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I'm not a vegetarian, but I have been finding that I hardly eat red meat anymore since being banded. I find it too hard to swallow. I ordered a steak last night, first time in weeks, and barely touched it. Two swallows and forget it. And it was not that tough either. Just wasn't worth it. So, I may be very interested in what others have to say because I may just go over 100%

Hello all, I was banded on October 14th. I have been a vegetarian for over 4 1/2 years and I was wondering if anyone else is also a veggie! What foods are you eating? How is everything? etc. etc.

Hey everyone! It seems everyone is doing well which is awesome. I was banded on October 14th and I weighed 276 and now I'm about 270. Started at 284. So yay 14 pounds! The past few days I've been having really bad diarrhea I'm honestly so sick of the protein shakes, I think its what is making me sick. I am lactose intolerant and I use lactose free milk with the shakes, so I have no idea why...but after drinking it I just feel blah. I get to eat tomorrow some mushies. I'm a vegetarian but I can say that eating oatmeal eggs and yogurt is going to be so much better than what I'm dealing with now.

This article didn't have Sleevers in mind but we can use some of the info here to get more Testosterone flowing through us. The third one surprised me and I was thinking that it was like a way of life for us. Well sort of.... 13 Ways to Naturally Boost Your Testosterone Levels By Ron Geraci, Men's Health, December 25, 2000 The normal level of testosterone in your bloodstream is between 350 and 1,000 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dl). Like combable hair, those quantities silently start to wane around age 40. You lose about 1 percent a year -- a harmless decline in the short term, but a cause of obesity, brittle bones, muscle loss and impotence by the time you reach your 60s -- if you live that long. Testosterone levels in the low range (a blood serum score below 350 ng/dl) may increase your chances of dying of a heart attack. It's not just an old man's problem, either. Men in their 30s and 40s also fall prey to low testosterone counts. It's a disorder called hypogonadism, and it can be caused by an undescended ********, a testicular injury, a pituitary gland disorder or even prescription drugs. It usually goes undiagnosed until a man hits his doctor with a telltale complaint: "I can't get an erection." "If you have reduced levels of sexual desire, have your testosterone level checked immediately," says Dr. Allen Seftel, a urologist at Case Western Reserve University Hospitals of Cleveland. You can replenish your testosterone stores with injections, gels, pills or Patches, but these medical treatments are no panacea: Side effects include acne, high cholesterol, shrunken testicles and liver damage. Further, don't take supplements like DHEA or androstenedione to boost testosterone; they might increase your risks of prostate cancer and heart disease. "For men with borderline testosterone scores, I advise them to try to raise their levels through exercise and weight loss before going on testosterone therapy," says Dr. Goldberg. And it might pay to start young. "Since your testosterone declines at a steady rate, it's conceivable that raising your hormone levels naturally in your 20s and 30s could help you maintain higher levels later on," he says. Either way, the reward can be a stronger physique and better bedroom sessions than you'd otherwise deserve. Below are 13 tips designed to get your juice up -- safely. Get Rid of the Flopping Belly Or you'll grow a pair of fetching breasts to complement it. Carrying excess body fat elevates your estrogen levels, and that may cause your testosterone levels to sink, says Joseph Zmuda, an epidemiologist at the University of Pittsburgh. Louie Anderson is proof enough of this. Two or three extra pounds won't cause this hormonal shift; it really occurs once you're 30 percent over your ideal body weight. "Unfortunately, that's pretty common now," says Dr. Dobs. But Lose Only One Pound a Week When you want to trim down quickly, you probably starve yourself while exercising like a madman. One of the many reasons this stops working in your 30s, when your natural testosterone levels start dropping, is pretty simple: Cutting your calorie intake by more than 15 percent makes your brain think you're starving, so it shuts down testosterone production to wait out the famine. "There's no need to reproduce if you're starving," explains Thomas Incledon of Human Performance Specialists in Plantation, Fla. Ironically, this