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I was a vegetarian for about a year or two. I felt the healthiest when I was a vegetarian and saw the most weight loss as well. I wasn't a vegetarian because of cruelty reasons or anything, just because i didn't eat much meat then. Now I'm the complete opposite doing Ketogenic diet, trying to shock my body back into weight loss!

I've had the Bush's Vegetarian canned baked beans...they went down easy...but it was easy to go the restroom shortly, thereafter...

Were you a veg before surgery? It's challenging but not impossible. I've dealt with so many anti vegetarian nutritionist it annoys me to no end. One of the reasons I went with the hospital instead of the other hospital I looked at was because the nutritionist was so rude and condescending toward vegetarians.

I'm between being a vegetarian right now because my NUT is strongly against me being one so early in my journey. So I've been having the weirdest cravings. I haven't had beef for a couple months now and all I was is a big fat juice beefy burger. So it's more like in my head.

Yeah never thought about becoming a vegetarian. I will look at some high Protein dish ideas. I don't like fish right now either. I have been tolerating fine. It is the taste that I am not liking. I can tolerate everything I have tried. I am just wondering if anyone else has gone through this at 6 month mark.

Hello I'm new here but I can give you some good advice on this. I'm vegetarian, have been having major nausea (7 weeks out of op) and my dietician thinks its protein related - we will see! I also have a lot of nausea associated with milk products and creamy consistencies. So it sent me on a field trip of sorts and I have some decent products that I've tried that you may like. This is an essay - sorry! But am passing on some advice from a professional and giving my taste buds a voice too. We have a hard time finding quality tasty food and taste is as important as quality to me. I'm Aussie so these are products over here but web search if you have a different location. Here they are: My favourite one is "Ultra Leaan Protein" (yes 2 'a's in Leaan :)) by "Cybrog" in the wild raspberry flavour. I add 3 scoops to my bottled water = 15gms of protein. This is really just like a cordial - close to a poweraid but maybe a little more artificial sweetener (I could do without some of that personally but its the best tasting overall product so far). The best thing about this is it contains the required amino acids too. It's expensive but worth it for me - 2 bottles of water with this a day = 30gms of extra protein. This was $79.95 AUD a tub of 60 scoops but I am sure I can find it cheaper elsewhere! (??) My Dietitian gave me a sample of "Formulate" Banana shake mix. Comes in a bottle - just add water (convenient). This has a whopping 35 gms of protein per small bottle. BUT don't expect a shake taste, its watery and really like a banana water flavour. It is pleasant enough though. The down side is that it took me half a day to get down with my sippy sippy status! By then the seeds it contains swelled and at the end I was swallowing expanded chia seeds. Not a big deal but for us guys something to remember. Maybe worth halving before adding water and doing in 2 lots? (this was a free sample, don't know the cost) I also took it upon myself to try the "Isopure" glass bottles of pre-made 'cordial'. These tasted really crappy but if you can get down one 600ml (actually 591mls! such an odd amount) bottle in small amounts over the day you can nab 40gms of extra protein. It's zero carb too zero sugar. $5.95 a bottle I picked all these up from the Wexford pharmacy at Murdoch St. John of God hospital complex Western Australia. They have loads of other products too. Other than this, some complete proteins was recommended so not just baked beans but baked beans on toast /muffin when able is a complete protein with protien and amino acids. Eggs are a complete protein as well. Of course if you are a meat eater, no probs. Best of luck!!

Hi Sandi, we share the same surgery date!! I can feel your frustration. I have not seen the scale move in about 6 days and I feel like kicking it to the curb! :scared2: But, let me make 2 suggestions that both of us need to get real commited to, real fast: Water and EXERCISE. Starting yesterday, I carry a large aluminum water bottle with me and I sip, sip, sip all day and refill it 3 x. The funny thing -- I must be dehydrated because I don't have to run for the ladies room like I did before surgery if I drank a lot of H20. Water will help metabolize fat. It is very important so I will say it again. Water helps metabolize fat. So please if you think you are drinking a lot of water, think again and drink more! This also helps with the between meal cravings. Even if you are sitting in your living room, start moving! There are some great DVDs like Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds -- you literally stand in front of the TV and walk in place. She has 1, 2 and 3 mile videos. She makes it fun and you see results. I go to the gym, I just started going 3x a week on the treadmill for 30 mins. (until Dr. gives me clearance for weight training and elliptical). Yeah, I know, exercise suxs! But these first few months post surgery are our "golden months" when the weight loss will be accellerated and I want to make the most of them. As far as eating, I recommend greek yogurt. It has 13 grams of Protein in each container. I also eat fish - lots of it -- not the canned/prepacked variety but cooking up in microwave and eating flounder, salmon, cod etc. with some Mrs. Dash sprinkled on top. I stay away from red meat (even hamburger) and basically fill my pouch with protein (I don't eat much carb or fruit/veggies). Other good sources can be found in your "whole foods" type stores. There are vegetarian products (meat replacement) which offer gobs of protein and no fat. I eat a textured vegetable protein Breakfast sausage (no meat at all) which is like 80 cals and zero fat and 11grams of protein. I also recommend checking out the vegetarian protein sources at our local foodstore. Mine are in the refrigerated section near the produce aisle. They have things like cheese slices, zero fat, more protein and not made dairy but vegetarian stuff. Feel free to email me thru the site if you want a bandster partner! jenna

