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I do this already. I go until my body physically won't let me do anymore. I eat very healthy; vegetarian, lots of protein, vegetables, no junk food, I will do the pre-op diet when I am pre-op. Just don't see much sense in starving myself when I have no end of the road in sight yet.

A vegetarian avoids meat. A vegan avoids products that come from animals like egg, milk, or honey, even if the animal is not harmed.

Hey everyone! I could use some help. I'm about 5 weeks out and apparently Mr. Grumps (my pouch) decided to make me a vegetarian. Every time I try to eat meat... He decides to mess up my day. Anyone have any suggestions as to things to eat? Also maybe some help on a good vitamin schedule? Having a hard time remembering them. Thanks so much!!!

I use Isopure unflavored. It's 100% pure whey isolate and nothing else. There are also soy isolates if you can't tolerate any whey at all. Orgain Organic makes a vegan shake, but it's only 16gm per serving however, that's more than the Slim fast shakes which clock in at 10gm. I personally liked the taste of Orgain, especially the chocolate. You could try Whole Foods for non whey Proteins. Vega is really popular among my vegetarian/vegan friends. I would recommend trying as many samples and brands as possible before surgery . Those first few weeks post op you will be dependent on them. Having more than one type to choose from will help with the boredom your palette may feel. I liked the unflavored Protein since I could mix that with Soup or broth and break up the constant sweet taste.

I was a vegetarian (not vegan) for like 6 years back in the 90's and you'd be surprised how many people often proclaimed "I'm a vegetarian, too. But I do eat fish." I quit trying to argue. Being from Wisconsin, I think I might get arrested it I didn't eat dairy. . Mmmm.....cheese That one drives me nuts. Especially since I'm deathly allergic to seafood. Like the time I was literally in the hospital due to an allergic reaction, ordered the vegetarian meal and was brought a giant piece of fish!

I forgot to mention in my post that I’m vegetarian, so deciding what kind of foods to eat is kinda difficult. I made a big pot of veggie chili and I only ate it once. My tastebuds did not want it anymore. I have a bunch of already-made vegan food in my freezer, but I don’t think I’d like it blended lol.

Omg thank you! I just recently got a food processor that I’ve been wanting to get since last year lol I’m vegetarian (should’ve put that in my main post 🤷🏻‍♀️) so I wanted to try making my own burgers from veggies/beans before I had the surgery, but I love your ideas! I used to make zucchini pasta all the time, cannot believe I forgot about that. I made riced cauliflower with broccoli and cheddar cheese before and my nutritionist said I should stay away from it because it’s too my fiber??? Isn’t fiber what makes you go to the bathroom? That’s what i need (not to be too much tmi) lol. For some reason I can’t really handle eggs, but any other food goes down fine.

So happy for your Pottergirl! You are doing incredibly well! Go vegetarian sleevers. :)

It shouldn't be counted as part of your MINIMUM grams of protein because it is missing some amino acids that are essential for your body. That is why vegetarians need to be sure they are getting a variety of foods in combination to ensure their diet does not leave them lacking in essential amino acids. The 60 g that you need as a bare minimum to reduce the amount of muscle mass lost due to the rapid weight lost after surgery should be from complete protein sources. Anything above that, go ahead and use collagen if it floats your boat, but there's no evidence that it will help you. It's a fad. The collagen that you read about in your body can't be absorbed from food because when you ingest it, it's digested and broken down into separate amino acids.

unfortunately me and tea just don't get along. And collagen supplements are a no for me as I'm vegetarian, so only whey based protein powders/supplements are able to be used.

True, true words. I went from food excesses to food repugnance, right now NOTHING sounds good, few things taste good, tried some still-GOOD-for - you foods recently, 2 teaspoons and I pushed it away. Part might be the fact that my TPN does fulfill my caloric needs, but I also promised I would try to eat by mouth once a day, and it is so hard. Maybe some shake, and I am tired so tired of them, maybe a little soup liquid or broth, don't suggest cottage cheese, or similar, anything with texture, up she comes, even if I try pureeing down vegetarian vegetable soup to an absolute liquid, Precious Pouch refuses, and after she is empty I continue dry heaving. Done it so much I have pinpoint hemmorages on my upper chest. You might think them age spots or freckles, nope, petechiae. So Carafate for my ulcers, Zofran for my nausea, miss one dose or don't get it on time, even what water I have recently drank comes back up, but dang it I am going to get better And then I will be amazing too!

