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I believe so inave seen research that kids would rather have one arm then be fat, but I can't blame them. people r mean to fat people. I'm at my heaviest I have been in about 4 yrs and at 180lbs I'm treated differently. It doesn't matter how healthy I eat or how physically active I am I get the comments all the time like "I don't understand how a vegetarian keeps on weight" or I'm compared to other fat people, or. I had I guy tell me how big my calfs were the other day! People r mean to big girls! May 9 th can't come soon enough!

It's not selfish or greedy at all. It's no different from a diabetic buying special foods to replace things they can't eat often. Wouldn't you think it inconsiderate if someone ate all the diabetic food knowing that person did not have the option to eat regular treats? Or let's say you live with a vegetarian - who would eat up all the vegetarian food, knowing that person is not comfortable eating meat? Well, your medical condition is just as valid as diabetes, or a severe allergy or being vegan or any other kind of need for special food. 🤷🏽‍♀️

I am really looking for some insight & encouragement from people who have succeeded, or are further along than myself, or are finding themselves in a similar situation. I am 9 months out. I've lost 111 lbs. I have gone from a size 34 to a size 22. That is all well & good, but I have found myself in some sort of slump. I think that it happened sometime after the 6 month mark. I was determined to lose 100 lbs. in my first 6 months & I did that. I lost 101. Three months later I am down just 10 more pounds. My weight has never gone up, but I have had many weeks of no loss at all. I've had my missteps along the way...junk food a few times, dehydrated to the point of hospitalization once. I have just found that I am not as vigilant as I use to be. I never feel hungry anymore so when I'm busy or stressed food becomes a hassle & it's much easier to skip eating altogether than choosing a healthy or unhealthy option. I still have over 100 lbs. more to lose & I don't want to get stuck in this place that I am. Even when I try to eat well, as a vegetarian, I find myself really missing the mark on protein. I have a lot on my plate (proverbial not literal) right now. My boyfriend & I are closing on our first home on Thursday. I am going back to work full-time starting Monday after not working at all for 4 years. Then we're moving next Saturday. It's a lot & I'm overwhelmed. I'm just so much better at taking care of others than taking care of myself. Has anyone been in a similar place? Or maybe someone just has some good advice? I never thought that I would be that person who forgets to eat or can't be bothered. That's what has happened, though, and I'm not quite sure how to get restarted. Tomorrow I need to have a tooth pulled. What a joy on the day before our house closing. I'm assuming getting a tooth pulled will limit what I am able to eat. So, maybe a liquid protein reset? Just hoping I'm not alone out here.

Slwf-are you on a 10day pre-op liquid diet? My doc in Miami said I only need two days... Based on what I've read on this forum I was going for a week. Did the nutrionist give you a list of do & donts? I also recieved Vitamins and a liquid Protein that I won't take bc it's made out of animal (am a vegetarian). My doctor is well known in Miami but I feel like am entering a meat market. Cut & Go.... Not sure if am overeacting. Good luck and keep us posted

Thanks for your advice, unbanded! I'll surely run it by my doc and get his advice before starting to eat chicken. I'm really apprehensive about reintroducing chicken in my diet too. The last time I ate chicken, it was 2 years ago and before that it was a good 8 or 9 years of vegetarian and egg diet. I'm considering chicken only because I dont know other protein rich vegetarian food. I'm going to do more research on that front!

Yeah, me too. During pre-op, I think they were messing with me on purpose, telling me I might not like beef anymore, or smoked meat, or bacon, blah blah blah. I was worried I might turn into a vegetarian, start wearing Birkenstocks, and buy a Prius. None of that happened. Does it really cause you pain, or do you just feel really full? Early in my soft food phase, I would get full very quickly. One more bite, and I was uncomfortably full. And I mean literally, one bite would do it. As time progressed, I was able to eat more, but I can still cross that line between full and uncomfortable if I do not pace myself and pay attention.

I'm not a vegetarian, but a huge portion of my Protein comes from non-meat sources, and I can barely tolerate eggs post-sleeve so they're not a consideration. I eat a lot of Beans, regular cheese, cottage and ricotta cheese, yogurt, quinoa and whey-based protein supplements. You'll be great at it!

