More Protein

I've been told and I've read that if your weight loss has stalled that you need more protein. I thought I was getting enough, but I'll try just about anything at this point. For two weeks I am going to have two protein shakes per day. Each shake when combined with my soy milk packs 29g of protein. Two of them a day is 58g. They said I need to have between 50-60g per day. If after two weeks I'm still the same weight, it isn't the protein. I'll try longer than that if I can continue to stomach the shakes because they do taste awful. Fortunately this morning when I went to make my shake the plain soy was in the back and the chocolate soy was in the front. I was a little tired and lazy and just grabbed the chocolate. Mixed with my powder it is awesome!!! I'm hoping I don't get sick of it and give up. So here is to at least two weeks of plenty of extra protein in my diet! Stay tuned for hopefully a weight loss for the first time in almost 5 months!!!!

Pictures from the Day

Things to Realize

Something I need to realize is that I didn't put this weight on over night. I can't lose all of my excess weight in a few months. I have a wedding to go to next weekend that is a black tie formal affair. I borrowed a dress from a friend that is the same size as my wedding dress. It's a little big :) I am 10 pounds lighter than I was when I got married 4 years ago. I am shopping at normal clothing stores, and I can move without much difficulty. I actually went for a little hike today with my husband to see some beautiful waterfalls. No way I could have done that last year!

Another thing I need to realize is that weight loss is a journey, not a goal. Every pound counts and every milestone keeps me going. Each time I feel stuck, it gets me more determined. Each week I evaluate what I ate and what my activity level was. I try to see if there is a way to change it up without making myself go insane. Currently my running has slowed way down. I'm down to power walking 3 times a day for about 3+ miles total. Not a ton, but its better than nothing. I wanted to run because I could. But if I'm getting exercise from walking and it doesn't kill me, I'm sticking with that for now.

What else is there to realize on this day of enlightenment? I knew this wasn't going to be easy. I knew that I wasn't going to be a supermodel within 4 months of the surgery. I am fully ready to work my butt off for the rest of my life in order to get to a healthy weight and maintain it.

I realize that I can do this and I will be successful.

Plateau

The dreaded weight loss plateau. Ugh. I've been sitting at the same weight for nearly 3 months. I fluctuate the same 2-4 pounds every week. My exercise has increased and my food intake has been better every week. I am finally getting consistently over 1000 calories per day. My protein intake is up as well. I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to do at this point. It is super frustrating to sit at the same weight no matter how hard I am working. I have to stay positive and realize that I won't be stuck at this weight forever and that I can't give up. Apparently it is quite common for people to hit the 45% plateau and that is exactly where I am. I have lost 45% of my excess body weight and the projected weight loss for the sleeve is up to 60% loss. The band and bypass are around 50%. So it appears that in 6 months time I reached a milestone that many don't reach until their first year is over. I have to keep plugging along and not give up. I am restarting the Couch to 5K program and hopes that I can improve my overall running time. I also hope that by doing the program from start to finish I might have better results. I stopped the program at about week 7 or so when I felt comfortable enough to run farther than the program suggested. Mistake? Maybe. Stay tuned :)

Crusade to normal clothing!

It has been a few years since I've been able to shop in a regular clothing store that didn't have two sides to it. You know the stores I'm talking about right? The ones that say, "Fat chicks to the right and skinny to the left," as you walk through the door? Yeah, once upon a time I walked into one of them and the employee greeted me to let me know I was on the wrong side of the store. This particular store used to separate the sides between casual and dressy. She politely explained that plus sizes were now on the other side of the store. Yeah, you can guess how much that made my day. I'm sure she was being nice, but not a way to win over the customers. Anyhow, I went shopping last weekend with a friend and she dragged me into a store she shops at. I've never shopped there because it isn't a plus sized store and their clothing wouldn't flatter my figure at all. Anyhow, apparently this store goes up to a size 18. And apparently there is a difference between a size 18 and an 18W. See, I'm learning a lot. At one of my plus sized stores I'm a size 14/16. In this store I am a size 16/18 depending on the clothing and how I want it to fit me. Wasn't I surprised to try on a dress that was a size XL. No, not 1X because that is a plus size only type deal. This was a size XL and in their world it was a 16. Hey, isn't that the size I was when I got married? Heck yeah. I was a little heftier than I wanted to be on my wedding day but who isn't? I was tickled that the dress fit and looked pretty good. I was even more tickled to learn that the dress was on sale for $7.99!!!! I ended up getting the dress and 4 other tops for the bargain price of $36 and change! Whoooorah!!! Anyhow, here is the dress. The picture quality is never great and you can't see any of the detail on the dress. It wraps across my chest and has a cute ruffle down one side. So, no more plus size only stores for me!!! That is one heck of a milestone to hit :)

Another Race!

