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Perhaps a lower BMI would be an indicator of a smaller liver, I am not sure. I was lower than many on my BMI (a smidge under 40 on day of surgery), and also my surgeon required a very easy pre-op diet for me: low fat (<15g/day)/low calorie/vegetarian. I accidentally had a little too much fat a few days, by assuming a few things. I didn't get a full two week pre-op prep time, due to trying to get in before the end of the year. Mine was scheduled less than two weeks out. I just think it is a good idea to be up front with our surgeons so that there are no surprises on the table. I can only imagine going through all these emotions and all the prep to just be closed back up without completing the procedure. Good luck to you! Are you excited? One more day!

First of all let me say that I'm really sorry that you are having a hard time. This process can be difficult. It took me two years and a lot of tinkering to figure out my band. I wish I could update my photo but it won't take my change. Anyway, I just wanted to know if your doctor had follow up care and nutritional counseling? If he/she did they should have told you about foods that are often difficult for banders. chicken, fiberous veggies, eggs, rice,shrimp, baked goods and meats in general can be difficult in quantities over one or two bites. I went vegetarian for the first 2 years because meat just didn't work for me. Two bites and it was stuck but I really missed it. It was very hard for me to get used to eating only 2 ounces of food at one sitting and eating out became more of a hassle than it was worth. It took me lots of trial and error to finally get this band thing down and I still have sticky days occasionally. I would highly suggest sous vide cooking for meats. It is a Water oven that cooks meats slowly and at low temperatures, thus making them ultra moist and tender. Google Dr. Simpson, he's a bariatric surgeon in Arizona who has a great website that explains why things like chicken stick and how to sous vide cook so you can still get your Protein and not have to live on Protein shakes. You can even look on youtube for some videos on sous vide cooking. Read up on it and try it at home before you spend a ton of money on a sous vide oven. The first time I did it I took an electric crock, stuck a thermometer in it, and sat there and made sure it stayed at 146 degrees for chicken. I cooked it for 50 minutes and it was so soft, moist and tender and IT DIDN'T STICK! I actually ate 3.5 ounces and it didn't stick! I've got 4 cc in a 10 cc band and that's pretty snug for me. Now I have a sous vide oven on order because I can't sit there for 50 minutes eyeballing a thermometer every night. :0 And because it cooks low and slow and never goes above the temp you set you can cook meat for 40 minutes or 72 hours and it will never overcook, it just stays moist, and tender. Many high end restaurants use sous vide cookers. From what I read it sounds like maybe you are experiencing the wrong foods in the wrong ammounts but it's hard to tell. To this day there are still a few foods I simply just live without but being 159 and a size 8 instead of 265 is worth never having a scrambled egg or pizza again! I wish you all the best of luck. It's just a suggestion. I wish you all the best and hope you find the aftercare support you need and deserve! Lots of love and hugs.

I tried to search this topic but nothing came up. I was wondering if anyone out there has a SousVide cooker and how they like it. I have read a lot about Water bath cooking and how tender the meat is. I have even seen one bariatric surgeon in Phoenix recommend it. My husband is in the meat cooking industry and he says this is the preferred method of commercial lines because it keeps so much mositure in the meat. Plus the slow cooking at low temperatures breaks down the meat Proteins which makes the meat super tender. I had to go vegetarian for over 2 years because my band simply would not tolerate meat unless it was almost completely empty, which of course, defeated the purpose. Now I am at my goal weight and am really missing the meat. I want to get a Sous Vide cooker but the cheapest one I can find is $300. I'm just wondering if anyone out there has one and if it really makes a difference with the Lap Band tolerating meat. I could splurge on the machine if it really made a difference. My husband like his meat cooked to shoe-leather consistency but I don't nor could my band tolerate it even if I did. Any input would be appreciated.

Puja - where are you in India? I was in Mumbai, with a short trip to Delhi and Agra. 10 day trip in total. To answer your questions, well, I took some Pure Protein Bars with me, and ate one per day. I also ate eggs for Breakfast. I'm pretty sure that some days I was below my Protein still, because there were a couple of meals at a friend's house that were vegetarian. I ate chickpeas and lentils those meals, but those aren't as protein rich as meat, I think. I tried to focus on protein as much as possible, and ate veggies like cauliflower when it was available. Like I said before, I still had rotis and rice and stuff, but just small helpings to tone down the spiciness. When it was available (it wasn't always served) I used raita to tone down the heat. I'm also pretty sure that my calorie counts were above normal (but apparently not more than I burn, maybe 1500-1700), especially the days I ate Butter chicken (YUM!). But I didn't really have a way to log it, and it was just 10 days, so I just listened to my sleeve about when it was full, and hoped that would be enough. I actually wasn't sure if I would lose weight or just hold steady while I was there, but I ended up losing, so that was great. It was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, and I love Indian food, so I just decided I wasn't going to worry about it. The only time I really had a moment of regret was when I was eating some fabulous butter chicken, and wanted to eat more, but I just savored it as much as I could and then stopped when I got full. likasulema - good luck on your weight loss! I'm sure you'll be able to fit without a seat extender on your next trip. Its the little NSV's like that that really make a difference.

