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I had sleeve on 7/3/19. It’s 9/17/19. I feel like there is still a lot I can’t eat. Oatmeal and yogurt feel the best. You know that feeling when it kind of hurts when you eat something. For example tonight I made veggie crumble with taco seasoning (30% less sodium), cut tomatoes, cut avocado, and put mixture into lettuce. I have a slight feeling that I need to throw up. I only ate one leaf with the mixture. I get this feeling with a lot of foods. Can’t do any meats. (I was vegetarian for years). Even tofu gives me that grinding, painful feeling. I had hernia repair so that’s not it. It’s more of pain in stomach. Maybe too much food, maybe didn’t chew enough. Uggh. This is the only issue I have. I’ve been walking everyday. I’m down almost 60 lbs. Any thoughts???

I guess maybe I worded it wrong, My weight has a natural habit of slow loss then a stall, then it moves down again. But as for calories, my metabolism is so extremely slow that when I upped them past a certain point my body wasn’t happy. It really has no impact on my fatigue, which I’ve lived with nearly all my life due to chronic illness. I’m sticking to the plan and it might seem abnormal but I’m just not normal. I deal with brain fog and have a hard time finding words or explaining things. I didn’t sleep last night, just a bit towards morning and woke with a migraine. Our ride was late and we hit a traffic jam. I saw the nutritionist first, she is great. Their scale said I weigh less than my home scale. She used a fancy scale that showed body fat, muscle, water etc. she understands how I can’t exercise just encourages movement. Which I do my best. I showed her my weight tracking and explained my calories and what I eat. I explained I track my calories and food and how when I increased to 470 I stopped losing and when I went back to averaging 370 it started to go down again at a normal pace, She does want me to try to add soft proteins like flaked fish or veggie burgers since I can’t seem tolerate dense foods like chicken or tuna. She said I’m doing good for weight loss. I shared some of the things that have helped me and she said she was going to share it with her nutrition class. She said some people just take longer to progress. And I need to deal with my health problems and as long as I’m getting my protein it’s ok. i didn’t see my surgeon, I saw a doctor that works with him. I had a hard time explaining the problems and forgot how to describe them. At some point when he started asking about exercise I blanked out because they should know my history. I tried to just stick to the main points, chest pain and still feeling the issues with the stricture and ask what the doctor recommends for the symptomatic hernia and Schatzki’s ring. As far as the surgery they feel things are going along ok. Some things are just all the separate health issues I have. That I’m dealing with the best I can. I told him I’m having a colonoscopy and since y surgeon wants another endoscopy he said my gastroenterologist can do the endoscopy at the same time if I wanted that. He gave me my surgical report to give to my gastroenterologist. I need to find out if my gastroenterologist can do the endoscopy since I’m already scheduled for the colonoscopy. I know surgically things are going as well as can be expected. I also knew my chronic Illness would get worse due to the stress on my body. But I knew going in it was either have gastric bypass surgery or not be able to fight the weight gain and give up. I’m not expecting pity and I’m sorry for posting such long rants. TBH living with M.E. Is worse than cancer, worse than HIV, because of how it impacts every part of me. Not just my opinion of it but how it is medically. After I get this colonoscopy and endoscopy done I’m going to try to add soft foods and soft vegetables. Like gardein vegetarian foods. I want to find out what’s going on first. I wish I could get some answers about the esophageal dysphasia besides it’s neurological. But honestly even if I knew the cause, nothing can fix nerve damage and I will have to learn to adapt. I appreciate the responses. Just writing this is like exercise to my body.

Agreeing with he posts about metabolism above. Our guidelines would help some people - but not people with other stuff going on. Post-op, my diet is not that different from pre-op. I've been vegetarian since I was about 8, I have been logging food and exercise daily in MFP for 7 years and keeping to a calorie deficit, I drink the same amount that I did before (124 oz or more a day). My calories are a little lower right now as I was going on 1300 or less a day for the years before surgery, but not much difference. When I went home for the summer, my old friends didn't notice much of a difference in the amounts I eat now and the amounts I used to eat. But I have PCOS and my hormones were beyond messed up - I really believe that surgery was the only thing that was going to work for me. Even with that, it's taking ages for the weight to come off - I was told to expect extremely slow loss, but it was still a bit of a shock how slow compared to others. So now I try not to compare, LOL.

I use Ensure Max on ice. It doesn't taste great but if I drink 2 per day I get all my protein. As I'm only 30 days out I can't eat my protein at 1/3 cup of food. Ice seems to make it taste better. I've also used vegetarian protein and that seems to be better. It is hard to get 60g of protein a day. Unfortunately I don't know of any protein pill.

I'm vegetarian, so unfortunately that's no good for me. I just had a bowl of salad to help fill me up before bed. From about 7-9pm I get so snacky!

