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I'm not even sure who to contact, but I was thinking...wouldn't it be a great idea to have bariatric size meals ready to go for people. When I went to the grocery store, even a lean cuisine or atkins meal is just too much to eat. Who would want to venture into a business doing frozen and fresh meals and Snacks for wls patients? Does anyone know how to go about this and who to contact? It would be great to have small portion sizes or even 2-3 portions in a box that are separated. It would have to be great tasting food and many varieties! I for one don't eat red meat or pork so using ground turkey and chicken would be ideal for me. I know others eat meat so having thinks like a regular chili and a turkey chili and a vegetarian option would be awesome. Anyways this is an idea that I'm floating around because regular food is just too much.

@@Algae, I'm glad some one is speaking out about this. I am the chef for the family. We bring our lunches to work/school and I cook dinners ava breakfasts at home and it's a real treat for us to eat out. I've been on crazy diets before like not eating solids food for 60 days at a time but it's still hard and requires Iron will. I too have thought about ideas and recipes that I could serve for my family and myself without breaking up the program too much. But it sounds like you and me are similar in that it's enjoyable to figure out food quandaries!! We host a lot of parties and I have friends who are gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo, lactose intolerant, no nightshades etc etc etc. Most ppl would scoff but I love a challenge!! Lol :-) I would say that when I've made a separate dish or dessert for myself that is in keeping with whatever the DOM (diet of the month!) is ppl usually really liked it when they taste it! I thinking some sort of bariatric no crust sweet potato souflee might work for dessert in the pureed stage during the holidays..sweet potatoes, Protein powder, sf egg nog syrup, egg, milk...baked and chilled...in a teeny tiny ramekin....yum.

I've been a vegetarian for 20 years - I eat fish and dairy though. (my vegetarianism had to do with animal cruelty so it's only wild caught fish and free roam dairy.) After seeing the documentary Forks Over Knives (highly recommend it!) I was ready to go totally vegan. But my doc explained that while I could indeed get Protein from Beans, for instance, the amount of beans and the number of calories it would take to equal the same protein in fish was much much more. Therefore, she thought weight loss was goal number one and I could go vegan after I reached my goal. So, since I got my sleeve (July, 2014) I have had to make a big effort to get more protein. I drink 2 unjury shakes a day mixed with almond milk and sometimes add a Protein Bar. Of course, I eat a ton of fish for dinner and often tuna or salmon salad at lunch. Overall I am supposed to be getting 75-95 grams a day and so far I have had no problem at all. I also bought some Unjury Protein powder and add it to Soup or veggie smoothies to up my count. If I need a few more grams, I'll make my shake with skim milk instead. I was always given funny looks when I told someone I was a vegetarian. Not too many 300 pound vegetarians out there! LOL! But I am proof that we're all not pixie sized hippies, not by a long-shot! Looking forward to someone looking at me and thinking "of course" when they find out I'm vegan.

I told no one....didn't want to put myself through all the cross examination, etc. I'm one of those where a lot of things about me is none of anyone's business but mine. I simply took a week off from work. Since then I have lost all excess weight, I am a normal body fat%....a slim physically fit person. That was over 3 years ago....everyone has forgotten I was ever fat, and new people I have met since then never knew I was fat and there's no reason to tell them.......no one talks about it anymore. No One! Even with my PCP and Cardiologist, they never bring it up anymore...no more "You need to loose a few lbs" I did it, completed it, now live a new life because of it. Life is good.... People look at me today, and see an energetic, vegetarian, daily gym rat, no junk food, 63 year old male. And I'm fine with that.

I think kinda you can be. I'm looking into being vegan now that I'm vegetarian but I asked my NUT and she said I need to at least squeeze in eggs fish and milk.

I, too, am vegetarian and meeting soon w/the surgeon re WLS (hopefully). Other folks out there -- can you be vegetarian and do WLS? Thanks for the insights--

Make sure girlfriend knows how you normally have thanksgiving Maybe make a small turkey breast Then mashed potatoes - voila for you Creamed corn should be ok for you and the vegetarian. Have a bunch of appys and sneak in some for yourself and no one will even notice. You are stressing it but I bet no one will even notice. If they do, holidays are stressful especially when you bring a special friend

The more heavier soups, like cream of broccoli, etc, really helped me....even when I was allowed to move onto mushies, I still preferred the heavy soups, and then vegetarian chili, etc. But then nothing is going to curb the hunger/cravings for me until I started getting fills, and then it took a few before it finally kicked in...I even gained weight between my first and 2nd fill......AKA "Bandster Hell", or as I like to call it the "White Knuckle Club"...just have to hang on!