After work, I run errands/clean and try to get in 6000 to 10000 steps per day. Just from cleaning my house and running errands and taking the dogs out, I get my exercise in. I did just buy a treadmill that's getting delivered soon, so we'll see how that affects the weight loss. I drink lots of iced tea with lemon and Sweet'n'Low and water, and I like to add liquid IV to some of my water bottles throughout the day (google that one if you have a hard time getting your liquids in). I eat lots of protein (even chicken strips from fast food places) but mainly just meat and vegetarian meat substitutes JUST protein. (I've of course cheated on occasion and had some fries). Once I could stop doing the shakes, I stopped them pretty quickly. I hate them and they make me sick...every single one I've tried turns my stomach sour before and after surgery. Also lots of riced cauliflower, you can make that stuff into anything! I do also fast intermittently. A lot of people don't recommend it, but it works for me. I will go 24 hours on liquids alone and have found that when I feel like I'm staling for a few days it kicks my body back into gear. I started doing that around the 3 month mark and it helped me a lot. Fasting isn't for everyone, but my doctor was cool with it and saw the results and said as long as I take my vitamins and keep my liquid intake up, I'm fine to do it when I feel like it.

Yes mrsroyale there’s a lot of us out here. In BariaticPal, I recommend you go to the forum, Gastric Bypass Surgery Support Groups, General Weight Loss Surgery Forums, Vegetarian or Vegan Eating. Good luck in your journey.

Not vegan but vegetarian for sure. My man is a chef so there is always an abundance of amazing ingredients happening. All I have to do is put them together!

MY TURN !!! (of course its George lol) 1. Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. 2. One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. 3. Atheism is a non-prophet organization. 4. If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes? 5. The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live. 6. I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose. 7. Could it be that all those trick-or-treaters wearing sheets aren't going as ghosts but as mattresses? 8. If a mute swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap? 9. If a man is standing in the middle of the forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him...is he still wrong? 10. If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation? 11. Is there another word for synonym? 12. Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do practice?" 13. Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all?" 14. What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant? 15. If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages? 16. Would a fly without wings be called a walk? 17. Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them? 18. If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked? 19. Why don't sheep shrink when it rains? 20. Can vegetarians eat animal crackers? 21. If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent? 22. Why do they put Braille on the drive-through bank machines? 24. How do they get the deer to cross at that yellow road sign? 25. Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny? 26. What was the best thing before sliced bread? 27. One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people. 28. Does the Little Mermaid wear an algebra? 29. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery? 30. How is it possible to have a civil war? 31. If God dropped acid, would he see people? 32. If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too? 33. If you ate Pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry? 34. If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done? 35. Whose cruel idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have a "S" in it? 36. Why are hemorrhoids called "hemorrhoids" instead of "asteroids"? 37. Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them? 38. Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song? 39. Where are we going? And what's with this hand basket? 40. If the "black box" flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn't the whole damn airplane made out of that stuff? 41. Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?

I have lost about 90%, will get to 100% this year I think. It is trial and error to a degree, Honestly, what has worked for me after a 22 pound regain last year and LOTS of long stalls, are Southbeach phase one (I'm a vegetarian and that worked pretty good to knock off 5 pounds) Then I started the 5:2 which is a semi fast for two days a week...would not recommend this until you are at least a year out though. You are not out of the honeymoon yet, but it has done the trick for me.... I think the most important thing for me is to stay accountable all the time. I even write down what I eat on vacation, just so I remain conscious of what Im doing even if Im eating what I want. I wear a fitbit, and keep track of my activity as well. When left to my own devices, I eat too much, and move too little to keep this body. My Dr also asked me if I would be happy losing 50 pounds. I said yes, but 90 would be better. I am now at 82. He did not even want to set a goal for me so I would not be disappointed in my final weight. Research shows that at three years sleevers keep off less than 75% EWL. I have seen too many people here lose 100% of their weight to think it is not possible. Keeping it off is also hard to do for many and a much longer job.

