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I've been a vegetarian (mostly) for 34 years and the only meat I can stand eating is chicken. Do you think at this phase (8 days post-op) I can eat finely shredded rotisserie chicken? I guess I don't really understand the degree to how soft things must be and why.

Hi everybody. I'm 8 days post-op and my doctor wants me to start a diet consisting of protein shake, then soup for lunch and dinner. She wants me to eat a pureed soup with chicken and vegetables. She mentioned pulsing it in a food processor so that it's not totally pureed, but said that if I wanted to, I could. She suggested chicken thighs as they are juicier, but man, I am a quasi-vegetarian and am basically forcing myself to eat chicken. She did say I could use breast if I insisted. So, I'm asking if any of you have tips. Would a completely pureed CHICKEN soup seem bizarre, or do you think that I can get the chicken breast in small enough pieces? Ideas? Can I do something like this photo, or are the chicken pieces too big? Thank you.

Why I think you should consider the MGB I think this surgery is worth considering, even as a self-pay option (I paid myself). We don’t get the serious dumping usually, we lose as much or more than the RNY’ers, our surgery is simpler and can be reversed or revised, and we learn to eat a Mediterranean diet … … by our anatomy. That’s right. My fat malabsorption steers me away from high-fat foods, and that includes pizza and burgers. I simply do not want them. I can have a slice, but it makes me feel … oomph. Not bad just not very nice. I find myself scanning restaurant menus for vegetarian options, just because I feel like it. One year out, I’m still experiencing shifts in what my body craves, and it’s fruit, veggies, protein. That’s coming from someone who ended up living on a diet of mostly fast food, juicy steaks and quick carbs. I don’t even want ice cream anymore. Not because I dump-dump, but because it just doesn’t give me that satisfaction. I make smoothies instead when I feel like a treat. I know, boooring.  Many MGB patients tell the same story. We can eat well, but we slowly learn to go for the things we should be eating. Automatically. Neat! At least give it a look. And consider any surgical team has a business to run. If you’re asking for a product they aren’t selling, they’ll be inclined to sell you what they do sell. Usually, that’s RNY or a sleeve. Did you know sleeves can be done as quickly as 14 minutes? That’s my surgical team’s record. And that RNY takes 2-3-4 hours? If you get paid the same, more or less, you’d be happy to sell your patient the 14 minute job, right? (Yes, yes, I know, that’s not how all surgeons are. I’m just saying: consider your options. It’s your life and your money).

I've been vegan for six years and vegetarian before that for 32 years. It's super easy to go vegan these days (compared to when I first attempted it back in the late 90s). What do you want to know? How to transition?

Savory shakes - that sounds great. I'm a vegetarian, but I'm sure there are some out there. That's a great idea. Doobie.

So the program I am doing doesn't really want us to use protein powder except for unusual circumstances. We are supposed to get our protein from natural food sources - Something to boost protein - *milk powder, peanut butter powder* can be used. Rest need to come from cottage cheese, cheese, tofu, Oats, milk, lentils etc. Well that's for vegetarians, which I am. Non-Vegetatians have more options with meat and chicken. So I am sure dialy protein need can come from various food sources than having to use protein powders.

Miraculous! I tend to eat pretty healthy foods (being a vegetarian helps), I just eat way too much of it. So feeling positive about things right now.

Hi All I am a chef by profession and feel that though I am going through the same as most (currently in puree stage) I refuse to give up my desire to eat well and be creative. My weight loss is going great and I have been keeping the diet prescribed to me by my physician. I have, however, stretched my creative muscles to incorporate flavors I like into my day. This is one of my more successful ones. I am also trying to eat more vegetarian and vegan and this was a good place for that as I use Just egg and vegetarian sausage. If I had cashew yogurt I would have used that instead. 208 calories / 15 carbs / 12g protein (vegetarian) should yield 1/4 cup. If more only eat what you are prescribed. 1 Morning Star Farm vegetarian Sausage Link 1/2 cup Oat Milk 1 ts Low-fat Greek Yogurt (plain) 1/4 ts rubbed sage 1/4 ts garlic powder 1/4 ts dried chives (optional) Ground black pepper 1 ts corn starch disolved in 1 ts of water 1 egg or 3Tbl. Just Egg Over medium heat. Cut up one sausage link and, in a small pan sprayed with cooking spray, sauté until lightly browned. Add Oat Milk, yogurt, sage, garlic powder and chives if you are using and stir until the yogurt dissolves and the gravy starts to simmer. Let it start to cook down a bit. Stir the cornstarch and water slurry well to make sure it is fully dissolved and add it to the gravy. Bring up the heat and stir till thickened to the consistency you wish. If too thick, add some water. Remove from the pan and put the gravy into a small food processor. Blitz until smooth and the sausage is well incorporated. Make your egg or egg substitute scrambled fine so it meets puree standards and serve with the gravy on top. Though you are using about 1/2 cup of milk and such, out leaving you with approximately 1/4 cup of sausage gravy. This is decadent, has the flavors you want, has a good amount of protein and meets the requirements. Cheers J

