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A list of resources for pre- and post-surgery bariatric patients interested in a whole food plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle. Let's build up this list into a comprehensive resource, and keep it updated. Please add your own tested-and-approved recommendations. Processed Foods and Ultra-Processed Foodstuffs Nutrition Database An open source (read: imperfect but continually evolving), collaborative, global food products database (there's also an app) that anyone can use to make better food choices. Assigns all processed foods a Nutri-Score grade from A to E in terms of nutritional quality, and ranks processed and ultra-processed foodstuffs by NOVA group levels (1 for minimally processed up to 4 for ultra-processed): https://world.openfoodfacts.org/ Plant-Based Nutrition Studies Cornell University Distance (entirely online) Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies: www.nutritionstudies.org Whole Food Plant-Based Diet Guide (the basics): https://nutritionstudies.org/whole-food-plant-based-diet-guide/ Plant-Based Sports Nutrition: Expert Fueling Strategies for Training, Recovery, and Performance by D. Enette Larson-Meyer The Healthspan Solution by Julieanna Hever and Ray Cronise Plant-Based Nutrition by Julieanna Hever and Ray Cronise Julieanna Hever, M.S., R.D., C.P.T. (plant-based dietitian) website: www.plantbaseddietitian.com Plant-Based Nutrition Books Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure by Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. M.D. How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger M.D. How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss by Michael Greger M.D. Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It by Garth Davis M.D. The China Study by T. Colin Campbell M.D. Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition by T. Colin Campbell The Campbell Plan by T. Colin Campbell The China Study Solution: The Simple Way to Lose Weight and Reverse Illness, Using a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet by Thomas Campbell Healthy Eating, Healthy World: Unleashing the Power of Plant-Based Nutrition by J. Morris Hicks Eat for Life: The Breakthrough Nutrient-Rich Program for Longevity, Disease Reversal, and Sustained Weight Loss by Joel Fuhrman M.D. The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life by Joel Fuhrman M.D. The End of Heart Disease: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Joel Fuhrman M.D. Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free by Joel Fuhrman M.D. Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease by Joel Fuhrman M.D. Nutritarian Handbook & ANDI Food Scoring Guide by Joel Fuhrman M.D. Your Body in Balance: The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health by Neal Barnard M.D. Power Foods for the Brain by Neal Barnard M.D. Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight by Neal Barnard M.D. Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight by Neal Barnard M.D Breaking the Food Seduction by Neal Barnard M.D The Blue Zones, Second Edition: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner Plant-Based Nutrition Cookbooks Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moscowitz and Terry Hope Romero All cookbooks by Terry Hope Romero All cookbooks by Isa Chandra Moscowitz Thrive Foods by Brendan Brazier No Meat Athlete Cookbook by Matt Frazier Plant Strong by Rip Esselstyn Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn The Plant-Power Way by Rich Roll The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook by Ann Crile Esselstyn and Jane Esselstyn The Plant Based Diet for Beginners by Gabriel Miller The PlantPure Nation Cookbook by Kim Campbell and T. Colin Campbell The PlantPure Kitchen Cookbook by Kim Campbell and T. Colin Campbell The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Neal Barnard The China Study Cookbook by Leanne Campbell Eat to Live Cookbooks by Joel Fuhrman The Buddhist Chef by Jean-Philippe Cyr My New Roots Cookbooks by Sarah Britton Oh She Glows Cookbooks by Angela Liddon Minimalist Baker’s Cookbooks by Dana Shultz Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor The First Mess Cookbook by Laura Wright Forks Over Knives Flavor by Darshana Thacker The Blue Zones Kitchen by Dan Buettner Vegan 100 by Gaz Oakley Clean Food by Terry Walters How Not To Die Cookbook Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbooks China Study Cookbooks Forks Over Knives Cookbooks Thug Kitchen Cookbooks Plant-Based Whole Food Cooking Blogs (recipes) www.nomeatathlete.com www.loveandlemons.com www.mynewroots.org www.ohsheglows.com www.thefirstmess.com www.veganricha.com www.plantstrong.com www.minimalistbaker.com www.halfbakedharvest.com www.veganyackattack.com www.dreenaburton.com www.thugkitchen.com www.theppk.com www.deliciouslyella.com

Not for bariatric. surgery, but I had a surgery about 8 years ago and was out for a month. When people asked, that I didnt want to tell, I gave outrageous stories like I had to be separated from my conjoined twin, or my goldfish had surgery so I had to take care of her. People got the picture real fast

Yep, that's about right. It's insane how individual the requirements are. My personal insurance is through the school district but mandated by the state. I pay about $100 per month for just myself to be covered for medical, to the tune of $1200 off my paychecks each year. I didn't cover the family, as we are all covered by my husband's union insurance as well. He pays a percentage per hour, but it's paid by his employer over his hourly wage, so we never have seen it on his paycheck, so it never feels like an expense to us since it's negotiated and run by the union. My insurance deductible is $200 per year. My husband's insurance deductible is $200 per year. Anything I'm billed goes first to my insurance, which pays 85% (leaving me responsible for 15%) and then to my husband's, which would have paid 80% so they cover the remaining 15% then put the leftover 65% they would have paid into a health savings account for me if I lose my other insurance. So basically once I meet those deductibles, I'm covered for 100% of medical charges. Up in the air are the co-pays my insurance has ($75 for Emergency visits and $200 for In-patient hospital, which are normally due at time of service). My husband's insurance doesn't have any co-pays upfront, so if I have to pay those things, I might have to submit reimbursements for those fees, such as when I'm admitted to the hospital for my VSG surgery. The upside, neither of my insurances have any requirements for weight loss programs for bariatric surgery if I meet the BMI/comorbidity levels and they have very similar plans for what is allowed versus not allowed for coverage.