PS--maybe you could do this in phases, and go vegetarian first (eliminate all meat products but keep eggs and dairy), then eliminate eggs, and then dairy--and see how you do. I meant to mention that I think it's very important to have a registered dietitian knowledgeable about plant-based diets guiding you on this journey. My RD is a vegetarian herself and she is truly amazing. Emails me recipes all of the time, etc. She has one other patient who is a vegetarian and she said that we are both always asking how the other one is doing!

I am a vegetarian (most of my adult life) who generally doesn't eat eggs. I eat Greek yogurt and vegetarian cheese (cheese that isn't made with animal rennet--but it of course is not vegan, because it's made with dairy). I also no longer buy leather and try to live as compassionately as possible in all parts of my life. I have been getting my Protein from soy products, whey and soy Protein powder, Beans (kind of high in carbs for the amount of protein you get), cheese, and Greek yogurt. I have very seriously been considering going vegan. However, if I want to keep my protein up and carbs down, I really think that I will need to drink my protein (plant forms) and then eat veggies as my meals. My surgeon wants his patients off of Protein shakes once we move to solid foods, but I don't think that is realistic for a vegetarian, and especially not for a vegan. There are very few natural vegan food sources of protein that don't also require that you consume some carbs--and in general, many aren't super-high in protein, and we can't eat the volume needed to get vegan protein from food alone. One example is soy yogurt--it is much lower in protein and higher in carbs than Greek yogurt. I also don't want to overdo it on soy, because female reproductive cancer runs in my family and I am also hypothyroid. I will be interested to hear what you end up doing and how it works for you. It's good to know someone else is considering a vegan way of eating.

I've had my lapband for 5 years. It has never worked for me. I lost 24 pounds on the liquid diet and I have managed to keep about 20 of that off. But, I never lost any weight with the band. I've had 13 fills and they kept saying, "Oh they put a large band in you". They finally sent me to the nutritionist who was a 90 pound vegetarian (not sure why she felt the need to tell me that) who was more interested in her phone than me. Her big suggestion after glancing at my diet sheet was to tell me if I get hungry in the afternoon, to have tuna on cucumber slices. Really? $16,000 and that's the advice I get? I left that day feelling like this whole thing was a mistake and I never went back. Now, five years later, I'm having pain around the port. I guess I'll have to go back, but I'm not looking forward to that. My advice would be to really do your research before you spend this kind of money. I would not do it again and I would have to advise other people to really think about it before they did it. Pam Stevens

One of the things we hear people who don't understand obesity of weight loss surgery say (or we are afraid to hear them say) is that it's "the easy way out." Pre-op I could list a whole bunch of reasons why this isn't the easy way out. Why it's actually really, really hard - just as hard, if not harder, than losing weight the traditional way. But now, admittedly only two months out, I'm not so sure. And that's a good thing! Now, I should preface this by saying that I realize many people have had complications and for many people every day or some days post-op are a struggle - I don't want to try and negate their lived experiences. But I do want to talk for a minute about my experience, which I suspect is more common than we admit. I have been obese or morbidly obese pretty much my whole life. I dieted and exercised, yada, yada, yada, but the weight always came back. We all know the drill or we wouldn't be here. But I am nothing if not pragmatic, so when I started doing research about WLS and about weight loss in general, and read the statistics for long-term success in people who hadn't had surgery (Spoiler Alert! They're low!), getting sleeved just seemed like a no-brainer. Two years of hoop-jumping later, I went into surgery. I was very well read on the subject, knew all the worst case scenarios to expect, knew what the recovery would look like, etc. But my surgery and recovery were super easy. I was on to purees almost right away. Soft solids by week two. Anything but raw veggies at week 4. Anything and everything at week 6. I have yet to be made sick by any food. I get in all my Water, Vitamins and 90g of Protein (on a vegetarian (almost vegan) diet!) every day without trouble. I was lifting heavy in the gym at week 5. My recovery has been stupendous! ...And easy. Now, I know I came into this with some one major advantage: I love, and always have loved, healthy food. Even before surgery, if given the choice between pizza Hut or a black bean and quinoa salad with avocado dressing, I'd say bring on the quinoa (all six servings of it). And now I have become one of those people who doesn't cheat. Ever. Not a single piece of chocolate or a taste of potatoes. But this hasn't been hard for me, because I didn't have to give up every food I love. In fact, I got to keep about 80% of them. My problem pre-sleeve was really volume, which now is no problem at all. But even so, I gotta say, looking back at the last two and half months (if we include the pre-op diet), this has been easy-peasy. Way easier than starving myself and being so effing hungry all the time. Easier than hating myself for not being motivated to get to the gym. Easier than staying fat. But why should that be a bad thing? So what if it's been (relatively) easy? The only reason we think weight loss should be a struggle, is because we look at obesity as a moral failing, instead of a biological one, and thus as weight loss as the penance one must serve before one is rewarded with thinness. Well, I'm calling BS on that. Obesity is a medical problem; WLS is a medical solution. It should be easier than the alternative. That's the point. Maybe it hasn't been as easy for everyone else as it has been for me (like I said, I know I've been very, very lucky in some respects), but it's gotta be easier (barring major complications) than all the alternatives or we wouldn't have chosen it. So, let's stop apologizing and making excuses. Yes, this is the easy (or at least easier) way out. And that's a good thing.

