyer The Healthspan Solution by Julieanna Hever and Ray Cronise Plant-Based Nutrition by Julieanna Hever and Ray Cronise Julieanna Hever, M.S., R.D., C.P.T. (plant-based dietitian) website: www.plantbaseddietitian.com Plant-Based Nutrition Books Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure by Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. M.D. How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger M.D. How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss by Michael Greger M.D. Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It by Garth Davis M.D. The China Study by T. Colin Campbell M.D. Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition by T. Colin Campbell The Campbell Plan by T. Colin Campbell The China Study Solution: The Simple Way to Lose Weight and Reverse Illness, Using a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet by Thomas Campbell Healthy Eating, Healthy World: Unleashing the Power of Plant-Based Nutrition by J. Morris Hicks Eat for Life: The Breakthrough Nutrient-Rich Program for Longevity, Disease Reversal, and Sustained Weight Loss by Joel Fuhrman M.D. The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life by Joel Fuhrman M.D. The End of Heart Disease: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Joel Fuhrman M.D. Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free by Joel Fuhrman M.D. Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease by Joel Fuhrman M.D. Nutritarian Handbook & ANDI Food Scoring Guide by Joel Fuhrman M.D. Your Body in Balance: The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health by Neal Barnard M.D. Power Foods for the Brain by Neal Barnard M.D. Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight by Neal Barnard M.D. Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight by Neal Barnard M.D Breaking the Food Seduction by Neal Barnard M.D The Blue Zones, Second Edition: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner Plant-Based Nutrition Cookbooks Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moscowitz and Terry Hope Romero All cookbooks by Terry Hope Romero All cookbooks by Isa Chandra Moscowitz Thrive Foods by Brendan Brazier No Meat Athlete Cookbook by Matt Frazier Plant Strong by Rip Esselstyn Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn The Plant-Power Way by Rich Roll The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook by Ann Crile Esselstyn and Jane Esselstyn The Plant Based Diet for Beginners by Gabriel Miller The PlantPure Nation Cookbook by Kim Campbell and T. Colin Campbell The PlantPure Kitchen Cookbook by Kim Campbell and T. Colin Campbell The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Neal Barnard The China Study Cookbook by Leanne Campbell Eat to Live Cookbooks by Joel Fuhrman The Buddhist Chef by Jean-Philippe Cyr My New Roots Cookbooks by Sarah Britton Oh She Glows Cookbooks by Angela Liddon Minimalist Baker’s Cookbooks by Dana Shultz Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor The First Mess Cookbook by Laura Wright Forks Over Knives Flavor by Darshana Thacker The Blue Zones Kitchen by Dan Buettner Vegan 100 by Gaz Oakley Clean Food by Terry Walters How Not To Die Cookbook Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbooks China Study Cookbooks Forks Over Knives Cookbooks Thug Kitchen Cookbooks Plant-Based Whole Food Cooking Blogs (recipes) www.nomeatathlete.com www.loveandlemons.com www.mynewroots.org www.ohsheglows.com www.thefirstmess.com www.veganricha.com www.plantstrong.com www.minimalistbaker.com www.halfbakedharvest.com www.veganyackattack.com www.dreenaburton.com www.thugkitchen.com www.theppk.com www.deliciouslyella.com

Pre-surgery, I never dared to imagine that I'd eventually weigh less after surgery than I did in high school, but at almost 11 months post-op, I'm tiny and do see myself as thin now. I also am finding that I deeply appreciate my loose skin (which is not too bad at all considering the amount of weight I've lost), perceiving it as a battle wound, perhaps even something to feel proud of in the way some women who've had a mastectomy are proud of their scars. I can honestly say I love the way I look. But more than this, I love the way I feel: strong, fit, healthy, and physically able to do anything I set my mind to. I ♥ VSG.

Salad made with kale from the garden, smoky maple BBQ tempeh, homemade vegan parmesan. Ate it all! 😋

Thank you so much, MarvelGirl! Not to worry though, there's a lot that you don't see: for every dozen or so photos or dishes, there's at least one epic fail that looked like this ("before") in my mind, but ended up like this ("after") in real life! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 © Elías García Martínez/Cecilia Giménez

Mmmmmmm!! 😍😍😍😍 your salad presentation, ms.sss!

I have nothing but love for avo toast, especially when it includes everything bagel seasoning. This is soooooooo beautiful and nummy-looking!

She’s been making these since about age 6 or 7. Simple no-bake recipes like these are perfect for younger kids; they can easily manage them on their own (with an adult nearby when using the mixer), especially if just rolling into balls or bars. I had a food blog for many years, and both my kids were helping out (and I use that term veeeeery loosely 😂 because basically it meant everything took 20 times longer and was 50 times messier) by the time they were 3 with little things like mashing foods, stirring batter, shaking liquids, kneading dough, rinsing fruit and veg, helping with grocery shopping, etc. Both had their first nylon knife and peeler sets by age 5, could read recipes (kids cookbooks) and make them without any help by age 6, and my daughter cooked and served an entire plant-based holiday meal for us by herself last year. She’s been obsessed with watching Kids Baking Championship and Chopped Jr. for years now. Since kids summer cooking camp was cancelled this year, we got her a monthly subscription service for a kit that includes ingredients, recipes, a video cooking lesson, a new kitchen tool, and fun dinner conversation starters – takes some pressure off of me, plus I don’t have to cook as often, win-win!