dive in circulating testosterone stops you from burning body fat efficiently, so you're actually thwarting your hard efforts to melt that tire off your gut. Skip the Atkins Fad Research suggests that eating a high-Protein, low-carbohydrate diet can cramp your testosterone levels. High amounts of dietary protein in your blood can eventually lower the amount of testosterone produced in your testes, says Incledon, who observed this relationship in a Penn State study of 12 healthy, athletic men. Your protein intake should be about 16 percent of your daily calories, Incledon says. So, if you're the average 170-pound man who eats 2,900 calories a day, you should eat about 140 grams of protein daily, which is about the amount in two chicken breasts and a 6-ounce can of tuna. Have Morning Sex German scientists found that simply having an erection causes your circulating testosterone to rise significantly -- and having one in the morning can goose your natural post-dawn testosterone surge. It's a sure bet you'll burn a little fat, too. Stick With Tough Exercises To beef up your testosterone levels, the bulk of your workout should involve "compound" weight-lifting exercises that train several large muscle groups, and not just one or two smaller muscles. For example, studies have shown that doing squats, bench presses or back rows increases testosterone more than doing biceps curls or triceps pushdowns, even though the effort may seem the same. This is why doing squats could help you build bigger biceps. Make Nuts Your Midnight Snack Nuts are good for your nuts. Research has found that men who ate diets rich in monounsaturated fat -- the kind found in peanuts -- had the highest testosterone levels. "It's not known why this occurs, but some scientists believe that monounsaturated fats have a direct effect on the testes," says Incledon. Nuts, olive oil, canola oil and Peanut Butter are good sources of monounsaturated fat. Squeeze Out Five Repetitions per Set Throwing around 5-pound dumbbells won't help you effect a rise in testosterone. Start off by using a heavy weight that you can lift only five times. That weight is about 85 percent of your one-repetition maximum. A Finnish study found that this workload produced the greatest boosts in testosterone. Do Three Sets of Each Weight-Lifting Movement Researchers at Penn State determined that this fosters greater increases in testosterone than just one or two sets. Rest a full minute between sets, so you can regain enough strength to continue lifting at least 70 percent of your one-rep maximum during the second and third sets. Rest Harder Than You Work Out If you overtrain -- meaning you don't allow your body to recuperate adequately between training sessions -- your circulating testosterone levels can plunge by as much as 40 percent, according to a study at the University of North Carolina. The symptoms of overtraining are hard to miss: irritability, insomnia, muscle shrinkage, joining the Reform Party. To avoid overtraining, make sure you sleep a full eight hours at night, and never stress the same muscles with weight-lifting movements two days in a row. Drive Home Sober To maintain a healthy testosterone count -- and titanium erections -- cut yourself off after three drinks. "Binge drinking will kill your testosterone levels," warns Incledon. Alcohol affects the endocrine system, causing your testes to stop producing the male hormone. That's one reason drinking often causes you to go limp at the moment of truth. Have a Sandwich at 3 p.m. As any sensible woman knows, the way to put hair on a man's chest is to fill his stomach. Your body needs a ready supply of calories to make testosterone, so regularly skipping meals or going for long stretches without eating can cause your levels of the hormone to plummet. Then again, that's probably the warden's plan. Buy the Fried Tortilla chips If you want to raise your testosterone score, eat a diet that includes about 30 percent fat, and not much less. Your body needs dietary fat to produce testosterone, so eating like a vegetarian aerobics instructor will cause your testosterone levels to sink drastically. This is bad, unless you actually are a vegetarian aerobics instructor. Stop Surfing for Porn at 2 a.m. sleeping less than seven to eight hours a night can screw up your circadian rhythm. That's why it's no wonder your testosterone levels are higher in the morning after a good night's sleep. So if your work or social schedule keeps you stooped in perpetual jet lag, don't be surprised if you stop craving sex. At least that'll make it easier to stay out of bed.

