Search the Community

Welcome to the Popular Diet Forum! I set this one up because a lot of us turn to specific diets before or after weight loss surgery. Before surgery, these diets may help kickstart your weight loss so you go into surgery with some momentum. After surgery, you may find that following one of these diets helps you stick to your weight loss surgery diet. Just a few of the diets that are out there are: Atkins Gluten-free Jenny Craig Nutrisystem Paleo SlimFast South Beach Weight Watchers Vegetarian and Vegan diets Feel free to discuss anything related to popular diets. Do they work? Can they improve weight loss? Are they good after weight loss surgery? You can swap recipes, exchange tips, and discuss products and foods. Enjoy the forum!

Hello Cheryl, Do you have a pintrest or somewhere u post ur recipes? I never had tofu and would like to try different vegetarian meals. I eat meat and hopefully after my band I can still tolerate chicken and fish (at least). But I still want to try other Protein supplements to make sure I get enough daily intake while changing up my foods. Definitely don't want to eat the same things all the time. I'm on pintrest at Madahooha28@gmail.com

You should try Quorn products. Soy free and gluten free vegetarian sources of protein. They are mushroom based protein - but they don't taste like mushrooms I swear! The Turk'y roast is my favorite - beats a tofurkey any day. I even got my meat eating father to eat it more than once. The Turk'y roast has 100 calories, 13 gr protein and 0.5 gr sugar per serving. And the serving is larger than you would think.

Hi everyone. I am new here. I had sleeve surgery in Feb of 2015. Going for a revision to get either sleeve or gb on 9-11(was supposed to get gb in 1st place...). My life has been crazy finding healthy low carb high protein foods after surgery. I am a ovo vegetarian (sleeve mad me lactose intolerant). I'm making this group for anyone in same condition as me or anyone in general. We can all help eachother. Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

Following this thread I went to my NUT appointment yesterday and we talked about my desire to phase out meat. I was a strict vegetarian for 8 years and I dropped the weight but couldn't keep it off...I turned into a carbitarian eating french fries, breads, etc. NUT says WLS and veg lifestyle doesn't mix but that she's welcome to talk about it at my 6-month appointment in January. I feel that we can make it work if we really want to eliminate meat from our diet.

I've gone back and forth between lacto-ovo vegetarian and vegan since 2011. I lost some weight but remained big (my set point and metabolism were a mess). I had RNY on March 7, 2016 and I'm down to 235 lbs from 410 lbs before my two-week pre-op diet. Since surgery, I've been lacto-ovo. I'm male, 6', and consume 1300 - 1800 calories and 70 - 100 grams of Protein daily depending on exercise for the day (I workout 6x weekly alternating strength with cardio). For the first month after surgery I was doing good to get 800 calories and 60 grams of protein in a day. I find it to be easier to get protein with yogurt, cheese, skim milk and the occasional egg. I would like to move back toward veganism, though, but many meat analogues no longer agree with me. Meatless crumbles, TVP, meatless meatballs, and Tofurkey deli slices are fine, but commercial veggie burgers and other products give me trouble. I make yummy black bean burgers, lentil-barely loaves, and TVP & bean chili that I can digest fine. I don't care much for soy Protein shakes. I like Vega One, but it can get expensive. I buy the store brand whey protein at Natural Grocers for cheap, but I only drink the occasional shake these days. I do eat a salad almost every day and add cheese, sunflower seeds, and sometimes a diced poached egg. I didn't return to salads until about 10 weeks out and stick with leafy mixed greens or spinach. I think you'll likely need to use dairy for protein the first two months after surgery and experiment from there. We all have different experiences with which foods do or don't work. There was a guy in my WLS program who was vegan and used mostly soy shakes, tofu scrambles, and TVP, so it can be done if you can handle a lot of soy. Also, there is a "WLS Vegetarians" group on FB that includes many vegans who share ideas. Sent from my LGMS550 using the BariatricPal App

So true. Even out 6.5 months, I still throw up almost on a weekly basis. I still can't eat salmon, tilapia, trout or halibut and tomato sauce and Pasta does me in as well. I hope one day that I'll be able to eat fish again. And actually, my new revelation is that I can eat a good salad from Whole Foods with no problem. Now I just need to learn how to make a few on my own. Seriously thinking about becoming a vegetarian since the surgery because I still like to eat and if I can get in a good quantity of salads, then I/and 'baby' (my pouch) are happy and satiated.

