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Truthfully, I'm only getting about 40 - 60 g of protein a day (I HATE EGGS!) I do like the Morningstar vegetarian products though.

I wanted to add a positive account of my 2 weeks post-op, to give pre-op folks some comfort. After minor episodes of mild incision pain and occasional bouts of nausea as my new stomach got used to digestion again over the last 2 weeks, my body is feeling almost completely normal again. I am in awe of its ability to heal itself. - My incisions are 4 very small cuts (belly-button, sternum, left and ride side of torso) which do not hurt at all anymore. I have some itching occasionally, but I understand that this signals healing. - I can drink Water in normal larger sips now (and even if I forget and take a larger gulp, there is no discomfort) - I have almost completely gone off the taste of Protein shakes (can only manage Core Power banana milkshakes even though, as one user pointed out, these are higher in carbs, so I don't drink more than 1 a day). I get most of my protein through my vegetarian puree diet (Beans, tofu, cottage cheese, (no eggs)) and through adding GENEPRO to my 3-daily cups of tea. - I feel fullness/restriction much better now that I'm on purees (compared to when I was on full liquids - I have to guess if I'd had enough Soup as that flows through rather quickly). A couple of times I've eaten my pureed dinner a bit too quickly and have felt nauseous for 15-20 minutes. That's something to remember with the VSG surgery - your body can feel so normal after a while that you 'forget' about the limitations of your new stomach. - I've lost 14 lbs since surgery and 20 lbs since my highest weight. But mentally, I want to focus on healing rather than weight loss at this stage. I know the weight loss will come - it can't not! I see and feel slight changes in my shape already. - I took 4 weeks off work (because luckily, I could) but could have easily gone back to my office job this week. - I walk 2 miles every evening and while I'm not allowed anything more strenuous for another 4 weeks, I did help pack and unpack furniture and other bits while our home was being decorated these last 2 weeks. I also flew to the Caribbean and back (for a convalescing vacation) without any issues. Take comfort from no-complication stories like mine - as miserable as you might feel a day or two after surgery, your body is designed to snap back quicker than you think.

Only five weeks ago. My surgeon/nutritionist say no carbs/sugars for a year, and only limited veggies after two months. No starch or sugar veggies (potatoes, winter squash, green peas, etc). So I pretty much eat pure Protein. Oh, tofu is a great option as well... I've done Thai curry with lots of tofu in broth, and eaten out at Chinese and had tofu and eggplant. Ok, technically the eggplant was a cheat for me, but tasted awesome. I'm down almost 50 pounds thus far. I was vegetarian for twenty years. I started eating meat again because I was tired of cooking multiple meals at a time for my carnivorous husband and kids. I'm also thinking about moving back that way--I'm now eating my own thing anyways.

Self Indulgence Vs. Self Kindness Self Indulgence is: -Continuing to do what is harmful to you after you realize it's harmful -Loathing yourself -Getting lost in fantasies about how great your life is going to be, while you continue doing the same old self-destructive things -Not asking for help when you need it -Breaking the commitments you have made to yourself. Self-Kindness is: -Calling a halt to doing what is harmful to you -Defending yourself against anyone who attacks you -including yourself -Telling the truth -Asking for help -Resting when you need rest -Believing that there is a good reason for what you are doing, even if you aren't aware of it at the moment The only way to learn the difference between self-indulgence and self-kindness is to experience what self-kindness feels like. Ultimately YOU are responsible for what goes into your mouth. McDonald's has healthier options than two quarter pounders. You can't blame your friends for that. Have you ever asked them if you can go somewhere healthier to eat? Try sushi, try vegetarian, go to funky in-vogue "green" restaurants. And then MAKE GOOD CHOICES. You do sound like you thought the band would just stop you from eating. Only you can do that. Give yourself credit. 20 pounds is a lot of weight to lose. I walked around for a LONG TIME only needing to lose 20 pounds and could not bring myself to do it. 20 pounds matters. Get out and walk. It is a beautiful time of year to be out of doors. Practice thin behaviors now. Don't wait until you are thin. Ask yourself what you would do at McDonald's if you were the "you" you picture in your head at the end of this weight loss journey and make the choices THAT girl would make. When sitting home watching TV or listening to music catch yourself and ask how long if you were thin you would envision just sitting there, stay for that amount of time and then go do whatever the "thin" you would be up to. It isn't going to just happen sweetheart. Realign your thinking. You hold ALL the power here. That is the good news. Nothing can happen to you without your permission in regards to your weight.