I'm coming off of another race. The Chicken Farmer 5K was this past saturday. I finished with a time of 44 minutes and 33 seconds. I have another race in just 3 short weeks and hope to be even faster! I'm not even 6 months out from my surgery and I can't even explain how awesome I feel that I can even do what I'm doing. My weight is down to 235 still. I am holding this weight as a plateau. But someone explained to me that a plateau is a good place because my body is trying to adjust to itself. I'm sure the weight loss will begin soon enough! Thanks to everyone for all of their support so far.

Update

It has been a few weeks but here is a small update. I had to take a break from running and exercising. Why? Apparently I really wasn't doing well enough on my eating to be doing the type of exercise I was doing. Memorial day weekend was a rough one for me. I ended up passing out and losing consciousness twice. One of the times I hit the floor pretty hard and split my lip as well as did a nasty number on my right hip. A visit to the Dr's revealed that I need to eat. A lot more. I'm doing my best and tracking everything that goes into my mouth. I now see how little I've been eating. Most days I can get over 1,000 calories, but not every day. That just isn't enough to be burning 500 or so during my workouts. I've been back on the vegetarian side again because it is far easier to get higher amounts of protein in dairy and eggs. Until I fully figure out a more stable eating plan, this is how it is going to be. Today was my first day back on the treadmill. I had to do something because I have a 5k in 7 days! I did an interval session for 5k at 2 minutes walking and 1 minute jogging. I finished the workout at 45 minutes and 11 seconds. Not bad for taking almost 2 weeks off. I'm hoping that next Saturday I can get my 5k done in a reasonable time. I'm also hoping that I can get these calories under control and eat more food! Until next time....

Run complete!

What is this a picture of?? This is me just seconds after crossing the finish line for my very first road race. Not a 5K but a whole 5 miles!! I finished at 1 hour and 20 minutes. Not bad for someone that weighs 238 pounds!! (I gained a few during my 3 day carb loading binge) When I finished the run my Nike+ monitor showed that I burned 929 calories!! Wow!! I enjoyed my run so much and I feel super proud that I was able to complete it. I'm signed up for 2 5K races this summer and I can't wait to improve on my per mile pace!

Tomorrow is the big day!!

http://www.dandelionrun.org/

I am leaving in a few hours to get ready for the big 5 mile run! I'm super excited and super nervous. Wish me luck!!

May Picture Update

I guess it is time for a picture update. I changed up the wardrobe again. No more hiding behind baggy clothes for the pictures. Although the pants have a part on the top that seems to hold my middle flap in pretty good. So don't let that part fool you. I'm in no way sporting a toned midsection.

Making More Progress

I weighed in this morning at 237! My running is progressing at a steady rate and my 5 mile race is less than a week away. So much preparing to do this week. I've really been working on getting my protein intake up and I think I'm finally going to be successful at it. This past week I was able to fun 3/4mile solid in 9 minutes. That isn't super fast, but if I kept going I would have run  a full mile in about 10 minutes. Back in the high school days I could run a mile in around 6 minutes. I'm nowhere near that level right now but I'm not going for time, I'm going for distance. I want to be able to easily run 5 miles a day and feel good about it. I am currently running and walking just over 3 miles comfortably most days. I know that I won't be able to run the entire 5 miles this weekend, but as long as I get through it all I will be happy. I hope to have updated pictures of myself posted next weekend. I really think that my body has changed shape since the last picture. Maybe I'll even have a picture of me crossing the finish line!

Quickie Update

I'm down to 240 pounds! I've been getting better on my treadmill. I ran for 5 minutes straight on Friday. My training program ups my running time to alternate 5 minutes of jogging anyhow so I thought I would get a head start. My 5 mile run is fast approaching and only 2 weeks away! I'm having a protein problem. I need it and that's my problem. I'm not getting it and that's my bigger problem. I have to figure out something soon or my weight loss is going to stall and I won't be able to work out as hard as I have been. Stay tuned to hear if I figure something out soon!