Food memories are powerful. There are so many beloved childhood foods I will never eat again: mashed potatoes with heavy cream and butter, buttermilk biscuits, scones with clotted cream and homemade preserves, beef bourguignon and beef stroganoff, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and gravy, stuffing, quiche with ham and cheese, freshly made pies with butter pastry or pate sucree crusts, cinnamon buns and hot cross buns drizzled with icing, fudge, lemon curd, all sorts of cookies and cakes... especially pound cake and jam roly-poly. Rice and bread puddings, too. Within the first year after going plant-based, I occasionally tried an old favourite, but they just didn't do it for me anymore. As happens for many post-ops, everything was just too sweet or too heavy or too chemically or too uncomfortable sitting in my stomach. My palate changed completely. My food memories were better than the actual foods themselves. Occasionally, during moments of nostalgia or longing tied to fond memories of people and places, I still miss the memory or anticipation of eating certain foods, even though I love not eating them anymore and instead truly enjoy eating more nutritious, tastier, and health sustaining foods.

Oops, obviously this is a Barbara Smaller cartoon. But BEK has done a many humorous interior design-related cartoons for the New Yorker as well. You might even have collected the whole set!

This was our lockdown project; repurposing an old storage shed on our property into a summer cottage-slash-studio, instead of tearing it down. It was a quick-ish job because we just wanted to be able to enjoy it this summer, but we're using it so often that we've decided we'd like to have it year-round, so are planning on insulation and drywall, new wiring, etc. as next steps. There's always tea or soup on at the cottage!

Appreciate that you're curious about - and open to - exploring plant-based foods! That's a pretty good cookbook, too, one of a handful that we use regularly. My kind, thoughtful daughter makes various energy bars for the family almost every week. She's only 13, but has already developed a great deal of capability in the kitchen (and elsewhere!). Years of massive kitchen waste and mess led to this point 😂, but it was all worth it because she'll carry these skills and this confidence in herself for the rest of her life. We just use a food-safe silicone mold to shape them: I've found that something like this is roughly the perfect size for virtually every kind of post-op treat. Love the New Yorker and Bruce Kaplan. Thank you for that, and am attaching another of his cartoons in kind:

What procedures did you have, and when? Maybe I should mosey on over to your profile and have a look around for photographic evidence... I completely hear you on the unfortunate melted candle situation 😂😭, yet I'm also conflicted about plastics for various reasons. Luckily there's no deadline for making decisions in this regard, but it's definitely on my mind more and more these days.

Glad you asked this, rjan. I'm also curious about pain and recovery time after plastics. Being flayed, essentially, looks painful, and - no surprise - yes, it is! I'm not sure that I'll opt for plastics, but huge props 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️ to everyone who's gone through it.

Is there a specific reason why you suspect HWA? For example, have you recently had lab tests that indicate low ferritin levels? Iron deficiency, including HWA, is common after bariatric surgery. Any doctor or surgeon can order lab tests for you: a standard bariatric post-op iron panel would typically include serum ferritin levels, serum iron, transferrin saturation, total iron binding capacity, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and hemoglobin level. There is also a specific test for HWA that you can request called HFE (hyperferritinemia panel). Since you’re possibly symptomatic, perhaps some of these tests would be covered by your health insurance, if you have it? It's best to have blood work done prior to starting any new oral iron supplementation, in order to get an accurate base reading. The symptoms you've described aren't limited to iron deficiency anemia, and there can be many other causes of these symptoms (as well as a number of other conditions aside from bariatric surgery that can cause HWA), so please insist on having this investigated. Would it be possible to discuss your symptoms and be tested by your regular physician, your old WLS clinic, or a local bariatric clinic in your area? I hope you're able to get this resolved quickly, and that you feel much better soon.

🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌 Ahhhhhhhhhh ha ha!! I knew it! 😂😂😂😂 I've been wearing Rundholz since the first collection back in 1993, and have worn it (plus one other brand of footwear) exclusively for the past 12 years. I'm currently having as much of my existing wardrobe as possible tailored to fit. I'm absolutely unwilling to move away from the brand, so intend to buy the XS, one size pieces, and S in the S-M-L pieces and have them tailored as required. Trousers are easy to have taken in at the waist, and as long as the shoulders of the structured jackets and coats fit, everything else is possible! Have you previewed the AW 20-21 collection? DIP is particularly fun this winter (I have pre-ordered loads of it), as is Black Label, though I find the latter collection is oftentimes a bit too youth-oriented for my tastes. I lived in Melbourne for several years, and know all too well the difficulties you're presented with in trying to obtain the pieces you want. It's even more challenging to find Rundholz in Canada, but luckily there are many online shops selling the brand now. I also lived in Germany for many years, so was fortunately spoiled for choice in this regard.

He's posted some new content on there over the past year or so, but I think the bariatric basics were mostly covered in his initial set of videos. Wish he'd do more updates, though his books seem to have taken up where the Youtube videos left off. When I was looking for a nutritionist who specialised in plant-based nutrition for bariathletes, his clinic was extremely helpful and didn't even charge me. You can also attend their WLS support group without charge even if you had surgery somewhere else (in-person support group on hold right now because of covid-19).

If you do a bit of research on the internet, you'll find that he's not practicing and hasn't been for quite a few years. Maybe running MLM weight loss schemes because it's not possible to find employment in the medical field after losing various ethical and legal lawsuits (including a class-action lawsuit) and having your medical license revoked...

Totally ❤❤❤❤ this look! Is that a Rundholz jumper?

You look fantastic, and I hope you feel as good as you look! Congratulations!