I don't know how old you are, but there are a lot of us in our 50s and 60s who have had the surgery. I've been hanging out on bariatric internet forums since before I had surgery five years ago. The only person I've ever heard of who was supposedly "too old" for surgery was 78...and for all I know, he may have had other health issues as well that factored into that.

I’m in a lot of Bariatric groups and there have been several who have gone through an in-network surgeon and have been denied and had to start over because they didn’t use an IOQ. I would call Aetna just to be clear in what their requirements are. Mine will only pay 70% if I don’t use and IOQ and I would have to do the 6 month nutrition. I know it’s clear as mud lol but you definitely want to know ahead of time!

You won't be able to do a bariatric diet as after surgery you can only get about 500 to 600 calories per day which is waaaaay to low with a normal stomach. I just did a reduced calorie diet using MyFitnessPal to track everything I ate. I started out with 2400 calories per day suggested by MFP to lose two pounds per week in July of 2019. After about a month I dropped down to about 2000 calories per day and was able stick to that. By November I was able to go to 1600 to 1800 calories per day. I did have days where I had a ton, I went to Vegas in September and took a break, but I got back after it when I got back home. I also started exercising 4 to 5 days a week. That also helped. Working on good habits prior to surgery will help you after surgery. So do what you can and build off of that.

the bariatric surgeon will recommend something....he/she may be fine with DS. It's just that it seems that most people who have DS are 300+ lbs (and some way over that). But I did know one lighter-weight person who had it, so who knows...

I checked on Aetna's siteand Advent Health Celebration is not an IOQ, but the surgeon is in network for me and listed under their in network bariatric surgeons. The only hospital that is on the list has one particular surgeon that 2 of my coworkers (very large employer) have been to and both have said while the surgeon is ok, the office staff is terrible. Both recommended I go elsewhere. My plan covers the whole Advent Health System.

I have friends who have had the Sleeve and they have been very successful. One friend who had the bypass had lost 100 lbs. but did not maintain due to lack of motivation and stopped going to the gym. I know I had done it before without surgery but I also realize that I'm a little older at this point. I thought it would be silly for me at this point to consider surgery but I need to do something to improve my health. Does anyone recommend a specific diet at this time? Has anyone started a bariatric surgery diet before their actual surgery and how long before?

duodenal switch seems like overkill given that you only have 100 lbs to lose, but see what the bariatric surgeon says. Some will do it when you're that weight.

It depends, is your surgeon an IOQ with Aetna? If so they will have the three month program. Aetna is very specific about IOQ’s and some policies will not cover at all if you use one that is not an IOQ. The 3 month is the fastest way. It typically comes out to 4 months. Your first meeting with the Bariatric team and then your first nutrition appt is typically scheduled after that.

there are about a billion different policies - all different - some are provided by your employer, or if your employer is small enough and doesn't legally have to provide it, then you can buy your own. costs are all across the board. Deductibles are all across the board. What you have to pay once you've met the deductible is all across the board. This is what makes US health care such a nightmare. as for mine, I have a $500 deductible. Once I meet my deductible, I pay 10% of whatever the cost is. There IS an out-of-pocket limit meaning whenever you get to that point, everything is paid 100%, but I almost never get that high (I think one of the few times I did was the year I had bariatric surgery) I don't think there's a "typical" health insurance policy, though, so there's not really an "average". as far as bariatric surgery goes, some policies cover it, some don't. oh - and most people have to pay a monthly amount, even if the insurance comes with their job. I think ours is around $250 a month. We didn't have to pay anything per month originally, just the deductible, but that was YEARS ago. for example, if my surgery was $30,000, I would pay the first $500, plus 10% of whatever is over $500. I can't remember what our out-of-pocket limit is, but let's say $5,000. So once I've paid $5000 of my own money, then insurance pays 100% of anything over that.

Hi everyone. I had an appointment with my primary doctor today, and she agreed that bariatric surgery is something I should pursue, especially since insurance will cover almost all of it. She said that she wants me to talk to the doctor about the duodenal switch surgery, as she feels it would benefit me the most. The surgeon's office at my hospital said I have to either go to their seminar or watch their video and do their quizzes online before I can make an appointment. I finished those today and now they are supposed to call within 48 hours to schedule the appointment. I'm excited by nervous at the same time. Vicky

Collagen should not be counted as a protein at all in our macros. If your nutritionist is saying that it is a bio-available protein, she is going against the FDA and known science. I would not recommend sticking with them. I've not met a nutritionist yet that was much more than a smoothie recipe repository and supplement salesperson, so I have a low opinion of them in general though. If anyone - bariatric patient or not - eats complete proteins, the body makes its own collagen.