I was banded 15/1/08: Juices, teas and even coffee are allowed by my Dr. I'm a vegetarian so Baxter's assorted soups watered down and liquidfied have worked and baby hot cereal(no added sugars) are yummy. I haven't been hungry though, but I know I need to eat.

I am having surgery on May 6th and would like to connect with any other vegetarians and chat about protein options so I don't get bored eating the same thing day after day. Eggs, cottage cheese, tofu, PB..... lets chat

hi! I'm getting sleeved May 2nd. I'm not a vegetarian. However, I cook a lot with meatless products simply because I'm sort of germ phobic about having raw meat in my house. So I limit what I cook with meat-wise at home, but I don't exclude it from my diet completely. I also have a good friend who is vegan, so I've learned a lot of alternative methods to make things meatless so we can have dinner parties. I plan to get most of my Protein from dairy and Protein Shakes. I'm hoping my tastes don't change too drastically because I actually don't mind the shakes and they are a very convenient way to get the protein you need. I take it from your list that you're not vegan. If that's the case, it shouldn't be too much more challenging for you to get your protein than it is for any other sleever.

I was banded a year ago, and it seems that my assigned clinic nutritionist changes her story on me. After my first fill in February she told me I had to wait 15 minutes between drinking and eating, then a few months she told I had to wait only five. I was so amazed, I asked her to repeat herself and wrote the five minute figure down in my notebook. A few months after that, she told me I needed to wait 20 minutes. I showed her my notes from the previous session and she backpedaled, saying "Oh, uh, you only have to wait five minutes if you've quickly slammed water." Okay, that sure wasn't what she said before. This isn't the only time I've felt she's changed her story. My trust is a little impaired now. So, with that in mind, I wanted to ask a question about fill amounts and why certain amounts no longer cut it after some time. I've been up and down from 6.0 to 7.6. I had problems with constant vomiting at 7.6 and 7.0. I've been at 6.2 for at least four months. I've had problems getting a fill amount that makes me full quickly, yet also allows me to eat salmon, vegetarian "meats" and other high-protein foods. Often I've had the worst of both worlds: unable to eat those foods, AND still able to eat a large quality of slider foods. This was the case at this level for a few months, but as of recently I'm eating big quantities and I'm also able to eat those high-protein foods, so I am considering moving back up .2 ccs to 6.4. I've lost only ~10 pounds since June, so I'm frustrated. Anyway, my question is, why would a fill amount make me quickly full for a while, and then no longer cut it? My weight has not changed much in the last several months, so that shouldn't be a factor. Does the band lose the fill? More importantly, does this mean that I'm going to have to get this thing filled every few months for the rest of my life? Thanks in advance for any info you have, and thank you to the moderators for having this board for us!

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!

My measures aren't that far off. Funny most things like the granola I eat in my yogurt I always dip out of the bag with a 1/4 cup measurer. I looked at SparkPeople but I use the BodyBugg system for tracking. It does look like it provides more information than fitday.com. But I used the heck out of fitday, so I'm not knocking it! I typically eat 1200-1500 calories a day. There are days when I've worked out quite a bit or when I did long distance bike riding this past summer and fall that I HAD to eat more. If I didn't I'd wake up chewing on my pillow! (okay, that's an exaggeration, but you get my point.) Now that I'm running, yes running, 3 miles a day, 3 times a week I notice that same kind of hunger. I try to keep it healthy though. As for food combining I remember that being big in the vegetarian circles back in the early 80s. I haven't heard much about it since. I say do whatever works for you! Do you have reflux? Not to be redundant but I'm trying hard not to high fructose corn syrup. It's everywhere, but it's a cool process. I'm also moving toward eating more sustainably produced foods. But that's got a lot to do with the politics of how food is sold and transported...I'll save that for a later day. Any way, being mindful of lables ingredient lists is new and helpful for me. I've been reading nutrition lables forever, but not so much the ingredient lists. It helps me make better choices.

