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Thank you for the book recommendation. I will look that one up at my library. As for what type of vegetarian I will be I have thought long and hard about this. I would LOVE to be a vegan but at this point I know that I cannot pull that off. I have too many old habits in me from a lifetime to just not eat any animal products. I really don't know how to cook anything but meat. But I'm learning. Breakfast was never meat really b/c I am allergic to eggs, but lunch was always sandwich meat or tuna, chicken etc. I am trying to get off the wheat too and so sandwiches are out for now. I've been doing big salads. dinner was always meat as the main ingredient and then carb and veggie. So typical. Dairy is not my thing. I like cheese but milk is gross to me. I cant get past the whole cow, baby cow yukkiness of it. I wish I could like the soy or rice cheese but its sooooo gross that I am stuck with either goat or cows milk. I'm trying slowly to change things and learn about new foods that I had previously never even heard of. Quinoa? Its fabulous! lol So that's where I'm at. I hope to keep reading more and learning more about it. Thanks for the info and any other info you come across I am interested in hearing.

I wont get my band in until january 18th, but I've been a vegetarian for 17 years (I know, how did i get this big?) I have been looking into low-carb options, too. Google "Eco Atkins diet". Also, I don't know what you can/can't eat with the band yet, but I've been buying the pre-separated egg whites and making scrambled eggs on a non-stick pan with olive oil spray and some seasonings. Beans, nuts, tofu, kale, fat free plain Greek yogurt (as a veggie dip) and cottage cheese, those are some of the things off the top of my head. Let me know what you come up with!

I think I'm wanting to go all the way with this new lifestyle. I want to eat raw and whole foods, become a vegetarian (maybe), exercise religiously, etc. Is there anybody out there who feels the same way? I don't want to just eat everything, but in moderation. How do I get there and still get enough protein and frankly enough calories if I have to chew chew chew a bunch of raw veges?

I wanna have this surgery and I met with the surgeon and he told me to lose 20 lbs ... I have lost 10 so far ... and I m stuck there ... I try to eat protein bar and fage yogurt ... I m a vegetarian by birth ... i really wanna lose weight before 12 June ... bcoz I m on vacation for 2 months after that before I get back to work... how long does it take for me to get scheduled for surgery after i lose 20 lbs??? I live in San Jose ca

I eat the same way I did, only with portion control and without between meal Snacks. I appreciate the wisdom behind eating 6 small meals a day but the truth is for me, I dont stick with it, I just keep eating. I'm better to just BAN eating between meals and not do it. So 3 meals a day - I normally cook from scratch and I always did, and basically healthy meals so my family routine has not changed at all. For breakfast I eat things like oatmeal, cereal, toast lunch sandwiches, salads, Soups, or dinner leftovers dinner - meat and 3 veg type meals (roasts, barbecues etc), Pasta dishes, soups, lots of vegetarian meals. I will occasionally have junk food - a takeaway lunch or dinner, I like a glass of wine at night and very very occasionally will have some chocolate or ice cream after dinner.