I just found his website a few days ago when doing research for my own blog. He's got some great info on there. I am the official blogger for my doc, Dr. Titus Duncan in Atlanta so shhhh, don't tell him I'm secretly getting info from other docs. Dr. Duncan is still my favorite though. I liked Dr. Simpson's informtion on sous vide cooking. I am a vegetarian now but my husband is in the meat industry and he says that thismethod of cooking, when done right, yields very flavorful and ultra tender meat. I try to understand as much as I can about the band for my sake and for the sake of my readers. All information is helpful.

My daughter is six feet and wears a 12, be glad you aren't a 12 as that's a whole new ballgame. Special order, plus she's a partial vegetarian and will not wear leather, it's not a fun day in shoe shop world! All I know is that I was a size 8 1/2 before children and supposedly you can go up a size with each child, I'm a 10 now and it's definitely the length of the foot as my width has not changed but I'm a barefoot person so they do tend to spread from what I hear. Nancy:smile:

I haven't dumped except during the soft food stages when I was ok'd to eat Bariatric vegetarian chili. It was just this side of hell. Not something you want to go looking for. I have kind of poked at that bear a few times like tasting a bite of cake(it was gross btw) and it didn't do anything to me. I've had pasta sauce that was over my 4g of sugar limit given to me by my NUT and still no dumping. Not all people dump so you cannot count on that safety net. You have to just go knowing that it "may" be a possibility, but don't go poking for how much you can get away with before it happens. When I recognized my behavior I made changes so I don't go testing to see what I can get away with again. It's not very beneficial in the long haul to be trying to defeat or push the limits of our surgeries.

Try the Apple A Day cookbook. It has vegetarian recipes by Dr's wives. Also you may be interested in Loma Linda Foods. They make vegetarian fake meats. I love the Linkettes. They are vegetarian hot dogs. They come in a can. I bought 12 cans on Amazon recently. They are made with soy protein.

When I'm awake I don't really miss the bad foods all that much. But when I'm asleep I dream of eating all sorts of forbidden things, and then freak in my dream that I'm gonna dump. Also I'm a vegetarian and I dream of eating hamburgers all the time. It's such a relief to wake up and find out that I didn't really eat the forbidden fruit...

I found some great soup from a Chinese takeout restaurant. I'm a vegetarian so I got the vegetable soup and just ate the broth but if you like any of those like wonton or egg drop that might help with you fluids. The first night I tried the soup I had about 2 1/2-3 cups and it was the most Fluid I had in a while. It was great! Just remember it is packed with sodium so it's probably not a good idea to have that much in one day. When i have some now I limit it to about 2 cups at the most otherwise I just feel even more thirsty. I'm almost 7 weeks out and still struggle EVERY day to get my liquid in, I only get about 20-30oz. I'm thirsty all the time I just can't drink much no matter how much I sip sip sip.

I'm vegetarian, but lacto ovo and I have no problem at all getting in my Proteins. I start my day with a high Protein yogurt (Total Yogurt has 13 grams) and 1/2 serving of Kashi (7 more grams). Sometimes if I'm not in the mood for yogurt, I have cottage cheese, or even an egg, with the Kashi instead. For lunch, I often have a morninstar soy patty (150 cals, 9 protein) with whatever veggie I cooked that week (this week is roasted red peppers stuffed with spinach, couscous and just a touch of feta -- 120 cals and 5 g protein). I eat a fruit or veggie for a snack around 4:30, or sometimes a piece of string cheese. dinner is often a tofu stirfry that runs about 15 g protein and 300 cals. I usually hit 900-1100 cals (usually on the low end of that) and 60ish g protein. I'd love to exchange vegetarian recipes with you, particularly high protein, low cal main meals! Good luck with your journey.

I'd love to get some new vegetarian recipes, too! I make scrambled tofu that's like scrambled eggs...even my kids love it. And I use the Morningstar Farms soy Protein meat substitutes, too. Most are good and fairly good protein sources. Emily

I am going to be banded August 8.:clap2: I just don’t know what I will be able to eat when I am allowed solids again. I am a big pasta eater. Can some one give me some ideas? Thanks

I can eat all meats. I have a problem with dry chicken or leftover salmon. The drier the meat, the easier I get stuck. The wife and I eat a lot of brown rice and Beans which gives her the Protein she wants. We also add seafood to our diet quite often. I guess I was thinking along the lines of atkins, vegetarians and carbs. Seems like the perfect storm? tmf

It's interesting that you were prescribed vegan diet post-op. I wish my NUT was that progressive. They support a vegetarian diet but not a vegan one. I ate mostly vegan before surgery and would like to switch back as soon as possible but I'm not sure if I can manage it.