I'm 45, Female and a Foodie. Love to cook. Love ethnic foods from around the world. I do eat some meat, but love vegetarian. 216lbs Sleeved on Dec. 5 2017 Tons of energy that I credit to walking 7 miles a day. Walking has been the best tool i've ever found for weightloss. Love my Fitbit. Am interested in diets associated with the most longevity and less cancer risk...so I'm trying to balance my animal proteins with more plant proteins and healthy fats, nuts, etc. Mediterranean Diet and Mayo Clinic Diets are my favorites. I am a fruit and vegetable *****...and I have a terrible sweet tooth that I have to keep a careful leash on. (but do allow it a little action now and again) I love carbs, but have learned to pick better carbs, eat them in moderation, and pick low glycemic carbs to avoid hunger boomerang. Here's a pic of my lunch. Tofu chili, 150 calories and 16g of Protein. The wassa adds another 45 calories and 2g of protein:)

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.

What about tofu, seitan (protein you can make yourself look it up)?? Tofu is great because it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it in. (I was a vegetarian for 8 years) My nutritionist said to add dried fat free milk powder to things. Good luck!

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 thought the same thing about having an empty band. When I went for my one-week check-up, he told me it has 7cc's. I find that kind of hard to believe. I was banded 15 days ago, and I am STARVING. I've been drinking the Protein shakes, with Water (he also forbid me from having dairy). All day long I am constantly drinking water, crystal lite, snapple, and sugar free icepops. And I can seriously say I am straight up starving. He didn't give me the go ahead for anything else yet. For the first week I thought it was all in my head. I can't possibly be THIS hungry. But I could possibly gnaw my own arm off, if I wasn't a vegetarian. So I've been having some Soups here and there. Even though he gave me a strict diet. I can't help it. I really and freaking hungry. Which is why I still can't believe he banded me with a band already filled with 7ccs. And the Protein Shakes are giving me unbelievable gas pains in my lower abdomen. I saw my gastroenterologist, and he gave me a script for Reglan? Hopefully this works. But the 23rd wasn't that long ago. Real foods to me sounds like a bad idea. Less than a week. I know the stomach area around the band needs time to heal, whether or not you don't feel discomfort while eating. It's a real pain in the butt, but the 2nd stage of mushy foods shouldn't be that far off. Unless you have my doctor who is probably trying to break my will to eat. Haha. I have another 5 days until mushy foods.

As you can probably tell by how long I’ve been a member here, I’ve been considering VSG for a long time. My husband has never exactly been on-board with it; he’s naturally very thin, and can eat whatever he wants without gaining any substantial weight. Since he’s never really been willing to hear me out on VSG, I’ve tried everything else under the sun to try and get my weight under control. In 2011 I did Medifast. Over the year, I managed to lose 100 pounds. Over the next year and a half, I managed to gain back every last pound. I talked to my husband last night again about VSG, and he was not terribly supportive of the idea (as usual). He doesn’t like the idea of me having surgery, and he is also of the opinion this is somehow taking the easy way out and I should be able to just do this on my own. He feels like I “quit” on Medifast, and that we wasted money because I gained it all back. I tried to explain to him that it’s not losing weight that’s the problem…it’s keeping it off. I’ve tried and tried, and I *can’t* stay a normal weight. I am just not able. I’m not a snacker, and I don’t eat a bunch of junk food. I’m a vegetarian (15 years), don’t have high cholesterol, etc. My problem is the speed and quantity at which I eat. If my husband and I are having pizza, I will be on my 4th slice by the time he’s finishing his first. I literally inhale my food. I don’t chew, I don’t wait for it to cool, and I eat so quickly and so voluminously that I feel ill. I’ve tried to consciously slow down, but even my “slow” is fast to most people. And I don’t know the meaning of the word “full.” Through all my research, it seems like VSG would be the best option for me because it would force me to slow down (lest I get sick!), and I physically won’t be able to hold as much food. I know you can “eat around” the sleeve, but like I said I’m not a big snacker or junk food eater so I don’t worry about that so much. I feel like the sleeve would be a good tool to help me control my portions and give me that sense of when to stop that I’m *supposed* to have. Since my husband feels like I “quit” at Medifast, he thinks I’m going to “quit” on the sleeve. He thinks I’ll just gain it all back, and we’ll have “wasted” all that money. I know he wants to be supportive and he wants me to have something that works, but he just doesn’t know what it’s like to have a problem with food. It’s impossible to understand if you haven’t been there. But he raises a good point, and one I feel is fair to ask—how IS this different from Medifast or anything else I’ve tried? Will it just end up being another “waste of money”? How will this help me succeed where other plans haven’t? Please, any insight you can provide would be so appreciated. I just want to be healthy again.