RNYTalk Newsletter By Hey, RNYTalk.com members!The weather’s warm, zucchini and watermelons are abundant and the Summer Games are providing inspirational moments for all of us. We hope life is good for you and you’ve been achieving your own goals this summer. To help you stay focused, here’s another newsletter from RNYTalk.com. This is what we’ve got for you: Burning question: What are the Best Sources of Protein? Member Spotlight: Meet KevinsBabyGirl85! Bypass Challenge: Record Your Diet! Life after Bypass: What’s Your Emergency Plan? We hope you enjoy reading the newsletter and you get inspiration and a few great ideas from it. Of course, when you’re done reading, come on over to the RNYTalk.com board and talk about the newsletter or anything else that’s on your mind. Also remember to drop me a line any time if you have comments or suggestions for the boards. Thanks! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder liquid diet after weight loss surgery, Protein shakes and Protein powder can help you meet your needs. Fat-free milk is another good source, and it also has Calcium and Vitamin D for strong bones. In the pureed foods stage, you can add in things like canned flake chicken, extra-lean ground beef and light tuna. Tuna has an extra benefit because of its heart-healthy omega-three fatty acids. Fat-free yogurt is another great option. You always want to look for lean meats and fat-free or low-fat dairy products instead of full-fat ones. That’ll help you limit your calories and reduce saturated fat, which is unhealthy for your heart because it raises your cholesterol levels. By the time you get to the soft (semi-solid) foods and solid foods stages, you have a lot more options. Fish, crab, white-meat, skinless chicken and turkey, and egg whites are almost pure protein – plus some essential nutrients. Be very careful to avoid any bones or gristle in your fish or meat. Some vegetarian options are tofu, Beans and low-fat cheese. Melted cheddar cheese makes a delicious topping for almost anything. Always eat slowly, savor the flavors and chew your food well before swallowing. Choosing Proteins that are lowest in calories and saturated fat will help you lose weight and stay healthy. Did you miss the previous Burning Question? You can always see the earlier Burning Questions in our sleep apnea and back pain, and couldn’t even go outside in the heat without losing her breath. KevinsBabyGirl85’s story is a little different than some we’ve seen. Many gastric bypass patients choose to get the surgery because they’re worried that they’ll have a health crisis in the future. For KevinsBabyGirl85, it was a reality. She spent 47 days in the hospital, including 21 on life support, when she needed two lung surgeries after catching bilateral pneumonia. Something had to change, and for KevinsBabyGirl85, gastric bypass was the answer. Since the surgery in January of 2012, KevinsBabyGirl85’s down to 164 pounds en route to her goal of 120 pounds. Some of her toughest moments have some as she’s figured out who her true friends are based on their support during her weight loss journey. A rewarding moment? Being able to stand with both legs in one pant leg of her old jeans! We bet she has a lot more energy now to keep up with her 7-year-old twins and their 5-year-old brother. KevinsBabyGirl85 is active on the boards and well-known for her generous and helpful advice. She uses RNYTalk.com to get support and provide it for others. Two pieces of advice for others? Take it one day at a time, and don’t ever give up! Thanks, KevinsBabyGirl85, for sharing your advice and story. You’re a great example of how well your advice really works! Don’t forget to check out KevinsBabyGirl85’s before and after photos in her member profile – she’s looking pretty awesome! Each newsletter features a different RNYTalk.com member in the dinner in the future. How will you let out your inner Olympian? Let us all know in the member Challenge Forum! Tell us what you did and whether you think it worked for you! The challenge is completely non-competitive, but we’d love for you to share your experiences. You’ll help inspire others to chase their own dreams. Miss a challenge? No problem! Just go back to the old newsletters to see what the challenges were. It’s never to late to try something new and tell us about it on the forums. Life after Bypass: What’s Your Emergency Plan? It’s Sunday morning and you haven’t been able to eat or drink all night because of nausea and vomiting. Your surgeon’s office hours are from Monday through Friday. You wait miserably until first thing Monday morning, when you call your surgeon. The receptionist is horrified to hear about your ordeal and says, “Why didn’t you call yesterday? We have someone here 24/7 for emergencies!” This scenario comes up all the time on the boards, and it’s truly heartbreaking because in most cases, the suffering you feel is entirely unnecessary. You should know what number to call when you have trouble. If your surgeon didn’t give you an after-hours number, ask for one. You should never have to wait a whole day just because your emergency happens on a weekend. And with that advice, we’re done with this newsletter. You can always read it again and look through old newsletters in the Newsletter Forum. We’re always happy to hear from you and to see increased participation on the boards, so log in and get talking! Thanks for your support. Take care of yourself and each other, Alex ==============================================================If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: http://www.rnytalk.c...&tab=newsletter

So, there are brands that are commonly certified like Nature's Own or Vermont Bread Company and many others. Here's a link to a page that shows the symbols you can look for on packaging. http://www.kosher-directory.com/supervisions.htm#USA Odds are that many items you already buy are certified; you just didn't know it because you aren't looking for them! In any case, there would be a symbol and then the letter "P" or the word "Pareve" after the symbol. This verifies that the bread is non-dairy. It is also becoming more common for a company to say when their product is vegetarian or vegan right on the packaging - so perhaps shopping the organic/health food section of your supermarket will give you some more options if you find your regular bread shelves lacking. Or just bake your own bread and don't add milk or butter. That's what I do, and my kids are so spoiled that they won't even eat the store bought stuff anymore. ~Cheri

Sorry you are going through this. Do you try to eat more frequently to compensate? When you say 3 bites, is that 3 bites of dense protein, or anything? Can you drink protein shakes? I am just a week short of being 5 months out, and I definitely don't have that issue. I can eat about 4 to 5 small veggie meatballs with a little (like less than a tbsp) of ricotta and a little parmesan or 2 soy protein sausage patties with cheese (I'm a vegetarian). At first I could only eat about 2 to 2.5 veggie meatballs, so my capacity has increased. I can eat about a cup of salad, but not if I am eating protein, so I usually eat veggies as snacks. I would definitely talk to your surgeon.

