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Welcome. There is a wealth of information to be found here. Read around, use the search feature. There are several types of WLS on this board. Different doctors have different protocols and the patients themselves vary based on health, BMI, fitness level, etc... Some of us are vegetarians, some are paleo. In short, no two stories is a like. I personally had an uncomplicated surgery. No pain or need for narcotics in the hospital or upon discharge. Meet with your doctor. Follow his instructions. If you don't understand something ask him to clarify. We can offer opinions, but you need to trust the person you've chosen to manage your care.

@erp- It's a sort of hand in hand thing. I have a sweet tooth. Always have. I could probably eat a baby if it was dipped in chocolate and I'm a vegetarian! I don't limit or use sparingly. I have it when I want. However what has changed is my desire for them. This morning I had a mug of coffee, I put a good half tbsp of raw honey in it because I like it sweet. However other than some fruit I doubt I'll have more sugar today. Unless you actually eat this way it's hard to explain, but the less artificial sweeteners and additives I have in my diet, the less I want them. However I am completely satisfied and do not feel deprived.

I don't really view my way of eating as a diet per se. I've been a vegetarian for 15 years. I've been endeavoring to eat clean for 3. I do make allowances. I try to follow a 85/15 rule. For me that means I am eating clean at least 85% of the time. At this point I consider how I eat a true lifestyle so I don't feel restricted. I may still be in the honeymoon phase because I really haven't had a longing for of the more decadent things I used to eat. I've been able to indulge in chocolate 3 times since I've been sleeved without overdoing it. I've had a cookie once. I am just really happy that I have made it 4 months without and allergic reaction or a trip to the ER for an allergic reaction. This lifestyle works for me.

Ask her to give you a sample diet to follow. I meet my Protein requirements, but I do have at least one Protein shake a day. I eat between 600 - 800 calories a day. My Breakfast is a shake using Isopure unflavored whey Protein powder, ½ cup of Fage 0% greek yogurt and either a bit of fresh fruit or a tablespoon of almond butter. Occasionally I add ½ a tbsp of raw honey. To this I add ½ a cup of Water and mix it in the nutra bullet. I drink half before my morning workout and the other half post workout. This yields 30 - 38 gms of protein. The rest of the day is easy since I've now gotten most of my protein in. I then eat regular lunch. Pretty much whatever strikes my fancy. Sometimes it's just a soft scrambled egg with a tsp of salsa and a bit of avocado, or it could be blackbeans with a sunnyside up egg and a sprinkling of shredded cheese. I spend most of the afternoon sipping water. dinner varies from Soup to a small salad with a hardboiled egg and/or a meat substitute (I am vegetarian) That could be tofu, tempeh, seitan, and occasionally Beyond meat products. I typically dress my salads with a bit of EVOO. My avg protein consumed this week is 67.5 I am not saying it can't be done, but if she wants you to keep your calories that low, meet your protein requirements, AND not use any Protein shakes, she needs to provide you with some specific examples.

I'm a vegetarian. I have been a vegetarian for the past 15 years. I am fortunate enough to have a nutritionist who is willing to work with me to develop an eating plan that works for me. I also have the added challenges of multiple food allergies. I try to eat as unprocessed as possible since I am hypersensitive to overly processed foods. I prefer organic, whole foods. No artificial sugars or dyes since they tend to trigger my allergies. It is challenging. I find it is necessary to constantly read labels. If necessary I will write a company for clarification.

Welcome to the Popular Diet Forum! I set this one up because a lot of us turn to specific diets before or after weight loss surgery. Before surgery, these diets may help kickstart your weight loss so you go into surgery with some momentum. After surgery, you may find that following one of these diets helps you stick to your weight loss surgery diet. Just a few of the diets that are out there are: Atkins Gluten-free Jenny Craig Nutrisystem Paleo SlimFast South Beach Weight Watchers Vegetarian and Vegan diets Feel free to discuss anything related to popular diets. Do they work? Can they improve weight loss? Are they good after weight loss surgery? You can swap recipes, exchange tips, and discuss products and foods. Enjoy the forum!

