ds eating.....

Eating...is there is certain amount of fat intake you have to eat daily that promotes good bowel movement? I know carbs are the devil....lol but is  bread a no no forever?  how about potatos? i don't eat alot of either now but was curious about  carbs. I'm still learning about the ds and trying to gain as much info as possible.... all info is greatly appreciated.

I am 5 years out, so keep that in mind with my reply.

The fat intake will vary.  I know some DSers only 2 years out that can eat like a whole latte's worth of heavy cream.  I would freaking die.  My tummy would rumble so much.  So, I definitely don't restrict fat, and there have been times when I think I need extra, I'd just pour on some extra dressing on my salad, extra extra butter on foods, etc.  

No, bread is no necessarily a no-no forever.  Sometimes I will buy a loaf for sandwiches, but I have a specific kind which has been tested and approved to not cause a whole lot of side effects.  I'll have probably half a roll on thanksgiving.

 I love potatoes!  I don't eat them everyday, but I do order french fries at restaurants (not fast food, just sit-down places).  I looove mashed potatoes, I always eat those when they are available.  I just try to keep a small portion and eat my protein with them.  Potatoes are one starch that just seems to sit so well in my stomach and causes no ill effects with gas or bloating.  It's definitely my go-to starch at a restaurant.

At this point, as you can see, I generally go by how these foods make me feel rather than their nutrition content.  The first year a lot of stuff was really limited for me because it definitely took all I had to eat my protein.  I got a little more lax after that, plus I try to exercise a good deal and really enjoy my carbs -- but I try to avoid sugar above other things!

I am single and live by myself, so I don't actually cook carbs for dinner necessarily.  I try to eat a lot of vegetables and stuff instead.  I really love veggies, produce, and cooking post op, so I experiment with produce :)

Get to goal and then experiment with carbs.  Just lose the weight first.  Nothing is a no-no forever.  The really smart DSer will pick their number on the scale and avoid every last carb till they get there.  Period.  One of the smartest I know actually lost 10% under her goal to give her room for the usual bounceback from your low weight.

There are some who get to goal eating whatever plus protein.  They get a free ride and you see them posting about being worried they will lose too much.  The DS is usually pretty self limiting but some get to have a carb fest till their easy weightloss window ends.  There are others who never make it at all.  Some because they eat too many carbs or refuse to change the way they eat.  Others don't make it  most likely because they are extremely metabolically challenged.  Or they had a very high starting BMI.  The DS gives you the best shot in the WLS world to lose the weight and keep it off and I would venture a guess that most of us who didn't get really thin are still much better off than we were before surgery.

So here's the real deal.  There's no way to tell which group will count you in it's membership.  That's why I tell everyone to just lose the weight first.  You will have the rest of your life to experiment with carbs.  Lose the weight while it's easy.

I think the DS is the easiest surgery to live with long term.  There is always something I can have to eat.  It's easy to eat out and even 10 years postop, I can still say I have never thrown up!  I am in great health and I do take my vites and get my protein just like I'm supposed to.  For my age, I look OK.  I wish I would have had the DS when I was about 10!!!!

Five of my co-workers and I all had WLS at about the same time.  1 DS, 4 RNY, and 1 Band.  The band person never lost enough to make a difference at all.  3 of the RNY folks are now bigger than they were when they had the surgery.  1 RNY person and I are still pretty normal looking.  And all of the RNY folks still throw up.  Even the ones who gained back all the weight.  And it's still hard for the RNY folks to eat the foods they are supposed to have.  

I can eat anything.  I had a cast iron stomach before surgery and I still do.  Sometimes I eat the wrong things like pasta, bread, chocolate, etc.  But I always eat protein first.  I would probably be much stricter with myself if I had ever reached my personal goal of a normal BMI.  Even when I was a size 6, I was still overweight.  After I realized I would never be what I considered to be successful, I learned to settle for OK.  I so WANTED to be one of those people posting about losing too much but that wasn't in the cards for me.  I can still lose weight but it's much harder now.  And it's not really worth all the deprivation because I know I will never make it to really thin.  And being 10 years older, it's also a reality that the more I lose the saggier I get.  And I know plastics are not in my financial future.

From day one, I've never deprived myself.  I have a system that works like a charm:

On my plate, my protein item is my goal to finish > then comes the veggies > finished by whatever I want, be it bread, rice or chocolate cake with my last bites left.  That way, I get what I want, however I'm not able to go buttwild with the bad stuff.

Carbs like potatoes are not a no no forever.  It is just moderation.  In fact, I lost too quickly for my surgeons liking (150 in a year) and he had me add more carbs.  So..everything in moderation.  I just keep my eye on the scale.  If it starts to go up, I amk extra careful about carbs and add lots more protein.