I will be having my surgery just 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. I guess I will still be on pureed or soft foods then and likely not eating much at meals at all. We weren't planning on doing anything special - we usually don't do the whole big turkey dinner since none of us really even like it and I have one kid who is a vegetarian, one who is lactose intolerant and one who won't eat any carbs and another who is just picky as hell. Yeah, holidays are always fun! Usually I just make a variety of appetizers and we graze all day. But, I got a call that my son who lives far away that he is coming and bringing his girlfriend who we haven't met! So, now I don't know what to do? I don't know if she will be expecting a full traditional dinner or not. I don't even know if I will be up to cooking anything, much less a huge spread. I also haven't told my son about my surgery - he's always been critical about my weight and I expect some snarky comments from him that I just need to eat like him (he's always been naturally thin) or other ignorant remarks. But I guess that will be a bit hard to hide two weeks out, right? I don't want to make things awkward for his girlfriend. So - what would you do? Would you tell him ahead of time? Would you plan on cooking a big traditional meal and trying to fake your way through it? We have also been invited to friend's for dinner that day if we all want to go there instead - in a way that would be nice since I wouldn't have to do all the work. Eating out isn't an option since there aren't any restaurants in our area that will be open. And I also worry I won't even know at that point what I can keep down and I don't want to chance losing my dinner in front of everyone! Arrrggghhh!! Thanksgiving is really stressing me out!! Any advice would be highly welcomed!

Whoo hooo go Jen. We also have a list of vegetarian Protein sources. Vega is great, Garden of Life is, I've tried Sun Warrior. There are pea Proteins, etc. too. Can you get some of those and show them to the doctor and ask why they would have a problem with it if you got the 60 grams from your food and those? Beans are great too.

