any vegetarians out there?

I am about 1 1/2 years out of gastric bypass surgery, am at goal, and have qustions regarding vegetarianism.  For the last six months or so i have been having some kind of pain in my left side about even with my belly button.  I've seen my surgeon and a gi doc and they cant see anything wrong with me.  So for the last two weeks i decided to cut out meat from my diet.  I hadn't had one pain until today when i had chili with ground beef in it the pain came back.  So i am thinking my intestines are not happy digesting meat.  I have felt so much better without it, no pain at all, no bloating, no gas, just all around terrific.  I am still eating dairy and eggs so i am getting enough protein between that and beans and whole grains.  So i was wondering are there any vegetarians out there who can give me some advice?  Thanks a bunch!

dont have any advice for you but I wish I did because I am dealing with the same issues.  I am only 5 months out and I can tolerate anything except meat.  It doesnt matter what kind it is and I can make it very moist and puree it and I still have the problem.  I told my hubby I am becoming a vegetarian.  It's not worth the pain and it drains the heck out of me all day after I eat meat.  I will get my protein in also other ways.  Good Luck, if you get any answers let me know. 

Pam

Dense protein is hard for me to eat and, to be honest, I just don't want to fight with my food.  So I don't!  Well over half my meals are meatless with eggs, dairy and beans being a chief source of protein.

I have found that since India has something of a vegetarian culture, there is plenty of inspiration for meatless dishes that don't rely on "tofurky" and other fake foods.  Also, consider Vegetarian Times magazine as they have a lot of vegetable recipes.  Being an omnivore I often adapt the recipes BACK to having meat using Chorizo instead of Soyrizo, etc.

I was vegetarian for a long time and the biggest two bits of advice I have for you are ... don't substitute oily foods for meat (high fat cheeses, cheese sauce, etc) and mix up protein sources. For example, pinto beans are not a full protein chain yet lentils are. To get all amino acids (to make a full protein chain) just mix up your protein sources.

Complete protein is tough, but I have to say the soy products have gotten much better of late, so that's a plus. I dig Morning Star soy sausage especially...even the occasional Boca burger.

My girlfriend's family introduced me to lupini beans, which also apparently have the full amino acid complement (I made her check...lol). They're kinda tough to prepare initially (a few weeks of soaking the raw beans in a salt solution to soften them up), but once they're done, you could probably make them into a paste or puree and use it as a platform for for all kinds of things...maybe flavor with miso?

I've also heard that mixing beans with a whole grain will give you a complete protein, but that the absorption goes way down for grain-based protein sources...

I'll post again if I can find something more concrete...