My doctor says I have to adopt a vegan lifestyle!

And I am wigging out! I spoke to him about wanting to lose more weight and he flat out told me that if I want the big losses I had as a new post op, with my slow metabolism, I would have to drop to lower than 1000 calories and adopt a vegan diet, only plant products, no animal products whatsoever! Yikes! I am scared to death!! He told me that as long as I continue to supplement vitamins and protein as I have been ever since surgery, this would be the healthiest way to go. He has enrolled me in a 12 week course that teaches how to gradually adopt the diet, but the thought of never drinking milk, eating eggs, and...gulp....no crab legs? *sob* Class doesn't start until February, so best believe, I am enjoying turkey, prime rib and steak in the meantime!! LOL michelle 368/255/180

I am curious as to the science that would back up is the course of treatment being suggested. Is your doc a vegan by chance? Another possibility could be that this is a left-handed way of saying accept the situation you find yourself in. In the end, you have to ask yourself "Is it worth it?" You and only you can answer that question. I can see it both ways. While you may not be satisfied by your current weight and size, but you may be satisfied with the lifestyle that you currently have. OR, You decide that you have come this far and worked so hard, and that Nothing is so sacred that it will not be sacrificed to achieve your goal. Again you and only are in a position to make that determination. I would offer this advise: Whatever you do, be sure it is something you can live with. Electing a course of action that can not be sustained is to set yourself up for failure. Reflect on your values and make a choice. Whatever you decide must map well to your internal value system if it is to be sustained. Nowhere Man/PH/Jay

The class I have been enrolled in is given by the local labor managment council.....it is called CHIP. Coronary Health Improvment Project. http://palmpeoria.org/CHIP/aboutCHIP.shtml The link takes you to the story about this program and the scientific data. This is something I have been thinking about since my appointment last Thursday. On the one hand, I want to get to my goal weight, and giving up meat would not be a bad thing for me, since I am at the point since surgery that I can take it or leave it. It doesn't set well about half the time anyway! But also, I am afraid that I would not be able to sustain this lifestyle for long....hence the class that is supposed to teach me how to get to the goal gradually. Honestly, for a long time I have not been satisfied with my size, but have had several reality checks over the last few weeks that have changed my mind. But I would like to see if I am going to settle at this weight or if there is more weight to be lost. Most important to me is to feel totally comfortable in my own skin, and try my best to not get caught up in numbers on a scale. I am going to try this and see if it will work for me.

Misha, when I read the results section of the link, it didn't address protein at all, i.e. how the diet affects the body's protein stores. With a strictly vegan diet it is difficult to get complete protein combinations (animal proteins are complete proteins, vegetable-based ones are not and have to be combined in particular ways to achieve complete proteins). With the importance of proteins for wls patients, this would be my concern with a vegan diet. As Jay said, do something you can live with, I personally couldn't live with a vegan diet. Good luck. Connie

Hi Michelle, when I first moved to Maui being Vegan was everywhere so I tried it for three months. Forget it girl, it aint worth it. It is sooooo hard. I am not a very good cook so I had to buy most of my meals premade at the health food store and even a lot of their food has dairy. Hope you have better successes than me. Hugs 302/155

I can see dropping red meat, but chicken breast and fish? Personally I think that's nuts... although if they were nuts, I guess you could eat them... Have you tried a low fat whole foods approach? I love the book "God's diet". The basic premise is that the more we mess with a food (process it), the worse it is for us health and diet wise. -L