Almost 3 Months

In just a few days it will be officially 3 months since my surgery. As of today I am down to 246 for a total of 35 pounds since surgery. Since the start of the program I am down 54 pounds. Since the day I became Veg to today I am down 78 pounds. Yowzer! As I was getting dressed this morning I decided that it was time to take another picture. I've lost about 9 pounds since my last one, but I had to change the outfit a little bit. I'm still wearing the same size and style tank top but I clipped it tighter in the back with a hair clip. I take the pictures with the tank so that I can see if there is any progress on my arms. I don't see much except that they are getting less solid and more flying squirrel like. I would never wear a tank out in public, it is just not me. I am wearing a size 18 pair of jeans in the picture as well. My body shape has changed since I was last at this weight. When I got married I weighed 239 and wore a size 16. I'm wearing an 18 and I'm pretty close to that weight. I think I have some extra belly skin to squeeze in now that I didn't have before. But I'm making progress and I feel better each week!

I've started to do lots of walking and jogging on my treadmill. I'm glad that I can do it because I know I couldn't do it a year ago. I've started the Couch 2 5K program and hope to stick with it. It isn't easy but I try to push myself as hard as I can and I know that it will get easier.

Eating is still getting easier as well. I still can't eat half of a sandwich yet without cutting the crust off. It has only been 3 months so I need to be a tad more patient. I am back to cooking meals in the evening again which is great for my husbands weight! Oh did I mention that I weigh less than him right now? I haven't weighed less than him in a very long time. He decided he better get moving so he can pass me! He is eating better with me and using my treadmill when our daughter naps. Here's to our healthy family!

Goodbye bad weather, Hello treadmill!

My husband finally agreed to let me get a treadmill. He insisted that it would become a coat rack and we just didn't have room for it. I am certain that I will prove him wrong! I've used it twice now in the two days since it has been set up. My first day I did 20 minutes. The first 5 minutes I walked at 3.5mph and then I alternated 5mph for 1 minute and 3.5mph for 2 minutes. I made it to about 1.25 miles in that time frame. I wanted to go further but my lungs were burning. I have to remember that I'm 250 pounds and it will take some time to get up to speed. Tonight I did 26 minutes. I walked 3.25mph for the first 5 minutes and then alternated 5mph for 1 minute and 3.5mph for 3 minutes. I got to about 2.6 miles. My lungs are a little better and I think that this level is decent for a few more days. I hope to get back to the 2/1 minute intervals as soon as possible! I'm amazed at what I can already do with the size of my body and the condition of it.

I had a knee surgery about 8 years ago because my meniscus was shredded. It was crazy looking. They weren't able to repair it so instead they just cut most of it out so it kinda looks like a crescent moon on that one. Sometimes my knee hurts a lot because there isn't much cushioning left. They removed a flap of cartilage because apparently I had bone spurs behind my knee cap that just wore it away into a crater. Sound good right? They told me that I would probably need another surgery and a possible knee replacement within 10 years. Yeah right. I think 32 is a tad young for a knee replacement! I'm hoping that exercising and getting some of this weight off will up my chances that I won't have to get it. Until next time, adieu.~

Mother Nature is Working Against Me!

I've really been trying to get in my workouts but it is a little hard when the weather is all over the place. It was nice then snowing then nice then windy and raining. I gave up and went out and bought me a brand new treadmill. Now the weather won't dictate my workouts! This is way cooler anyhow. If it is 100 degrees out I can still get in a workout or if its raining or snowing. I'm excited and it will be here in two days! Oh and I am dead set to do my first race or run or walk or whatever you want to call it. I'm doing the 5 mile this year but next year I plan to do the whole thing! It is only a month and a half a way so I really have to get moving! New weight update. I hit 250!!! I am so excited! I am now officially at the weight I was when I started infertility. I am 10 pounds away from when I got married and 50 pounds away from when I met my current husband. I am really excited to get out of the 250's and into the 240's. I know that my exercise and determination will get me there!