I am a vegetarian. I do eggs, cheese, beans, protein shakes. I add protein powder to everything. Hope this helps

I'm seriously considering the VSG, but I notice pretty much everyone talks meat, meat, meat as post-recovery foods. Are there any vegetarians on this board? What do you guys eat?

I've told people I've cut out sugar and starches, and therefore am eating mostly at home, since being a vegetarian, this greatly restricts the kinds of things I can find in restaurants. But I've also said that I still wanna socialize and they shouldn't feel weird eating around me. It's been fine so far. I also just get soup or tea or coffee or something (my surgeon said coffee is fine, but I know that's not the case for everyone).

Thanks for the reply Jane! I have a lot of different Protein sources, just worried about anything that might keep his program from working...you understand. It just nice to know there is someone out there doing 98% vegetarian diet and losing successfully! Thanks again for the suggestions too...

I am a horrible cook! I can barely cook things.. Please share vegetarian or chicken recipes so I can get my self sumthing nice to eat!

Oops, I forgot to mention that I am 5 months out! Thank you for reminding me. I'm so glad that the egg plus cheese sounds like a normal meal for you! I've read that people on here 6 months out can eat about half an egg with some cheese. I've always wondered about it. So just to be correct, you stop eating because you feel satisfied rather than you feel pukey or some sort of pain? If so, that helps me feel more normal! I don't eat much junk, other than a little bit of chocolate here and there. I get a lot of carbs in, though, because I'm a vegetarian. So, most of my Proteins come from dairy products and lentils. I have seen how easy it is to keep snacking throughout the evening without feeling the satisfaction or fullness, though. It's very dangerous! Even worse if there is whiskey involved.

I use Ensure plus, fairly new on the market, I put ice cubes in it and sip it in the morning. I prefer Chocolate but they have cafe mocha which has a hit of caffeine. The Premium peach protein drink (clear) I mix with caffeine-free ice tea to make peach tea. One of each and I've met the protein goal. The tea I drink all day with just a shot of peach protein. I find it far too sweet. The powders I have to go with the vegetarian protein powders and they are expensive. The others just gas me up.

What helps me, even now, is my Vitamix blender. Or any other high quality food processor blender like Blendtec. I can blend anything in it. You can make great Soups, smoothies and well, just about anything in it. This way you don't have to rely on canned soups or simple cottage cheese. They are sort of pricey but worth it in the long run. I make whole vegetable smoothies, fruit smoothies, home made nut butters, soups, Protein shakes, shaved ice, sorbet, low cal ice cream, hummus, chicken salads...well, the list goes on. I use mine about 4 times a day for myself and my family. I often add in tofu for extra protein without changing the taste. I got my Vitamix because I simply couldn't get enough greens & nutrients in. The option to make green smoothies & vegetable drinks helps me get in vital nutrition without stretching my pouch, which at one point I did. I'm a vegetarian so I needed ways to get in other Proteins besides shakes. A mixer will help you do that. You still have to watch calories and intake but a mixer give you some variety and keeps you from getting sick of Protein Shakes.

My doc was afraid I would starve or something with the mushies phase because I am a vegetarian, so on my mushies phase he said I could eat potato chips sometimes if needed but I must chew well and eat very slowly. I think I only did it once or twice during that time. It didn't seem to make sense. Actually chips are somewhat of a slider for me even now, potato and tortilla chips.

I'm on my pre-op low carb diet, and I'm doing ok vegetarian. My plan right now is to do vegetarian until I get to maintenance and then go back to vegan. I'm pretty committed to adding unflavored Protein powder to a lot of things. Today I ate a total of 1200 calories and got 106g of protein. I had one Protein shake, two tofurky sausages, and a salad with a homemade fat-free quark/lemon juice dressing. I'm certainly not at 0 carbs, but I'm doing a lot better than normal, when I usually ate a lot of bulgar, rice, etc. Post-op, I know I'll be eating less though, so, like I said, I plan to use a lot more unflavored Protein Powder to boost the protein in things like lentil Soup or refried Beans. Also, today I came across a vegan pumpkin seed protein powder. I'm just not sure if on it's own it's a complete protein, but it looks interesting and like it would be good with savory dishes! If you ever wanna swap vegetarian/vegan recipes, just let me know!