I give myself a B12 shot once a month. Yes, I notice a difference with my energy and mood. I have a history of low B12 (lifelong vegetarian) and so I need to do the shots - they are easy to administer. I buy the B12 online and the syringes from Amazon. Easy peasy. Trouble is with pills is you tend to just pee them out.

Plateaus can happen for no/many reasons even sometimes when your body is pausing to adjust. But if it has been very long (6+ months) w/o weightloss you may have reached maintenance (I know it was quite hard for me to maintain strict vegetarianism while in the losing phase. I found mostly grain free ovo lacto pescaterian the best path for me with flexing in solid animal protein occasionally) To try and kickstart weightloss again perhaps you could take a look at your diet and weed out any problem foods (highly processed, high sodium, wheat fillers) Easy vegetarian foods are usually high calorie/carb. To avoid This you may need to use pure vegetarian protein sources (tofu, eggs) but reduce precooked packaged items as well as limit grains & legumes (if you eat them) Good Luck 💜

I’m hitting a Plato. I’m stuck I’m frustrated, I do 7 miles of cardio in 43 min then on to weights. I suffer from pcos Polly cystic ovarian syndrome and I retain a ton of water weight. Can anyone give me any suggestions to increase weight loss, and I’m a vegetarian. Help!!!!!! I want out of my Plato

I also would have been very nervous if i looked through people's food logs. I was never going to eat only protein 5x a day, i needed vegetarian options too and those by virtue are high carb/cal. I really only gave up the things my Team told me to: carbonation, alcohol (I don't drink anyway) excess sugar, then caffeine, bread pasta & rice (I dont care for pasta or rice so... NBD) for the first 6 months. And even then they gave me wiggle room for my Roman Holiday at 4 months post op. I was told sure eat pizza, but get protein too. So I ate pizza pasta & gelato nonstop for 2 weeks and pastries crossaints, fried chicken tenders and kebab for 10 more days in Paris (only the panna cotta bothered me- the fabled Parisian dumping incident). Lost weight. I made tons substitutions stateside for healthier versions of things and i will eat (or drink 😂) a salad in a min because i actually like them. But im satified that none of my choices make me anxious. I really really value that freedom. Maybe its because I've never dieted before or maybe its a personality flaw, but i find the idea of constantly dieting or diet mode after surgery not a good fit for me which is why my MPF page is super lonely these days.

Consider following a low carb/keto lifestyle https://www.everydayhealth.com/ketogenic-diet/diet/vegetarian-keto-diet-day-sample-menu-benefits-risks-more/ https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/vegetarian

Congrats on six years out. You are not alone in having a weight gain. Many of us working them off. Here is a link to the vegan/vegetarian bariatric forum. Hope this helps. https://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1101-vegetarian-or-vegan-eating/

It’s been six years since I have my surgery. Lost over 100+lbs. However in the past few years, it’s slowly regaining - approx 70lbs up atm. Most because I went vegan for two years and regained a ton because I ate quinoa mostly (carb galore) ughhh...mad at myself for that. I’m a lacto-ovo vegetarian now and looking for some help. Can anyone suggest any tips on how I can jump start my weight loss again? I’m thinking about doing the 5 day pouch test to start.

Tomato Basil soup ...Alas too rich for my blood 😭 I couldn't eat it without feeling queasy so I gave up Also Boyfriends Vegetarian Poutine

I have Kidney Function tests annually, a full CBC, Liver function etc, This is because I have one Kidney and a fatty liver. Also a thing called MGUS. Anyway, my nephrologist, hematologist, both told me, as a Kidney Donor, avoid red meat. Eat any animal meat rarely if ever, but especially red meat. I am close to being a pesca-vegetarian, but eat meat occasionally. The RNY reduces the amount of protein we adsorb, so I think we should stick to whatever our program or surgeon recommends. Ask your Dr to include Kidney function tests in your next blood work, and do so annually. That should help alleviate your concern.

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

You are correct that protein is in all food and there are many high protein vegan foods, but what I was trying to convey is that I do not track or prioritize protein. I could not tell you how many grams of protein I eat in a day. What I prioritize is eating whole plant foods that have not been processed or have added oils or sugars. And you are correct that our bodies need fat and I do not avoid fat but added oils like olive oil and canola oil are much like sugar. They are highly processed foods that have all of the other properties like fiber and nutrients stripped from them so I get my fat from foods like nuts, avocados, and nut butters. And you are correct that there is vegan junk food like Oreos and Swedish Fish but my diet is 90% of the time whole foods so i eat fruits, vegetables, beans, rice, potatoes, for all of my meals and with a few exceptions I will eat some vegan junk foods but even that is more whole food than not like air popped popcorn. And for me diets like Atkins or Keto do help people lose weight but I don't just care about weight loss I care about health and longevity and the evidence is pretty compelling that people that eat mostly plants live the longest, are the healthiest and are the thinnest when compared to people that eat other diets including vegetarian, paleo, keto and others. And yes vegans do need to supplement B12 which is something I do but I don't view that as a mark against veganism especially when you consider that many people that eat meat are also b12 deficient. But this is the way I have chosen to eat and so far my weight loss has been rapid and consistent and I have far exceeded the projected loss rate and I continue to lose. So it seems the human body is adaptable and there are many ways to eat but for me I have found what works best for me.