I lost a friend through this process she's also morbidly obese and very happy. She was at around 350 when she started doing Zumba and adopted a vegetarian lifestyle. I supported her jn this by attending her classes with her and when she started teaching it I supported her there too. She lost 80 pounds. I lost 5?? I decided to do surgery and she got different. Really bitter. And I know I am emotional during this journey but her comments have been offensive and hurt my feelings. They weren't always weight related. Comments were about everything and usually a little slide of you like to find the easy way to things huh I dropped her finally I can't have toxic in my life. By the way yes I like the easy way. I like to keep it simple stupid in all things.

I am 13 months post surgery. I am not perfect in the way I eat but generally eat healthy. I will admit that sometimes when traveling unprepared, I have to "make do" with what is available for my diet. Making do is running to a convenience store for friendly foods or a restaurant for salad or a hamburger without the bun. I do not consider whey Protein isolate "diet food". It is recommended by most every Dr doing this surgery as a way to get proper amounts of protein. Especially as you progress through the food stages and particularly when you begin to exercise and need protein to help maintain muscle loss or carbohydrates for energy. For a very long time and still today, I can only eat so much before getting full. The only way to get required amounts of protein is to use Protein powder with skim or almond milk. Otherwise I do not maintain satiety and find myself grazing. It is also a great way to start each day! I do use "Quest" Protein Bars as an occasional snack to tide me over to the next meal or a post workout burst of protein. I have no problem eating anything. I just have to eat in small quantities. The protein must be dense enough to keep me full for 3-4 hours at a time. I am not a vegetarian and do not eat rice, Pasta, bread or potato by choice. The first six months I generally consumed 50 carbs or less a day, as exercise increased I needed more carbs. Today I usually eat 90-100 on active days and 70-80 on less active days. Low carb has always worked for me but I realize it is a personal choice about how many carbs to eat. As I progress in my diet I can eat a great variety of foods, as long as it fits into the plan I've made to maintain my weight loss.

Just had the sleeve surgery done 6 days ago.. I've been vegetarian for 22 years without any problems with dairy. I've been using Premier Protein and am having the worst G.I. reaction to it ( like within 10 min of drinking it) Anyone else get the cha-chas from this brand? I'm going to see about switching to Syntrax nectar tomorrow with almond or soy milk. Oh.. I'm so afraid of being lactose intolerant. Any suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated!

That's why you have to know your facts and know what's right for you. Don't worry about what others are doing. I agree with @@Kindle and @@fawnb71 - Make your nutritionist work with you. I walked in informing them that I was vegetarian and that I didn't do fake sugars. Once they saw I was serious it was no longer an issue.

It's surgery so there is reason to be concerned, however I have to say this was the easiest surgery I have ever had. 3 years ago I decided to get healthy. I joined a gym, went 3 -4 times a week, sometimes 5 times a week. I started eating clean, quit sodas, only drank Water. I am a vegetarian. I was living pretty healthy. I spent those same 3 years losing and regaining the same 35 -50 lbs. Sometimes we need help. I've lost in 4 mths what previously took me an entire year. Even better, I am still losing. My surgery couldn't have been more textbook. No pain, I walked in recovery, and I have tolerated every food I've tried. Don't let fear hold you back. Thank your son for his concern, but do what's best for you.

@lgrey- I am vegetarian and I have a zillion food allergies & multiple med allergies. Since my allergic reactions vary from severe hive to anaphylaxis, my nutritionist and I sat down and we discussed alternatives. In the end I went with whey isolates. Isolates are better than concentrates because it's a more potent form of Protein. I drink almond milk and yes it is a lower protein source. Thankfully I can eat Greek yogurt made from milk. Of the non dairy milks I believe hemp milk has the highest amount of protein. It's not very high, but when you are working around allergies and intolerances every little bit helps. Since you have an intolerance I would do whey isolate combined with an non dairy milk to lesson the impact on your system. I also supported my protein needs with Beans and almond butter. A tbsp of almond butter in my Protein shake in the morning, blended smooth. Black beans are lower in carbs so I use a lot of them. In my all liquid stage I pureed them and made them into Soups. I also added chopped spinach which is a plant based protein source and also has lots of Iron. I also used Prosource No Carb Liquid Protein during the 2 week all liquid phase. I was given this in the hospital. It's protein sources are Collagen Hydrolysate and Whey Protein Isolate so it's not strictly a vegetarian product but it helped get me through those 2 weeks. Orgain organics has a high Protein Drink that has a good amount of protein in it. I used the regular protein drink because the high protein has stevia in it which I am allergic to. (FYI -The regular uses sucralose which I can tolerate.) Here is a list of protein sources. Like I said, it took being really creative. I literally spent a week going to going to Whole Foods, drug stores and Vitamins stores reading labels and buying samples. I am 4 mths in and 55lbs down. I still manage to eat a mostly clean vegetarian diet with no artificial sugars or food dyes. I use Myfitnesspal to monitor my carb intake, drink my Water and workout 4 -5 days a week. I average about 800 calories a day.

