Re: Veganism/vegetarianism

[Guest guest]

Deanna wrote:

> Out of curiosity, has anyone out there ever attempted and or/maintained

> a strictly vegan or vegetarian diet post-op?

Hi Deanna,

I've been lurking here off and on for a while, and as of today, I'm

officially allowed to post. :-) I'm a long-time vegetarian (lacto-ovo), so

this thread seems like a good place to jump in.

I had the DS one year ago today. Some surgeons won't even do the DS on

vegetarians, because they fear that we won't be able to get enough protein

post-op. Fortunately for me, my surgeon believes that a motivated

vegetarian can be perfectly healthy and do great after weight loss surgery,

so both he and his nutritionist have been consistently supportive of my

choice.

In the early months after my DS, I have to admit that I did end up having

some trouble getting in all of my protein grams. The protein shakes made me

nauseated, and I just wasn't able to get 70-100 grams a day through food

sources. However, by my three month mark, I was doing much, much better. I

started drinking a whey protein shake every morning and I was able to eat a

greater volume of food during the day.

Now, at one year post-op, I still do a shake every morning, not because I

have to anymore, but because I want to. As long as I'm drinking a shake, I

know that I don't have to worry too much about protein the rest of the

day -- and I don't. I easily take in 100-120 grams a day now. Other than

the morning shake, I eat pretty much whatever I want. I'm certainly not a

" low-carber. " My daily diet consists of lots of fresh fruits & vegetables,

whole grains, soy, nuts, beans, pasta, etc. -- typical vegetarian fare. I

do eat some cheese, eggs, and other dairy as well. I track all of my food

on fitday.com, and I strive to get at least 35 grams of fiber daily. Other

than that, I don't worry about calories, fat, or much of anything else. Oh,

except I do try to stay away from refined sugar and trans fats -- not always

successfully, though. Ice cream, key lime pie, and my grandmother's banana

pudding are definite weaknesses! :-)

> I think that one would have to

> be constantly eating in order to maintain the level of nutrition we

> need, or have to supplement even more than we already have to.

Because I had the DS, I have a somewhat bigger stomach than most RNYers

(started out at 3oz -- it seems to hold about 8-10 oz at this point), so I

can eat a bit more. I am generally hungry every 2-3 hours, so I pretty much

eat throughout the day -- lots of " mini-meals " (and some regular-sized ones

too!). Of course, I also malabsorb quite a lot (perhaps 40-50% of my

calorie intake), so the 2,200 calories a day I've been eating still allow me

to lose weight at a pretty steady pace of about 5 pounds a month for the

past few months. I'm about 15 pounds from goal at this point, wearing size

10 (and just starting to buy my first 8s!) and feeling wonderful. I take

Vita4Life vitamin/mineral supplements, and my blood work has been really

good. I've also been exercising regularly and have upped the frequency and

intensity this summer in order to get in the best shape possible before I

get serious about scheduling plastics later this year. I've started working

with a personal trainer, and she is determined to put some real muscles on

me to help fill out some of this loose skin.

Overall, I'm feeling incredibly healthy and normal lately... what a change

from a year ago!

If you have any questions about the vegetarian thing, just let me know --

I'm not an expert, but I'll try to help in any way I can. Also, we have a

small DS_Vegetarian Yahoo group that any WLS patient is welcome to join (we

already have a few non-DSers). Just go to

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DS_Vegetarian/ to check it out.

B. (Tally)

Tallahassee, Florida

DS w/ Dr. Elariny in Virginia - 6/18/02

267/249/148/135

pre-op/DS-day/current/goal

Current BMI: 24.3

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the info, and welcome!

Deanna

Re: Veganism/vegetarianism

> Deanna wrote:

> > Out of curiosity, has anyone out there ever attempted and

> or/maintained> a strictly vegan or vegetarian diet post-op?

>

> Hi Deanna,

>

> I've been lurking here off and on for a while, and as of today, I'm

> officially allowed to post. :-) I'm a long-time vegetarian

> (lacto-ovo), so

> this thread seems like a good place to jump in.

>

> I had the DS one year ago today. Some surgeons won't even do the

> DS on

> vegetarians, because they fear that we won't be able to get enough

> proteinpost-op. Fortunately for me, my surgeon believes that a

> motivatedvegetarian can be perfectly healthy and do great after

> weight loss surgery,

> so both he and his nutritionist have been consistently supportive

> of my

> choice.

>

> In the early months after my DS, I have to admit that I did end up

> havingsome trouble getting in all of my protein grams. The

> protein shakes made me

> nauseated, and I just wasn't able to get 70-100 grams a day

> through food

> sources. However, by my three month mark, I was doing much, much

> better. I

> started drinking a whey protein shake every morning and I was able

> to eat a

> greater volume of food during the day.

>

> Now, at one year post-op, I still do a shake every morning, not

> because I

> have to anymore, but because I want to. As long as I'm drinking a

> shake, I

> know that I don't have to worry too much about protein the rest of the

> day -- and I don't. I easily take in 100-120 grams a day now.

> Other than

> the morning shake, I eat pretty much whatever I want. I'm

> certainly not a

> " low-carber. " My daily diet consists of lots of fresh fruits &

> vegetables,whole grains, soy, nuts, beans, pasta, etc. -- typical

> vegetarian fare. I

> do eat some cheese, eggs, and other dairy as well. I track all of

> my food

> on fitday.com, and I strive to get at least 35 grams of fiber

> daily. Other

> than that, I don't worry about calories, fat, or much of anything

> else. Oh,

> except I do try to stay away from refined sugar and trans fats --

> not always

> successfully, though. Ice cream, key lime pie, and my

> grandmother's banana

> pudding are definite weaknesses! :-)

>

> > I think that one would have to

> > be constantly eating in order to maintain the level of nutrition we

> > need, or have to supplement even more than we already have to.

>

> Because I had the DS, I have a somewhat bigger stomach than most

> RNYers(started out at 3oz -- it seems to hold about 8-10 oz at

> this point), so I

> can eat a bit more. I am generally hungry every 2-3 hours, so I

> pretty much

> eat throughout the day -- lots of " mini-meals " (and some regular-

> sized ones

> too!). Of course, I also malabsorb quite a lot (perhaps 40-50% of my

> calorie intake), so the 2,200 calories a day I've been eating

> still allow me

> to lose weight at a pretty steady pace of about 5 pounds a month

> for the

> past few months. I'm about 15 pounds from goal at this point,

> wearing size

> 10 (and just starting to buy my first 8s!) and feeling wonderful.

> I take

> Vita4Life vitamin/mineral supplements, and my blood work has been

> reallygood. I've also been exercising regularly and have upped the

> frequency and

> intensity this summer in order to get in the best shape possible

> before I

> get serious about scheduling plastics later this year. I've

> started working

> with a personal trainer, and she is determined to put some real

> muscles on

> me to help fill out some of this loose skin.

>

> Overall, I'm feeling incredibly healthy and normal lately... what

> a change

> from a year ago!

>

> If you have any questions about the vegetarian thing, just let me

> know --

> I'm not an expert, but I'll try to help in any way I can. Also,

> we have a

> small DS_Vegetarian Yahoo group that any WLS patient is welcome to

> join (we

> already have a few non-DSers). Just go to

> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DS_Vegetarian/ to check it out.

>

> B. (Tally)

> Tallahassee, Florida

> DS w/ Dr. Elariny in Virginia - 6/18/02

> 267/249/148/135

> pre-op/DS-day/current/goal

> Current BMI: 24.3

>

>

>