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I am 1 week post op. Feel good. Almost no pain. Almost fine. Tons of energy. and happily living on Vitamin Water zero, homemade chicken stock and Jello. Not interested in food. No cravings. But I am worried about nutrition. I am vegetarian and didn't eat meat before and my Protein intake has always been low. Suggestions? Paralyzed /Canadian/Mexican Sleeve

I'm able to eat normally (5.5 months after) although I still try to chew meat more carefully (and overall prefer to have fish/vegetarian foods) but I can eat everything just far less. I can also eat a meal pretty quickly (which I sometimes have to) but I would strongly recommend that you try to stick to eating slowly and chewing well just because you have much less chance of overeating/doing any damage. On the few occasions I have overeaten, although you would think it would be uncomfortable and then ease over time, in fact it got worse over time (30-45 mins) until I was sick. I think eating slowly will most prevent this. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am almost three months out and I have been eating vegetarian chili regularly for almost two months.

Disagree. I got in all my protein and still lost gobs of hair. Happened with WWs, happened with Jenny, happened with the sleeve. The only time I didn't lost a ton of hair was when I did Atkins, no carb, high fat. And the only way one can keep high protein and low cals is with turkey, chicken or fish? Tell that to all the vegetarian sleevers out there who are successful.

I have BCBS of Michigan. I'm in the 3 month nutritional visit. I'm vegetarian and I love Premier Protein. I've lost 20lbs and I have PCOS.

Oh yeah I love food porn. My favorite images come from IG. I love love the fat/unhealthy vegetarian and vegan posts there. HW 341 lbs 07/19/16 - 298 lbs 08/09/16 DOS - 286 lbs CW 253 lbs

@@PorkChopExpress, thanks for the advice. I'm glad you brought up the restaurant/eating out thing. My daughter will definately want to go to a couple eateries. (which will be interesting becasue she is a vegetarian and I will be seeing lean meat protien!) I probably won't go out to eat until then, so it will be new to me. I will take your advice on ordering just lean meats, skip the breads. And of course I would want to take at least half out in a box but that will depnd on if I get the cooler. It will be an adventure for sure, but at least I will be on week 7 and not 2! Thanks again and good luck on your trip as well. We got this!

If you like to cook: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/01/best-vegetarian-bean-chile-recipe.html I get the marmite on amazon. It adds a lot. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/slow-cooker-vegetarian-chili-with-sweet-potatoes#close I love this recipe and it is made in the crock pot. I add extra Beans to increase the Fiber and Protein. Sent from my SCH-I545 using the BariatricPal App

@ thank you. I am actually a vegetarian so not sticking to this exactly, just the general theme of very low carb liquidds then soft proteinn etc. This has been a very insightful process thus far for me. I am much more aware of my urges and cravings, and what I may truly be wanting instead of eating. Even if this doesn't reset my restriction, I've already gotten so much out of going back to liquids only. In many ways, I think I needed to a few months at this weight to get used to this new me and figure out this next part of my work, and now I can re-adjust my goals to move forward. again, edited to remove links to buying items.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/01/best-vegetarian-bean-chile-recipe.html Best Vegetarian Chili.

Hi Everyone, I was wondering if there are any practicing vegetarians in the group? During my pre-surgery exams, I was diagnosis with cancer. I was told adopting a vegetarian would be the best for my health. I know that eating a plant based diet is healthy but was not sure if you could eat enough plant-base to meet Protein requirements. Are you easily meeting the protein requirements the by-pass needs? Do you use extra supplements? Any issues you experience in doing this? Thank you.

I had my first junk meal yesterday, four months after the surgery. It was a vegetarian spring roll which cost me 1.49. Such an adorable guilty pleasure to indulge in!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank you and congrats! Great job! I have been staying low carb also. I am allowed "all foods" now also and I LOVE LOVE LOVE salads. Always have. But there isn't enough Protein in a salad. But I'll admit, I find myself ordering them often since I don't really like meat. I've never been a meat eater. I always try n pick out my chicken and eat it first. One restaurant salad will be 3-4 meals for me. But again, not the protein I'm needing. Wish I was more keen of meats. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App There are vegans and vegetarians who are post WLS. Do a search and figure out what they eat. I would love to live on veggies alone! I'll have to check that out. I hate being required to eat meat. Blah Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank you and congrats! Great job! I have been staying low carb also. I am allowed "all foods" now also and I LOVE LOVE LOVE salads. Always have. But there isn't enough Protein in a salad. But I'll admit, I find myself ordering them often since I don't really like meat. I've never been a meat eater. I always try n pick out my chicken and eat it first. One restaurant salad will be 3-4 meals for me. But again, not the protein I'm needing. Wish I was more keen of meats. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App There are vegans and vegetarians who are post WLS. Do a search and figure out what they eat.