Hello again everyone and thanks for the welcome!! Let me tell you a little bit more about me, so you know who you're talking to! I'm 37, happily married for 9 years to soul mate (whom I met online, BTW!) and I have two amazing sons (2 1/2 and 10 weeks!). I'm a veterinarian and until now, I have worked full time but my husband just got offered a position full time at Sirius Satellite Radio - his dream job - the DAY we brought our newborn home from the hospital! So, now that he has benefits, I get to work part time!! YAY! I'm very excited! I haven't gone back yet from maternity leave and I'm really enjoying being a stay at home mommy, at least until April 23! I'm also a vegetarian and a huge animal lover. I volunteer time and money to several causes, including the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, where I'm a team captain every year for their annual Light the Night walk in the fall. I "met" a woman online who lost her daughter to leukemia at only 9 months old, just after I had my first baby, and it really hit me hard so I've been involved ever since (www.friendsofheroes.org). As for banding, my best friend of 24 years told me in January that she was considering getting banded. I didn't know anything about it. I was pregnant and miserable and didn't even give it a thought. Fast forward 6 weeks after baby is born, we talked about it and I realized I wanted to do it too so we have embarked on this journey together!! I was a chubby kid, got skinny as a pre-teen, chubby as a teen, extremely thin when I was about 20 (good gods, I was 140 pounds!! Imagine that!!!), got chubby again in vet school, got thin again on Phen-Fen (I admit, I LOVED THAT STUFF!!!). I met my husband at 156 pounds in 1997, got married in 1998 (we were engaged 10 weeks after we met!) and got FAT! Somehow, I now weigh 291 pounds and I can't quite figure out how that happened. I have two babies but I can't really blame it all on them because I was 250 when I got pregnant with the first one. I lost a baby at 22 weeks gestation to severe birth defects and that was really hard, and I gained 30 pounds with that pregnancy. So, I am desperately in need of some help and I'm hoping the band will provide that help! I have lost enough weight in my life enough times to know what to do, I just can't seem to do it long term. Hopefully this will be the time! I'm excited at the thought of being in Onederland again!!! HOWEVER, we have only just started the process! I met with the nutritionist and have been to a seminar. We are going to use Dr. Bertha in Morristown Hospital. We will be meeting with him on Wednesday and the nutritionist for our follow up on Friday of next week. I have my psych appointment on 4/27 and then I guess it's all up to the insurance because I can't afford to self pay! I have BC/BS so I'm HOPING approval won't be a nightmare! My friend and I are hoping to have surgery the same day!!! I had blood drawn today and the H. Pylori breath test, so that's another hurdle jumped! So, that's my life story in a nutshell! I don't get online too much, maybe once a week if I'm lucky but I'll try to check in whenever I can! Take care!

Wow! That's SO amazing to be able to eat solids. I try but can only get about an ounce. Chicken is good very little so I stay with soft foods still. I'm 6 weeks gastro bypass and puréed/soft are my friend. I've been mostly on a vegetarian diet but what I wish I could have more is.... H2O. I was excited I could drink 12oz within an hour! I burp and air gets caught if I drink anymore than 3 sips at a time. (Believe me I've tried and I have my watched alarm set) Congrats on those who can eat. Cheers!

I am a vegetarian, and therefore I don't know of too many dense protein solids. I can't eat too much of tofu.

It was extreme and I doubt many could stick it out like he did. It's great that he lost weight and regained health, be good to see his outcomes a year or two down the track. Also good would be see to his body composition...body fat vs lean body mass. He ate between three to four kilos of potatoes a day, three kilos of potatoes (with skin) has approx 70gms protein, 48gms fibre and 387gms of carb. No one is saying there is anything wrong with carbs it is the way that the argument or topic is being presented. There are many bariatric post op diets - some focus on carbs, some focus on protein, some vegetarian, some vegan.

Hum ok well I'm out of ideas. I was going to ask you what you were eating but you said in a post before you were a vegetarian But you want to eat a chicken bowl. I wouldn't even know what food to suggest. Good luck you will figure it out.

