Hi,  I am new to this within the past 2 weeks.  I am doing good,  however not seeing any weight loss yet.  I am 5 years out from having Roux en Y gastric bypass surgery.  I lost 112 pounds within the first year.  Maintained for the next 2 years,  and then the stresses hit me.  My job changed,  started working for myself renting a room to do nails out of,  my Father passed away very quickly right at the time of my job change.  Then within 7 months after he passed away,  we moved into a new home and built a salon on the back of my house,  and now work solely for myself and work many many hours in the salon and not to mention all the other regular stuff I have to do.  So I have gotten off track and have gained back 35 pounds,  and it is terrifying to see where its gonna take me back to.  So I picked up your book and have been really trying to do mostly vegan,  I have eaten a piece of chicken breast just today and maybe a couple times had some milk products of some sort. 

What I am concerned about is getting in enough of the essential nutrients that I need to survive and thrive.  With having the Roux en Y procedure,  it causes one to have malabsorbtion of a lot of the essential vitamins we need on a daily basis.  But its also good in that it also doesnt absorb a lot of the calories I take in.  Can I get what I need to stay healthy?  I am also having some low blood sugar incidences,  usually late mornings,  after I have eaten,  this also happened before trying to eat the Kind way. 

Also,  how to you get your spouse to be supportive of this kind new way of life?  I have been getting ridiculed from my husband since I started this journey.   His makes comments and rolls his eyes at me,  won't try anything I make, even if it is something I know he likes.  Thus making me double the work in the kitchen,  cooking for me and something different for him.  This is time I do not have,  or have the energy for late in the evenings when I get done working.

Thanks,

Shannon

Check out http://theplantrx.com/ - Jenna is an MD and might be able to answer your questions about health and nutrition. Tell her I sent you - she loves to help! :)

As for your spouse, I TOTALLY know the feeling. Your absolute, hands-down, best bet is to cook REAL food and don't even mention the V-word. Don't waste your time and energy trying to win him over - there are hundreds of hearty, great-tasting vegan meals that no one will even notice is vegan if you don't call it out.

Here are a few from my website (which I started for girls like us) that have kept my carnivorous husband happy and healthy in spite of himself:

http://sneakyvegan.blogspot.com/2010/11/jamie-olivers-early-autumn-minestrone.html

http://sneakyvegan.blogspot.com/2010/11/sassy-spicy-lentil-soup.html

http://sneakyvegan.blogspot.com/2011/01/rustic-winter-stew-over-polenta.html

Go through your regular cookbooks and pull out all the "regular" recipes that are already vegan or can be easily veganized with a couple of minor changes. You'll find more than you'd expect. Great "sneaky vegan" dishes are 3-bean chili, cottage pie, hearty stir frys, and curry dishes. Look for recipes that use a lot of spices or flavorful ingredients - it's the flavor in carnivorous meals he wants, not necessarily the meat itself. I'll be posting a lot of new ones now that we're back from our honeymoon!

Spend some time putting together a menu plan that will cover a month's worth of vegan meals. It will take some research and planning, but it's a better use of your energy than arguing with your husband. Trust me ;-)

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Thank you so much,  I will try my best,  to  build a plan,  with my hectic schedule.  But will do the best I can. 

I am finally seeing a little budge on the scale this weekend.  Its been a huge struggle,  pardon the pun.  3 pounds off,  hopefully it stays off. 

I got my new Kitchen Aid mixer this weekend too,  so I cant wait to try some of the new goodies. 

Rock on! Don't forget, you don't have anyone to answer to. Do what's best for you and go at your own pace. Sounds like you've been through a LOT recently (I can relate to that too) so be kind and don't judge yourself - everyone gets there on their own time.

The most important thing is for you to NOT stress. And make sure you're getting enough sleep. It's a proven fact that sleep deprivation affects blood sugar and wreaks havoc on the hormones that naturally surpress your appetite:

http://www.pr.com/press-release/85473

One last suggestion to keep the peace in the house: no reason to double-up on meals even if you do have to feed your husband some meat once in a while. Make something where the meat can be an ingredient rather than the focal point of the dish. That way you can eat the same thing, but leave the meat out of yours. 

If you can spend one weekend day in the kitchen, you can make a bunch of things that freeze well - soups, lasagna, shepherd's pie, pasta sauces - stuff that you can easily defrost on the days where you have to make two different meals. If you have enough freezer space, you can also make double batches so you can freeze both vegan and non-vegan stuff. You might need to use more than one pot sometimes, but at least you can use all the same ingredients - and then you'll have a great excuse to get him to watch the dishes ;-)

The more prepared you are in advance, the easier it will be. Promise!

 And congratulations on those 3 pounds, Every little bit helps. Baby steps will get you far.

Make some of these to treat yourself when you need a little happiness in your mouth:

http://sneakyvegan.blogspot.com/2010/12/vanilla-pecan-bourbon-balls.html

They're not exactly diet-friendly, but sometimes just a little bite of sweetness is enough to stave off those feelings of deprivation - and it's way better to eat one of these than a whole cake! (been there, done that. plenty!)

Hang in there and enjoy that new mixer!!!

Hello, Javamama-

Great advice given already.  In regards to getting your nutrients, if you eat a well-balanced vegan diet of fruits, whole grains, legumes and vegetables you will get all that you need even with the malabsorption.  In fact, eating this way provides these nutrients "better" than a SAD.  Have you read where Alicia talks about Calcium in her book?  I find that is a really well-done explanation.  Is there any nutrient in particular you are having concerns about? Also can you please give me an example of what you ate prior to a hypoglycemic incident?  Hopefully, I'll be able to help at least a little.  Kind Regards, Jenna (www.theplantrx.com)

Like everyone else said, you can definitely get all the nutrients you need with a plant-based diet (if you go full-on vegan, it might be a good idea to take a B vitamin supplement once a week or so).  You may have to pay a little more attention, since you won't be eating as many over-processed foods that have nutrients added to them (obviously, not the healthiest way to get nutrients!), but your body will thank you!  You'll be eating things that your body can get nutrients from much more easily.

I'm not married, but my suggestion for dealing with your spouse would be to just try not to get too stressed out about it.  Keep doing what is best for you, and let yourself be a convincing argument.  If he sees that you are getting healthier and happier, he may start to change his perspective.  And sometimes people don't know how to deal with a change they don't understand.  My boyfriend gave me a hard time at first, but over time he saw that I was serious about it, and now it's not an issue at all.