Aldi started out here in Australia about five, six years ago ans seriously I think we coudlnt afford to eat without them!! I find I have to be careful though because they're big on processed food and not huge on fresh healthy food and the fruit is TERRIBLE! But I do Aldi first for some meat, milk, yogurt, snack foods for the kids, cat food, cleaning and bathroom products (for everyone except me, lol, I wouldnt wash my hair with that crap!), washing powder etc etc. Then I will head to a fruit and vegetable wholesaler nearby and we have a meat wholesaler too, we're very lucky where I am and the 4 Aldi's nearby bring down the prices in big chain supermarkets - we really couldnt afford to move out of this area or our groceries would double. Nonetheless these are the things I do to keep the price down. I stick with basic fruit and veg - apples, bananas, oranges in the fruit bowl, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, basic salad ingredients and some frozen vegetables, I stick with boring plain lunches like sandwiches and crispbreads with things like cheese and tomato, tuna etc. I clean EVERYTHING in the house with cheap shampoo - truly it works better than almost anything (especially on the shower doors) - and vinegar (straight hot vinegar to clean the boys toilet, cuts that lingering pee smell dead), we eat basic meat and 3 veg meals, a chicken breast, mashed potato and pumpkin and steamed veg, we dont eat a lot of fish except for what Doug catches becuase its so expensive, we eat a lot of things like roast lamb becuase whilst a leg of lamb may be $26 here, we get 3 entire meals out of it - a roast dinner, a shepherd's pie and something like lamb souvlakis. Same with a roast chicken - the rest goes in the freezer for sandwich meat for the boys lunches or I eat it in salads for lunch. I never ever buy things like lean cuisines, we dont eat any packaged food like that, we dont do dessert so no ice creams etc, Breakfast remains Cereal, toast, eggs, those basic choices, and deli items are kept for entertaining, not everyday eating. I dont buy orange juice or any other drinks, we have Water, water or water in this house, or milk but none of us are milk drinkers. I also make a lot of things for the kids like cakes and Cookies. And takeaway is a rare treat, I'd sooner make baked Beans on toast than spend $25 on fish and chips. Doug takes leftovers to work and my kids take lunchboxes to school (as does everyone here anyway, schools dont have big lunch programs, you can get a lunch order but there's no eat in cafeterias) We still manage to eat quite interestingly and well, probably one meal out of the seven in the week I'd put more effort into something special. I do quite a few vegetarian things with lentils, I make a lot of Soup with heaps of veges, whenever I buy a jar of spaghetti sauce, I'll add a can of tomatoes and some tomato paste, heaps of grated zucchini and carrot, a can of kidney beans and just 500g of mince beef and turn what would have been ONE meal with the mince beef and jar of sauce into something healthier, full of beans and vegetables the kids cant even taste into about three full meals on spaghetti (I sometimes have stir fried zucchini strips instead of pasta). Lentil patties, lentil dahl, a chick pea and apple curry, lentils and pulses are really cheap! And delicious. Even so, our grocery bill still comes in at around $250 to $300 per week for five of us.

Hello, I wanted to start a thread for vegetarians/pescatarians/vegans, so we can give each other meal ideas!

Bob's red mill makes a plain soy isolate. You can use that to get in your protein. No sugar or other additives. Just protein. It will mix with soups or broth. You also should call & discuss this with your nutritionist. I had to make adjustments because I am a vegetarian with multiple food allergies. Speaking with my nutritionist helped me develop a plan that worked.

@ Sue Brat Kee Ashe You are right, I didnt mention my diet. I went for 7 years vegetarian, gluten free and did great. With the move, the depression I did fall off many wagons. I totally understand what i did wrong. it just got SO FAR out of my control that I felt it was insurmountable. I'm climbing up out of that damn hole.

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,

Thanks for your help y'all. I would love the link to the facebook group . I just feel like i cant eat normal meals, food now , Set aside bread rice pastas, I cant eat meat very well w/ out it hurting, I cant eat eggs, Must of anything, I have been considering becoming a vegetarian becuase i seem to have less issues with that at this point . Did anyone have this issue w/ their band before the VGS surgery ?