Frmbandtosleeve

I want to believe that I can do this on my own. Many people will tell me that along the way, I know.
But I have been so motivated before that I could have sung from the rooftop my weight loss anthem, and I still failed. The problem is now that I am older and have tried many times and see my weight higher than ever, I don't get that blind faith in myself anymore. I know that I'm a very strong person, and ambitious and nice and have a lot of good qualities. But I am not good at self discipline. Especially with food.
The flip side of this is there is hope. Statistically and medically what I have chosen is normally very successful. And people who have chosen gastric sleeve sing it's praises. I thought ppl would hate it. But the more I read, the more I hear over and over again "the best thing I ever did" and "wish I'd done it sooner."
I understand that weight loss surgery can be offensive or appear extreme to the general public. Maybe it seems I'm overly commited? Or maybe less comitted? Maybe it seems like cheating or an easy way out. Maybe it seems too extreme and hard when I could do it the old fashioned way.
None of this really matters to me. At the end of the road, it has to be what I chose I can live with. And right now I know I have to chose a life of morbid obesity, or a life with weight-loss surgery to help me escape. Which is more dangerous? What is more risky? Which has more potential for happiness? These are my questions to answer, no one else's.
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Thanks for the encouragement, Berry78!

You are so right! Good luck to you as well and thanks for replying

OMGosh! Your dishes look so TASTEY! I have to learn how to work with Tofu. I tried in the past, before I went vegetarian just because I like tofu, but I didn't have much success. Those nachos are right up my alley because it's QUICK.

I was listening to this great lecture on an introduction to WFPB diets on my ride into work this morning and I thought I would share it. There are some great case studies for people that changed their lives.

Ok here are the photos for the tofu dish. I took some as I was fixing it. I did use real cheese, but organic from pasture cows. I couldn't find any of the good vegan cheeses. I followed the recommendation of reviewers and froze the tofu for a few hours before cooking. I did not fry the tofu I baked it with an olive oil sprayed pan. I used some spinach in between layers. t was delicious 😋 my dh had seconds😃

This looks sooooo good. I'm going to try it out myself!

Here is the spicy black bean nacho dinner. I ate maybe four chips of it. Very good too.

I definitely came from a family of meat eaters. I grew up on t-bone and ribeye steaks, and prime rib. My brother and dad would place steak bets instead of money on football games. 😂 I love the quote by Maya Angelou, When you know better you do better." It's been somewhat of a mantra for me.
I told my mom (my dad passed away several years ago) very nonchalantly last week that I wasn't eating meat anymore. She really didn't have a reaction one way or the other. A few days later, as my mom was preparing a menu for our annual family reunion picnic, she called me and said, "Well, I don't know what to bring to the picnic sense you can't eat anything." I just chuckled to myself as I wondered how did me going meatless turn into me not being able to eat ANYTHING? 😂😂😂

I definitely came from a family of meat eaters. I grew up on t-bone and ribeye steaks, and prime rib. My brother and dad would place steak bets instead of money on football games. 😂 I love the quote by Maya Angelou, When you know better you do better." It's been somewhat of a mantra for me.
I told my mom (my dad passed away several years ago) very nonchalantly last week that I wasn't eating meat anymore. She really didn't have a reaction one way or the other. A few days later, as my mom was preparing a menu for our annual family reunion picnic, she called me and said, "Well, I don't know what to bring to the picnic sense you can't eat anything." I just chuckled to myself as I wondered how did me going meatless turn into me not being able to eat ANYTHING? 😂😂😂

Absolutely!

I love that quote! When you've got the knowledge of something, now you're responsible for carrying it out.
Had to chuckle about the "you can't eat anything" statement. 🤣 If anything we have a whole lot more variety to eat than when we did with meats.

