My Vegan Story

[Amy Elizabeth Morgan 0]

When I was eight years old I broke my neck in gymnastics. Until that point I was very active from Ballet, to tap, I was in some kind of lesson almost every night. After I broke my neck everything changed, I went from being active to having to stay in bed and having horrible headaches. Not really ideal for an eight year old. I started again weight and being from a family who struggled with weight the pounds just kept piling on.

My biggest fear is to be like my grandmother, when she died she weighted over 700 lbs and hadn’t really been out of the house for 7 years. I sometimes have nightmares about not being able to get through the doors of my house and people having to come in and cut the doorways bigger. It’s awful living with that fear.

I became a vegan on March 3, 2010, three months before my 30^th birthday, because I wanted to be healthy in my 30s. So far I’ve lost 60 lbs but I still weigh 246 lbs and I am 5’3. Yep, that makes my bmi at 45%. I hate that. I feel like I am working so hard to lose weight and I am losing the battle.

I decided back in July of 2011 that I was definitely going to have bariatric surgery and after some research I’ve decided to have Lap-Band. I was trying to get the surgery in before the end of the 2011 but group my insurance wanted me to see wouldn’t even see me. My company went to a new insurance at the in 2012 and thankful the doctors that were recommended before are no longer on my list. I feel like it was for the best because I called the Saint Anthony Medical Center Bariatric Program and had an appointment within days after the call. Within a week I had all my consults. It’s been pretty fast and I excited. I am a little nervous about being a vegan and going through the process. I am sure once I’ve actually meet with my Nutritionist and created a plan I’ll be fine but right now that’s my biggest worry. I would love any advice.

[xavier 153]

It can be done! Unfortunately I have seen a lot of post from people whose nutritionist are using info from many decades ago! I hope you get a good one! One told a patient that even being a vegetarian is a bad idea with the band and that couldnt be more wrong. Everyone on the planet (human, not tigers I guess) would be healthier if they ate vegetarian! My teen daughter is the healthiest vegan and the healthiest of all her meat (and other nasty food) eating friends. I am a veg because i cant seem to give up cheese...stick to your guns!!!

The only other thing I'll say is if you think you have the discipline to be vegan for the rest of your life (a big if) I am not sure you will need weight loss surgery....best of luck!!!

[lellow 1,713]

My partner is vegetarian but was vegan for many years, so tends to lean towards vegan food a lot of the time. He often cooks for me, and I find that there are many choices that are band friendly. When he cooks for me, he tends to cook the vegetables a little longer, and the pieces smaller, so I'm not fighting with the fact that some are more fibrous and more difficult to eat. We also eat a lot of tofu, which is his main source of Protein. There are so many kinds of tofu these says it's a little hard to feel like you're missing out!

Stick to your guns though with your nutritionist. Go in being confident that you can do this with your diet.

[Amy Elizabeth Morgan 0]

Right now, I want to be a vegan for the rest of my life.

[Scooterbug 13]

You can also try the meat substitute (soy) products from companies like Morning Star Farms, Boca, Smart-Life, and Quorn (just to name a few). I became a Pescatarian about 5 years ago, and haven't eaten meat since. I could never be a full vegan because I love cheese and shrimp too much (cheese is my downfall). The soy products are not too bad, some of them just take a little getting used to.

I asked my Nutritionist about the soy products and she said they should not present a problem, even my surgeon agreed that as long as it's chewed extremly well (like any food) it should have no problem with the band.

[Amy Elizabeth Morgan 0]

Most Morning Star Farms and Quorn products have eggs or milk in them. So their out. Something like 70% of soy produced in the US are gmo's and they are link cancer. So not a huge fan of soy meat substitutes.

[Scooterbug 13]

Most Morning Star Farms and Quorn products have eggs or milk in them. So their out. Something like 70% of soy produced in the US are gmo's and they are link cancer. So not a huge fan of soy meat substitutes.

Was just a suggestion

Honestly you can get cancer from anything you eat, breathe or drink these days...so as long as we don't do any of those 3, we are all fine.

[lellow 1,713]

I think as long as you are prepared to have a balance of Protein, carbs and veg, you'll be fine with the lapband. You don't need meat substitutes (my partner doesn't) but if you try to cut carbs, for instance, from your diet, you'll probably find that there will be a very limited range of foods you'll have available to you post-band. I would be weary if anyone suggested to you that you should cut carbs from your diet.

I did not do a low carb diet, but I do know that my partenr tends to eat quite a lot of carbs as part of his diet to supplement the vegetables he eats, to obtain 'fullness'. He eats rice and potatoes mainly, and sometimes in quantities that mean he struggles to maintain a healthy weight. So if the band helps you with Portion Control in that respect, I actually think you'll probably do fine with it.

[Amy Elizabeth Morgan 0]

I actually talked and met the Nutritionist last Wednesday and he said he would like for me to go to a low carb high Protein diet. He was going to research it little more before my next appointment 2/7. I would like to get ahead of the game by starting now.

[lellow 1,713]

Well there you go, hopefully he will have some ideas for you then. I personally don't get the whole 'low carb' thing because I ate carbs every day, but he's the one you'll be working with, so I imagine his is the advice you should be taking.

Good luck!