I saw the surgeon and dietitian today for the very first time. I am more than dissatisfied with the dietitians advice for vegetarian/vegans. For the next 6 months, they want me to follow a liver reduction diet, which for a vegan, reduced food intake to soy and some vegetables. No fruit, no grains. She had little to no knowledge of a vegan diet. My husband has been vegetarian for a year and has made the switch to vegan within the past two weeks. I eat his diet at home, but when I am out I do consume meat. This is going to be very difficult. I'm not sure how to approach all of this.

ebreeze824, I've been a vegetarian for about 13 years, right as I graduated from high school. However, I was a carby vegetarian and really never focused on getting in Protein. Now that's changed. I'm on the fence about starvation mode. I hear so many conflicting things. Some people will argue vehemently that it's a real thing, while others don't believe it is. I think I lie somewhere in the middle. For the vast majority of the time, I don't feel real body hunger. Head hunger is a whole other story. I do want to start increasing my calories a little bit once I lost a few more pounds and get to about 1100-1200 a day to see how that works. Because I still have some to lose, I've just been really paranoid to do that yet. It's mostly just an unfounded fear I'd think, but after years of having my life revolve around food in such an unhealthy way on one end of the spectrum, I think I'm kind of on the other end of the unhealthy obsession now. My goal, with the help of my therapist, is to get to a point where food just is, where I don't obsess over it or punish myself with it or because of it. Obviously, I'm not there yet, but hopefully I will be at some point.

I had my 1 week check up today and the surgeon said I have to be on liquids for another week! How long did you have to be on liquids? It seems to me that most people are only on liquids for 1 week, then go to soft foods. I was so sad when she told me it would be another week! I am soooo sick of soup!!! Does anyone have any other creative and filling things they drank? Unfortunately I am also a vegetarian, so it does limit me a little more. I have been living on tomato, butternut squash, potato leak, S/F choc pudding, & veggie jello (yes, there is such a thing!)

I get hungry sometimes too... have from the start. Carbs seem to play a roll.. I do eat more carbs than some here, I am a vegetarian, and many Protein sources come with some carbs too. Some studies show that thirst can masquerade as hunger. Ghrelin is also made in other parts of the body. Its production is reduced when the fundus is removed... but not eliminated completely. http://lowcarb4u.blogspot.com/2010/01/ghrelin-hunger-hormone.html ....Another hormone that plays a role in energy homeostasis is ghrelin, a 28-amino acid peptide discovered in 1999. Its name includes the Proto-Indo-European root word "ghre," meaning "to grow." Ghrelin is produced in the hypothalamus, kidney and pituitary gland, but most of it is synthesized in and released by the stomach. ..

I eat-about 3 Gardein's "chikn" nugget things ( they are fake chicken, I'm a vegetarian) with half a can of green beans.

I did it! Today, I reached my goal of 100 pounds off! I thought I’d share with you some of my journey. I started in August of 2010, when I went to see Dr. Landerholm at Puget Sound Bariatric Center. I weighed 240 pounds (at 5’ 5”), had terrible sleep apnea, and was in the beginning stages of high blood pressure and diabetes. My insurance company, Aetna, insisted that I have a three month trial, so I saw Dr.Landerholm and his associates at Pacific Nutrition and Wellness. I lost 10 pounds in the three months, enough to convince the insurance company. I chose Dr.Landerholm because his practice has a two year program of followup, and because he does the sleeve as an outpatient procedure for those who qualify (I figured that he must be pretty good if he was able to do that). He performed the operation on December 8, 2010. Other than diarrhea for the first three weeks, it wasn’t particularly painful. I didn’t like the various Protein powders, so I structured my eating so that I could get my 60 grams of protein a day through regular food. Because I’m a bit obsessive, for the first seven months, I weighed everything with a metric scale and kept track on Fitday, keeping my calories between 700 and 800, and drinking 64 ounces of Water a day. I read accounts of others for whom the weight melted off. That was not me. After the first twenty pounds (which, to be honest, DID melt off), each pound was slow in leaving. I got discouraged, but decided that I’d have to go to the gym to have any chance of getting to my goal. In the middle of all this, I went with my vegetarian daughter for three and a half weeks in England in June, a real challenge to get food that would work for both of us. All of my health issues are gone. My blood pressure is 110 over 65, and my heart rate is about 68. For those of you who worry about your hair falling out? It doesn’t always happen. My hair has always been baby fine, and I didn’t lose any that I could tell. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve had NO complications. Clothes? Charity shops, thrift stores, and friends. I’ve gone from a size 24 to a size 8 in pants, down a whole size in my shoes, and from XL in t-shirts to small. What can I eat? Anything I want, although my meals generally consist of either a bowl of cottage cheese, a meat lump of some sort, protein-plus Cereal (I love my cereal), a Greek yogurt smoothie, a banana with Peanut Butter, an egg… Snacks? Cheese, fresh fruit, sometimes veggies. Do I eat sweets? Not much (doesn’t seem worth the effort), but I have the occasional little piece of cake, or two bites of my husband’s dessert. What do I avoid? Bread, Pasta, rice, all of which seem to sit poorly on my stomach (sweet potatoes don’t seem to be a problem). Do I still weigh everything? No, because my doctor (and others) pointed out that weighing my food isn’t always an option (and doesn't seem like a great lifestyle). I still weigh a few things (my cereal, for example), because I know the size of a serving that works for me, and it’s still hard for me to judge by eye. Don’t worry about it much…. Do I feel better? Well, I can go up stairs without losing my breath, and getting out of chairs is much easier. Flying on airplanes is much more comfortable (are they making seats bigger now?), and finding clothes that fit is a snap. How often do I go the gym? Every day, but mostly because I find it easier to do it daily than to make sure I manage three days a week. My next challenge? Staying within two pounds (either way) of my current weight for the next six months. After that, I’ll decide if I want to lose another five or ten pounds or maybe put on five pounds. Since the 100 pound goal was purely arbitrary (and I haven’t been this weight before as an adult), I don’t know whether it’s the right weight for me, but it’s right in the middle of the “normal” range, so I figure it’s as good a place as any to stop for a while. Do I still think of myself as fat? Of course. I was born heavier than I am now (actually, I was in junior high school). Part of me knows that I can fit into that amazingly tiny pair of pants, the other part heads for the plus sizes. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat, forty years ago if possible.