http://www.dandelionrun.org/

A little more a little less

A little more exercise and a little less weight is what I'm talking about this week. I got off my butt and moved. I danced, walked, and jogged as much as I could tolerate. It still isn't easy and my knees still hurt like crazy but I keep at it. My weight is at 252. This isn't amazing but it is still a loss. I'm hoping this week I can exercise even more. The cold weather is fighting against me but I promise that even if it is below freezing out this week I will be out there all bundled up looking like the Michelen man! Oh and I bought new bras! Maybe I mentioned that last week but with the end of my semester kicking my butt I can't recall. If I mentioned it already it must bear mentioning again. I love the fit of new bras! These fit amazing and they look great too! Now if I could just get my  middle to curl up and hide somewhere I can wear all these cute tops I bought! Speaking of new clothes, I swore I wouldn't buy anything, but I was looking like a homeless person that stumbled upon a few spare tents. Not very attractive at all. Once I started wearing the new clothing I was turning heads and fielding compliments left and right. Now that will make you feel better! Also, back to vegan again. I think it's time to stop pretending that I need to get protein from cottage cheese. Another stupid excuse. Anyhow, back to the grind. Exercising via booty shaking and walking or jogging is on the plate for this week!

Move it!

I've made about a thousand excuses for not exercising enough. I'm done making excuses. The little that I'm doing just isn't cutting it. Yesterday I got up off my duff and dusted off my sneakers and threw them on. My ambitious attempt at a 2 miles walk/jog/run didn't exactly go over so well. I guess the wind advisory wasn't kidding. The sand whipping in my face, my shirt billowing around me and the sun in my eyes. It was a memorable first outside workout. I ran twice for about 90 seconds each time. Not having a proper bra on was definitely a thorn in my side. The girls tried to escape many times through every possible exit my bra would offer. Also, when skin flaps bounce up and down when you run, it effing hurts! Picture someone grabbing on to your skin and yanking it down every time you run. Yeah, ouch. Regardless, I did 1 mile in about 17 minutes. Quite pitiful by anyone's standards, but I went out and did something. Today I'm hoping to accomplish more. First on the agenda is to go out and get a decent bra to exercise in. I'm also going to try and get a slimming cami to help hold my excess in place so it isn't bouncing around with me. Maybe that will give me some more success. Stay tuned to see just how far my fat ass can go this week!

Update Picture Time!

Time to update my picture. It has been almost 3 months and I've lost 26 pounds. I've lost a total of 69 pounds since March 2010. Not bad, but it is getting harder to see the difference in the photos. I think part of the issue is because the tank and pants are too baggy to show what changed. Maybe I'll have to take up a different outfit to see better. You can see the difference in the bagginess on the third pic, much more ripples :)

Quick Update

After a few weeks of eating I've finally lost a few pounds. I hit 256 on Sunday March 13. It was nice to see the scale move after it has been standing still for so long! I'm starting to get better at eating. I also don't have to take that awful antacid junk every 4 hours. I'm getting in my 3 meals and a couple snacks to make up a decent day of intake. I'm still not nearly at what I'm supposed to be, but I'll get there eventually. Here is what today looked like for me.

Breakfast: 1/2c Cottage Cheese
Snack: About 10 pretzles
Lunch: 1/2 PB & J (crusts cut off because I can't eat the whole thing if I leave them on)
Snack: 1/2c Cheerios (My daughter climbed up in my lap and ate most of them though, like I'm gonna turn away a 2 year old that says "EEEE-REEE-OOOOOSSSS!!")
Dinner: Poor Mans Stew (noodle, peas, red beans)

I really wish I was able to eat some fresh veggies. These boring empty carb snacks are getting old. But the crunch is nice to have! When I'm around 6 months out I can eat raw veggies or fruit. But not for now.

Here is the TMI of the week. Constipation. The amount of iron I'm taking and probably the lack of fiber I usually get from other sources is doing a number on the digestive tract. I'm hoping by tossing some ground flax seed into a few things I can remedy the situation. Hopefully I have a good weight loss to report next week!

Oh and something great. All of a sudden in the past week my energy level has shot through the roof! I mean, I can't sit still most of the time. I dance around, go for a walk, run up and down the stairs, or march in place. It feels awesome!

Vegan or Vegetarian?

Lately I've been leaning towards more of a Lacto-Vegetarian. It is a lot easier to get the foods I'm able to eat in me and I can use all the nutrition I can get right now. I've gained 2 pounds and have been sitting at 263 for 2 weeks now. I'm certain that once I'm eating more, the weight will come off. I will be vegan again, but I have to do what is best for my body. Cottage cheese is a great source for protein, it packs 14g in just 1/2 cup. I'm not sure how long I will do this, but for now, I'm the Gastric Vegetarian!

