A list of resources for pre- and post-surgery bariatric patients interested in a whole food plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle. Let's build up this list into a comprehensive resource, and keep it updated. Please add your own tested-and-approved recommendations.

Processed Foods and Ultra-Processed Foodstuffs Nutrition Database

• An open source (read: imperfect but continually evolving), collaborative, global food products database (there's also an app) that anyone can use to make better food choices. Assigns all processed foods a Nutri-Score grade from A to E in terms of nutritional quality, and ranks processed and ultra-processed foodstuffs by NOVA group levels (1 for minimally processed up to 4 for ultra-processed): https://world.openfoodfacts.org/

Plant-Based Nutrition Studies

• Cornell University Distance (entirely online) Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies: www.nutritionstudies.org
• Whole Food Plant-Based Diet Guide (the basics): https://nutritionstudies.org/whole-food-plant-based-diet-guide/
• Plant-Based Sports Nutrition: Expert Fueling Strategies for Training, Recovery, and Performance by D. Enette Larson-Meyer
• The Healthspan Solution by Julieanna Hever and Ray Cronise
• Plant-Based Nutrition by Julieanna Hever and Ray Cronise
• Julieanna Hever, M.S., R.D., C.P.T. (plant-based dietitian) website: www.plantbaseddietitian.com

Plant-Based Nutrition Books

• Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure by Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. M.D.
• How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger M.D.
• How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss by Michael Greger M.D.
• Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It by Garth Davis M.D.
• The China Study by T. Colin Campbell M.D.
• Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition by T. Colin Campbell
• The Campbell Plan by T. Colin Campbell
• The China Study Solution: The Simple Way to Lose Weight and Reverse Illness, Using a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet by Thomas Campbell
• Healthy Eating, Healthy World: Unleashing the Power of Plant-Based Nutrition by J. Morris Hicks
• Eat for Life: The Breakthrough Nutrient-Rich Program for Longevity, Disease Reversal, and Sustained Weight Loss by Joel Fuhrman M.D.
• The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life by Joel Fuhrman M.D.
• The End of Heart Disease: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Joel Fuhrman M.D.
• Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free by Joel Fuhrman M.D.
• Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease by Joel Fuhrman M.D.
• Nutritarian Handbook & ANDI Food Scoring Guide by Joel Fuhrman M.D.
• Your Body in Balance: The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health by Neal Barnard M.D.
• Power Foods for the Brain by Neal Barnard M.D.
• Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight by Neal Barnard M.D.
• Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight by Neal Barnard M.D
• Breaking the Food Seduction by Neal Barnard M.D
• The Blue Zones, Second Edition: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner

Plant-Based Nutrition Cookbooks

• Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moscowitz and Terry Hope Romero
• All cookbooks by Terry Hope Romero
• All cookbooks by Isa Chandra Moscowitz
• Thrive Foods by Brendan Brazier
• No Meat Athlete Cookbook by Matt Frazier
• Plant Strong by Rip Esselstyn
• Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn
• The Plant-Power Way by Rich Roll
• The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook by Ann Crile Esselstyn and Jane Esselstyn
• The Plant Based Diet for Beginners by Gabriel Miller
• The PlantPure Nation Cookbook by Kim Campbell and T. Colin Campbell
• The PlantPure Kitchen Cookbook by Kim Campbell and T. Colin Campbell
• The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Neal Barnard
• The China Study Cookbook by Leanne Campbell
• Eat to Live Cookbooks by Joel Fuhrman
• The Buddhist Chef by Jean-Philippe Cyr
• My New Roots Cookbooks by Sarah Britton
• Oh She Glows Cookbooks by Angela Liddon
• Minimalist Baker’s Cookbooks by Dana Shultz
• Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor
• The First Mess Cookbook by Laura Wright
• Forks Over Knives Flavor by Darshana Thacker
• The Blue Zones Kitchen by Dan Buettner
• Vegan 100 by Gaz Oakley
• Clean Food by Terry Walters
• How Not To Die Cookbook
• Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbooks
• China Study Cookbooks
• Forks Over Knives Cookbooks
• Thug Kitchen Cookbooks