Always a good idea to get feedback from others. I was put on keto for the 2.5 weeks before surgery but that was all I did. Some will likely swear by it but personally I wouldn’t go back to it. Good to kick start a diet but not long term. Your surgery is the best kickstart you’ll ever find. The high fat intake on keto is the real issue for me. I’ve never enjoyed high fat foods & now I don’t have a gall bladder to help process all that fat. You may find your cholesterol temporarily increases while you are losing (it’s released from your fat). I believe it’s one of the reasons most surgeons & dieticians recommend low fat while you’re losing so you’re not adding to the risk. Losing large amounts of weight & high cholesterol levels also put you had a higher risk of developing gall stones. It’s why many of us end up having issues & have our galls removed post weight loss surgery. I’ve read keto can also screw with your blood sugar levels so if you have issues with diabetes it may not be your best option. Usually best to stick to your surgeon’s plan & dietician’s recommendations while you are losing. Slowing adding in new foods as you go. You’ll lose doing that & you will go into ketosis as well - bad breath & a smelly body awaits you 😉. You may find you end up developing your own eating plan which works for you & which incorporates aspects of many eating styles once you’re close to or in maintenance: keto, vegan, vegetarian, Atkins, intermittent fasting, etc. Whatever way you go it has to be sustainable & complement how to want to live your life. Good luck whatever you choose to do.

Wow, vegan! I'm a vegetarian so I'm also a bit nervous about that. Just curious, what types of Proteins have you been eating post op? Do you do like mock meats or more tofu? Would love to know Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

Wow, vegan! I'm a vegetarian so I'm also a bit nervous about that. Just curious, what types of proteins have you been eating post op? Do you do like mock meats or more tofu? Would love to know! Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

Thank god for your Super Awesome Nurse! While my WLS hospital experience was fine (I suspect because they were a private hospital), my two previous surgeries were a different story. For some reason, even in 2015, "vegan" seems utterly beyond public hospital kitchens. The worst was my knee surgery stay (5 days), where they just... didn't feed me. And I was only vegetarian at the time, the easy option. If it wasn't for my partner and friends bringing me in food to eat, they'd have just let me starve. With my 2015 gallbladder op, they managed to find a small soy milk for me, then just shrugged. Luckily, that stay was only overnight. So brava getting the right stuff thanks to the nurse AND getting a takeaway stash! But ugh... sorry you're having such a rough time with the cellulitis. That was a rude-ass spider.

I am an advocate of finding the food choices & way of eating that works for you.There isn’t just one totally correct way to eat eat. It may be vegetarian or meat focussed or Aitken or vegan or keto, intermittent fasting or frequent eating, etc. or include aspects of a number of eating styles. The only thing you can trust will work for everyone is portion control - eat more than you need you’ll gain weight. Once you get to maintenance you can really embrace your new way of eating but you could start to incorporate aspects while losing as long as you’re still meeting your plan’s requirements & expectations. Have regular conversations with your nutritionalist & surgeon to discuss what you could start introducing & when. Your regular blood work will influence their advice & recommendations. You may (or may not) have to make adjustments to your weight loss plan & future eating style because of your personal physiological needs. Some may be pre existing, some may arise because of the surgery or be discovered as a result of all the additional medical tests & monitoring. I’ve never been great with too fatty or too oily food. I was low fat while losing but added some more good fats from goal. I was low carb while losing too & then added some whole & multi grains carbs. Since my sleeve, rice, bread & pasta sit like lumps in my tummy so I still don’t eat them. Protein has become even more important to me since I had my gall removed 4 months ago as I don’t absorb it properly anymore. I’m a carnivore but include vegetarian meals occasionally. 40+yrs of fasting & skipping meals killed my metabolism. I feed my much faster metabolism now - 3 meals & 3 or 4 snacks a day. These things influenced how I chose to eat now & it’s been working for me. Your enthusiasm for researching & adopting a new way of eating & making the changes to take the best advantage of your surgery is fantastic. I hope it motivates others starting the process too. Good luck.