Weight Loss Surgery Weight Loss Pregnancy Seniors Heart Health Vegetarians Cancer Patients Wound Healing Healthy Lifestyle More... Why unjury is Better Nutrition Facts Quality is Essential How Much Protein? Why UNJURY? Recipes and Tips 7 Great Flavors Chocolate Splendor Chocolate Vanilla Strawberry Sorbet Chicken Soup Unflavored Protein'd cheese Sauce "It’s downright scary" – says FDA's Head of Dietary supplements Daniel Fabricant. If you use Vitamins or protein powders, you need to read this...and share it with everyone you know. "Federal inspections of companies that make dietary supplements - frommultivitamins and calcium chews to capsules of echinacea andbodybuilding powders - reveal serious and widespread manufacturingproblems," For years we have been saying that with UNJURY® and OPURITY®, “Trust is the First Ingredient”. It is also the most important ingredient. Read on! The Chicago Tribune, June 30 reports that it found violations of manufacturing rules in half of the supplement firms inspected. “Some firms don’t even have recipes...for their products”, stated the article. Other factories are unsanitary. In 2009 we told you about a protein supplement maker Quality Formulation Laboratories in New Jersey (whose customers included Costco) was closed after the FDA was finally able to get an injunction after two years’ efforts. The FDA press release noted rats, rat feces, rat urine and gnaw holes in the bags. If you aren’t squeamish, and want to read more, further detail is below our signatures. Here’s the bad news: While Quality Formulation Laboratories agreed to stop manufacturing, according to the Tribune and the government, they simply moved their production to another plant in New York. So some protein supplement users (not ours of course) have been consuming their products. We hope they got a good price on the non-whey protein. It isn’t just grossness. People’s health is being damaged. According to the Tribune, the FDA reported that some of Kirkman Labs’ zinc andstevia products contained undeclared antimony (a heavy metal). There is at least one lawsuit from the parents of a child who was damaged. Some Perspective: At least in the US, we do have an FDA and they are trying. In China, there is nothing comparable, and when there are inspectors, sometimes they work for the same company that owns the Vitamin maker they are inspecting. In short, it's a lot worse in China. So when a company says, “Our ingredients are from China, but they are good”, we don’t believe them. We believe you have to have trust from one end of the production process to the other. And Chinese manufacturers as a group have proven themselves to be untrustworthy. Why do companies use Chinese ingredients? We believe: some big companies want to sell their products into the giant China market -- so they want to have good relations with China. One example is Amway. They sell supplements in China and perhaps hope to have a hundred million multi-level marketing distributors there. We mention Amway because one Amway subsidiary[ii] is Metagenics (Metagenics owns Bariatric Advantage). We’re willing to bet that Metagenics supplements use more ingredients from China, now that they are in the Amway “family”. What to do: Consider the risks of buying the low price products at the big discounters. We believe that pressures to keep price low push quality to the back seat. Buy protein and vitamins from companies you know you can trust. UNJURY® Protein is recommended at America’s top-rated hospitals, and increasingly, OPURITY® is too. Buy UNJURY Protein and OPURITY Vitamins Now Healthy regards,