I'm vegetarian so I can't help you with the chicken/fish recipes. As for exercise, I got some light handweights 2, 3, 5 lbs. and did arm reps while sitting down. You want to start light and be mindful of your incision sites. I have poor upper body strength and it's one of my goals to improve that.

I don't eat ANY diet foods. The closest I come is eating 0% greek yogurt. I also don't eat any artificial sugars or food dyes. Today I actually had butter! Not a lot and it's not something I eat daily, but yes I eat real butter. You don't have to eat those things. You just to do a little research and learn enough about carbs/proteins/fats/etc... I am vegetarian. The only dairy I get is greek yogurt and cheese if I eat an egg. I drink almond milk and other plant based Proteins. Early on I used whey Protein for my Protein shakes. You have to work it out with your nutritionist. It was one of my main concerns when I looked into WLS. I am happy to have a nutritionist who worked with me.

My tummy feels yucky after each meal. Do that mean I am eating the wrong things or am I eating to much or am I now a vegetarian? I have no idea. Can you help me out? I am three weeks out.

How is your process going I hit a stall after the first week. My tummy feel yucky after each meal. Do that mean I am eating the wrong things or am I eating to much or am I now a vegetarian? I have no idea. Can you help me out? I am three weeks out.

Yep, I learned about it on their Twitter and also I went to a free vegetarian cooking class at the Philly main library that was hosted by the humane society in partnership with the City of Phila and they spoke about it there. I just called the Callohill store- since I haven't gone since the fall, I just wanted to make sure for the new year it was still ongoing, and it is. If you are already know- apologies, but the Phila Main library opened a state of the art kitchen at the main branch last year, where they have all kinds of info sessions and cooking classes, some free, some low cost. http://libwww.freelibrary.org/culinary/. I am a competent cook and baker, but I love learning new things, and honestly, I am adding more herbs into my diet for flavor (still on liquids)- had surgery on 5th at Pennsylvania Hospital. As for low cost- I like to save $$ and I have a twenty year old relative living with me, so any way we can keep grocery costs low, we do! So, this is kinda interesting, if you go to Acme, and use their coupon app, you can get a free yogurt (use by 19th). Only one, but it's free!

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.

Vegan/Vegetarian friendly options, more natural options, and stevia free options would win me over. I like Prosource no carb in the individual packs. I can then order multiple flavors.

