butterflycheri

I will email you a bunch of recipes to get you started. I'm not sure of your cooking experience level, but most of these are easy to intermediate recipes. Some have a few ingredients you may not keep on hand, and you may not like some of the ingredients anyway. But it's a starting point. I would post them here but the post would be so long it's ridiculous! Also consider crustless quiche as a meal - I don't have a recipe on hand but I'm sure you can find one. You can add some cheese, some of that bacon or sausage you like, some easy to chew veggies and that would be a nice meal. Many of these include Beans, because that's how we got the majority of our Protein. We also treated ourselves to Quorn cutlets occasionally when we wanted to feel like we were eating meat. We also used the Morningstar products, particularly the breakfast sausage crumbles. MS products are very high in protein, so if you're lacking in that department you might try them out. I did not write any of these recipes though I did modify almost all of them to suit me. They are scavenged from a number of places. If you do make any of them, use own dietary restrictions to modify the meals (for example, you wouldn't use a hamburger bun for the black bean burgers, or a tortilla for the burritos if you were having trouble with bread/carbs). Do check Nava Atlas out - she is (in my opinion) the very best veg cookbook author out there if looking for simple and easy recipes. I hope this helps. Maybe you'll have more folks chime in soon! ~Cheri

I am not banded yet and I'm no longer a vegetarian. However, I might have a few recipes. I have some Soup recipes and a number of great ways to prepare tofu. And of course, if you must you can rely on meat substitutes if you can find some that fit your diet - many of them are just loaded with Protein these days. It means eating more processed foods, of course, but if you're okay with that it would work. Let me know your dietary restrictions and I'll post a bunch of recipes. Are you lacto-ovo? In the meantime, have you ever looked at any of the cookbooks by Nava Atlas? She has some excellent books and even has a website with some of her recipes posted. I hope someone else can help you with info on banded life as a vegetarian. ~Cheri

Thanks, everyone for posting replies with advice. It turns out my doctor was very reluctant to talk about WLS until I mentioned the band instead of RNY. She's opposed to RNY for her patients with a BMI under 50, apparently. I was told that for Tricare Prime Overseas, they've started referring everyone to a nurse practioner in one area (here it's Heidelberg) and you have to see her for a referral. She said there were issues with patients meeting the criteria for WLS and they decided to have one person handle all of the cases in her area. So, I will have to talk to her and get an appointment, then do the three part process - nutritionist, metabolic testing and a fitness class. To be honest, I want WLS and I'm glad my insurance will cover this (I don't expect to be turned down) but I'm starting to lean away from the band and towards VSG. In any case, thanks again. I just brought it up when she mentioned my diabetes. It was painless. ~Cheri

I'm curious about who does the surgeries when you live in Germany and use Tricare Prime Overseas. DH is active duty and we're living on post in Mannheim. Landstuhl and Frankfurt are both relatively close (about an hour away). Is the procedure done at one of the local MTFs or are you referred off post to a German civilian doctor? While I'm pretty sure I might have to duke it out a bit with my PCM next Monday to get her to send a referral in, I fully expect to be approved because I have type 2 diabetes and have a BMI of 43.5. I also fit the 100 pounds over ideal weight, and possibly could fit the 200% over ideal weight if they consider me 5'1" instead of 5'2" - I'm 5'1 & 3/4". Anyway, now that I've decided to do this, I want as much information as I can gather. If anyone has done this procedure overseas and can chime in, I'd appreciate it. ~Cheri

This is my first post here. I'm 29, 5'1" (and 3/4"!) and weigh about 230 pounds. My husband is in the US Army and we're currently stationed in Germany. I've been researching the Lap-Band® since July, when my PCM told me that I have type 2 diabetes and at the same appointment suggested that I consider a band. Since then, we've moved overseas and I have a new PCM. I have an appointment next Monday for another reason and I want to ask her for a referral so that I can go through with this procedure. I'm a bit concerned about bringing it up at another appointment, but it's not as though I'm going to make an appointment with my PCM solely to discuss weight loss. I'm pretty sure Tricare Prime only covers Lap-Band® and RNY at this point, but I've also been exploring the option of VSG. I'm still uncomfortable with aspects of both surgeries. I don't think I'd have an issue qualifying, as I'm overweight by 100 pounds (I actually think I'm just barely 200% over if they say I'm 5'1" instead of 5'2") and I have type 2 diabetes. How did you bring this up to your PCM? I've seen a nutritionist three times in six years and in that same time I've tried WW (twice), Nutrisystem, Medifast, pills, etc. and haven't ever lost more than 30 pounds on any diet or program. My issue is that no matter how much I exercise and count calories I never, ever feel full or satisfied, so it's a constant struggle to stay between 800-1200 calories...and I always lose the struggle right around the 90 day mark. Then, I rebound and I always tack on an extra 5-10 pounds to my starting weight. In any case, I just wanted to ask how everyone else (especially folks with Tricare) brought this up to their physician. I expect to meet with some resistance - after all, every doctor I've seen for most of my life has told me that it's all about calories in vs. calories burned and if I'd just exercise some willpower I'd lose weight. Well, it hasn't been that simple in the past 14 years I've been overweight, so I think it's time to try something else. I appreciate any advice or comments. ~Cheri