Hello, chickabo. Please know that I come from a place of wanting to help provide you some information and share my experience. I'm not saying I'm right or wrong, this is just my experience over the past 8 weeks. And I know when I was pre surgery I wanted as much information as I could get to help me. Before I go into my story below, I found a doctor online, Dr. Garth Davis, (http://www.thedavisclinic.com), who is a Bariatric surgeon in Texas -he is a 'plant based' doctor. I found this guy after I had my surgery, but he seems to be a good resource and one that I wish I would have found pre-surgery. You may find his information helpful or at least contact his office to get information sent to you so that you have some to help you with your doctor. Here is my story, if you want to read further: I was a vegan for several years pre-surgery. So was my family (husband and two sons). We did it for the animal issue, not the health issue. Trust me when I say I have seen more than most people on animal cruelty and food and I battle mentally with it everyday. When I first started looking into the Lap-band, I didn't find anything on vegan and Lap-band. All I kept seeing was 'Protein, protein, protein' and more 'protein.' But I knew, as a vegan, that I could get enough protein to hit 60 grams or more a day per what my doctor was telling me I had to have. I had done it for years and didn't see the issue. (When I say protein here is what I mean: There are only a few "complete proteins" (a protein that contains all the 8 essential amino acids that your body is unable to make on its own) for vegans and they are soy milk, tofu, and tempeh (these are the only true "complete proteins" for vegans). All other Proteins that you get from plants are called "incomplete proteins" like grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts. Now as vegan, you can take two "incomplete proteins" and combine them to can get a "complete protein." Example: grains + legumes or legumes + seeds/nuts.) So the issue wasn't getting "protein" per say. The issue that I saw right away was getting the enough of the right "protein" (complete proteins) which lead me to where I would have the biggest issue being vegan-- the volume of food that I would need to eat to get a minimum of 60 grams of protein a day. You see, when I was vegan (pre band), I could eat a large tofu "egg" wrap with a cup of broccoli and vegan cheese inside for Breakfast. This would give me ~14 grams of protein for ~350 calories or so (including a low carb wrap). However, when I look at the numbers in more detail with my post-band rules, this just doesn't give me the right amount of protein for the calories (10/1 - for every 10 calories in the food it should have at least 1 gram of protein). So, even thought it would give me "complete protein" for the meal, it wasn't the 10/1 rule. But more importantly, that is a HUGE amount of food to be eating after Lap-Band surgery. There is no way I could eat that much in one sitting. I might be able to make two meals of it now. That means for two meals I would only be getting ~14 grams of protein. So, having said that, I could (and do on occasion) supplement with Protein drinks (Sun Warrior Original Flavor chocolate or vanilla is the absolute best tasting and it has a 80 calories / 4 carbs / 15 grams of protein - which is great), but I quickly learned after I moved to soft solid foods (after the liquid diet pre and post surgery) that I wanted to eat food - I was SICK of drinking my calories. So protein drinks can fill in the gaps for getting more protein, but I found that I wanted to eat my calories instead of drinking them. So this wouldn't be an option for me longterm. So, what's an animal loving vegan who really wants / needs a Lap-band to do? As I was doing research, I ran across an article that talked about a devout vegan (animal lover) who was vegan for years and all of a sudden started craving animal protein. Long article short, she took a bite of something that had animal protein in it and as she said, "guess what, the world didn't end!" That was my moment. I thought, I have spent years battling my weight and part of that was doing everything that was 'best' for everyone else and it was time that I took care of me. So that is when I made the switch to vegetarian. I had huge amount of guilt (that I still carry around) but I knew I needed to at least try it versus continue down my road of being obese and miserable. You see, WLS patients aren't choosing the easy way out, contrary to what you might think, read, see, or hear. We chose surgery where we are cut open and surgically altered - that is not easy. We chose to eat very minimal amounts of food when others around us are eating pounds of it - that is not easy. We chose to exercise at least 210 minutes a week - that is not easy. We chose to have to chew every little bite we take 20-30 times - that is not easy. We have to take Vitamins that are horrible every single day - that is not easy. So to me, making a few food changes to my diet didn't seem that hard compared to all the other "not easy" stuff I was agreeing to do. So, after my pre-op and post-op diet of all liquids (which I had for 3 weeks), when I made the move to soft proteins I incorporated some yogurt (which I still can't stand) and then I incorporated some string cheese and some egg whites (not eggs). I did this very slowly. I then progressed to eating salmon, tuna, and shrimp. I still use all my vegan condiments (vegan mayo, cream cheese, sour cream, etc.) but I chose to add in easier proteins to my day. I'm not going to tell you how great I feel or how I'm losing weight by the lbs daily, but I'm just going to tell you that it is working for me right now, today and that's all I have. Opening my mind and putting more focus on me is working for me, today. And everyday is another day to do it better. I have tried to get away from "I did bad today," to "I will try to do better tomorrow" and that has helped to. I hope some of this has helped you a little bit. It's okay if it didn't. I just want you to know that whatever you choose to do, do it for you. This is YOUR time and no one or no thing can take it away from you. Sending you all the best and well wishes. Keep us posted on here! Jen

You may have to compromise and go vegetarian without being vegan if that is an option. I can't see how you would be able to have a diverse enough or healthy enough diet as a vegan because there isn't a ton of protein in many vegetables. Cheese is a great source of protein for us sleevers, is that something you would consider eating?

So I'm going through classes for WLS. I have 2 classes left and one of the dietitians told me that because I'm vegetarian (almost vegan) that the doctor should not sign off. I'm very concern, I did all labs, finished 10 of my 12 classes, started a support group, down 5% of my body weight; I think I'm off to a great start, so for my next appointment I wanted to put together a eating plan for me vegan style meeting all my protein needs for post surgery. Showing them I can do it. So what are some of the menu plans you used for protien right after surgery. I plan on the basics protein powder, soy milk. What did you do to insure you got enough protein.