Plant-Based Whole Food Cooking Blogs (recipes)

• www.nomeatathlete.com
• www.loveandlemons.com
• www.mynewroots.org
• www.ohsheglows.com
• www.thefirstmess.com
• www.veganricha.com
• www.plantstrong.com
• www.minimalistbaker.com
• www.halfbakedharvest.com
• www.veganyackattack.com
• www.dreenaburton.com
• www.thugkitchen.com
• www.theppk.com
• www.deliciouslyella.com

Edited February 20, 20206 yr by PollyEster

Times are changing. A WFPB diet is more popular nowadays than it was several years ago.

Plus, with too many patients not experiencing sufficient long term weight loss it's obvious that the "ideal post WLS nutrition" hasn't been invented so far.

9 hours ago, summerset said:

Times are changing. A WFPB diet is more popular nowadays than it was several years ago.

Plus, with too many patients not experiencing sufficient long term weight loss it's obvious that the "ideal post WLS nutrition" hasn't been invented so far.

I have found that WFPB, combined with IF (intermittant fasting - I do 8/16) is the ideal eating plan for me. I can eat as much as I want, never feel hungry, and still keep my weight stabilized. I have plenty of energy and mental sharpness, and although weight loss did not drop my cholesterol at all, WFPB dropped it 70 points withing a few months, along with significant lowernig of my LDL and triglycerides. I feel healthier now than ever before in my life.

I admire people for their commitment to WFPB. I'm not exactly a junk food plant based eater but I eat way too much fake meat/fish, also protein powders (at least lately).

ETA: Do you eat cashew based cheeses, btw?

Edited July 28, 20205 yr by summerset

18 hours ago, summerset said:

I admire people for their commitment to WFPB. I'm not exactly a junk food plant based eater but I eat way too much fake meat/fish, also Protein powders (at least lately).

ETA: Do you eat cashew based cheeses, btw?

I make my own cheesy sauce that is great with pasta or veggies like broccoli. I do not use the processed products, as I don't think they taste that good, they are expensive, and I try not to use processed food products as a rule.

To make a cheesy like sauce, I soak cashews for 30 to 60 minutes in hot water. Then I put them in the blender with a cooked yellow potato, soy milk, a small avocado, and sometimes some tofu.. Add a good amount of nutritional yeast and some miso paste, pepper to taste. Blend until smooth. The avocado taste does NOT come through, but the fat makes it "creamier."

I will admit that the Beyond Beef burgers are pretty tasty. I might have one of those once a month or so, but not often. My protein comes from a wide variety of legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, tofu, tempeh, soy milk/yogurt or Nancy's Oatmilk yogurt which is pretty high in protein. I easily get 60 grams a day. Sometimes I will add a half scoop of protein powder to a smoothie or yogurt bowl.

Edited July 28, 20205 yr by AZhiker

On 7/27/2020 at 12:12 PM, DeletedMember said:

Holy Cow! I haven't been on Bariatric Pal in couple of years (or more). One of the big reasons I dropped off the online forums is that I had adopted a WFPB diet, and not only was that completely out of line with the mainstream WLS thinking, but I didn't even like to hint about it as I would get extremely negative feedback. Imagine my shock when I logged back in to Bariatirc Pal today to see a vegan forum with a WFPB post. My mind was blown to say the least, LOL.

DeletedMember, i felt the same way!!!

I'm almost 13 years out and absolutely love my band! I've had my band since March 2008. I lost the majority of my weight in the first 6-9 months (from 200lbs down to 140lbs, i'm only 5'2") and managed to stay within a maintenance range for the past 12+ years, which included 2 pregnancies and a my fair share of fluctuations along the way.

In the past year i have made some more habit changes that have included a change to a Plant Based diet, that led me to drop another 20ish pounds leaving me at about 120-125lbs at 5'2". My husband and my father both were dealing with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (AIC scores of almost 9!!) which lead me to start researching, which led me to DR. GREGER and How Not To Die. it changed my life, and i hope someday it will change theirs.