Maybe I will start tracking just to see exactly where I am on macros. I've downloaded myfitnesspal to see if it'll help. Thank you for that suggestion. I was vegetarian for some time when I was younger but I wasn't preop. My surgeon basically prescribed a vegetarian/vegan diet due to the studies that have been done. He's part of Garth Davis' clinic here in Houston. I'll throw my stats out there since I was a low bmi to qualify. preop: 230 surgery:217 current: 170. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I also forgot to add that I do mostly vegetarian. I'm not a big meat eater but endo/PCOS is the least of my worries when it comes to food.

I lost 5.5 pounds on the test recently. It was all water, but happy for it. As soon as I brought back some carbs, part of it came back, but not all of it! I also gained renewed faith in eating protiens. I am a vegetarian, so I have been using whey based protein powders... I reallly don't like the veggie ones much, mostly the texture. I used many kinds of fake meat, Explore Asia brand high protein pastas, nuts, eggs and egg whites, I use Dixie Diner brand Beef, turkey, chicken NOT! products, morning star frozen meatless meats, tofu (you can use in a shake as well) Trader Joes meatless products (just look at the protien to make sure it is up there) I have been following the 5:2 on and off for over a year, and am now doing a version of the 5 day test on my "fast" days. So far so good. I have found the no flavor soy protein powder OK to cook with, like in oatmeal, baked in muffins and such... check out the world according to eggface for good high protein recipes.

Well i was printed to share my story, so here goes.. I'm 26, Mexican-Iranian... That's important because that means that I was raised on rice and corn tortillas. I'm female btw. Both of my parents work two or three jobs, so I was also raised on costco and walmart a frozen meals, like lasagna and chicken and rice... My sister has a disability which mean the I spend the better part of my early childhood in the waiting room of various doctors... Speech therapy, occupational therapy, at the ER, an the mental health therapist... But that not to being said to make you feel sorry, rather so you know that I again was subject to cafeteria food, Jello from the nurses and McDonalds. In high school one of my cousins said I was fat, and a kid in school said I had too much facial hair on my arms and cheeks... Thus the body image phase hit. And so did the diet programs... Slim fast, Jenny Craig, weight watchers, curves, just To name a few. In college I got a personal trainer and a dietician an got put on phentermine, then my knee cap popped sideways and I had to get knee surgery, that was 2009. Then I severely sprained my ankle and was on a boot for 6 weeks... So what brought me down this path for the Sleeve.... I need surgery on my other knee, same thing that happened on my right knee, reconstruction. Due to my weight says the doctor. I've got plantar faciitis on both heels of my feet, that doc said to "to try to loose 50lbs".. Like that was easy before. Ha. I've got pinched nerves on my lumbar and on my neck... That doc said to loose weight, that'd help. And lastly I'm pre-diabetic. My pcp said I'd for sure be on diabetic meds within the next 6 months if no change is made to my weight. No let me also say that since I moved away from home in 2006, after high school, I became semi-vegetarian...eating fish or chicken twice a week, pasta-rice-or-bread three times a week.... Also in high school I learned to cook for the family, and since dad is vegetarian, I learned all sorts of recipes to make. So it's not like I was eating out all the time or eating junk food all the time. So surgery was on 12/4/2014. Thanks to my crap Obamacare insurance I was dropped in June and either way this surgery is not covered. My dad had a good year financially and with the self-pay discounts at the hospital, my dad was able to get a loan for the procedure. Did I mention Ive been living at home with the parentals for the past two years, and I've been in grad school the last two years. My knees feel 1000x better. I've lost 25lbs so far, and even my heals don't get the stabbing shooting pain that they used to after walking for more than three hours. Only negative so far is that I haven't been able to take my anti-depressant/anxiety meds Effixor because when I take it I feel dizzy, light headed, nauseous, weak and that lasts for hours. That's me. Not sure why I had to share.

I'm on day 3 of 28. I'm finding it ok so far. I'm allowed 3 meal replacements and 2 cups of veg each day. I'm not a shake drinker so so far I've had a Bioslim bar, veg soup and veg, veg soup and veg. I'm vegetarian so the veg is easy, I'll have to get creative to mix it up a bit. I'm getting the Optifast chocolate dessert to try instead of soup at night. Been eating 3 pickles at night at as a snack, getting lite jello today too. I'm weaning myself of Coke No Sugar too. Stay strong, we've got this!