I definitely came from a family of meat eaters. I grew up on t-bone and ribeye steaks, and prime rib. My brother and dad would place steak bets instead of money on football games. 😂 I love the quote by Maya Angelou, When you know better you do better." It's been somewhat of a mantra for me.
I told my mom (my dad passed away several years ago) very nonchalantly last week that I wasn't eating meat anymore. She really didn't have a reaction one way or the other. A few days later, as my mom was preparing a menu for our annual family reunion picnic, she called me and said, "Well, I don't know what to bring to the picnic sense you can't eat anything." I just chuckled to myself as I wondered how did me going meatless turn into me not being able to eat ANYTHING? 😂😂😂

Made this tonight. Soooo good.
https://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/07/slow-cooker-coconut-curry-lentils/
my pic:

Absolutely. I was raised in a meat and potato Home. My dad was always a fitness/nutrition addict, it seemed. Mom had to always have a meat, starch, and veggie for our meals. It was ingrained in me about having to have meat and dairy all the time. It was the "healthy" food, as long as it wasn't fried. So many others are still going based off of how they were raised and our ridiculous western media and fibbed (or incomplete data) of research. So many aren't open to change too, people just don't like it...out of their safety and security zones. Well, I thank God Almighty in heaven that I have always been an open kind of gal, I love change (for the better) and if it's for my health, even better!

You're welcome hon. I'm excited with you! Come join us on the Proteinaholic thread. 😊

Thanks Berry! 👍🏾

Thanks, everyone, for your inout, suggestions and support. I'm excited about my vegan journey. 😊🍆🍠🍓🍇

I, too, went Whole Foods plant based a few weeks back, I had the sleeve. I don't worry about my Protein levels (nor anything else). I believe that my WFPB diet will take care of itself. And so far so good, my labwork came back awesome. Nothing my doc to worry about or deficiency in anything either. Still losing weight but even better...I'm getting healthier too. 😊

Congrats on switching to vegan! Such a great choice, I've never looked back when I went in 2003. I had RNY, but I've had no problem at all getting Protein, I don't even need to pay attention to it and I still get more than what's required by my doc.

I have been transitioning to WFPB for about 2.5 weeks. I am still eating a little bit of dairy mostly yogurt and whey Protein which is in the shake I drink every morning.
I was 3 months post-op on Aug. 15th, and I feel that because I am almost at goal already, and I am completely healed, there is no reason to consume more than about 50-55g of protein a day. I make a shake for Breakfast which has 20g and then I am able to get another 25-35g through eating legumes, whole grain brown rice, fruits and veggie, nuts, and seeds.. I would not be able to consume enough food to meet my protein goals without drinking the morning shake everyday. My restriction is still too much to allow me to eat much more than I am. I think some people maybe able to eat more or even less so you will have to see how you do.
I am doing fine eating this way and I am still losing weight. I am not hungry and I am not worried at all about my health or progress.

I'm not vegetarian or vegan but I'm not a fan of meat/chicken/fish etc. I've been making Soups with lots of Beans and Protein Powder that you can stir in. You can also get sugar free waters with added Protein to boost it. Only problem would be dairy intake. Good luck!

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There is a thread going on right now...
https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/400107-proteinaholic-by-dr-garth-davis/?page=22#comment-4512445
Essentially you'll have to rely on Protein Shakes for... months, if not the first year.

I did want to interject a morsel. For those that find they still need a bit of animal foods, don't despair.
The Okinawans of Japan DID eat a primarily vegetarian diet, but even so, they did also consume a couple eggs a week, the equivalent of one 4oz serving of fish a week, and two 3oz servings of pork a week.
If you add that up, they had a full-size portion of animal Protein 4 nights of the week. Which is substantial for us bariatric folks.
(It's just not much when compared to the lumberjack that eats 4 eggs and 1/4 pound of bacon for Breakfast, 8oz of hamburger patties for lunch, a 12oz ribeye for dinner, and a pint of ice cream for dessert.)

I too had my bad slip most likely because I had a 22 lb baby in my tummy moving around. Lol. I feel your pain I lost 140 lbs with the band and was doing great. I gained a lot of it back :/ i also had gallbladder surgery this past winter after band removal and a knee injury so I was in bed a lot. I'm doing all my pre op appointments right now. I'm here if you need to talk !