I have come to the conclusion that the work is never done. I have to "tow the line" most of the time.... but not ALL of the time. I want to eat to deal with stress, and go ahead and do that sometimes. I also have developed some activities that give me the "good feeling" I try to get from eating (and never really lasts more than a minute or two) I find that nature is my salve. I kayak, walk, bird watch, drive around in the country, work in the garden. This does more than almost anything to make me feel better when Im stressed or down. I also dance, which has helped me in many ways... body awareness, fitness, developing a community, confidence... I have worked these things into my week, every week, maybe 4-5 days a week... and I cherish them for all the pleasure and relief they give me. I cook. When I take the responsibility to cook my own food from scratch, some self grown, organic, Vegetarian.... I can take more control over the Protein content, the type of carbs and fats involved... and its an art as well. I share with others. I can my own jams, pickles and such. This eyes open involvement in the process helps me to really enjoy my food, and bring it to a level that reveres the taste and textures and where the food comes from, and all those complexities involved. I like to think about and experience food... but when I engage with food unconsciously, like I'm taking a drug or something.... and look for satisfaction... its not there. i try to be grateful.... its satisfying. Meeting and talking to people here can be satisfying. I learn so much here, I gain how to be myself better, How to relax and move forward to find answers, to sit with failure and see how it is a learning experience... to get back on track without self hate. I still have not really dealt with the "fat me". I look at photos of myself in wonder. I feel so sorry for her... its hard to take to heart that its me. I was so unhappy with my looks then... I really felt I was such a failure in that area. I was so successful in many ways except that one. I was brave then, and tried many things... I dieted, exercised, tried so many approaches to getting my body the way I wanted it to be, but none of them really worked. It felt like a curse. I am so grateful that I am still close to goal (surgery over 3 1/2 years ago), and seem to have a set of skills to stay there... although I know that could change.

I was vegan for four years but went vegetarian again three weeks ago. I haven't had meat in over 8 years at this point. I have yet to talk to my doctor at length about WLS though...my appointment to do so is also on the 30th!

Hi! My surgery is the 30th and I'm just wondering if anyone is vegetarian or vegan altho I eat chicken I hope to become vegan soon. Help?

So true. Even out 6.5 months, I still throw up almost on a weekly basis. I still can't eat salmon, tilapia, trout or halibut and tomato sauce and Pasta does me in as well. I hope one day that I'll be able to eat fish again. And actually, my new revelation is that I can eat a good salad from Whole Foods with no problem. Now I just need to learn how to make a few on my own. Seriously thinking about becoming a vegetarian since the surgery because I still like to eat and if I can get in a good quantity of salads, then I/and 'baby' (my pouch) are happy and satiated.

Hey brittanykins.... Beings you're a vegetarian isn't there a supplement for hair like Biotin that you would take??? I have many friends who are vegan/vegatarians etc, and it seems like they took vitamin supplements for their hair and nails. I took this a year before surgery and nails grow fine and a little hair comes out here and there but I'm like you I have so much of it....It scares me that I might lose too much so as soon as I can get my head back on straight I'm going back to the Biotin...And I do wear my hair short and spikey like so to conceal some of that....But i'm used to thick hair and want to kepp it too....I haven't seen where the shampoo kits have made a difference in my Moms thinning hair so I can't recommend any of those, someone else maybe could I just haven't seen any results of proof....I know too sometimes I used Coconut oil as a scalp treatment/conditioner maybe that could help...But stay true to your natural stuff ask at the health food places, but you want to see some actual results....Why, if we have to lose our hair, why could it not have been our mustaches or leg hairs some place that requires waxing for cryin out loud.....lolo kim

I'm a year and almost two months out. I lost about half of my hair a few months after surgery. It's showing no signs of growing back either. How long has it taken everyone else for their hair to grow back in? I'm starting to become very worried that it won't ever come back, since 6 years ago I had another bout of hair loss. My hair used to be so thick that I WISHED half of it would fall out. Then it did and never grew back. Now it's halved again and I have about 1/4 of the hair I used to have. Thinking back on it, around the time of the first shed, I had also had gallbladder surgery. I assumed the hair loss then was from going vegetarian, but now that I know surgery can cause hair loss, I realize that was probably what caused it. I'm worried that I'm going to be balding by my 30's. You can already see my scalp through my hair, and although my body looks a lot better, I still look like crap every time I look in the mirror because of how horrible my thin hair looks.

Did you post in the vegan/vegetarian area?

I'm 30days post op and prefer non processed foods or packaged foods. I do eat meat but I do not tolerate it well so I typically op for a vegetarian type diet in most cases or lots of seafood. I'd love to find someone who eats similar and currently successful with their sleeve.

