Vegan diet?
HW: 235, SW: 227, CW: 152.0, 83 lbs lost since 10/22/12 --Fear less, hope more, eat less, chew more, whine less, breathe more, talk less, say more, hate less, love more, and good things will be yours.
Lotusgyrl, I am not vegan, but am vegetarian, and I sometimes worry about how tough it could be to live the rest of my life with a sleeve.
However, at almost 5 weeks out, I am getting about 75 (sometimes more) proteins in per day, and believe I will do better once I'm on more solid foods.
So, I think it's a great idea to start off vegetarian, then maybe transition to vegan later. Please send me a message if you like, and I'll gladly share what I've been eating. :-)
Overall, do be prepared for it to be a challenge that your eating choices will be limited, but they are usually limited for all vegans as opposed to omnivores. And, don't rule out WLS over it
Best of luck to you!
on 12/30/12 8:21 pm
One of the hardest decisions I had to make regarding VSG was to eat meat. However, I think it's nearly impossible in the weight loss phase to meet your nutritional goals otherwise. In maintenance it might be doable...that's a big might. Vegans get all the nutrients they need, but do so by eating more volume than VSG people can/should eat.
I do believe, strongly, that its the healthiest way to eat for most people - but maybe not for us. The number one health priority for me MUST be losing weight. I lost about 20 lbs when I first went vegan then it stopped. I ate zero junk but I can only lose weight by significant calorie deprivation and I wasn't able to do that eating whole grains, etc.
My plan/hope is that I can experiment...very carefully....when I get to maintenance. I know of a vegan nutritionist in town and I may have her help me.
For now I eat meat because it is saving my life. I hear you, though, and my heart goes out to you to be struggling with this. The message to eat plants is very compelling. Frisco makes great points and I agree - it would be very, very hard to do and maybe not doable.
For now I make eating whole (as in real) food my priority. Personally I think that's the most important step. Many people on these boards talk about the processed foods they eat. I don't do any of that and it helps me feel I am adhering to some of the healthy food decisions I had made long before I ever even considered VSG. for me - I had to have the surgery so I could get by eating only 500 cal per day (and I still lose slowly). Now I have to make those few calories fuel my body appropriately.
Annie
I'm a vegan. It is possible, but it's harder than being a vegan without a sleeve, and that's hard enough.
You will need to:
Find a complete vegan protein supplement (all amino acids) that you like
Focus on dense veggies and protein foods like soy in your eating
The hard part, especially during the loss phase, is going to be finding enough food variety while staying completely away from any simple carbs.
Highest weight: 335 lbs, BMI 50.9
Pre-op weight: 319 lbs, BMI 48.5
Current range: 140-144, BMI 21.3 - 22
175+ lbs lost, maintaining since February 2012
Here's my two cents, but I can see you've got a lot of responses already. Anyway, I was a vegetarian, not a vegan, for a number of years prior to VSG. I didn't eat meat or fish. I did eat milk and eggs. I avoided any other animal by-product. I was overweight when I was a vegetarian. I was a stable weight, but still overweight. I once was given a t-shirt at a vegetarian convention that reads "Carb Queen" with a little tiara on it. When I stopped being a vegetarian, about 2 years before VSG, I gained 85 lbs. I think mostly because I was very conscious of my food choices as a vegetarian and when I wasn't it was just a free-for-all. So I would say one of the pros of a vegetarian/vegan diet is that it makes you very mindful of your food choices. That being said, I would say it's much easier to go through at least the weight loss phase of the post-sleeve diet eating meat or at the very least whey. You said you jus****ched the documentary Forks over Knives? If you're new to the vegan lifestyle, or just thinking about it, I wouldn't start until you're stable at a weight in the maintenance phase and have a little more room to experiment with your diet. I know I will eventually become a vegetarian again, probably in the same capacity as I was before, but I need to get to a stable healthy weight first. Of course what I ate as a vegetarian before will need to be modified now, even in maintenance. I feel bad that I eat meat now, but I figure hey, you can't save the world if your dead. Obesity was killing me.
RAW - is the name of a plant-based protein powder. Be fore-warned it is VERY gritty and tastes like licking dirt. I sometimes add it to my morning coffee to cut the dirt taste. It is definitely an acquired taste.
I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan, but I was looking for a protein shake with no fake sugar crap in it and this is one that I found.
Make sure you thoroughly understand what Ruggie is saying about amino acids. I strongly suggest that you talk to your NUT about vitamin replacements for the things you DON'T get from the vegan lifestyle.
Good luck.
VSG 10/18/11 If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.-Dolly Parton
The whole meat & pyloric valve thing is true, but fibre also closes the pyloric valve, and vegetable protein sources are pretty good for that. Also, it's possible to do this without using the sensation of extended sleeve fullness as your sensation of satiety. If you can learn to get your nutrients, undereat your sleeve and eat on a schedule you'll do just fine. You may lose a little slower than a low carber, but you'll definitely lose.
Highest 303.4, Surgery 263, Current 217.8, Goal 180