I hear you on the not doing too much. I think I can do a lot more than I should be doing. Since I have caught up on my sleep I feel really good and feel like I can do anything until Whoa, slow down girl, My post op is a little more conservative than some. Phase 1 in the hospital Clear liquids, ice, popcycles, Jello, Isopure Clear, etc. Goal 4-6 ounces of liquid an hour. First day home, all above clear liquids plus 4 servings of 1/2 cup skim milk and 1/2 scoup Protein powder. total 60 grams protein and 64 ounces of Fluid. This phase lasts to Day 10 or post op appt. Phase 2 is called semi solid, and includes all foods from above phase plus cream of wheat, cream of rice, or blended oatmeal cheese containing less than 5 grams of fat per ounce Cottage cheese, low or non-fat Yogurt, non-fat Potato, boiled and mashed with skin removed soft cooked Pasta or Soup The following blended soups , cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, cream of potato, and cream of tomato. sugar free pudding scambled egg canned fruit (no sugar added) soft cooked vegatables (no dried beans, peas, onions, cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower crackers containing less than 3 grams of fat per serving, such as melba toast or saltines Phase 3, starting four weeks post-op Low carb Protein Bars, Carb Wise, Carb Minders, etc. deli shaved chicken or trukey seafood, moist whie fish or shellfish and tuna smooth Peanut Butter the following canned soups, chicken noodle, turkey noodle, and vegetarian vegetable Cooked crumbled hamberger or ground turkey (such as sloppy joes, and ground meat casserole Crackers containing less than 3 grams of fat per serving. Phase 4, six weeks post-op other foods as tolerated

There was a statistically significant mortality increase in the high animal-Protein diets (P = 0.051, which is definitely enough to infer a correlation). However, I'd again like to point out that it's likely that the increased mortality is from the increased animal Proteins, not from the carb restriction. Carb restriction on its own is still net neutral, according to the bulk of research. So I guess the best diet choices are mostly vegetarian, high plant protein and maybe some supplementation with lower-fat animal protein sources like whey, etc. Still, I think it's important to keep abreast of current research, and not just blindly follow what the crash diet books tell you.

Hi. I'm also vegan and would be willing to take a survey. I've been a vegetarian for 30 years and became a vegan about 14 years ago. I'm really concerned about how I can eat post surgery (that is vegan). I don't have a date yet but hoping for late fall. I just downloaded Gary Davis's first book but so far haven't seen much encouraging a vegan diet or much guidance on this. Is Proteinaholic more enlightening on this aspect? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