Do you ever use agar flakes to sub for Gelatin in recipes? I used to make gelatin from agar agar and juice - you just boil it and chill it afterward. It's not quite the same as Jello brand but it's pretty close. I also remember finding a vegan gelatin at Trader Joe's one time. Check that out. Oh, and I think I read once that the Dole fruit cups (those have canned fruit in them, so they aren't perfect) are vegetarian (not vegan) so that might be an option. I know your broths will get boring but don't forget to mix it up as much as possible with something like the Better than Bouillon vegetarian mixes - mock beef and mock chicken blends that you can flavor a number of ways so that it doesn't get too boring. Consider making your own sorbets (or buying them) from pureed fruit and simple syrup as a change of pace from plain old popsicles. The secret, in my opinion, is to spice things up with as much flavor as possible when your diet is limited. Intensely fruity sorbets and spicy vegetable broths will be far more satisfying that a can of veg broth or a grape popsicle! Post op you'll be fine, especially in the states where meat substitutes abound. And as a pescatarian you'll have even more options! The clears/liquids get boring for everyone, though, you just have to get through it. Hopefully you'll have enough suggestions from folks to help you through. ~Cheri

I'm a pescatarian too, I just figured saying "vegetarian" was easy to understand for the sake of the question. Thanks for the juice + isopure idea, that will be quite helpful and nourishing! I have a box of myoplex EAS original for when I can do protein shakes, I do not have a juicer so I plan to just buy broth.

just thought i'd put in my two cents about the 100 pound loss question. i honestly don't believe any of mine was luck. i work my BUTT off. i work out, on average, 2 hours a day...and it's not just two hours of walking. i do lap swimming 35 minutes at 5:30 am three times a week; i take an hour of zumba 2 nights a week; i walk the dogs for at least 45 minutes on those days; i walk during my lunch break for a half hour every day unless it's raining; and i run between 3-5 miles on the days i don't have zumba. i exercise seven days a week and have since surgery. i also eat between 650-850 calories most days, keeping my carbs very low (generally between 30-50 g a day). those calories and carbs include everything - vitamins and calcium included. i'm very, very strict. now that i'm 7 pounds away from goal, i'm starting to incorporate more carbs into my diet - mostly fruit - but honestly, for the first 10 months, i rarely had any fruit, bread, pasta, etc because they were just way too carby. i'm a vegetarian, who has learned to eat more fish, so my diet really consists of veggies and low carb sources of protein only.