A Little About Me: Well for starters, I am the youngest of three girls. My sisters are tall, thin, beautiful, and married with children. I am none of these things. I am the smart one or the funny one! That’s a laugh. My Dad tells me “If you could just lose some weight you would be so pretty.” Ya, that helps. My Mom says, “If you lost a little weight you would be so happy” Okay news flash, I like myself! Growing up no one ever picked on me or told me that I fat. In fact I really never knew that I was. The only thing my sisters ever said was that it was “baby fat” and it would go away. Looking back now ya “baby fat” usually is gone by the time you are in high school. Mine was not. I don’t really ever remember being skinny. I have always loved my body and its curves, but I was never thin. And I don’t ever remember NOT being on a diet. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am 26 years old and have been on a diet my whole life! WOW that’s scary!!!! For the last few years I have been a vegetarian and more recently a vegan, because who has ever seen a fat vegan, well again look right here because I am one. I am finally to the point that I have too loose weight; it’s my life we are talking about here. I get winded after walking a few flights of stairs, that’s truly sad. I am now saying something out loud that my mind has been screaming for years, “I am fat, I Am Fat, FAT FAT FAT!!!” Now that I have recognized the problem I can do something about it!!! My breaking point came when a friend of mine wanted to go to Vegas, and do that in door sky diving simulator, and I really wanted to do it but I didn’t meet the weight requirements, so I told her that I was afraid. I didn’t want to tell her that I was to fat to do it. Now this summer we are going to Mexico and my friends (who are all size 2) want to do that canopy thing, where you are harnessed on a pulley thingy and soar above the trees, well again I am too fat but, I have 5 months to do something about it and now it’s on! Lap Band is the tool that I have chosen to help me fight my obesity (Wow! Now that’s a scary word). I have taken the first step, I when to a seminar Saturday February 16, 2008. My first appointment is this Tuesday and I can’t wait. This will be the last year that I am Fat and unhealthy. I want to find the skinny girl inside. More To Come!!!

My skinny sister who exercises regularly has a higher cholesterol than me. She is a vegetarian (so not a red meat issue).

I was banded Nov 4th.... to date for my weight loss see my ticker at the bottom. That weight is since about Aug when I got real about this journey. I don't remember surgery day weight i would guess I have lost 30 since surgery. I try to do only 800-1200 cal a day. Trying to yo yo on the number so my body doesn't get used to one number...I do a lot of walking, not an insane amout but a bunch. I like to sprint and chase my kids too but nothing big... I just started taking a Massage Tech class which includes doing an amount of stretching and tai chi in class I find it challenging enough but not discouraging ;o) I feel the change in myself as a result... I am going to join the gym soon to help strengthen my arms and help get rid of this tire around my middle. Posture is a big challenge for me. I am comfortably in a size 10 jean, and new bras today! Now to tackle the tire so my body is more even. I feel really good. I am working to a vegan or vegetarian life. I have over the last year gently switched my family over to whole grains taking them off most everything that is white. training my kids to read packages and noting serving sizes. They have always been healthy and perfect weight for their heights. I am still so happy I have taken this step for myself... although challenging it has been very rewarding!

I'm almost two weeks post op and have been doing well. Over the past three days I've noticed that whenever I drink a protein shake I'm feeling nauseous and extremely tired afterward. These don't seem like traditional lactose intolerance symptoms but I'm wondering if that could be the problem. I do have some almond milk and vegetarian protein powder I can switch to but I won't get as much "bang for my buck" in terms of protein. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm meeting or exceeding protein and water goals so I'm not dehydrated. The nausea does go away with Zofran. I don't have this problem with yogurt.

I have the same problem. I can eat chocolate like there's no tomorrow but try to swallow meat is like trying to blow bubbles out my butt. Thinking I should become a vegetarian. Don't tell me I need a fill or that I'm to tight because neither is true.And my meat is always pea-sized, chew, chew, chew.. I also don't eat breakfast because I'm tight in the am so it's not till noon or later till I can get real food down..

My surgeon says that fibrous veggies are hard to process unless they are literally cooked to death, which pretty much renders them useless to me. So, broccoli stalks, asparagus stalks, celery, etc. are hard to get down apparently. (I have only been banded 2 weeks, so I haven't tried any of this yet) However, he says that just about everything else is probably going to be no problem, although every individual is different. He has mentioned that white things; white rice, white pastas, white breads, generally don't go down well, while whole grain products seem to do ok. It has to do with gluten content. As I say, I am not at the stage of eating whole foods yet, but I will be introducing my mainly vegetarian diet back slowly, to see what I can and cannot tolerate. I think you will be fine to go back to your normal diet for most things.

I am a vegetarian and I was banded on September 11th. I haven't had many issues with eating. I just have to remember to chew really well.