I try not to eat high fat foods, but I don't worry about the amount in cheese. I probably eat 2-3 ounces of cheese per day. I avoid fried foods, "cream of" Soups (unless it's clam chowder, yum) and I avoid milk because it doesn't like me right now. I know nothing about vegetarian eating except that I'm not sure how I'd get complete Proteins in my body that way. Good luck!! I'm reading this section to see what other alternatives there are for Protein.

Hi, everyone! As a vegetarian sleever, currently in India, I currently find myself strapped for Protein options. I mainly do Protein shakes, Protein Bars, lentils, yogurt, Peanut Butter, and cheeses (including paneer, which is sort of like cottage cheese). On some days, I might have a maximum of one ounce of cheese. On other days, however, I catch myself eating maybe 3 ounces of paneer, 1 to 2 ounces of cheese, and 2 tbsp of peanut butter all on one day. This is partially my fault, because I see it happen on days where I don't drink my Protein shake, or on days where my fridge is not well stocked with protein options. Today was one of those days! In my head, this all sounds like way too much fat. So, the question is, how much cheese is too much? While the paneer may be a smidgen lower in fat than cheddar or peanut butter, it's still fatty, I assume.

So excited to find this thread!). I've been a vegetarian for the past 17 years. My nutritionist is excited to work with me since she said I'm her first vegetarian bander. I was surprised that I am her first since she has been working with band patients for 10 years.

So, 3 days post op for me. Weight fluctuating between 335-340 lbs. Still walking to get this co2 out of my core. Still living off OptiFast. Not much of an appetite for food since week 2 of my liquid diet. Feeling a little different about food altogether. I'm thinking about going vegetarian after this. I most definitely will not go back to eating all the foods that made me this way. I know the days will continue to go by, I just feel like I want to fast forward to a year from now so I can see more results. I've lost 57 lbs since the beginning of my journey, 30 lbs in the past 2 weeks. Cant wait for my first fill.

I was banded August 15. Breakfast - brioche and honey-cinnamon butter and a cup of tea lunch - one sushi roll with tuna and avocado, and one vegetarian sushi roll, one strawberry, and one skim latte dinner - beef/vegetable lasagne Supper - don't know yet, but it will be something I have in my fridge/pantry. Probably a piece of fruit or maybe some yoghurt.

I got a great cookbook on Amazon for after weight loss surgery, and I heard from someone there was one out there for vegetarians after WLS. Might check it out!

I am a struggling vegetarian and find myself living off of eggs, cottage cheese and Gardein products. I don't care much for the Boca brand, and tolerate the Quorn fairly well, but would prefer to get my main protein from vegetable based sources. I am rather unfortunately uneducated as well as I would like in what and how to prepare the best types of veggie protein dishes, but mostly I am lazy which is why I usually go with the eggs, cottage cheese or Gardein brand. But I believe 100% in being vegetarian and gathering plenty of protein from the awesome veggies out there so don't give up, and neither will I! I believe it is the key to our long term success!! If you ever want to see some samples of my daily intake I log into sparkpeople.com and try to keep a daily log, but have been kind of bad as of late. But it might give you a few ideas.....? (FOXRIDER) Like I said, I am struggling to become fully vegetarian so for now I do tend to have something like turkey burgers on Tuesday's (meat for one meal only), and maybe meat on Thursday's (again, one meal only). Oh, and I don't do milk but find a little extra protein in the Soy milk I drink several days a week. Find a protein mix you can tolerate, for me it was Monster Milk, and add a half scoop or scoop to up your protein, if you want.

I'm so excited for tomorrow. I should be able to start puréed foods. My doc has me on 5 meals each of 3 oz of liquid (protein or juice or my vegetarian jello). The rest of the day is all water all day. I'm actually feeling really good today. I get to shower tomorrow and couldn't be happier about it. I am feeling hungry though. Nothing too bad but it's creeping back. Any tips for keeping hunger at bay at this stage?

I was banded on the 6th. I've been doing protein drink from Bolthouse Farms and apple juice and water. I'm vegetarian so don't do Jello but I found really cool 3oz cups of juice gels. Sooo yummy! I've only been allowed 3oz at a time so far. I should be able to go to purée tomorrow. I already made squash soup and potatoe soup and mashed avocado and black bean soup. I put them all in little portioned freezer containers.