I am now about 30 days post op and I had one bad week where I just felt like life would crumble if I couldn't eat. Its a mind thing I love to cook and I am into "real" food not boxed or pre made of packaged and try to avoid anything processed all together. I have lost about 45pounds at this point from my highest weight and most of which was lost in the last two months. I'm having a bunch of difficulties with food I'm not sure when I am full I try many different things and I get awkward reactions to all kinds of stuff. Its almost like a huge puzzle I can't piece together because if I get it wrong its likely I will hurl. Thank Goodness hurling isn't violent now as it was before surgery or I'd be afraid my stomach would fly out. I don't nearly get enough Protein in and Water. I do try to sip on water all day but sometimes it causes cramping or upset tummy. Mind you I have had morning sickness all my life I think that still plays a huge factor these days. Right now I'm able to hold down cheerios and milk. There is also a bolt Protein shake the entire bottle gives you 30grams of protein and is coffee flavored. I can sip on that most of the day sometimes it causes my tummy to get angry. I tried adding some unjury to it and couldn't get out the bathroom for nothing. I tried to go back to my pre - op shakes and they just don't hang out very well either. They end up being wasted because I can't finish them. I had to reschedule my follow up for this coming week and I will definitely be asking him all kinds of questions. I'm thinking about going back to juicing to make sure I get enough protein and Vitamins in I know that method is sure to get me at least that. I'm not sure how my stomach will behave though. Anyone who's not into processed foods or vegetarian have a method that is working for them? I'm not completely vegetarian but I try to lean more that route than meat. Meat seems to have a negative affect on my stomach (IBS) reactions. I eat it if I have too but try to avoid the cramping. Otherwise I'm doing well I get out shower and have noticed my body changing in extreme. Things (skin) is getting loose quickly. I find it intriguing that when I did a juicing fast and vegetarian for 100 days I lost about 40lbs and it was clearly from a different location. Anyone know why the sleeve methods forces your arms to waddle? back drag? and all those other loose areas I have going on?

Bone broths are awesome! chicken bone broth has healing properties that help dispatch a cold quicker. Healing properties that university study-findings support. Beef bone broth extracts nutrients and natural Gelatin into the Water. Have you ever noticed how beef bone broth 'solidifies' when refrigerated? it's the natural gelatin extracted from the bones & marrow. I learned that one from my vegetarian daughter when she explained she couldn't take a supplement I'd offered her. Gelatin caps that encapsulate medicines are mostly made from beef bone gelatin. Who knew? There's some kind of French dish that Julia Childs made called beef gelatin mold or something like that. Could probably find the recipe online. Probably also excellent for hair, skin & nails Fish bone broth is also yummy for soups and gumbos or to cook brown rice in for added flavor in a seafood meal. It's kind of gross to make though. I usually buy a big, whole fish gutted, head on & bake or poach it. Get all the meat off for meals then pop the fish heads, back bones & tail into the pot- bring to boil, then simmer & drain. You can also save the bottom water from steaming clams & mussels. The chefs call the infused steam-water something special but I forgot what. I often just pop the bones in the freeze for later when I'm in the quantity-cooking mood. I make big batches and freeze them; soup-sized (gallon zip bag), rice-sized (2c in a zip bag), and in cubes, frozen in ice trays and popped into gallon zip bags- for added flavor when sautéing etc. Frequently, I add onions, garlic, carrots & other veggies into the pot to boil with the bones. Sometimes I take the veggies out when draining, & toss em. Other times, I pop the cooked veggies into the nutribullet & liquify them & add them back into the broth for a creamed soup texture w/out all the heavy cream calories. If I know my daughter's coming, I make a veggie broth with lots of root veggies, onions, garlic, etc. This one's particularly yummy with roasted acorn & butternut squashes, and carrots nutria-bulleted into it. Tastes SO fattening, but isn't @ all w/ no cream or butter added.

Im using these after workouts too, not exactly the best tasting stuff but at such a small amount, i just gulp [edit: (half of)] it and imagine its medicine so that my brain isnt expecting anything pleasant lol and there its done! Does anyone know if these "new whey liquid protein" shots are suitable for vegetarians? I havent found any details on their website about that but dont want to suggest it to vegetarian friends before Im sure. Thanks :-)

Oh retried Beans with taco seasoning and melted cheese...where have you been my whole life lol... I never would have eaten plain retried beans before...but desperate times call for desperate measures hahaha I had a huge can of vegetarian retried beans so I mixed in a packet and a half of old El Paso Taco seasoning and warned it with a little cheese. So delicious