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Any favorites? Creative recipes and recipes that can be made veg welcome

I'd really like to switch to being vegetarian for spiritual reasons, but I'm at the beginning of the whole process for the gastric sleeve. I have to lose 30 lbs to have the surgery. So far I've gained one. I swear, being told I have to lose weight makes me gain. I really have not liked meat substitutes I've tried, and I'm wondering if it's possible to get your protein without them. I'm looking at going vegetarian, not vegan, so I would still have access to dairy and eggs, but I don't want to overdo it on those. I'm not a fruits and vegetables fan and this is going to be a very hard switch for me, but I do really want to do it. Thanks for any info you can give!

I’m a vegetarian in the preop phase of surgery. I had my consultation yesterday and was able to check off everything required prior to surgery (cardiologist, upper G.I., sleep study, etc.) except the nutritionist appointments and preop lab work. I wanted to ask if anyone was vegetarian or vegan postop and how well you’re doing with it. Also, please feel free to share any recipes or tips!

I went to one bariatric surgeon who said I'd have to go on the keto diet after surgery. I'm a vegetarian, and I have no desire to go on a diet that doesn't allow beans, complex carb grains, and minimally sweetened yogurt (the kind recommended by bariatric surgeons). If I tell another surgeon that I will not go on a keto diet after surgery, are they likely to deny my surgery?

When you're in the hospital, do they feed you instant pudding and jello? I'm a vegetarian and I don't eat gelatin products. I'm wondering if there are alternatives to these foods in the hospital.

Anyone get vsg who can't have dairy or doesn't eat meat?

Hey! I'm gearing up for my soft food stage next week and thinking about protein sources. I get most of my protein through shakes right now in pureed stage but I also eat eggs and beans. I've been a vegetarian for 7 years now and don't plan on eating meat again. Has anyone tried these foods on soft? -Steamed tofu (not crispy or hard) -vegetarian deli meat slices -vegetarian ground beef, finely chopped up And can you think of anything else that might be okay on soft food? Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

These are amazing! And easy! They come out looking tidy and are a favorite of the whole family. Great for kid's packed lunches as well! Ingredients: Wonton wrappers (typically sold next to the tofu) Boca vegetarian "meat" crumbles LF ricotta LF mozzarella Marinara (I like Rao's) 1 egg Parmesan Spray for muffin tray cups Steps: (1) Preheat oven to 350 & spray each cupcake/muffin tray cup including the sides (2) Lay 1 wonton wrapper in each cup (3) Microwave a small bowl of boca crumbles about a minute (4) stir the crumbles into the marinara (1/4 to 1/2 jar) (5) In a bowl combine half a container of LF ricotta with one egg and a small handful of mozz (6) layer the tomato sauce and the ricotta mix into the cups (I go sauce, ricotta, sauce) leaving enough room for cheese topping (7) Top each cup with a yummy layer of mozz and parmesan (8) Cook for 20 minutes and allow 5 minutes to cool before taking them out of the tray

Already a vegetarian been for 10 yrs and im still 300 pounds Sent from my LM-X220PM using BariatricPal mobile app

I am getting my Surgery soon in May if everything goes as planned! In the mean time I was wondering if there are other Vegetarian WLS members who can guide me through or make suggestions for Post Op Diet especially in terms of protein and how they ate daily in the intial phase of their weight loss!

I had my surgery on 30 November in Turkey. I got a generic meal plan which is not tailored to me as a vegetarian. I also don't get the hype around protein shakes but I am planning to buy some vegan protein to mix with almond milk. Any other veggies out there?