Silken tofu goes down very easily, and it's so soft it can just be blended up and added to drinks, Soups, etc. Or you can have little lumps of it for texture. And then there's firm tofu and tempeh as well for when you want to chew more. I was vegetarian for 12 years but started eating meat again when I was pregnant and very anaemic. I still eat it, although I don't really like much meat, and I've been thinking about going back to vegetarian again. I wouldn't go vegan, but that's just because I've got hens so I have a never-ending supply of eggs! I'd give up dairy before I gave up eggs! Plus they're very easy Protein sources, and I can eat them guilt-free because I know there has been no animal abuse or exploitation involved in getting the eggs

You can get your protein through beans, nuts, tofu and other products that are made for vegetarians.

I bought the Dummies Book: Cooking for Bariatric Surgery Patients and a book called Hungry Girl 300 calorie recipes. I have a Nook, but bought the paper copies of these books. The Hungry Girl book isn't specifically for WLS patients, but she has lots of quick, cook in a mug, foods that we can use. She also leans toward vegetarian cooking, which some people may like. She does use eggs and cheese, but also uses TVP and tofu for some of her recipes. (I'm NOT a vegetarian, just noting it for others.) Good luck and let us know if you find other/better recipe books. There are also tons of recipes on the 'net. Have you checked out Egg Face's blog yet?

We did Vegan for about 15 months back in 1995. It was hard when it came to Thanksgiving. We did make it through though. You just need to stick to eating a lot of beans and nuts. You can now, even order a Vegan"turkey", I can't remember what they call it. But, if you are interested, check online. Also, 7th Day Adventist's websites. Adventists are Vegan or vegetarians, we lived in Washington, DC and they were easily found. Good luck!!!!Karen

I'm at work tonight; working 3p-1130p. I realized a long time ago, that when I have down time at work or I'm bored, I think about snacking. Even if I'm not hungry. I bring decent healthy food to work 99% of the time. But right now, because its a patient's 18th birthday, there are 2 huge boxes of the biggest damn donuts in the world drenched with chocolate. I'm not even phased. I'm actually looking at them thinking "Why are we feeding this **** to our patients???" Not my idea. But anyway, I digress... The move is over, completed, and done. My previous landlord lady is a total b***h when it comes to wrapping this up, and is still thinking that I'm paying her a non refundable pet fee. She just can't let it go and leave me alone. All of my posessions are in my parent's garage or house, and some at my sister's house. I've got alot of sorting to do!! I swear I got my excerise with all of this packing, moving, putting it in the truck, taking it out, etc. I also realized how weak I am; I can barely get my self from a kneeling position to a standing position when I'm up on the bed of my dad's truck!! HOW PATHETIC!!! I've got alot of work ahead of me, and there's going to be alot of tears involved The good thing is my dad is very supportive and is totally my rock right now with everything. The BF is doing well as far as supporting me with this whole new deal; he still eats crappy food though, and I wish he would stop. Not for me, but so that he can keep himself out of trouble. He's not a big guy, he's about 5'7, 165lbs, size M or L, 32" waist. He's incredible hot. But he eats crap and smokes, and he has Chronn's Disease. Yes, I could strangle him. Hmmm. What else is on my mind.... Xmas is almost here, and seeing all the crap in the grocery stores just makes me that much more aware of how much garbage we put in our mouths. I see alot of overweight kids/teens and it breaks my heart what an injustice their parents are doing to them. I have a very good friend/big sister/mentor type person in my life, Sharon, who is a vegan and so are her 3 kids and husband. They made the switch about 2 years ago from vegetarian to vegan; she makes awesome food. She is also a health and wellness coach now; she always has a great link up on her fb with a new recipe or encouragement towards a healthy lifestyle. I know she shops at MOM's, which is a local organic chain in Maryland where I live. I went into one on Friday, and despite being overpriced, there were tons of good things. I just have no idea what to put together. I got some hummus, couscous with peas and carrots, and some hard pretzels for the BF. There were lots of other yum yum's there, including their homemade bread which is to die for, but obviously I'm bread and pasta free for the most part. I think my favorite store is still Whole Foods. or Wegmans; we're getting a Wegman's next summer in Columbia WAHOO. I think somewhere in this blog I was going to mention how passionate I am about feeding young children healthy food. Its such an easy thing to do, and it promotes nothing but positive and good. I CRINGE when I see anyone under the age of 10 drinking soda, or eating Cheetoo's...ughhh. My mom didn't let me have that **** at all, unless it was a super special occasion. My obsession came with it when I was a teenager and my home life depressed me. Food made me feel better, and I had control over it. Anyways, I am hoping someday I can incorporate my passion into my career. Ok back to work, they're yelling at the TV so the Raven's are either winning or getting wallopped. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK MY FELLOW BANDERS :) <3