I definatly don't obsess about food usually meaning how quickly can I eat again. I do however do a lot more planning than I used to. The prepared hot food at my works cafe is often not very healthy and there are a lot of vegetarians so the salad bar runs out early. I bring lunch (baked chicken breast, low fat laughing cow cheese, hummus, veggies, fruit) breakfast (greek yoghurt with some Kashi Go lean); and pre work out protein shake. So I basically need to pack 2 1/2 meals every night when I get home from work before I can dinner. I never would have done that preband. I also will plan ahead if I know I will be in a situation where there is not a healthy food choice.

Are you a vegan, or do you eat dairy or eggs? I was a vegan for a few years in an earlier stage of life, too--and post-surgery, I find I'm tolerating vegetable and dairy Protein MUCH more easily than meat or even seafood. I joked with my husband yesterday that I was on my way back to vegetarianism, but not on purpose--it's just how I eat now and what feels good to my body. Protein can be tricky. Beans are a wonderful source of protein for vegetarians--you can sneak them into all sorts of foods. I even made a smoothie with beans in there--almond milk, about a half cup of white beans (rinsed very thoroughly), cocoa powder, ice--and it came out creamy and yummy with extra protein from the beans. You can't taste them in there, either, so it's a win-win. Adding some Peanut Butter or peanut butter powder (I have some of the PB2 dehydrated peanut butter stuff--all the flavor and protein minus the fat!) would probably be yummy too--will have to try that. Getting enough daily protein is still a challenge for me, but I'm working on it every day. Protein Bars are a good thing--if you eat dairy, the whey protein products might be a good option, and if you eat eggs, there are egg-protein powders (I just saw a Jay Robb mix in Whole Foods yesterday) that might work for you. I didn't have clears, either, just liquids post-surgery, and I was slurping yogurt like a crazy woman (all 1 teaspoon of it at a time, LOL). You might look into those Isopure drinks, although for me they were not a good fit--I think others on this forum relied heavily on them during their postop clear phase. Edited to add that vegetarian Soups can be protein-amped by the addition of some Greek yogurt stirred in, or dried milk powder, again, if you do consume dairy. You can also zap some tomato Soup in the blender with a combination of Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, get it to a smooth consistency, and heat that gently--it's good without the meat broth.

I just talked to the nurse who i also banded, and is like the mentor for everything and she allowed me to go to Phase 3- "mechanically soft foods" YAY! So we were goin out with my in laws and i ate some sweet potato, applesauce, mashed potatoes- ( we were at a steak house and I'm a vegetarian, and the only protein foods that i was allowed was beans which the waiter says had no meat but were chock full of bacon!) I felt better and ate very little.. tomorrow will be the first full day of Phase 3, hopefully i can get some energy back! Amy

I was an avid vegetarian for years and a vegan for a few. Marriage changes so many things. Anyhow, have you tried agar agar? It's not quite the same a Jello, but it's still good. Agar Agar comes from seaweed. It's not crystal clear like jello but still relatively clear, rather like the Isopure clears. You can make all sorts of different flavors is you want to use fruit juice. You will boil the agar with the juice to dissolve. Now I haven't tried this BUT when it's cooling and gets down to about 105deg and still in a liquid stage before setting, it might work to stir in some unflavored Protein powder like from unjury? I wish you well!!!

Old habits die hard! I often serve up too much, or order and take stuff home. Last night I went out with my husband, and I got a veggie burger and onion rings (WARNING!!! SLIDERS!!!) I drank some water... ate about 4 onion rings and tucked into the hamburger... about two bites later the OFF switch flipped. Husband was very happy about getting all those onion rings and the rest of the burger came home for lunch today. Not very protein rich! But I felt normal. I always protein load early during a day I will be going out to eat, just in case! Its really hard to find good protein eating out as a vegetarian.

Great if it works but most diets are short lived...thats why we needed surgical intervention. I never dieted since I got my band and I believe my past diets are actually how I got obese. I now only make changes I can keep up for a lifetime.I became vegetarian with some fish before I even got my band...any doc who tells any patient (banded or not) that they should be eating meat is just plain wrong. Theres nothing wrong with eating meat but not eating it is one of many healthy lifestyles to choose from. Unfortunately a lot of the nutrition info people are getting from their nutritionists and nurses and doctors is way out of date.