@@PixelToph Could you share some of your vegetarian keto/low carb meals?

I did a keto-based diet during my 7 months pre-op, and ended up losing 110 pounds before surgery. My diet was different from the typical "keto" diet since I'm a vegetarian, but I did try to stay below 25 carbs per day. I didn't count calories or fat at all. Just Protein (at least 100g) and carbs (no more than 25). I'm pretty sure I stayed in ketosis most of that time, though I didn't have any way to measure it. I'm almost 6 months out from surgery now and still eat very low carb. I am so glad I started before surgery because it got all the cravings out of the way when cheating wouldn't endanger my healing process. I'm sure it made the first weeks after surgery easier since I didn't have to deal with the cravings. As for safety, my surgeon and nutritionist both recommend a keto diet post-surgery. He says ketosis really helps the weight loss during those first months where most of the weight comes off. I'm just now starting to incorporate some whole vegetables into my diet. My program guidelines say protein only the first 5-6 months, and no simple carbohydrates (bread, Pasta, rice) for a minimum of 1 year (though I probably won't ever add them back in, since for me they trigger the cravings to come back). Just had my bloodwork done for my upcoming 6-month follow-up and all of my numbers are good.

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 would most definitely have her check for PCOS. I was tiny until I hit puberty and then my weight problems started. My Mom took me to the doctor out of concern but they just said it was a phase and to watch what they gave me. My Dad is a vegetarian so we never had anything other than chicken and turkey burger in our house and only because my Mom refused to be a vegetarian lol. I was diagnosed with PCOS until I was 28 and my husband and I had started trying for a baby.

Well, it has now been 1 year since my gastric bypass surgery. Looking back, the year really flew by. There were ups and downs along the way, but I wouldn't change a thing about it... well, my only regret is not getting the surgery done sooner. I have stuck to my diet, which is primarily vegan/vegetarian, for the entire year. I don't crave junk food and really feel like I've hit a groove and can keep this up for life. It's no longer a diet... it's simply the way I eat now. A year ago I thought a lot about my own funeral... I was convinced I'd die by the time I hit 50. Not healthy thoughts for a 35 year old with 4 kids. I pictured my parents, brothers, kids and wife being at my funeral. I told my wife I wanted her to promise to cremate me as I couldn't bear the thought of all the people it would take to carry my coffin. Happily, those thoughts are a distant memory. The stats to date... my "high" weight (I know I was higher) was 425lbs. On the day of surgery (October 1st) I was down to 404lbs. October 1st, 2016 I clocked in at 217lbs, so 208lbs down. I've gone from 56 waist pants and 5/6XL shirts to a 34 waist pant and size large shirts. I do have the much talked about loose skin around my midsection and inner thighs... but it's actually much better than I anticipated after viewing pics online before surgery. I figure I'll start looking at plastics in 6-months to a year... but honestly, I'm not that worried about... loose skin beats being over 400 pounds. Things I've done in the past year: Traveled on an airplane a few times with no worries about being forced to buy an extra seat or seat belt extenders... no worries about infringing on the space of the passenger next to me. Started playing ice hockey again in a beer league after a 14+ year hiatus. Took the family to Universal Orlando and rode every ride. Trained for and completed the couch to 5k program. The last bullet was a big goal of mine. I've always hated running, but I wanted to do something big for my first surgiversary, so with the help of my cross-country running 14-year old daughter, I began the couch to 5k program 10 weeks ago. There was a local 5k that just happened to be held on October 1st... the exact date of my first surgiversary. So I was able to run it this past weekend with my 14-year old daughter and 12-year old son. I really wanted to do it in under 30 minutes... which I just missed with a time of 30:34. My daughter finished first in the under-19 female with a time of 25:45 (4th woman overall) and my son (who didn't train and has never run anything beyond a mile) finished 1st for under 19 men and 4th overall with a time of 21:44. Bottom line, I feel like I've been given a 2nd life to live thanks to this surgery. I couldn't be more happy with the decision. Big thanks to my family, my surgeon (Dr. Garth Davis in Houston, TX) and to all of the great posters here on BariatricPal... I wouldn't be here today without the support and kindness all of you have shown through this journey... while I may not post as much as others, I read this forum daily.

I agree that it's not too young for her to check out possible hormonal disorders. I started to gain a little around that age (going through puberty). I was diagnosed with PCOS at 14 when I ended up in the emergency room due to abdominal pain; I had so many issues with cysts that one of my ovaries was removed. But being young, I never took the time or effort to research what PCOS meant. My weight gain increased in my mid teens when I became a vegetarian and ate primarily processed carbs like breads, rices, and pastas. With insulin resistance this was not smart, but again I was clueless and never followed up with my doctor. 20 plus years later I'm finally getting my health under control. I sincerely regret not learning more about this disorder back then. It wouldn't hurt to see an endocrinologist in my opinion!