Ulcer

I also wanted to mention a slight complication that I had. This is really the only misstep so far in this whole process for me. Within days after the surgery I began having insane heart burn all day long. I lived on Tums for two days to try and get the fire to calm down. They had me upgrade from the Pepcid to Prilosec 20mg twice a day. After a few days of taking that, I will still waking up around 4am with heart burn. They decided that based on my symptoms I must have developed an ulcer. While this is not the greatest thing to happen while I have a tiny sensitive stomach, they were prepared. I have to take Carafate four times a day. The only hard part is that I take it 3 hours after a meal and 1 hour before a meal. This was also making it hard for me to eat. I'm on quite the strict schedule of eating because I have to not drink 30 minutes before and after a meal. Now I have to make sure I don't eat within 3 hours before or 1 hour after this medicine. I've made up a pretty tight schedule of eating and drinking and taking the medicine four times a day. I'm still not used to it and eat around 1 or 2 times a day, but I'm confident that I will soon get the hang of it and eat normal healthy meals. Well, really tiny normal healthy meals.

No More Watery Goodness

Its been almost a month. Tomorrow marks 4 weeks since I had the surgery. I'm starting on the stage III and IV diet finally. No more purred watery food for me! This morning I weighed in at 262 pounds. That is 19 pounds since my surgery. I'm really excited and hopeful that I'm going to continue to lose weight. Now that I'm able to start eating things again I can actually eat. I haven't been eating much of anything over the past week. When I think about the watery food I would rather not eat. I have felt tired and lethargic lately because I'm just not eating. It isn't the smartest thing I've done, but it happened and I can't go back. At least I'm ready to eat again. Last night for dinner I had a piece of light bread toasted with a little Earth Balance. Not exactly a healthy meal, but it felt great to chew something. I also can't wait to get back to cooking meals for my family. I've really slacked off on that because it is hard to cook something you aren't going to eat. I think for lunch I'll have some hummus on a 1/4 of pita bread. I buy the Joseph's low-carb pita because it is super thing and low and everything. By buying the thinner bread it is less filling and I can get more protein and fillings onto the bread. I can't eat much still so I don't want to fill up on bread.

3 Weeks Later

It's been 3 weeks now and I'm still stuck at the same weight I was when I was 1 week out. I've gained and lost between 269-272 for the past week now. I finally had my husband take a picture to see if there was any sort of progress that wasn't noticed by the scale. Everyone keeps telling me how good I look and that I've really lost some weight. After closely examining the pictures, I'm thinking that my weight has been shifting around a little bit. Pardon the blurriness of the second photo, my husband was nervous this morning :)

Trying out new things

I'm now 2 weeks post op. I weigh the same as I did 1 week post op. But I'm not going to get discouraged. I know these things take time. The worst part right now is still being stuck on the stage II diet. It is pretty hard after being on this limited diet for a month to find new things that make we want to actually eat. Nearly every soup can be pureed and strained and that gets me some of my meals. But I need something new. I decided to see how cottage cheese would be if I pureed it and strained it. This is my vegetarian side coming out because I need something besides soup or I might go insane. So today I am a vegetarian. The cottage cheese isn't so bad. It just tastes like straight ricotta at the moment. Oh well, something different! My husband went off to the grocery store and I gave him a list of things to bring me so I can try a few things out. He is getting me some strained infant fruits and plain yogurt so I can mix them up. I've done the vanilla yogurt and I'm tired of it. Have I mentioned how long this stage II diet lasts for the sleeve patients? Its nearly 2 months!!! 2 weeks pre-op and then 3-6 weeks post-op. My mother, who had the bypass, is happily eating anything she wants right now because she only had to do it 2 weeks post-op. I only mildly hate her for this. Apparently the sleeve incision takes far longer to heal. But in the long run I can have a piece of cake or a Hershey kiss and not toss my cookies, so I guess 2 months of hell is worth it! Maybe tomorrow I'll be vegan again, but until I get a bit more creative, I'm a vegetarian. I'm nearly positive that once I can eat I will be a happy vegan again. But for now I'm on the dairy band wagon. Still no eggs!

Where do I get my best recipes?