I have NO comorbidities. I am VERY healthy. And, let's be clear, I am very happy to find this out. I am blessed. And so, this means I have: No high blood pressure; No sleep apnea; No diabetes; No high cholesterol; and No fatty liver. I am 40.11 BMI as my last weigh-in. But all for the weigh-ins before the last one (since August), my BMI was between 35 progressing to 39. I was told that IF after the peer-to-peer, I am denied and I decide to go for an appeal, the bariatric clinic has encouraged past clients to "do a couple more [monthly] weigh - ins". But, here is the thing; I am not trying to STAY this heavy weight to satisfy some insurance threshold. It just goes against my personality. Thanks for the encouraging words. Tristi

I actually just searched things online... if I'm craving something in particular, I'll google bariatric recipe for blah blah blah and print out the ones I find. I have a 3 ring binder FULL of stuff that I love that is super healthy and high in protein made specifically for bariatric people. And I also have the cookbook above- it's got pretty good stuff in it, too. I've tried a few of the recipes and they turned out great!

I was told the shortest possible time would be about three months (I did my six-month supervised diet before I was formally admitted to the bariatric program, though. Although that was a requirement of my insurance company, not the bariatric clinic). I had my surgery about six months after starting in the bariatric program.

We concentrate so much on weight ! Sometimes it's the inches lost that really shows up in your success! As one our bariatric veterans has once posted. " It's called Weight loss surgery but it should be called Fat loss Surgery" I'm ok with the inches lost ..

New food intolerance is what I am thinking so far. All three times have been with chicken. Not ready to think gallbladder yet... but maybe. Got my routine blood work drawn today, will see what is up with that in a couple days. I see the bariatric nurse practitioner in a few weeks. And nope... no other life changes. No real dietary changes either.

I'm in Delco too...Drexel Hill! but originally from Philly. I went with them because my primary is with Jeff which made it easy for the bariatric center to access my records and send them to the insurance company. Also all of my preop appts were with Jeff doctors and scheduled by the center. It was like a one stop shop. Where is Mercy Fitzgerald...is that the hospital off lansdowne ave. I've only been in the area a little over 2 yrs. Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

Hey yall! I am scheduled for my VSG surgery on March 2nd and I was hoping to find people in the area to connect with and encourage each other on this journey to better ourselves. Also to swap stories and answer questions about the local health insurance requirements and surgeons. I had a really hard time finding others with Independence BCBS insurance and there weren't any online reviews of my surgeon. So I figured there may be others out there like myself who are looking for answers and support. I am going through Jefferson Hospital Bariatric Surgery Center, and the process has been pretty smooth. My last preop appt is tomorrow and I am excited but not loving this all liquid diet. Anyone else going through Jefferson? If not who is your surgeon and what has the process been like for you? Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

Hi! I just had a successful meeting with my Doctor and was given a referral to the Bariatric program in my area. Even though I have a PPO insurance, I still needed this step. I am going to do 6 months of nutrition appointments required by my insurance and I call tomorrow to set it up. I also started blood pressure medication today. My BMI is right at 40 so I am nervous about being disqualified but hoping the BP meds help my case. Wishing everyone a successful day on their journey and wanted to share. Got the ball rolling and feeling good!

Assuming your bariatric surgeon’s office has a dietitian, I would bounce that question off them first. I had all kinds of issues with the liquid pre-op diet last year, it was one of the reasons why I opted out at the last minute, 2 days before surgery last year. I am not looking forward to doing it again, but health matters dictate I must get past it this time around. I kept in contact with three others who were in my pre-op support group who went through the sleeve surgery in 2019. All three are now reaching a year post-op and the feedback I am getting is encouraging, but cautious. One of them has not been as successful as the others but she knows what she is doing wrong. From what she tells me, she “grazes” and eats small amounts of food constantly during the day and evening. She has gained back about 35% of the weight she initially lost and is now considering revision surgery and moving to full bypass. She says her biggest mistake was not reaching out for help. I plan to be active in this support group, I know I am going to need help and I want to make myself available to help others.

When I went in, I found out that my bariatric center’s scale is off by three quarters of one pound. I guess if you are on the other side, that is good. My new BMI IS 40.11, and this new BMI is what the doctor will use to argue his case for me. He is out this week on vacation, and so I’m not sure if he or someone else in the group will do the peer-to-peer. Wanting this step to be done already.

Avocado BLT Avocado, turkey bacon, lettuce and tomato- dash of salt and drizzle of ranch- They made them in the actually avocado cup but I put in a bowl cause I can only eat 1.5oz. Sometimes only 1oz depends on the day. The actual recipe pic and then my modified bariatric version lol