In my unprofessional opinion it is more likely puberty than PCOS. If her mom is a strict vegetarian, it entirely possible her daughter may be malnourished/protein deficient unless she is on top of her nutrition (and most 11 year olds that I know aren't nutrition experts). When my niece was vegetarian she seriously thought she could live on French fries. Puberty is a very dangerous time for developing eating disorders. Often because of an overreaction to some natural weight gain as our bodies are developing. I wish I knew the answer. I'll see if I can find a book or other resource.

.... ANYTHING but exercise. Idiot. Ok, so the head trainer at my gym was great yesterday. I enjoyed the workout (gosh I'm in bad shape) and decided that using a trainer a few times a month wouldn't be a bad idea. I did exercises I wouldn't have thought to do, and the encouragement helps. He made a good argument for starting strength training immediately even though I believe I have a long way to go on cardio first. So while we're setting up my contract, I get introduced to the VP over operations, and he asked what my motivation for being there was. I told him I had a bunch of health conditions that piled on last year, and ended up deciding to have the sleeve 6 weeks ago, and I don't want to blow it. I want to make the lifestyle changes needed to make this stick. Cue the standard crap from him: * His mother had the lap band and then bypass. She gained all the weight back from the lap band and is only being successful with the bypass because she's finally following his directions. * He's has "lots" of experience dealing with post-WLS patients. * If I'd come to him earlier, he could have prevented me from needing the surgery. After all, the people who get the surgery say they've "tried everything" but they really haven't. * All the surgery does is enforce portion control, and that can be done without surgery. * But since it's already done, we'll work with what we have. * My surgeon doesn't know what nutrition is needed. *HE* (the VP) will tell me what I should eat. (I will give him this - I am not eating enough Protein, I'll have to really ramp that up.) Sorry, dude. When you tell me that I can't count Beans or Peanut Butter as Proteins because they're not "complete" without discussing my knowledge of nutrition, you fail. I was raised vegetarian and know perfectly well how to combine foods to get a complete protein. Bite me. So I finally got rid of him, and got back to the head trainer who wanted to go through food lists (at the prompting of the VP). I had to explain to him (because I wasn't bothering with the VP) that I get *incredibly* ill in ketosis, so his "carbs are the enemy" lecture doesn't wash with me. I am willing to control my carbs so long as I'm above ketosis levels, and concentrate on complex carbs and healthy choices, but I will *not* do a ketogenic diet. Then I get a mini lecture on how tilapia is not a good choice (already knew that, but it's better than some other choices) and how swai fish is a GREAT choice. Looked that up when I got home, and it's a catfish from the far east. Sorry, dude. I don't eat bottom feeders or filter fish. I get that most people they deal with are not well educated on nutrition. I get that trainers know more than the average bear about the subject. However, both of these guys are competitive body builders. Their nutritional approach is not going to work for everyone, and they need to learn to be flexible about it. I'm just glad we didn't even discuss veggies, because they'd be horrified to find that I just don't eat them (though I'm working on expanding my palate). And telling me to "just eat them" doesn't work, since I basically have PTSD around veggies and can't physically make myself eat something or I'll throw it up. I wish they'd stick to the exercise piece.

My friends 11 year old daughter has been gaining significant weight over the last year. She has quite a belly on her, very round face, and thighs on her. I am very concerned for her health especially knowing what her future holds if she continues to gain weight. Her mother is a bodybuilder and strict organic vegetarian. Her daughter is very active, swimming and horseback riding and still continues to gain. I am wondering about PC OS or insulin resistance. Diabetes does run in their family, but her pediatrician that barely looked at her and said her blood glucose level was normal. I am wondering if anyone has any insight. At what age did anyone here start to have symptoms of PC OS or insulin resistance? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Ok, I have the same thing. The insulin resistance is a kicker though, but that can be reversed and the PCOS symptoms will become mild. As you already know, the longer your body goes without the bad foods, the better you'll be. So even if you go several months without junk food, your body will still know what to do even if you eat junk food every now and then. It will process out the sugar and junk food the right way instead of processing everything you eat and drink into sugar. So keep up the good work. I'm still on the 6 month pre-op visits. Within past 7 days, I finally cut out all sugary foods and drinks and all flour, low carbs and fat. Ive been a vegetarian for 2 months. I was finally able to lose 10 lbs. Now, I'm afraid if I keep losing this weight, I may not be eligible for surgery. My highest weight was 240. My doctor said not to get to 205 by January. Doing all of this is hard, but I keep reminding myself of the final result. Most of all, I keep encouraged by reading these posts..