I shall watch this topic with interest as a pre-op vegetarian!

Lactaid and soy are both fine. Whey might even be fine, as most folks with milk problems are intolerant to lactose...You have time, so get a few sample of soy and whey, and give them a try! I have become intolerant to milk at this time... just a little... I hope this changes as I am a vegetarian and that really limits my choices....good luck!

The more heavier soups, like cream of broccoli, etc, really helped me....even when I was allowed to move onto mushies, I still preferred the heavy soups, and then vegetarian chili, etc. But then nothing is going to curb the hunger/cravings for me until I started getting fills, and then it took a few before it finally kicked in...I even gained weight between my first and 2nd fill......AKA "Bandster Hell", or as I like to call it the "White Knuckle Club"...just have to hang on!

I massively modified this recipe from http://www.amazon.co...ian slow cooker. The original recipe calls for 2 lbs of spinach and makes so much a sleever would be eating it until they died. It's also waaaay too spicy in the original and hers is made in the crockpot. MUCH faster in pressure cooker. Ingredients 1 lb fresh baby spinach Peel where necessary and roughly chop: -1 large yellow onion -2 medium tomatoes -5 cloves of garlic -1 2 inch piece of ginger -1 serrano or jalapeno chili 2 tablespoons ground cumin (grind in coffee grinder yourself or buy amongst mexican spices) 1 tsp or less cayenne pepper. Put less, you can add more later 2 tsp garam masala (can buy in most stores) 2 tsp turmeric 2 tsp Salt 1 packet fried or fresh paneer (indian grocery store, frozen section). I will also post recipe for homemade since this is good source of vegetarian high protein. Directions Pressure Cooker: If making in pressure cooker, dump all ingredients except paneer together and set to high pressure for 4 mins. Crockpot: Cook on high for 3 hours. Push the spinach down once so all gets moist. When done, use as immersion blender and mush everything up into either a very smooth puree, or leave some bits unchopped, per your diet stage. Gently add paneer until mixed in. Serves 6 Calories: 139 Fat: 9 Carbs: 9 Protein:10

I take a multi-Vitamin (adult Centrum chewables) plus and additional Iron supplement. (plus some other vites too) Hopefully everyone is getting regular bloodwork, so someone taking a gummy vitamin would learn if their ferritin was too low. Maybe they have a diet high in iron? I'm a vegetarian and borderline anemic, my diet tends to be low in iron anyway - which is why I always supplement (and have since before the sleeve surgery).

Great advice. Switching things up is a great idea, be it food, exercise, etc. Try going vegetarian for a couple of weeks, that should shake things up (still get in your protein!). Try more Water (10 cups a day). Add in a 5 or 10 minute run if you are not a runner. Try lifting some weights for a few weeks. Some people like the 5:2 program (see other posts about that).

Donna, She's talking to Restless Monkey. Shirley, PM her and I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you about it. She's wonderful at sharing her experiences and trying to help others. Her story is one of hard lessons learned and triumph! RM is great. Sarah, As far as Protein goes, veggies and fruits also have protein. Granted not tons of it but it's there. If you haven't seen your surgeon yet, don't get too wrapped up about it. You'll get the info you need from him. And if not, then ask for it. Best wishes on your journey! Some links if anyone wants a look-see: Foods High in Protein,High Protein Foods List Protein Content of Food: Vegetables and Fruits | Protein Protein in the Vegan Diet -- The Vegetarian Resource Group Vegetarians in Paradise/Vegan Protein Basics/Vegetarian Protein Sources / Charts

I am vegetarian, and allergic to ALL seafood, red dyes, processed foods, stevia, and most artificial sugars. 2 weeks prior to surgery I was told to increase my Protein to between 60-80gm and my Water to 64 ounces a day. Day of surgery I was liquids only and NPO after 9pm In the hospital I was offered tea, Liquid Protein, vegetable broth and Jello. I drank the broth & protein. I was released on full liquids. I was told I could add a small amount of Peanut Butter to my protein shakes, but no more than 1 tsp. Weeks 3-6 - I was allowed purees and soft foods. Weeks 7 - present I can eat whatever I can tolerate. I am to each between 600 -800 calories, at least 60 gms protein and 48-64 ounces of water. I've had no issues eating or drinking anything. It took me 4 days to build up to drinking all my protein and water when I was released from the hospital. The biggest challenge is eating around my allergies but that's something I've lived with for a very long time now. It took forever to find a Protein Drink I liked and wasn't allergic to. Other than a rash from the bandages I've had a fairly uneventful surgery and recovery.