I'll be a year out tomorrow and have lost 109 pounds with 10 more to go until my personal goal (although I've already surpassed my surgeon's goal). I'm a vegetarian, although I've started eating a lot more fish. Generally, I eat between 650-850 calories per day, at least 80 g protein, and I used to keep my carbs at 40g or below. Now I'm reintroducing more carbs into my diet - mainly in the form of fruits. I eat a small breakfast (usually a ff greek yogurt with protein powder) around 9:30, followed by a protein shake around 12:30, then a small lunch around 3:30 (usually low fat cottage cheese, a hard boiled egg, and some raw veggie), protein shake around 6, and dinner (usually a salad with some form of protein) around 8. I exercise between 1-2 hours everyday with rare exceptions.

I was banded on 9/12 in NYC and feel fantastic! I've lost 10 lbs since surgery and 15 since the beginning of my pre-op diet, and almost 30 since my high point last January. Very little pain, and no gas problems after the first five days. I haven't had enough courage to tell most of my friends (I guess part of me thinks I should be able to loose weight on my own) but my friends are beginning to notice. YAH!! At my first post op checkup, the nutritionist was a little concerned that I was loosing too quickly, but I've slowed down in the last few days, even though I was still in the liquid phase and eating exactly the same every day. Just goes to show you that weight loss isn't a straight line. She suggested one to two pounds a week was a healthy weight loss rate. Just started the "mushies" stage, and spent most of the weekend cooking. (I love to cook!) I made two Soups, a hearty lentil, and potato/leek -- both vegetarian and with little fat. I pureed them both and packaged in individual serving portions and froze them. I also made a vegetarian chili (with kidney and black beans) in my slow cooker, and steamed cauliflower. As above, I pureed them both. At a great middle eastern deli near me, I bought some hummus, babaganoush, and tuna fish salad made with lofat mayo. I also bought some fat-free greek yogurt, lo-fat cottage cheese, and two baby cereals for Breakfast. I'm well stocked! After weighing myself daily during the first 14 days of the post-op liquid diet and seeing my weight go up and down, I've decided to weigh myself once a week from here on. Don't want to drive myself crazy, and begin to build a better relationship with both the scale and with food. My main food issue has always been portion control, as I generally eat pretty healthy. So far, the band has really cut my appetite, and I really hope this lasts. I think I can do this! Onwards and upward! Or I should say, onward and downward! Best, Lisa in NYC

10 days Clear liquids (broth, tea, Water, etc) 10 days full liquids (above, plus Soups mostly) 10 days (I think) soft foods (above plus: mashed potatoes [bad idea], thicker soups, puree'd items and smoothies) After the last ten days I worked my way up to "normal" foods, though it took time to make it to some things. I am also a vegetarian, so you will have more options than I did (i.e. tuna during soft stage, etc). Go check out the Mexico Surgery forum. The first topic is Dr. Aceves info. It should contain a lot of the diet information he advises. Each doctor is different, but, after doing a lot of reading in the primary literature (stuff actual doctors write in peer reviewed journals), I would not recommend following a diet suggested by a doctor which has you eating any soft (or even full/normal foods) earlier than 14 days for soft and 20 for others. Basically, you start clear and work your way up from there. If you have trouble with a particular stage or type of food, go back a step for a day or two and start again with something after that with something else. For example, I tried scrambled eggs early in the soft food section. That didn't sit well. I did not throw up, but I definitely did not have a happy tummy. So, the rest of that day I just had fluids to give my system time to recover. Next day, I had some instant oatmeal and that went down fine. If I had tried the oatmeal later that day, it probably would not have settled well. I hope that helps. Keep em coming.

Thanks for the ideas! How do you handle your "clear period" as a vegetarian? I wish there was something to substitute the chewing action of jell-o, 2 weeks seems like a very long time for veggie broth and popsicles, but I guess I'll have to do it!

Post-op look up feedyoureye, she has been a vegetarian for years and has been doing wonderful with her sleeve. Post-op, tofu and other non-meat products like Gardein are great for acquiring protein.