Being a vegetarian after surgery...is that possible?
Poet_Kelly is the local authority on this :) I was formerly a vegetarian, and while I believe I still am at heart, I have chosen to consume lean fish, turkey and chicken post-op. I may go back to being veg someday, but right now I am not. But it is possible.
"Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come" 
I'm not a huge red meat eater anyway, and I know I'll need to eat x amount of protein a day. I have to limit nuts in general because my husband is allergic to all the ones I want to eat (most tree nuts).
I would image cooked vegetables would be better tolerated than raw ones? I asked about huge salads because most of my vegetarian friends eat large quantities of vegetables/fruits.
I've been anemic since I was 9, so keeping my iron levels in check is very important to me. I supplement and try to eat more iron-rich foods. I know heme iron is better absorbed, but I'm not into eating steak or beef kidney much. Meh.
Thanks to everyone's responses! I'll check out Nic's blog. :)
I would image cooked vegetables would be better tolerated than raw ones? I asked about huge salads because most of my vegetarian friends eat large quantities of vegetables/fruits.
I've been anemic since I was 9, so keeping my iron levels in check is very important to me. I supplement and try to eat more iron-rich foods. I know heme iron is better absorbed, but I'm not into eating steak or beef kidney much. Meh.
Thanks to everyone's responses! I'll check out Nic's blog. :)
You won't be able to eat large quantities of anything after surgery, and definitely not fruits and veggies because you'll need room in your pouch for protein. Cooked veggies are recommended in the first couple months after surgery, at least by most surgeons. Once you are on a regular diet again, you can eat salads and raw fruits and veggies.
After surgery, at least in the beginning, you're going to be eating mostly protein, whether that means meat or beans or dairy foods or whatever. You won't have much room for veggies. You add those in later on but even now, three years out, I only get a couple servings of fruit or veggies a day.
After surgery, at least in the beginning, you're going to be eating mostly protein, whether that means meat or beans or dairy foods or whatever. You won't have much room for veggies. You add those in later on but even now, three years out, I only get a couple servings of fruit or veggies a day.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
I was vegan for a year, which was very difficult, and finally I let go and started eating fish and dairy again (which is when I started gaining weight again!)
I am still pre-op, so my advice may not be the greatest, but you have to do what works for you. I still don't eat anything that walks on land, but I couldn't deprive myself of fish as I just love it so much. Maybe you can start small and give up red meat and pork or just eat chicken and turkey? I have to say...cutting meat from my diet a couple years ago was a great decision for ME. My bf is not vegetarian by ANY means and we co-exist in our household just fine.
Like I said...do whatever works for YOU....
I am still pre-op, so my advice may not be the greatest, but you have to do what works for you. I still don't eat anything that walks on land, but I couldn't deprive myself of fish as I just love it so much. Maybe you can start small and give up red meat and pork or just eat chicken and turkey? I have to say...cutting meat from my diet a couple years ago was a great decision for ME. My bf is not vegetarian by ANY means and we co-exist in our household just fine.
Like I said...do whatever works for YOU....
Can I ask what you found really difficult about going vegan? I keep going back and forth about the idea myself.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Aww man! I just wrote a huge response and there was an error and I lost it!
I LOVED being vegan, really! I felt really healthy and I lost a lot of weight. After almost a year of it I moved, and I ended up being over 30 miles away from any health food store, so it became really difficult. Plus, going out to eat I was always "that person" who had to ask for my food to be prepared specially (unless I was at a vegan restaurant.)
It was very expensive, and very difficult when I'd work late in the office and they'd provide dinner, but nothing was vegan friendly. They'd get me something vegetarian, and I'd even have to say no to that, and I felt aweful.
Ultimately, I couldn't stay away from fish, and that's what brought me back to the other side. I still avoid as much dairy as possible, like buying soymilk instead of regular milk, and I avoid cheese usually.
If you can stick to it, you'd be amazed at how healthy you feel. If you can try it out for even a week or ten days, I promise you'll feel WONDERFUL! I wish I could go back, maybe someday I will!
I LOVED being vegan, really! I felt really healthy and I lost a lot of weight. After almost a year of it I moved, and I ended up being over 30 miles away from any health food store, so it became really difficult. Plus, going out to eat I was always "that person" who had to ask for my food to be prepared specially (unless I was at a vegan restaurant.)
It was very expensive, and very difficult when I'd work late in the office and they'd provide dinner, but nothing was vegan friendly. They'd get me something vegetarian, and I'd even have to say no to that, and I felt aweful.
Ultimately, I couldn't stay away from fish, and that's what brought me back to the other side. I still avoid as much dairy as possible, like buying soymilk instead of regular milk, and I avoid cheese usually.