Most of my recipes come from Veg Web. I also have what I consider to be my cookbook bible, Vegan on the Cheap. Back to VegWeb though, it is a site dedicated to vegan recipes and I'm so glad I found it. A decent recipe for pudding is Protein Pudding. I love this soup, Sweet Potato and Squash soup. While on the stage II diet it just gets pureed and strained. This is my staple for Broccoli soup cravings. Another yummy soup that is great is the Taco Pantry Soup. Those are some of my favorite soup recipes, but I can't wait until stage III diet starts so I can get into my other super favorite recipes! For now I'm stuck in stage II. Soups and shakes for now!

Protein Supplement

The one that I've found that doesn't taste completely horrible is from GNC. It is a soy protein that packs 25g of protein per one scoop. I suggest the vanilla flavor. It is wheat, gluten and dairy free. I add it to West Soy unsweetened soy milk and it tastes like crushed up walnuts. No idea why, but it isn't completely wretched. Sometimes I do 8oz of milk and 4 oz of water to thin it out a little because it is quite thick. I've never tried 4oz of each, but maybe that will be tomorrow morning. Pre surgery I had one of these every morning for breakfast instead of the recommended Carnation Instant Breakfast. Post surgery I make one in the morning and sip it over the course of an hour. This gives me a jump start and gets me nearly half way to my protein goal for the day. Once I'm able to advance to the mushy stage I can incorporate more beans and tofu but I will still have one of these in the morning. There are plenty of other soy and vegan shake products, but trust me, this one is a stand out that doesn't make you want to run screaming to Burger King for cheap and easy protein.

Recipe for Power Protein Soup

1 14oz Block of Tofu drained but not pressed
1 Can of White Beans rinsed
1 Frozen block of Winter Squash thawed
2 Cups of Unsweetened Soy Milk

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend on high until super smooth. Strain contents into a medium sauce pan and heat over medium heat until warm. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Each 1/2 cup serving contains around 10 grams of protein! When striving for that 60 grams per day, this is a great help.

*on 2/8/11 I decided to find some new flavors for this and tossed in some cumin. This was a great idea!

Why did I want surgery?

About a year ago I was told that I had high cholesterol and that no amount of dieting would fix it. I thought that was a challenge. Reading things about how to lower it with diet I found that being a vegetarian could help. I knew some friends that talked about a book called Skinny Bitch and I thought I would give it a try. The book turned me into an organic vegan overnight. I've molded to be mostly organic and occasionally non-vegan. I still don't have meat but occasionally I slip in a little dairy. After reading the book and starting my new diet I lost 10 pounds in the first week. I thought, "this is what is finally going to work for me!" After 20-30 more pounds I felt amazing! Sadly, that is as far as I got. My weight loss stalled at 300 pounds. What a crappy number to get stuck at. After a few months of trying many things to get my weight loss going again, I decided I needed some help. My mother was going through the motions to get gastric bypass and I thought I would tag along to one of the meetings. Man, that was a scary situation. I did not want the surgery after listening to what it was all about and all the things that had to be done in order to get it. After a few weeks of thinking I decided that I would start the program and see where it led me. I knew that no matter what, I didn't have to get the surgery if I didn't want to. So off I went in secrecy to these meetings and pre-surgical appointments and testing. I didn't tell anyone except my husband and of course my mother. I was embarrassed to admit that I couldn't lose weight on my own and that I had to take the easy way out and get surgery.

I finally came to a point where I had to tell someone about it. So I confided in my friends. My friends that have always been there for me. They supported me without question. I was so nervous because of everything I've heard about weight loss surgery. Some people believe it is only for lazy people that don't want to try to diet. I'm quite sure I was one of those people too. But after getting to a point where I felt I needed a little more help, I was a believer that it is not an easy way out. So in the end, I decided to get the surgery. I decided it was what is best for me and my family. I have no regrets at this point and I know that my health is only going to benefit from it. So I got the surgery to feel better about myself and to be able to exercise and be a healthy role model to my daughter.

Before Gastric Surgery 1/23/2011 281 pounds

Why do we need another blog?

Why does this world need another blog? I mean, aren't there enough? I had a Sleeve Gastrectomy on 1/24/2011. I never thought it would be so difficult to go through this process and be a Vegan or Vegetarian. I decided that because of my experience, I would try to help out others in the same position. As I tackle this journey I will share my obstacles and triumps. I hope that sharing my journey can help someone else.