. Hey all: Last time I posted here it was October 1, 2011, and I was nonplussed because my rate of loss was really slowing. I said, tell me I am not stuck at 219. Update: I was not stuck at 219. Today I weigh around 210. That means I'm averaging about five pounds a month now. To me, that is outrageously, unjustly slow but it did renew my faith in the universe.I was hoping to get under 200 by Christmastime and I probably won't, but I'll be *close* and the greatest part about this is that I did it without obsessing *or* dieting. But it is funny how your tastes change. Pre-sleeve I had been starved for carbs for years, and I was sort of a candy, cake, wine, garlic bread type of person. Now I can't imagine that. I can't quite express why Cake is so dumb to now but there you go. My cravings have really diminished and now I find myself wanting food. Every once in a while I'll have popcorn or a muffin but really a week of eating junk makes me feel so gross I will actually stop myself and think okay, kid, THAT is enough of that -- not because it will make me fat but because it makes me feel slow and sick. I'm an adorer of Soup -- especially potato vegetable, I went through a baked potato and vegetarian chili phase and I still drink Sobe Lifewater 0. I'm eight months in and I have 50 pounds to go and I think making it there might be possible. But for a yo-yo dieter like me five pounds a month, while unsexy to the extreme, is a perfect rate of loss.But mostly what I'm happy about is that I am sort of proving my hypothesis, which is that once I refused to obsess about this and just live my life, plus the restrictive action of the sleeve -- I started to crave good nutrition and lost weight without putting myself through emotional torture over what the scale said. Down eighty pounds in eight months. Not dieting. Still going. It might take me another ten months to lose the next fifty pounds but by the end of it I will have learned how to eat like a normal person and for once in my life think about something else. Hallelujah and Happy Christmas.

Bad habits: I do not exercise. I drink 2 iced coffees with real Hershey's syrup (only a tablespoon or so) on a typical day. I don't eat breakfast--never could handle it. I do eat a few almonds around 10 or so. I eat WAY too fast. I don't eat and never have been able to eat the recommended amount of protein; my blood work shows that everything's okay, though, so I'm not worried about it--and I feel good. Good habits: I do not eat baked products, flour, Pasta, fried foods, or sweets (other than the chocolate syrup in my coffee); sleeve doesn't tolerate them very well. I do not eat fatty Protein foods and have almost become a lacto-vegetarian (again, not on purpose--sleeve just doesn't tolerate them well). I routinely take Vitamins and supplements for the first time in my life. I stay well hydrated. I weigh every couple of days to make sure things are still okay.

Feedyoureye, that's amazing! What were you doing here? My parents are from Agra, but I currently live in Bangalore. I've read that you're a vegetarian, so once I get back to California, I'll definitely be trying out a lot more of the foods that you have been eating! You're right about learning to use the weighing scale as my friend. I need to get over my fear. Thank you so much for your response, but I tried Seitan once, and the texture grossed me out! We do get soy meat here, which I have not tried. I'm not sure what the Protein content is like, but I'll have a look when I find it! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textured_vegetable_protein

Like I was telling Puja, eat for medicine if you have too, if not for pleasure. If you put sludge in your tank, your car will run like cr@p, or die! You can do it! I do love melted cheese and peanut butter too...... Are you a vegetarian?

Hi all, I was wondering if there are any vegetarian sleevers out there! Are there any good Protein sources other than tempeh, Beans, etc.? I don't want to live on shakes forever and I also want a variety of choices............ except meant of course! I eat fish, but it can get pretty boring eating the same thing everyday. I don't see my doc for another couple weeks so I was just wondering. Thanks in advance.

Check out netrition.com. They have a number of high protein, low carb foods to grab. I also find protein bars can be a big help getting in the protein. I use balance bars right now because they taste good and are vegetarian. There are many more to choose from as well. I have found veggie pepperoni and jerky.. of course there are lots of meat choices there too for on the go. Cheese sticks, cottage cheese or greek yogurt, cans of split pea or bean soup...hard boiled eggs....peanut butter and carrot slices... I like the Trader Joes almond/flax seed butter....

As long as you are meeting your Protein requirements - I don't see the problem. Just be careful with what carbs you are eating. Really no reason for anyone to eat things like bread....our bodies aren't even made to process it that well. About gout.....I have suffered with it for several years. There are maintenance medications that you can take that are very effective (and cheap). I am currently taking allopurinol (300mg, 1 time per day) and I haven't had a single gout attack in almost 2 years no matter what I eat/drink. The prescription only costs 12 bucks a month even without insurance. If you can tolerate it, I strongly recommend it. I was having attacks every 2 months or so without it. Also - contrary to popular belief.....gout isn't entirely caused by your diet. Most of the time people with gout have problems ELIMINATING uric acid. It's due to your kidney not being as efficient at getting rid of the acid. Now yes, some people just get it because they eat lots of meat and drink lots of beer. Other people (like me) will get it even with an almost vegetarian diet....so sometimes you just get it and not much you can do. It's genetic....like it seems to be in your case. Look into the meds.....it will help.