style="margin:0;padding:0;background-color:#d8dde8;color:#5a5a5a;font:normal 13px helvetica, arial, sans-serif;position:relative;"> Hey BariatricPal Members! How are you doing on those New Year’s resolutions? It’s easy enough for them to get lost in the shuffle as everyone gets back to regular life after the holiday season. There’s one place that’ll help you keep your head in the game, though. That’s BariatricPal. This newsletter can help you get back on track or more motivated to stay on track. Here’s what to expect. Member Polls: Share Your Views! Member Spotlight: Meet BLERDgirl! Fueling Up for the Day: Getting a High-Protein Breakfast Weight Loss and Knee Pain: Another Reason to Get Bariatric Surgery? After you get through the newsletter, come on over to BariatricPal and talk about your goals, progress, setbacks, and recipes. The community could be just what you need to meet your goals in 2015! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal Member Polls: Share Your Views! The Member Polls Forum is a hot place at BariatricPal! It’s a place where you can give your opinions on almost anything, and find out what other BariatricPal members think about the same things. When you weigh in on a topic, don’t forget you can explain your answer in the conversation after you mark it in the list of options. Here are a couple of the current hot topics. Check them out on the forums! How Do You Feel About Eating Out after Weight Loss Surgery? Restaurant meals…they may be a great social opportunity and include some delicious food, but they can be a nightmare after weight loss surgery. Portions are too big, the food isn’t always on your diet, and the people with you don’t always understand your restrictions. How do you deal with restaurants after weight loss surgery? See how other BariatricPal members deal with them, too. Maybe you’ll get a few good ideas about eating out after weight loss surgery. How Did You Find and Choose Your Bariatric Surgeon? You can learn a lot of practical information from hanging out on the Polls forum. For example, if you’re thinking about weight loss surgery and still need to choose a surgeon, check out the poll asking members how they found and chose their surgeon. We won’t spill the Beans here, but there are a lot of good ways to choose a weight loss surgeon! Insure Nutrition We are always thrilled to welcome a new newsletter sponsor into the BariatricPal family, and this month, Insure Nutrition is giving us the pleasure of doing just that. Our latest sponsor, Insure Nutrition, is an online company that specializes in getting health insurance coverage for nutritional supplements. Its Post-Bariatric Surgery Nutrition products includes Premier Protein shakes in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors and OptiSource High Protein drinks in caramel and strawberry flavors. Checking if you are eligible is easy. Insure Nutrition encourages you to use its online form to find out if you qualify. Our sponsors help make BariatricPal newsletters and other services possible. We encourage you show your thanks by considering them first for your bariatric needs. Exciting News – We're welcoming unjury and Opurity to BariatricPal! BariatricPal is proud and excited to announce two new sponsors for our newsletters. The new sponsors are Unjury, a supplier of wonderful tasting, highest quality protein supplements, and Opurity (from the makers of UNJURY), highest purity Vitamin supplements for bariatric surgery patients. Their support lets us keep BariatricPal newsletters coming to you each month. Unjury was founded by a master’s degree dietitian who has been helping patients since 1974. It is committed your health. You know the importance of getting enough protein after weight loss surgery, but you also know that meeting your protein goals can be challenging. Unjury makes your task not just easier but actually enjoyable. Product flavors include Chocolate Splendor, Chocolate Classic, Vanilla, Strawberry Sorbet, chicken Soup Flavor, and Unflavored. These ready-to-use protein powders come in single-serve and multi-serve containers, and contain high-quality whey protein to keep you full and nourished. Launched in 2007, Opurity is dedicated to using the purest ingredients in its supplements. Opurity Bariatric Multivitamins have two unique big advantages: First, each multivitamin requires only one tablet per day*. Second, Opurity is so dedicated to quality that it is unique in using no ingredients from China. Choose from chewable orange-berry multivitamins for gastric bypass and gastric sleeve patients or for lap-band patients.Opurity also sells chewable calcium, vitamin D and folic acid/vitamin B-12 chewables. All supplements come with a 100% satisfaction guaranteed. They return policy is: “Yes you can return it.” Support from Unjury and Opurity helps us continue to bring you the services you enjoy on BariatricPal, so please support these two brands! When looking for your bariatric surgery supplements, first visit Unjury.com and Opurity.com. Purchasing from these companies helps support BariatricPal. Thanks to Unjury and Opurity for your generous sponsorship, and thanks to BariatricPal members who support our partnership! *You still need calcium and sublingual B-12. Member Spotlight: Meet BLERDgirl! This month, we are delighted to feature BLERDgirl from Philadelphia! Like many other weight loss surgery patients, BLERDgirl had always been overweight, growing from a pudgy toddler to a chubby teen to an overweight adult. She was always popular and active, though, and it wasn’t until she became morbidly obese that her weight interfered with her quality of life. She could no longer breathe easily while skiing at altitude, couldn’t fit in airplane sits, and didn’t enjoy traveling abroad where “things are designed for smaller people.” BLERDgirl still didn’t have obesity-related comorbidities, although she does have her share of health concerns, started with a long list of allergies to foods and medications. She battled uterine cancer 10 years ago, and had to get a hysterectomy that left her with a spastic bladder. She tore her meniscus skiing in 2008. A bout with facial shingles left her with facial nerve damage called trigeminal neuralgia. Most