Hi everyone, I'm having my bypass next Wednesday, 7/22. I was calm for the most part until the past few days, when I started getting nervous, but that was the nervous that I'm assuming everyone feels when surgery gets close. For some background, I'm 22 years old, 5'1, and started working towards surgery in October of last year at 260 pounds. As of today, I'm 50 pounds down, and that's of course on my own, before having surgery. Yesterday, I started having serious second thoughts. These normal nervous thoughts had me wondering if I could do it on my own since I've been able to lose 50 pounds by myself before surgery, and I keep telling myself I worked hard for this, and surgery is right around the corner, and if I didn't think I needed it, I wouldn't have started the program in the first place. Like I said, I was calm until a few days ago, but yesterday it really started hitting me. I started getting the feeling that I'll be unsuccessful with the surgery. Most, if not all, programs require a high-protein diet after surgery, including my own program. My issue is, I'm an extremely picky eater. I'm a vegetarian, and while I'm not totally vegan since I'll eat products containing milk and eggs, I prefer not to eat (or drink) those things if I can avoid it. So aside from not eating meat, I don't eat cheese or regular eggs prepared in any way (if I try I will not be able to stomach it). I also am grossed out by tofu. This honestly leaves my only options for Protein for the rest of my life to be Protein Drinks and yogurt (which I would prefer not to eat all the time, it's not my favorite thing). My nutritionist said lentils and Beans are ok, but they have a lot of starch so to eat other things if I can. I'm on my pre-op diet so that means I'm stuck on my protein drinks and yogurt for now, and after talking with my nutritionist a few times yesterday, the nerves I was already feeling worsened, and I started having normal doubts to real second thoughts. I was wondering if I'm actually cut out for this kind of surgery since I know I can't keep up with the protein that I'm being asked to eat, and I'm not sure I can compromise since I already know I won't be able to handle things like eggs, cheese, and tofu. If this kind of thing relies on me eating protein all the time, what kind of success can I have if I'm not able to do that? Yes, it'll physically restrict me from overeating, at least for the first year or two, but I'm afraid of a stall after only losing a small amount, or regaining the weight and having gone through all of it for nothing. I'm also thinking how if I lost 50 lbs on my own, I could try to lose the other 100 lbs on my own too, even if it's not the rapid weight loss that the bypass would give me. Like I noted earlier, though, I wouldn't have started this program in the first place if I didn't feel like I needed to go through it and wouldn't have worked so hard to make sure it happens. I'm 22 years old, should I wait a couple of years since I'm having these thoughts and try things out on my own and see how things go with that? Or should I go through with surgery next week? I have no idea between my doubts and the hard work I went through.

Is anyone else a vegetarian? Ovo-lacto here. I am pre OP. How are you doing post op? I am thinking about introducing meat into My diet post op because I am worried. 

Hi, I'm preop. One surgeon I saw insisted that I follow a high protein, low carb, low fat diet after the op. Nothing "squishy", which wouldn't fill me up (low fat yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, protein drinks), no beans (the staple of a veg diet). These foods are one of the main ways for a veg (not vegan) to get protein! It doesn't seem that an Atkins-like diet is realistic for a veg. I do eat a little fish but don't want to eat it three times a day. What do you think? Didn't a nutritionist work with you to find the best diet for you, not mandate a particular eating plan? I think the surgeon is completely unrealistic.

Hello everyone! I have started the process of getting approved for surgery and I feel like I am not sure how I stay on a vegetarian diet after surgery. I am a horrible cook and I hate to cook also. I really like that I eliminated the inflammation in by body by going vegetarian and I really don’t want to go off but I’m nervous about after the surgery any suggestions because now I kinda just steam veggies or cook the morning star burgers eat. I have only been a vegetarian since September 2019. Still very new n learning. Help please I appreciate all you can offer. Thank you in advanced!

Anyone have recommendations for vegetarian Bariatric cookbooks? Thanks in advance!

Hi, I'm getting a lap band removed with a RNY revision in November and I was wondering if any of y'all that have had the bypass are vegetarians? What is your "go-to" protein? Thanks!

I’m hitting a Plato. I’m stuck I’m frustrated, I do 7 miles of cardio in 43 min then on to weights. I suffer from pcos Polly cystic ovarian syndrome and I retain a ton of water weight. Can anyone give me any suggestions to increase weight loss, and I’m a vegetarian. Help!!!!!! I want out of my Plato

It's been so long since i've made a post. Im almost 6 years post op, and about a year ago i decided to get into powerlifting. i've gotten some gains, muscles AND fat. now im trying to lose the fat, and keep the muscle. i also dont eat a ton of meat. in fact, i prefer not to. i know one person who started bodybuilding after wls, however they eat meat. They also told me that they take in a lot of calories. is there anyone else here who powerlifts and understand my dilemma? i feel like i have to go back to the very basics and watch every single thing that i eat. that is so annoying and time consuming.

What are your favorite meals? My dietitian is woefully underinformed about meat replacements, which I find surprising. I'm a vegetarian because I've found through elimination that it helps my autoimmune disorder, and also because I feel good about it! Just looking for some quick, high protein low carb, ideas. Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm about to enter the soft foods stage of my diet plan and am so excited to actually eat food again instead of just drinking protein. Does anybody have any vegetarian recommendations for recipes they liked while doing soft foods?

Hey all, I'm starting to test out some soft proteins now that I'm a week out of RNY and successfully getting in my liquid and protein requirements. I'm confident that as a veggie I could get 60g of protein in with three meals, but I'm getting a wee worried about getting that done in three bebe meals like the ones I'll now be eating. Has anyone come across sample menus like the hordes that are available for meat eaters? If not, I'll continue to just kinda wing it, but it's always nice to get some outside ideas! Thanks!

Hi Everyone! Is there a thread for Vegetarians? I couldn't seem to find one.

I have been vegetarian on and off for a number of years. I am currently eating meat because I know the challenge of getting enough protein while recovering. That said, I am considering going back to being vegetarian, maybe 6 months post-op or so... Are there any other veggies here? How do you get all your protein? Do you feel like having a sleeve and being vegetarian can work well together?