(I should note: My highest weight ever, in life, was 293. That number is listed on my profile information. I lost weight when I went Vegan, then had to lose more for surgery. I was 227 when weighed at the hospital the day of surgery. I am 227 this morning.) I had surgery on Tuesday, June 12th of 2012 at Buffalo General Hospital. My surgeon was Dr. Alan Posner. My situation is different for several reasons: First, I'm Vegan. I've been Vegetarian since the age of 4 (going on 32 now), and Vegan since 6.15.2010. Dr. Posner had told me prior to the surgery that he wanted to make my sleeve bigger than usual, because of being vegan. He also stated that he would not have considered me for a gastric bypass, because of being vegan. There were concerns about nutrition and absorption- so that choice was out of my hands. The only area that I have not been perfectly vegan in, is vitamins/medications. It is near impossible to avoid all animal products with the medications I take.. Second, I have other medical issues going on (I need back surgery as soon as I heal up from this, for starters). They found a hiatal hernia during the endoscopy that was a part of pre-op testing. When Dr. Posner went to repair the hernia during the sleeve surgery, it was apparently "stuck." Dr. Posner told my husband that it appeared to have been there for quite some time, and that he really had to yank to get it out (the part of my stomach that had slipped through a hole in my diaphragm- that is a hiatal hernia). Then, he said all my organs were "squished" together in an abnormal way. Additionally, my spleen was bigger on top than on the bottom, and not sitting in the normal position. He had to hold it to the side through the entire surgery, and due to that, the outer casing of my spleen cracked ever-so-slightly. (So, not necessarily his fault, my body is abnormal).. Usually spleens are hyper-bleeders, but since it was an itty bitty crack on the outermost layer, he claims there were only two drops of blood and they patched it right away with some kind of fibrous lining (I cannot recall the technical name of what he said). Besides the pre-existing severe back pain, the hiatal hernia issue, and the spleen incident- apparently my diaphragm muscle started to bleed on the opposite side of where the hernia was when the last laparoscopic port was going to be closed- so more stitching. Meaning, I got stitched on *both* sides of my diaphragm muscle (equates to more pain) because of the hiatal hernia and then the muscle bleed. Now, to be fair to the doctor and in respect of full disclosure- I had gained weight prior to surgery. My Grand-mother died unexpectedly. She had been in spectacular health; I fully expected her to be a centenarian. She was the woman who raised me, and my only real parent. I did not take her passing well at all (so-called family forced her to be dehydrated and starved to death and dared to call it a 'compassionate choice'. It was the most traumatizing thing I have ever been through to watch her be killed. I thank God, and her, that I was the one holding her hand and singing Amazing Grace to her when she passed). Emotional eating ensued. I called the office to tell them I had fallen off the wagon, and was told to just get back on program, and come in on May 29th to see where I was, and we'd go from there. I was prepared for that. But instead, a few days later I suddenly got a call from Leslie (Dr. Posner's secretary) informing me that my insurance company had approved my surgery and that my surgery date was going to be June 12th, that May 29th would now be my final weigh-in appointment, AND that if I was even ONE pound over on that weigh-in appointment, that my surgery would be CANCELLED. Needless to say, I PANICKED. I had worked almost NINE months to get this surgery- I couldn't let all that hard work and time be thrown away now! So, I drastically reduced food intake and began walking despite enormous amounts of pain (due to my back). I thought that I had to make a miracle happen if I wanted this surgery. Leslie told me that if I was so much as ONE POUND over, MY SURGERY WOULD BE CANCELLED. She did NOT tell me if it was cancelled that it could be easily rescheduled when I got the weight down. Dr. Posner believes and says that I made assumptions, and that the entire situation was misinterpretation on my part, and stressed repeatedly that "no one in his office told me to starve myself." Dr. Posner was so personally frustrated that he raised his voice and (I felt) demeaned me upon hearing I had starved myself prior to surgery (at my first post-op appointment). He got so loud and animated that he felt the need to shut the door at one point, and the nurse tried to console me and my husband after the encounter, telling us repeatedly that "You handled yourself beautifully" and "I'm so sorry." To his credit, he attempted to apologize on the phone when a question had to be called in. I did not even want to speak to him- I had my husband call, I originally had NO intention of ever speaking to him again and was fully prepared to seek alternate post-op care. However, after my husband called in the question, and then Dr. Posner called my cell phone. He did attempt an apology, but it was the kind of apology where the person says, sorry I got frustrated- but everything I said and did was really justified. Felt gross to me, though his tone of voice seemed sincere. ***Additionally in Dr. Posner's defense (this part added Saturday evening, 6.23.2012) .. He has the added pressure and responsibility that if something goes wrong it affects his practice- and if something were to go wrong because I was undernourished at the time of surgery without his knowledge; it would put him in a bad spot. I spoke with him again tonight. He called back within 5 minutes, and even took a moment to ask me how I felt and how my eating was going. I think the entire situation described earlier in this post was an unfortunate misunderstanding. I like his overall disposition. He takes the medical aspect of everything very seriously, but also usually has an upbeat demeanor with a few dry delivery jokes (endearing). *AND NOW* for the REAL insanity........ I GAINED TEN POUNDS WHILE IN THE HOSPITAL (OVER ABOUT 2 1/2 DAYS) WHILE ONLY CONSUMING ICE CHIPS!!!!!!!!!! Depressing much??? Beyond. Dr. Posner says this is because I starved myself prior to surgery. Okay, I can buy that to explain the crazy weight gain Feasible. However, I am now 11 days out from surgery, and only just now got back DOWN to the weight I was immediately PRIOR to surgery!!! SO*** that means I have literally not lost one net pound yet!!! And all the while, I am VEGAN and have been Only been ingesting a soy based Protein shake (prepared with light soy milk), pureed vegetable Soup (only since the post-op appt when I was told I could progress to pureed), real fruit frozen bars (in lieu of 100% fruit juice,because I couldn't find sugar free vegan frozen pops- so the nutritionists agreed that was an acceptable trade off).... So, I'm 11 days out from surgery, on all liquid mush, AND I DON'T HAVE ONE NET POUND LOST TO SPEAK OF AND SHOW FOR ALL THE PAIN OF SURGERY (AND THE NINE MONTHS OF WORK LEADING UP TO IT)! OH* AND- I *ALWAYS* feel hungry! Which was the MAIN reason I had wanted surgery- to NOT feel hungry!!! I thought that would give me a fighting chance... But no- I STILL >always< feel hungry. And my stomach FEELS HUGE INSIDE. Now, clearly that could just be a weird physical feeling- however, I'm really nervous since Dr. Posner said prior to surgery that he was planning on making my sleeve larger just because I'm vegan.. that maybe it IS too big. What if the part of the stomach that produces ghrelin (hormone that tells your brain you're hungry)- what if that part of my stomach didn't get removed?? (I will have to remember to ask this particular question at my next appointment). I'm desperately afraid that I've gotten this surgery for nothing- that I will still have to work as hard as ever to lose the weight with no ascertainable benefit from getting major surgery. I mean, I'm only on liquids and all I've been able to do is break even as far as weight goes! HAS ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCED ANYTHING EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE TO THIS???