Faux tonkotsu ramen (vegetarian) Not mine (I did make it) but I wanted to share because it’s not often I accurately track a food I’m not eating. This seems like a lot of calories to me but I’m sure it’s less than normal because it’s homemade

I would never go back to an all liquid diet. I could never sustain it for more than a day or two. Plus I don't want to be thrown back into "diet mentality" again, and I'm afraid that would do it (at least for me). I'm also mostly vegetarian (I eat meat maybe once a week tops). I eat a lot of beans and dairy products, though, so I don't have trouble meeting my protein goals, but I usually have a protein shake as my mid-morning snack just so I don't obsess about protein all day. I know if I have that shake, I'll always meet my goals. Plus, I'm one of those odd birds who actually LIKES protein shakes!

I lot of what I eat is close to vegetarian and I'll admit, sometimes I add up all my protien grams and say screw it....and drink a protien drink just to not stress about it.

I need to see if there is a post-surgery thread for vegetarian or vegan recipes

Hey! Thanks for your reply. I had a consultation with the surgeon who just gave me info on both surgeries and the dangers of being obese but no nutritional information. He said I have an eating disorder and need to get that treated before we can proceed with surgery but he didn't recommend me any services, just said to meet with a dietician twice a month until October and get a Psych evaluation. I'm already in therapy and psychiatry for depression and eating behaviors. They only mentioned it'd be a lot of protein shakes since I'm a vegetarian anyway. I've been on a 1500-2000 cal diet for the past 3 weeks and have lost 10 lbs but it's just calorie deficit and exercise, cutting out most sugary things but still eating carbohydrates. Wondering how different the diet will be even though I'm not getting surgery anytime soon. I'm super nervous for some reason and I hate all the unknown factors. It makes me so anxious not knowing what's expected of me. But i know I'll learn more tomorrow. Just checking what the diet is like and how restrictive it is in terms of macro nutrients. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m wondering, I’m considering for myself as I am seeking to schedule a revision within the next few weeks if my body some peoples body might just handle a good old green smoothie better than I don’t know avocados and tunafish or some thing. I’m seriously considering becoming a vegetarian and I’ve been trying to figure out what would keep things really simple and keep me feeling the most energized with the most vitamins and thought Hey maybe I will just live on green smoothies for a few months after surgery.

Congrats on having a surgery date. The conference should allow for special dietary requirements - I mean they would if you were vegetarian or vegan or have allergies, etc. Let them know you’re on a medically restricted diet of high protein, low fat, no sugar, no rice, bread, pasta. That still leaves a lot of food choices. Eggs or rolled oats at breakfast, meat & vegetables/salad or soup for lunch & dinner. I was at an event where they provided sandwiches for everyone - I just ate the fillings & left the bread. You just eat what you’re able to eat. You may find your tummy is a bit fussy at first & you or your tummy may not enjoy certain foods so take some cheese, yoghurt, protein shakes, packet soups, etc. (things you can prep in your room without cooking) to supplement the food provided at the conference. At least when you’re with your sister, you can buy the food you like & can eat - sure she wouldn’t mind you cooking for yourself some or all of the time.

Hi there, It sounds like you are doing pretty good and water is very key to success, I agree. I know what you mean about frumpy clothes. I had a lot of choices but most look dated for today. I will buy new only for a special event and it seems that I don't mind showing a little more skin, too, lol. I just have to tell everyone about my latest breakthrough. I FINALLY entered ONEDERLAND!!!! I'm now 198.1 I am so happy this stall is over after 26 days! I hovered around 200-202 for the longest time. So don't give up peeps! Getting into the soft foods phase can be challenging but be patient. I can honestly report that upping my intake of water helped a lot and going back to Reformer Pilates classes was a tremendous release of stressing about the stall and challenged my muscles more than ever. Sweating like a pig to do the exercises but having fun. I highly recommend Pilates. it seems to help with the saggy skin issue as well. I eat 4-5 small meals a day surprisingly, but I know my present problems are my eyes being too big for my stomach and I waste a lot of food. I aim to get that under control. I have even thought about trying a vegetarian prepared food service. I rarely drink protein shakes anymore. I have a lot of powder left over. Oh well, as long as my days are filled with water, protein, fruit, veggies and some dairy, I will continue to keep doing what I'm doing. Take care everyone Trish

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.