Hi Everyone Just wondering if anyone is having a similar problem as me. I was banded last June, FINALLY got the adjustments right 12/1, I have lost close to 50 pounds, 50 more to go. Anyway I am to the point now I have gotten aversions to many foods I used to like and would be healthy for me to eat now. For example I used to love grilled turkey burger patties (no bun) and a bit of cheese and avocado. Can't stomach them anymore. I feel this way about most meats now. I only eat poultry and fish but the crazy thing is I would LOVE a beef burger. I am still mostly OK with grilled chicken but obviously have to take it very slowly. This evening I gave my salmon to the dogs and had a Protein shake with strawberries blended in for dinner. Breakfast is tough also. eggs were always a bit tough for me, now they make me ill. Eating in the morning is tough anyway. I feel like I could eat a big breakfast but obviously physically can't. The Proteins I still like are dairy, nuts, and Beans. I crave things like burgers and breakfast sausage from somewhere gross like McDonalds but I won't eat them for health reasons and I wish I could be a vegetarian so haven't eaten mammels for years as a sort of half-way. Honestly sometimes I wish I didn't have to bother! But I know I have to eat, I need energy for my busy life and I like to work out. I got this surgery for my health, not my vanity so I am focused on the quality of my life more than the quantity and quickness of weight loss. I am also sort of sad because I also wanted to still enjoy food, just in smaller amounts, so my tastebuds going nuts is making me nuts! Another side of this is I am driving my husband nuts. I'm like a child (or how I was when I was pregnant - and no I definitely not expecting!) with these food aversions. He might as well just do his own dinner and not worry about me. I honestly feel like I just don't like a lot of foods anymore. It's like since I have to chew chew chew chew foods I have noticed the taste isn't actually that good. I'd rather have something simple like a 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich (I can do bread in small amounts if it's toasted with the crust cut off) for dinner than a grown-up meal of salmon and veggies. I am going to try to get more creative and see if I can't come up with some different options. Anyone else had this problem or any advice?

Thanks for sharing. @Newme17shared this with me as well. I am thinking of going vegetarian. I want to eat super clean as I am considering doing power lifting.

I am vegetarian AND do not tolerate gluten, whey or lactose - so you can imagine how daunting this whole thing was for me!! But I have never been healthier and never had a better diet in my life - and I am 100% satisfied with what I eat. Mandatory nutrition counseling was a part of my bariatric program, as it should be for everyone. I spend at least an hour a month with my nutritionist, which is a lot more than most folks have to, but I need her, and she totally gets it! She has suggested many new foods and combinations. Hidden gluten was causing my skin condition (boils, blistering, peeling, redness cracking etc) and it is almost 100% cleared up now - I have little minor flare-ups once every 6 weeks or so, but nothing like the full-time misery I had before. Believe me, the band is 100% friendly to a gluten-free diet! I could not eat bread even if I wanted to (yes, I have tried, more than once!) but potatoes are no problem. I am on modified carbs - almost 100% from fresh fruits and vegies - and I manage to net between 40 and 60 grams a day. I also easily get at least 60 grams of Protein a day, and that's no Protein shakes cause I can't tolerate whey. I do use a lot of soy milk (soy slender to be exact) and sometimes a soy Protein powder, but rarely - extra protein is stored as fat just like extra carbs would be. Actually, having a restricted diet sort of helps explain why you are eating funny if you don't want folks to know about your band. I told only those I had to before, but when you lose 1/2 your body weight in a year, people are going to notice! I am now a walking billboard for the lap-band and for the healthy lifestyle that goes with it. No one can argue my results! You are the perfect candidate. the lose/regain cycle is common to almost all bandsters. Look at this as a weight maintenance surgery: you have to lose weight to get your band, then as you lose each 10 lbs more, they tighten it up to "lock in" your loss. It's the perfect tool! Best of luck ~ Riley :biggrin:

Hi friends I am ALan Smith. I am totally vegetarian from last 10 years before 1 month I have got severe injury my bone is fractured. I am getting treatment from orthopedic surgeon and doctor suggested me to eat eggs as I am vegetarian could not opt for eggs so please suggest me vegetarian Protein rich food so that I could fulfill protein need........... Smith ALan

To be honest I also get that visual image of the skin and veins and such. The thought of eating animal flesh grosses me out as well, but I don't mention it often since it tends to offend omni eaters. Following a vegetarian diet takes a little creativity, but it's actually not that difficult for me. This was really important for me when I initially started investigating WLS. My diet consist of plant based Proteins and dairy. A vegan diet would be more challenging so for now I am sticking with vegetarianism. I hope to transition to vegan once I achieve a normal BMI.