Kelly, I wasn't talking about anything but the DS...most DS surgeons do not want you to be reliant on just eggs/cheese/etc and no meat. And what happens if she developes lactose intolerance....a great many of the DS'ers are, at least the first year.

I know it can be done as long as you eat dairy/eggs but if the OP wants the DS, she needs to understand that meat is her friend. Otherwise stick to one of the other three.

Liz

Edited to add something.

OK.  I was just responding to your comment that there was no way to get 80-150 grams of protein without meat.  I would think if an RNY patient can get 90 grams of protein without meat, then a DS patients should be able to get 90 grams of protein without meat, too.  Perhaps I'm mistaken and there is something about the DS that makes that not possible for a DS patient even thoug it is possible for an RNY patient, though.

Many RNY patients become lactose intolerant, too.  Lactose intolerance usually occurs because people don't make enough of an enzyme called lactase, which we need in order to digest lactose.  You can buy milk at the grocery store that has lactase added to it - Lactaid is one such brand.  You can also buy Lactaid tablets, which contain lactase, and take those before eating food with lactose in it.  Raw milk also contains ample amounts of lactase - pasteurizing milk destroys the lactase in it.  So there are many ways a person can cope with lactose intolerance if they still want to eat dairy products.

Even taking lactaid and using lackaid milk, I still can not drink milk...can use cheese, sour cream, butter, heavy cream, yogurt without issues but regular milk(even the lactaid brand) was not gonna happen.

And I drank whole milk without issue pre-op.

And 90 grams is the basic minimum of the amount of protein a DS'er needs...many of us need in excess of 120-150 grams.

Liz

DSers also usually limit carbs to less than 50g/day when losing, certainly less than 100g/day. It would be very difficult to get that amount of protein from non-meat sources while keeping carbs that low.

Yes, it is. You just have to make better food choices within your diet restrictions (whether that's just no meat, or no milk, no eggs, etc.) to ensure you're making very high protein choices with lower carbs. 

It's very possible, but takes quite a bit of work.

If you eat fish, dairy products, eggs, etc., then yes, it's do-able---but I'd really only recommend the Sleeve.

The trouble with plant-based proteins is that most of them are 'incomplete' proteins, meaning they don't supply all of the essential amino acids. This means you have to get protein from more than one source, every day. Also, most plant-based proteins come with a lot of carbs attached, so---you'd have to really THINK about what you're eating.

What about amino acid supplements?  Couldn't a vegetarian use them?  I'm a meat eater through and through and I use them based on advice from a board certified nutritionist who actually knows something about malabsorption.  Of course I don't know how they are derived so it could be a problem if they are animal based like so many forms of insulin.  Just thought I'd throw this out for thinking purposes.  I do not pretend to be an expert so if someone actually knows something please chime in.

Vegetarians don't really need amino acid supplements.  If they eat a reasonably balanced diet, they will get all the amino acids they need.  Like, beans are not a complete protein by themselves, but if you eat some whole grains or rice or cheese, you end up with a complete protein.  And you don't necessarily have to eat those things at the same time as the beans.  I could have half a whole grain bagel with a slice of cheese for breakfast, some beans and veggies for lunch, and I'd get all the amino acids from that.

Sure it is.  I haven't eaten meat in about 26 years.  I do eat dairy products, though, and occasionally eggs.  I get about 90 grams of protein a day.

 So, yes, the only "complete" proteins really are or will occur in meats, eggs, and a few vegetarian sources like quinoa and nutritional yeast (which has all of the amino acids plus a great source of B12 which also only naturally occurs in animal products).

People who want to be vegetarian, at every meal they should have a vegetarian protein source like beans, tofu, tempeh, peanut butter - some kind of legume, basically. But that by itself is not a complete protein, because as stated before there are no complete proteins in beans so you're only going to get some of the amino acids necessary for a complete protein. 

So, for instance, say you're having peanut butter for your protein source, you would combine that with maybe a couple slices of whole grain bread or any kind of grain, and by doing this you get the remaining amino acids necessary for a complete protein. Then washing that down with a glass of milk (even soy milk) will combine together during the Kreb's cycle in your body which is the process of cellular metabolism, they will combine together for a complete protein in your body.

Doing this for a complete protein in your body is great because if it isn't a complete protein, if you consistently eat incomplete proteins, your body will not contain its muscle mass.

It's simple to do, not very complex, you just make sure you eat until your full - and you'll find that post-op, you won't be eating much for a while which is why protein shakes are going to be your friend.

Great sources of veggie protein:

Tofu
Tempeh
Legumes including peanuts, peanut butter
Soy milk
Quinoa
Nutritional yeast
Greek yogurt

(and I found that immediately post-op, tofu was my best friend because it never got stuck and I could sauce it up and make it delicious)