Oh Lordy! I hope the OP found a bariatric treatment team that understands vegetarian diets. My team had an entirely vegetarian plan option and guess what some of the first foods were? Beans. Brown Rice. Oats. Potatoes. Hummus. Why? because they have a terrific metabolic index...are loaded with plant based protien...and have FIBER. (they're also much better tolerated right after surgery than meat by many folks) I'm not a vegetarian, but I like the Mayo Clinic Diet and the Mediterrainian diet....so my pre and post surgical diets were sort of a hybrid that included a lot of vegetarian influence. (I still eat meat, but I also eat a lot of beans, oats, nuts, seeds, etc) Thankfully, I had a team that did their homework on different ways up the mountain and didn't suggest keto was the only way or that carbs were the devil. Whew! So thankful for that! Cause the diet that many of ya'll describe is not something that I could have survived. I remember posting some of my sample menus...from my freaking dietician....a few weeks out and getting slammed by people here for the things (and amounts...1200 calories by end of first month) I was eating. A month out of surgery, I remember existing on refried beans with lowfat cheese and salsa....black beans with salsa and canned chicken....split pea soup....tofu chili with white beans....tofu chop suey over a small amount of brown rice....steal cut oats with dried cherries. Fruit. My clinic was absolutely fine with fruit as tolerated, but they wanted whole fruit, not just the juice. I ate a lot of baked oats with blueberries, strawberries, pecans and low calorie maple syrup. I ate 100 calorie whole grain english muffins with peanut butter. I ate boiled potatos with lowfat cheese or nonfat yogurt. ****, I poured caramel Premier Protien shake on my oatmeal and liked slurping it warm. But you know what I didn't eat? Sugar. White flour. Processed foods. Prepackaged sweet carbs. Stuff that spikes your insulin. I also didn't add animal fat like butter. Most of the stuff I ate was pretty low fat with the exception of tiny amounts of olive or grape seed or sesame oil. All of my carbs in weight loss phase were full of fiber and not processed. I ate a little fruit everyday. I added a lot of herbs, made sauces replacing sugar with splenda, I put every kind of vegetable and fruit in my kitchen in the smoothies I drank....and a glob of nonfat greek yogurt or tofu or chia seeds for protein. My clinic was activingly fighting the notion that super restricted calories and keto in the first months after surgery were necessary. They did things very differently than I hear routinely described here. I know we're all gonna have a different experience and I know for MOST of you guys....a super restricted calorie diet in the early days and keto, keto, keto, carbs are the devil....is what you were taught is the only way. And I know for most of ya'll...it's what worked and what you believe like a religion. I'm here to tell ya... There are other paths up this mountain. I'm working on being tolerant of everyone's preferred path. Anyway you get it done....you deserve serious kudos and I'm proud of you all. But I've gotta say.... it can be easy to feel defensive when post after post after post here...is so negative about what worked terrific for me and others like me. A few of us have lost weight successfully and maintained really well...on a diet that includes a buttload of (unrefined) carbs and a pretty high calorie allowance started early in the process. What's more...as a group, it appears we're having really good luck not regaining. That's no small thing. Keep an open mind about your carb eating brothers and sisters. We do ok with this whole process, too;) As always...to each their own. Peace and best wishes to all.

I don't know if you can order them in Brazil, but I felt EXACTLY the same as you. I hated the protein shakes. I couldn't tolerate any meat. I had surgery October 21 2020 and I still can't eat meat. Try Bowmar nutrition. I ordered from them and tried their samples. But their hot chocolate tub is awesome. It is not too sweet and is perfect for my protein needs. I have given up on meat. I have never been a vegetarian, but I decided this week I might as well do it. I don't WANT to be a vegetarian. I like meat... well, I used to like meat. Anyway...good luck. Sent from my SM-G998U using BariatricPal mobile app

I have been vegetarian (technically pescatarian as I eat canned tuna sometimes) for 12 years. Now post-op and seriously thinking of giving up on being a vegetarian. I don’t want to have to be reliant on protein shakes & processed proteins, and I’m not a fan of Tofu 🤪 So, I’m going to start with Chicken (Poultry) and see how it goes. (I actually became vegetarian as I had issues eating meat - it would get “stuck”…but it’s been so long, maybe my body has changed) I love to travel - and if can eat basic proteins it will be much simpler.