recently, she developed vertigo, which leaves her feeling dizzy. Throughout this period, BLERDgirl gained and lost 35 to 50 pounds multiple times. BLERDgirl had a friend who was doing well with gastric bypass surgery, and she investigated and eventually settled on gastric sleeve. The surgery wasn’t easy because of her allergies. She was also a high-risk case because of her weight of 400 pounds at a height of 5’3”. BLERDgirl was also concerned about her diet, since she is a vegetarian – no meat, chicken, or fish – and almost vegan – no yogurt, cheese, or eggs. Still, she got the surgery in September of 2014, and has since lost 48 pounds. BLERDgirl suspected that losing some weight would help with some of her conditions, and it looks like she was right. Since getting the surgery, she has gone for over 3 months without an allergic reaction – compare that to less than a week without a reaction before surgery – and has enjoyed a more dependable bladder and more energy. Other great moments include waking up pain-free after surgery, and losing weight quickly so far. BLERDgirl says she has a good support group that meets in person, but she also wanted to be able to chat with other bariatric patients. She has found friends on BariatricPal, and enjoys sharing ideas and encouragement with them. To members struggling with their weight, BLERDgirl suggests following your plan. She also says to make sure you do your research before choosing a surgeon and surgery, and to read up on good nutrition. Finally, exercise. Whether it’s sitting or standing, everyone can do some exercise. Thanks, BLERDgirl, for being in our member spotlight! Congratulations on your progress. We are excited to continue your journey with you! Let us know if you would like to be in the Member Spotlight section of the newsletter or there is a member you would like to see featured. Post in the Member Spotlight Forum or send a private message (PM) to Alex Brecher. It doesn’t matter if you’re at goal weight or pre-surgery – you have a unique story, and we want to hear it! Weight Loss and Knee Pain: Another Reason to Get Bariatric Surgery? Knee pain can be part of a vicious cycle when you are obese. Your knees hurt, so you don’t feel like exercising. Instead of exercising, you eat. Or you feel bad, so you eat. You gain weight, and your knees can’t take the extra strain. So they hurt. And you stop exercising. The cycle continues. Risks of Knee Replacement Surgery It gets worse, too. When you are carrying around so much extra weight, treating knee pain is much more difficult. For example, knee replacement surgery is a riskier operation that may not work as well as in normal-weight individuals. Obese patients have a higher risk of infections, blood clots, and cardiac events during surgery. And, the replacement knee can wear out faster. Bariatric Surgery to Reduce Knee Pain? If this sounds familiar, you may be wondering whether there’s hope. There is. It turns out that bariatric surgery doesn’t just lower your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and similar obesity-related conditions. Losing weight after weight loss surgery also helps reduce knee pain. In a review article published in the December 2014 edition of the journal “Obesity Reviews,” researchers looked at 3,837 patients and found knee pain and stiffness decreased, while knee function tended to increase. The reasons are simple. First, you’re putting too much stress on your knees when you force them to carry around extra pounds. Second, obesity can make you turn and twist differently than a normal weigh person, and this puts unusual strain on the knee. Something Else to Consider While Weighing Your Options If you’ve been suffering from knee pain for years, you may be thinking about knee surgery. At the same time, if you’ve been trying to lose weight for years, bariatric surgery may be in your future. It’s worth asking your doctor if you should try bariatric surgery before putting your knee under the knife. You just might save yourself the trouble of surgery for your knee, or at least make that knee surgery more effective if you lose weight first. Fueling Up for the Day: Getting a High-Protein Breakfast You learned in Weight Loss Surgery 101 that protein is the most important nutrient. It helps you stay full, keeps your muscles, hair, skin, and nails healthy, and supports your immune system. Protein should be the first nutrient you choose at each meal. Is it? As the year gets underway and you get back into your regular routine, take a look at your breakfasts, Are you making sure to include one to two high-protein foods in each one? Or are you using lack of time as an excuse to skip breakfast or grab a sugary or starchy pastry that’ll wreak havoc on your blood sugar and hunger levels? Busy or Not, Include One to Two Servings of Protein You don’t need a lot of time to have a healthy, high-protein breakfast. There are plenty of quick breakfasts to try. After choosing your protein, add in a fruit or vegetable, or a serving of starch. If you use any fat, make sure it’s a healthy one, such as Peanut Butter or olive oil, and not saturated. Here are a few breakfast ideas. Oatmeal pancakes made with cottage cheese, served with Greek yogurt. Egg whites and cheese on a whole-grain English muffin half. Oatmeal made with Protein Powder, served with apples and cinnamon. omelet with spinach, tomatoes, and low-fat feta cheese. Scrambled eggs served with turkey bacon and melon. Hot oat bran Cereal served with low-fat turkey sausage. Turn Disaster into Triumph Things always come up. No matter how hard you plan, it’s possible that you may find yourself leaving home without breakfast. As you pull up into the drive-through or coffee shop parking lot, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, focus on the healthy foods you could have. An egg white and ham sandwich – skip the bread. Reduced fat yogurt and fresh fruit salad or an apple or orange. Half of a whole-wheat bagel and peanut butter. Cereal and skim milk. Your healthy breakfast gets your day started on the right foot, so don’t miss out! That’s all we’ve got for this newsletter. Keep up the good work on those New Year’s resolutions, and keep sharing your journey with us over at BariatricPal.