I like Dr. Posner (for the person that freaked out disrespectfully up there). I did not like him raising his voice at me. I had gained some weight back BECAUSE MY GRANDMOTHER WAS MURDERED, and** I had lost it all by the time I made it to the pre-op final weigh in. On January 12th, I will be 7 months out from surgery. I have (as of tonight) lost only 17 pounds. I went from Vegan to only Vegetarian- just to increase my Protein intake (which was a concern). To the person that commented that they exercise every day-- I had to have back surgery on September 11th, 2012. I might need more surgery (bone fusion/disc removal in my back.. and possibly knee surgery). I am in a tremendous amount of pain all day long and all night long. I *WISH* I could exercise daily! It is emotionally uplifting, besides being physically good for all of us. And to the person upset that I mentioned Dr. Posner by name- When I registered with this site, giving my surgeon's name was a prerequisite for having a membership here. That information was already publicly visible, regardless of my surgeon being named in this particular post. I do find Dr. Posner funny and endearing. We worked through that difficult time, and he hugged me on the way out of my last appointment. I came back on here after MONTHS of not checking up on anything related to this site (or anything else related to bariatric support). I thought that I could use support now, since I am only 17 pounds down since surgery- almost 7 months from surgery. Unfortunately, I found terrible judgment and nastiness. I guess this isn't a safe place after all.

My husband and I each have our own drawer in the fridge. He puts all of his meat in his since I'm a vegetarian and I put the food I don't want to share in mine. Everything else is fair game.

Yogi brand tea also makes a variety similar to smooth move called Detox Tea. Whole Foods sell it in the aisle with their herbal teas. I'm vegetarian and if I eat too many Beans I get really loose stools. Beans are also high in Protein, especially black beans, lentil and peas. Some people are hesitant to eat beans because of the carbs, however they haven't effected my weight loss at all. Adding a capfull of Braggs organic apple cider vinegar is also a natural way to stay regular.

i was not banded with Dr. Curry, but he has been my follow up surgeon since November of this year. his staff has been terrific, erin was awesome helping me make food choices (i am a vegetarian--so it can get rough). i can not say enough nice things about his professionalism and the friendly staff at the front. i am looking forward to seeing them again when i need them!

Admittedly, there are a lot of factors in getting proper versus poor nutrition. I, personally, can do it on 900 calories, most days (when chocolate doesn't get in the way). I'm 5'1, vegetarian, and an avid food logger. I always get 5 servings of fruit & veggies on that amount, as well as enough protein. I can't say what's right for anyone but me. But what I can say is that if your surgeon and/or your nutritionist (like mine) are telling you that 800 or so calories is where they see the most success during the weight loss phase, there are indeed people out there who are examples of this. It seems incomprehensible to the pre-bandster that that amount of food is nourishing and satisfying, but it is -- for many. Laurend, my advice to you is to not worry about it. You'll find what range is right for you, whether it's 800, 1200 or 1500 calories. It'll come together for you with what feels right once you're in the middle of it. There's a lot of flexibility with the band.