Hey, I went vegan around the 6 month mark but I was vegetarian from the 3 month mark onward. For me I found the protein protein protein mantra drilled into WLS patients heads didn't make sense. I then started doing a ton of research and found that much of how we are told to eat is based on out dated beliefs formed when wls was very new but now decades of research has shown that after around 6 months there is no need for us to eat large amounts of protein so once I learned that I went vegan. And so far things are great. I eat a varied plant based diet and my health has gotten so much better. I would advise that if you want to go vegan to look the "Whole Food Plant Based" way of veganism. It's all about eating plants like rice, beans, potatoes, green leafy vegetables, fruits with no limits but not eating added oils and sugars. For me this way of eating is so freeing and great.

Hi, I have been doing good all but Friday was bad, when I was so constipated it was horrible. They should have told me to take the Mirilax instead of waiting to be constipated from the pain meds. I know about the sipping part, I am a fast drinker or should I say was... but every now and then I forget. Other than that it’s been good. So weird not hungry at all. I see you are Vegan. That is awesome! My oldest has been for about a year and a half. I was Vegetarian for many years. I am not now but still haven’t had beef since a kid. We eat a lot of homemade veggie dishes, I am going to try and go back to vegetarian at least. My downfall is cheese. Nice to see weight come off now with this surgery it is really amazing.

I’m on week two from sleeve surgery. Is it too early to incorporate mashed tofu? I got green light from surgeon yesterday to move from liquids to purée food. I had sleeve surgery 7/3. I’ve been vegetarian 15 years and vegan off and on. Now on for past year and half. I love reading about vegans on this forum who have been or are planning to be. You are my tribe! ❤️❤️❤️ I opted for bariatricfusion multivitamins but I’m going to go back to my plant based vitamins once I run out. There are a few deficiencies in the plant based multivitamins but I figure it’s because those vitamins/minerals low in multivitamin can be obtained from food. The vitamin I was using which I love is PLNT - Whole Food Women’s Multivitamin from Vitamin Shoppe. (Brown box). For example calcium. This vitamin only has 21 mg and it’s recommended we have 1,000 mg daily. I can get that from tofu and certain vegetables. Love to hear about your ideas and thoughts.... Tammy

Why do you think you began gaining? What were you eating when the weight loss stopped and the gains started. How many times per day were you eating, what quantities? Were you logging your food daily into something like MFP? Are you vegan, lacto-ovo vegetarian, pescatarian? All quite different situations.

I'm not sure you're going to be able to get the kind of advice you need for your situation here. You're looking at bariatric quantities PLUS vegetarian diet PLUS powerlifting specific needs to build muscle and burn fat. I'd look to a nutritionist and perhaps a personal trainer to get specifics on what you need. All I do know however is PROTEIN PROTEIN PROTEIN. You need a lot of it and if you aren't supplementing your food with protein drinks - be it plant or whey based - you aren't going to get the results you want.

It's been so long since i've made a post. Im almost 6 years post op, and about a year ago i decided to get into powerlifting. i've gotten some gains, muscles AND fat. now im trying to lose the fat, and keep the muscle. i also dont eat a ton of meat. in fact, i prefer not to. i know one person who started bodybuilding after wls, however they eat meat. They also told me that they take in a lot of calories. is there anyone else here who powerlifts and understand my dilemma? i feel like i have to go back to the very basics and watch every single thing that i eat. that is so annoying and time consuming.

There are lots of alternatives to meat if you don’t like it. Look for vegetarian or vegan recipes and products.

This is me too. I'm a year post surgery and not anywhere near my goal. I feel like it hasn't worked because my appetite has barely changed. I fill up fast ish on meals but I get hungry again really quickly so I basically eat half my meal but then have to come back an hour later and finish it. I'm doing the same thing with crisps and sweets. I'm vegetarian so find it really hard to get that much protein every day. I'm really depressed about it honestly and absolutely disgusted at myself for allowing it to happen. After the surgery for a couple of months I felt great because I was full so easily but now I feel like my appetite is the same as before the op. Maybe protein shakes might help?