I've heard great things about Dr. Garth @tellej12 He has a vegetarian Facebook page and electronic presence with lots of positive information. It is good to see another with the Davis Clinic! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@Smjnranrk Tell your nutritionist! If they don't work with your choice find a way. You should not have to compromise your principles. There are tons of vegetarians who've had Bariatric surgery. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I carry my protein shake all day long. For breakfast and lunch. For dinner, I am a vegetarian so it's rather easy for me to tell them I am going to eat back in the hotel. On business trip we usually book rooms with kitchens and I'll just cook some eggs etc.

My (current) GF is a Vegan. I've been eating (mostly) Vegan/Vegetarian the last few months and LOVE the food and lifestyle. We plan on really spending time to research quality and nutritious china free products.

I would drop the protein shakes and replace with food that will make you feel full and stay full longer. I stopped using protein shakes on a daily basis by 4-5 months I believe and even then I only had one a day. It appears you are a vegetarian, I’m not but others here are or have been. @GreenTealael @summerset @FluffyChix might be able to help you with ideas to increase protein without relying on shakes. This link will take you to a thread where we share what we eat. Food thread As far a hunger goes I have hungry/ravenous days out of the blue. I just make sure I have good choices available so I don’t grab chips or cookie. The bags of small apples they sell now are a perfect size for me. I also keep a big box of black seedless grapes in the fridge. Congratulations on your weight loss so far, that is amazing! 6 pounds in one month 7 months post surgery isn’t unusual as far as I know. Your weight loss will slow down as you get closer to your goal weight. May I ask how close you are?

I have to say too that I was afraid by not telling many people that I wouldn't have a big enough support system. But I have found that the PAs at my surgeons' office and my RD (especially my RD!) have been amazing. My RD is a vegetarian like me so she really understands. I doubt she has ever struggled with her weight but I think that she truly understands my journey. She goes out of her way to email me little ideas and recipes here and there and she is so supportive.

I count calories (I try to stick 800-950 a day) and I also weigh and measure my food. It's important to me to count calories because unfortunately the nutrition facts for 4 oz of salmon vs 4 oz of cheese vs 4 oz of pasta are very different. When I don't log calories Its much easier to eat and just forget about it (which is why I only stop food logging when I'm overeating and don't want to think about it). I'm also really anal about how much protein I'm eating. I don't usually just eat 4 oz but because of the different shapes and thicknesses of various kinds of fish (I don't eat red meat or poultry... Just seafood and vegetarian protein) it's hard to accurately estimate how many ounces are in various pieces. So I weigh all of my fish and then I usually can eat 5 or 5.5 ounces.

Opps forgot to suggest meals...sexy shrimp scampi is a good one and can be found on the internet. the campbells website has good chicken and Soup recipes. Chili is good. Pasta e fagoli with ground beef is good. I added the with ground beef because many pasta e fagoli recipes are vegetarian.

Yeah! Feel free to message me if you need suggestions or recipes. I'm fairly new, 1 month post op, navigating food again but I'm learning as I go! Can always try and impart the post op vegetarian wisdom. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app