Reluctant Vegetarian...

[LittleMsSunshine]

I've been having some gallbladder issues lately, and can't afford to get it taken care of the "western" way (you know, slice & dice surgery ) so I decided to take my health into my own hands and explore ways to solve it on my own.

After a TON of reading.... I learned that liver/gallbladder issues are EXTREMELY common after weight loss surgery (since you rapidly lose weight, the liver and gallbladder work overtime from what I understand) and I discovered that a vegetarian diet is strongly recommended for people who have liver/gallbladder issues. Maybe vegan, I'm not entirely sure.

Sooo....I've cut out ALL meats and ALL dairy as of about 4 days ago. And shockingly, I have not had ANY gallbladder pain issues since then!

I've also discovered that vegetarian cooking is a MILLION times better than using meat.... I HATE raw meat, so this is perfect. In the past few days, I've made:

1. Homemade salsa
2. Vegan Spaghetti w/gluten-free noodles
3. Vegetarian pizza with soy cheese and veggie pepperoni
4. Fresh fruit smoothies with soy milk

Everything has been SO GOOD!!!!!!!

And the best part is.... four days ago I was 209lbs.....

This morning I'm down to............ 204lbs.

And.... I feel a lot better about my new diet.... because I no longer feel like a hypocrite. (You know... "I love animals!" while chomping on a chicken wing? )

So.... yay.

[mrsb88]

glad you found something that works for you!

[jennypage]

That's great, Heidi!!! I'm a big advocate of veggie living, even though I don't completely practice what I preach. My husband doesn't think he can live without meat, but I've introduced quite a few veggie meals to him in the past year and he's loved every last one of them, so there is hope for him yet.

Eventually I'd like to get back to being a vegetarian (I was one for 4 years) and I'd even like to go so far as becoming vegan. It's hard though with how much I like to cook. It can get a little confining to stay within the vegan lines.

But, I'm really happy this is working for you! for healthy living!!!

[LittleMsSunshine]

I tried to be a vegetarian when I was like 13 or 14 (back when I thought PETA was cool ).... and couldn't do it because the food sucked.

But damn.... fake meat has come a LONG way

[Del]

Congrats! I'm glad you feel so much better and are enjoying it.

If you need any tips, I've been trying to compile them here: http://www.militarysos.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=308186


And yeah, with fake meat now it's so bloody easy. They've done a dang good job with all that!

[LittleMsSunshine]

Originally Posted by Del Congrats! I'm glad you feel so much better and are enjoying it. If you need any tips, I've been trying to compile them here: http://www.militarysos.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=308186 And yeah, with fake meat now it's so bloody easy. They've done a dang good job with all that!

Thanks for the link!!!

I ordered a bunch of books from Amazon on healthy eating.... specifically on digestion/liver/gallbladder/etc. And I'm reading a book right now all about it. It's SO interesting

My only concern is getting enough iron. But apparently I can take pills or something.

[Geotech]

That's awesome, being a proper vegan however is damn expensive. My only suggest is make sure you take a multi vitamin if needed, as after those who are strict veggies do not get enough of everything one's body needs. Espcially with the diet change, you might experience vitamin loss.

[jennypage]

There's a ton of iron in spinach, broccoli, and most leafy greens. Just eat a lot of those and you should be good.

[LittleMsSunshine]

Originally Posted by Geotech That's awesome, being a proper vegan however is damn expensive. My only suggest is make sure you take a multi vitamin if needed, as after those who are strict veggies do not get enough of everything one's body needs. Espcially with the diet change, you might experience vitamin loss.

I'm determined to find a way to do it affordibly

I figure.... I had WLS in June, so I can already only eat very limited portions (2-4oz. per meal).... so food will last me a lot longer. I'm *hoping* it'll all kinda even out

I already take multivitamins.... and drink at least two protein shakes per day.

My diet is very closely supervised by a nutritionist, so hopefully I'll be good

Thanks for the advice

Originally Posted by jennypage There's a ton of iron in spinach, broccoli, and most leafy greens. Just eat a lot of those and you should be good.

Ohh that's good to know! I still need to brush up on vitamins. I can read food labels and stuff just fine... but I don't know enough about vitamins and how much I need of each... and what they're for

I just bought a huge bag of spinach pasta noodles... forget what they're called... they're spiral-shaped. I cannot believe how much protein is in them!!!! 9g in 1/2 cup!!!!!!!!!!

[joshsbeautiful]

Barilla makes some really good plus pasta that has something like 17 g of protein in a serving.