Hi everyone. I had RNY in 2011 and skin removal surgery in 2013. Since then, I've gone through some very traumatic things and have eaten myself into oblivion, gaining 55 lbs. I only ver got down to 190 at 5'2 with the RNY in the first place. I'd like to finally reach my goal of 150. I'm committed again and want this to be a life change for real. Having said that, I have been vegan for 13 years and WILL NOT give it up. I need help. I need vegan bypass recipes. I don't remember the exchanges I made for a vegan diet when I first had RNY. I know a lot of the fake meat is soy based and may be high in sodium and cholesterol, but is it okay to substitute the fake meat for real meat in recipes anyway? Help! I want to do this but am already scared, discouraged, and hungry. :-/

Not a vegan myself, but I'm inclined to believe that protein is protein.  Make sure you try to adjust for the increased sodium, etc., but I'm sure you'll be OK.

All protein is not the same.

What we need in protein are amino acids. There are 20 amino acids in protein, but we can synthesize 10 of those if we have the right building blocks. The other 10 MUST come from food. (Some sources say there are only 9 essential amino acids).

Unlike fat, vitamins, etc, the body does not have amino acid reserves. If you don't eat enough every day, your body will break down muscle to get what it needs. And your heart is a muscle.

Animal proteins are complete -- they have all the amino acids we need. Plant proteins are incomplete. One type of plant source is missing some amino acids, and is very low on others. Another plant protein is missing or low on other AAs, but have some the first source lacked.

The other aspect is PDCAAS, or Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score. This scale from 1 to 100 tells us how much of the protein in a food the body can actually use for its amino acids. Milk protein, eggs, whey, all score 100. Beef is 93. Peanuts are 53. Wheat gluten is 25. Plant proteins can be very low on the scale.

You can be a very healthy WLS vegan, but you have to work at it. To get enough of the correct, high quality protein we need, it's very easy to use whey protein or a bunch of red meat. Vegans will need to study, and balance plant protein sources to get the right amount of all the essential proteins.

You have very valid points, which I am sure the OP knows as they stated that they have done the Vegan regime in the past.  I was thinking later of editing my post to cover the part about "combining" of plant proteins, but didn't think it necessary to teach someone who is already familiar with a path.

All whole foods, including all plants, are complete proteins.  They may not be especially high or dense sources of protein but they are all complete.

A few years ago, Dr. Garth Davis was a speaker at an OH convention and shocked almost everyone there with recommending a vegan diet after weight loss surgery.  Dr. Davis and his father had a television series called, Big Medicine, where they worked with overweight people and performed weight loss surgery on them.

Look him up on Facebook and Youtube.  You will really like what he has to say and he will give you a lot of help.

A few years ago, Dr. Garth Davis was a speaker at an OH convention and shocked almost everyone there with recommending a vegan diet after weight loss surgery.  Dr. Davis and his father had a television series called, Big Medicine, where they worked with overweight people and performed weight loss surgery on them.

Look him up on Facebook and Youtube.  You will really like what he has to say and he will give you a lot of help.

Ditto ditto ditto - Dr. Garth is the best. He wrote a WLS book just before his shift to veganism, unfortunately, and his new one isn't out yet. You should also check out Dr. MacDougall.  

Dr. Davis hasn't posted a lot of details, but his approach focuses on eating fruits, vegetables, healthy starches, etc., and NOT obsessing over protein - he reports that none of his patients who eat adequate calories are protein deficient. This is the focus of his book, too. I can't wait to read it! 

Two thoughts:

One - does your surgeon's practice have a dietitian on staff? This would be a first stop to refresh your memory on those exchanges. I've considered vegan eating myself but not sure how the carb issue would settle in for me if I ate a lot more beans/legumes. 

And two - turning to food to deal with trauma is a coping mechanism familiar to many of us. Counseling would be a next stop on the road to recovery. One friend has also had great success with an Overeaters Anonymous group to deal with her regain, emotional eating, and addictive eating patterns. 

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will add that doctor on facebook and research his meal suggestions more. Thank you so much. Also, I am currently in therapy, though more on a check in basis for my meds. Considering OA but the seem very religion heavy.

I was always scared to try OA.  In particular, having to apologize to everyone my weight ever hurt. Initially I thought it only  hurt me...but I realize my mom was rather disappointed that I was not thin.  I dont know if that is on her or whether I was such a psychologically traumatizing asshat that I needed to apologize for it.  "I am sorry I am not pretty, skinny or perfect!"  Is that really an apology...i think for me it would come out as sarcasm.

Also-I made sure to live on the other side of the country from her.  To have her fly to the east coast or the deep south (where I was at the time) would have been difficult for her since she lives in the country, is a ludite, and has never drove on a freeway in her life. It would have inconvienced my baby sister to get her there. So just another damn thing for me to apologize over.

Nope...OA was not the answer for me either.  I feel guilty enough over all sorts of random crap. Not adding to it.