Oh my. I can't believe this is going through my head again!!! We have some friends who have just jumped on the "FIre ENgine #2" plant based diet. They are loving it and are kindly giving my fat husband and I encouragement to read the books and give it a shot. I watched the "forks over knives" dvd and I would LOVe to do a plant based diet with tomatoes, mushrooms, quinoa, beans etc. Well, a few years ago we tried to cut out meat and cut back on dairy and the scene went like this. I worked hard to get the recipes, make the food, then we would sit down to eat and SOMEONE would hate something about every meal. My step sons (12 & 14) would not like the corn, or the texture of the beans, and God FORBID I dare make anything with fresh tomatoes and OMG is that a MUSHROOM???? Well, not being encouraged I say screw it and go back to what they like, hamburger helper, spagetti, rice, rotel cheese dips, pizza, all the stuff that packs the pounds on me (and my husband). So I make the decision to get the sleeve. And here I am again, thinking "If we just eat a plant based diet I won't have to get my stomach cut out and NEVER have another DP or never be able to eat more then 6 ozs and never be able to chug my water... " So, I am making a two week menu of plant based food and I will write down all of their gripes and complaints over the healthy food I am cooking them. I am not TELLING any of them I am doing this. The funny thing is, my 12 year old, who is the one kid who knows I am having the sleeve, watched the video with me and says "Why don't you do this instead of the sleeve?" and I have to say because you boys and your dad won't let me. I don't have the time, energy or desire to make TWO meals every night!! I feel like just keeping the fridge stocked with salad and toppings and telling them that is what we are eating from now on. ugh. I need a Dr Pepper right now.. I think I am going to miss that the most but I know it is SOOOO bad for me. All that sugar. Praying the thought of it makes me sick after surgery. Thank you for letting me vent.

Oh my word! Firstly just let me say that I LOVE your screen name!!! LOL I don't know if you like Adam Sandler, but he used to do a character named Fatty MaGee! And I always joke that that how I feel, or who I am! It made me crack up to see your name. I have friends that started to do the plant based diet. They have three little kids and they're doing great! I have a pretty nice sized garden, so I try to eat a lot of fresh veggies. My husband and kids would NOT go for a plant based diet, ever! I can hear it now! My 3yr old is pretty good about veggies, the 4yr old is NOT! If its green, he's not eating it, unless its jello! When I decided to do the sleeve almost everyone was helpful and supportive, at least to my face! Anyway I have one friend who was like, "you're going to have to change everything about how you live and eat, so why not just do that!" And I'm like, well hell if I could "just do that" I would be a size two and walking around naked all the time! lol, j/k! But seriously, it ain't that easy, at least not for me! I'm having VSG surgery on July 10th. I cannot wait to be on the "losers bench" as they say! Hope you are well. Take care!!

Vent away here, because we totally get it! But you can still get the sleeve and deal with your husband and stepkids. I had second thoughts about the surgery all the way into the operating room, and I even tried to escape from pre-op (lol - thank you valium) but this is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I still have to deal with what my husband and teen stepdaughter want to eat, but my own situation is under control.

Maybe I am wrong, but if a plant based diet is the answer, it would have worked by now? Just like all my best intentions of dieting and working out.

Life after sleeve is pretty awesome, in my opinion. But this is a great place to vent.

Oh heheh, I don't know what made my husband ask, but it was great... he said " Oh I guess you won't be able to cook for a while huh? Smells and stuff will make you nauseous I guess?" I jumped on that one. I said, "you're right honey, I won't be able to cook for a long time.. I think I'll have a very weak stomach and be nauseous for a long time!" Ha, so wrong of me, but at least it gets me out of cooking for a while! I won't make him suffer too long, and God knows he can cook, so he won't starve!

I hear ya. I worried about that too. But thank god for frozen stuff I say there it is. It is hard but I love it. I eat alittle of bad foods at times but I truely dont enjoy it like I did. I thought it would be hard. I dont like to watch them eat because the size make me sick, I was a diet coke addict. Dont like the taste any more. With most of your stomach removed you really dont want to eat much. I thought I could do one more diet and not the surgery. I failed.. Alot will go threw your mind it still does for me. But I have came to terms that it was the best for me and my family. Hope things work out for you.

Actually I am a believer in the mainly vegetarian lifestyle. There is a book (The China Study)- and an ongoing study- that is a result of 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. They have 20 years of empirical data showing a huge cross-section of lifestyles in Taiwan and many rural areas. Dr. Colin Campbell headed it up from the Cornell side.

They have documented clinical data that shows that a diet consisting of less than 10% of Protein coming from animal sources (most notably casein) can actually arrest development in cancer in lab rats. The people with the lowest incidences of cancer are the rural farmers who A) cannot afford huge amounts of animal protein and B ) move their bodies rather than drive their cars everyday. Even rural places impacted by China's terrible pollution problem have shown a notable avoidance from cancer.

Joel Fuhrman is another guy crusading for a more 'nutrative' vegetarian lifestyle. He is more toward the vegan side and is definitely worth checking out, but his program is very strict. His eating method has allowed diabetics to come off of insulin within the first three weeks.

IMHO I believe that the days of eating rich foods all of the time is over for me. I am OK with that, I had a good run . I think it's OK to have meat and cheese, as long as it is on a weekly or biweekly basis rather than a daily basis. I am post-op now, and still relying daily upon yogurt and cheese and eggs and whey powders, and I suspect I will continue to be as I lose over the next 18 months, but the long term plan is to steer towards plant-based protein sources and integrate them to get myself to that <=10% protein animal intake level.