After three fast days without any loss, I changed my aproach a bit, lower carbs on fast day (around 60- being a vegetarian makes it a little harder to keep it low), more raw and nothing before dinner... and lost a pound.... VERY happy to see this. lowering the carbs really helped the Water weight to come off. Still there, and fasting tomorrow... so hope this is a sign the stall is over and I'm heading south again! Good job ladies! Stick with it!

Yeah @@BLERDgirl lol. I will figure it out.. I wouldn't mind becoming a vegetarian but I LOVE chicken

@@trulyamazingtoo - If I can do it as a vegetarian anyone can do it. You can make chicken and beef a million different ways.

I WAS SO DUMB Tonight I went to dinner with a friend. We went to a vegetarian restaurant. Before I left, I studied the whole menu and made some decisions. Then, when we go there I forgot everything and ordered a salad. Lots of raw veggies. I got really sick, had to leave early. Ultimately, I threw up on the way home, foamie stuff. Not a good night. My body continues to teach me.

I'm a big believer in the freezer stash and food prep. It was one of the first things I learned when I began my journey to better health even before WLS. Two things lead me to this.1) I am on a fixed income. I needed to save money. 2) I am a vegetarian with multiple food allergies. I needed an inexpensive way to eat healthy without feeling as if I was eating the same thing over and over every day. On Sunday my food prep consist of: I boil 3 -6 eggs for grab to go meals and Snacks. Making a pot of a hearty grain. Usually quinoa or farro. Sometimes brown/red/black rice My meat eating friends bake or broil chicken breast and another Protein. Meals can be varied from adding seasonings and rubs to making salads to adding in a stir fry. I prep any tofu, tempeh or seitan I may use that week as well. Some people simple buy a rotisserie chicken and cut up. If you do this I advised saving the carcass to make homemade chicken stock. I make a few overnight oat meals. This is done by layering rolled oats with either greek yogurt or milk of choice with fresh fruit, nuts and seasonings including Protein Powder . The oats absorb the moisture overnight and can either be eaten cold or warmed in the microwave in the morning. Chopping up any fruit and veg that is in season: Some are put into freezer bags for the freezer stash, some are put in tupperware for snacking, salads and cooking. I never buy frozen fruit for smoothies Protein Shakes. I buy fruit from the farmer's market when in season. It's cheaper then. For example blueberries can be as cheap as $.99 a pint. I buy double, freeze half and have fresh fruit all winter long. Veg like onions can be bought sliced and diced then put into freezer bags for quick adds when cooking. In the summer when I tend to eat a lot of salads it helps to have all the fixings prepped and ready to go. You are more likely to eat salad that way. In the winter I make Soups and chili by the pot. I then freeze most of it in single serving portions. It means investing in a good set of freezer safe tupperware or lock and lock containers, but you not only save money, you avoid the the sodium and other additives you get with canned soups. Doing this means no meal takes more than 15 minutes to prepare and I don't end up spending money on take out that I don't have. My weekly prep now takes approximately 1 - 1½ hours every Sunday.