If you can stick to it, you'd be amazed at how healthy you feel. If you can try it out for even a week or ten days, I promise you'll feel WONDERFUL! I wish I could go back, maybe someday I will!
I HATE when I write a long response and it gets lost. Very annoying.
My concern is mostly getting enough protein. I know it would be possible but I feel like my diet would be very limited. Like, right now I get a fair amount of my protein from beans, which would still work, but I also get a lot of protein from Greek yogurt. Soy yogurt is a lot lower in protein. The protein shakes and bars I found that I like are made with whey. I do like soy milk and I can mix my protein shakes with that and it has almost as much protein as milk, but I'd have to find a soy isolate protein powder and a soy protein bar, and I don't know what I would do for yogurt.
I have really cut back on the amount of cheese I eat. I also stopped buying milk and yogurt at the grocery store. I now buy raw milk from a local farm and make my own yogurt with that. At least this way I know the cows are being treated well.
I don't really mind being "that person" in the restaurant, I'm pretty used to it as a vegetarian. And there is no good health food store anywhere near me but I can find the basics at my regular grocery store. They have soy milk and soy cheese and soy yogurt and all that stuff.
My concern is mostly getting enough protein. I know it would be possible but I feel like my diet would be very limited. Like, right now I get a fair amount of my protein from beans, which would still work, but I also get a lot of protein from Greek yogurt. Soy yogurt is a lot lower in protein. The protein shakes and bars I found that I like are made with whey. I do like soy milk and I can mix my protein shakes with that and it has almost as much protein as milk, but I'd have to find a soy isolate protein powder and a soy protein bar, and I don't know what I would do for yogurt.
I have really cut back on the amount of cheese I eat. I also stopped buying milk and yogurt at the grocery store. I now buy raw milk from a local farm and make my own yogurt with that. At least this way I know the cows are being treated well.
I don't really mind being "that person" in the restaurant, I'm pretty used to it as a vegetarian. And there is no good health food store anywhere near me but I can find the basics at my regular grocery store. They have soy milk and soy cheese and soy yogurt and all that stuff.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
It sounds like it'd be a pretty easy transition for you. Try a soy yogurt, if you can stomach it...GREAT...I HATE IT.....HATE HATE HATE!! I used to eat tons of tofu, beans, nuts in my salads, and was never big on soy cheeses. Lots of soy cheeses have casein which happens to be an animal byproduct. That's hard too. I'd sometimes inadvertantly eat something which contained an animal byproduct, and I'd be so disappointed.
I was and still am a big fan of "Amy's Organic" products. I love her soups and meals. I never found it hard to get in enough protein. My doctor was monitoring me at the time and said I was doing great.
I made A LOT of stir fry, and there'd be these cucumber won tons I'd throw in from trader joe's....LOVED IT. I ate TONS of hummus. Chips with hummus, carrots with hummus, broccoli with hummus. pita with hummus and veggies...AMAZING. I liked the mediterranean hummus from trader joe's, it has pine nuts on top of it, YUM YUM YUM!
If that's not your speed, there are TONS of vegan recipes you can look for on the web. I had lots of fun trying new things. I used to make this spinach lasagna that was just so delicious. Completely vegan, and I used wheat noodles. My roommate at the time couldn't believe there was no cheese in it. I can look for the recipe if you like.
It sounds like you can make it work, especially if you're transitioning from vegetarian to vegan! :)
I was and still am a big fan of "Amy's Organic" products. I love her soups and meals. I never found it hard to get in enough protein. My doctor was monitoring me at the time and said I was doing great.
I made A LOT of stir fry, and there'd be these cucumber won tons I'd throw in from trader joe's....LOVED IT. I ate TONS of hummus. Chips with hummus, carrots with hummus, broccoli with hummus. pita with hummus and veggies...AMAZING. I liked the mediterranean hummus from trader joe's, it has pine nuts on top of it, YUM YUM YUM!
If that's not your speed, there are TONS of vegan recipes you can look for on the web. I had lots of fun trying new things. I used to make this spinach lasagna that was just so delicious. Completely vegan, and I used wheat noodles. My roommate at the time couldn't believe there was no cheese in it. I can look for the recipe if you like.
It sounds like you can make it work, especially if you're transitioning from vegetarian to vegan! :)
I'm still early out and trying to reach all my numbers for protein, etc. But once I feel more comfortable with a variety of foods, I fully plan on going vegetarian, and am strongly considering moving vegan after that. I just truly do believe in the healing and healthy powers of a plant based diet!
I'm reading all I can on it, and know that Dr. Garth Davis is a supporter of it as well for post ops.
I'm reading all I can on it, and know that Dr. Garth Davis is a supporter of it as well for post ops.
Follow my vegan transition at www.bariatricvegan.com
HW:288 CW:146.4 GW: 140 RNY: 12/22/11
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