While my dad has been resistant regarding making this kind of change, i couldn't go back to eating the way i was eating knowing what i now knew about a plant based lifestyle. The changes for me and my husband have been incredible.

I am so overjoyed to have some others to share this with from the perspective of a bariatric patient!

PS...MotoZen, you are TOTALLY setting yourself up for SUCCESS with this positive change! So impressed. Wishing you the best on your journey!

Can't neglect to thank PollyEster for starting this thread with awesome info!!! I'd love to hear more about your own journey!

My naturopath recommended Garth Davis as a resource, but I’m struggling with the idea of being 100% plant-based. We buy organic/grass fed meat from small farms and I’m okay with it - we are not huge meat eaters anyways. Anyone strive for a balance? I’m starting my pre-op diet in a week and I ordered Pirq and Iconic, one is plant based protein drink and the other is grass fed.

33 minutes ago, WanderingHeart said:

My naturopath recommended Garth Davis as a resource, but I’m struggling with the idea of being 100% plant-based. We buy organic/grass fed meat from small farms and I’m okay with it - we are not huge meat eaters anyways. Anyone strive for a balance? I’m starting my pre-op diet in a week and I ordered Pirq and Iconic, one is plant based Protein Drink and the other is grass fed.

My diet is not plant based but I do eat a variety of foods and happy to eat vegetarian or vegan when I visit my sisters (one vegan, the other vegetarian) or go to their preferred restaurants.

As much as possible I will buy free range and locally/grass fed and the local farmers market is excellent. Fortunately where I live is a food bowl.

Does anyone have a copy of post op plan from dr Davis? I’m curious to compare. Tried internet search and could not find a plan or sample menu

On 03/20/2021 at 05:31, WanderingHeart said:

My naturopath recommended Garth Davis as a resource, but I’m struggling with the idea of being 100% plant-based. We buy organic/grass fed meat from small farms and I’m okay with it - we are not huge meat eaters anyways. Anyone strive for a balance? I’m starting my pre-op diet in a week and I ordered Pirq and Iconic, one is plant based Protein Drink and the other is grass fed.

I’m similar to you @wanderingheart. Not a huge meat eater, veer towards lacto-ovo vegetarian 80% of the time and trying to figure out how best to get my protein in once I’m off the liquid diet & eating real food. *can’t wait!*

On 7/12/2020 at 1:46 AM, MotoZen said:

I'm self-pay and my surgeon is Dr. Garth Davis. He's 100% plant-based himself, and wrote a book about the detrimental effects of animal food consumption and high Protein diets called "Proteinaholic" (mentioned in the resource list above). The dieticians at the clinic are very knowledgeable and completely support a WFPB lifestyle.

@MotoZen, I'd read that the author of Proteinaholic was a bariatric surgeon. Does he have anything written about pre-op and post-op plant-based diets, or would you be willing to share information from your nutritionists there? I've tried asking the dietitians at my program about plant-based options and they are really not helpful. I'm not 100% plant-based, but mostly plant-based, and I don't eat meat or consume dairy. I was really curious for his recommendations...

Edited July 10, 20215 yr by lunadreams

I had the sleeve don in 2010. I was lacto ovo vegetarian the whole time. I lost slowly for the first two rears, then started to gain. I employed 5-2 semi fasting program and lost to goal (90lbs) by year three. I maintained for less than a year, then slowly started to gain until around 2019 when i platoued at 20 lbs under my initial weight. Around that time i was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went to a “surviver clinic” run by my medical plan(Kaiser). They recommended i go whole food plant based to reduce most causes of premature death. I was motivated. That was 4 years ago. I am currently down 35 pounds from my high. I wish i had done this insted of surgery, because whole food plant based relies on eating a lot of food to work. I can eat quite abit now… i guess my stomach has stretched out quite a bit, but i still cant eat as much as i could before surgery. Check out nutritionfacts.org for lots of current research on nutrition, weight loss and health.

Orgain Protein Powder is plant-based and my go-to protein for my morning shakes!