DS math
You may be wondering how DSers can eat 3000+ calories per day and not gain weight. Some people also seem to have difficulty understanding why our arteries aren't clogging up, since most of us eat about 50% of our calories as fat. And my personal favorite is the accusations that we are eating like pigs at a trough or somesuch. For those of you who are genuinely interested, this is how the DS works.
I (and many if not most DS post-ops over 2 years out) eat about 3000 cal/day most days. But we don't absorb that much, of course. This is the "magic" and the pleasure of how the DS works, and why it works. The mathmatics of malabsorption look something like this:
I always get about 100 g of protein/day (and NONE of it makes me puke or foam or gets stuck, and I have NEVER had protein shake -- since surgery, I have eaten all my protein as FOOD). 100 g of protein x 4 cal/g = 400 cal eaten; x 0.6 (60% of protein absorbed) = 240 cal from protein absorbed.
Since I eat at least 50% of my calories as fat (full fat mayo to my heart's content; butter with my seafood and veggies; full fat salad dressing, and lots of it, with my salads and veggie dips; nice marbled meats including steak, bacon and crispy chicken skin), let's call it 1530 calories which equals 170 g of fat (fat is 9 cal/g) to make the math easier. But I absorb only 20% of the fat I eat, for only 306 cal from fat absorbed.
So, fat + protein eaten = 1930 calories of the 3000 I eat per day. That leaves 1070 cal or 267.5 g of carbs (4 cal/g). But I only absorb about 60% of complex carbs. I have to account for sugar first, because I do absorb 100% of sugars -- I would guestimate that I eat about 50 g of sugar/day x 4 cal/g for 200 calories from sugar absorbed; of the remaining 870 calories of complex carbs x 0.6 (60% absorbed) = 522 cal from complex carbs absorbed.
So, my ABSORBED calories from 3000 ingested calories (eating 100 g of protein, about 50% fat and the rest carbs) is:
240 cal protein
306 cal fat
200 cal sugars
522 cal complex carbs
1268 calories absorbed per day from eating 3000 cal
And that is why I (and other DSers) can eat like that, not exercise, and still be either maintaining or losing weight. It doesn't suck!
To be clear, I am NOT advocating not exercising! Everyone needs exercise for cardiovascular health, bone health, looking toned, etc. My point is, exercise for losing or maintaining weight loss isn't as necessary for most DSers. As for arteries clogging from all that fat -- what doesn't get absorbed doesn't get to my arteries, of course! My total cholesterol is 167, my HDLs are 53, and my LDLs are 95. My triglycerides are 95. All of which numbers are EXCELLENT -- my doctor wishes her levels were that good. My CRP (an indicator of inflammation and thus cardiovascular risk, especially in women), which was a dangerous 10 times normal pre-op, and which was not helped much by statins, is now completely normal with NO statins. My cardiologist released me -- there is no need to see him anymore! Note that contrary to unfounded accusations, I don't eat huge amounts of food at a time (nor do most of us) -- I do eat smaller, higher calorie meals (full of yummy fat!), and I eat 4-6 times/day. I didn't binge pre-op, and I don't binge now. I usually get at least a snack if not an entire second meal out of a restaurant meal, which for me is generally sharing a couple of appetizers with my husband, sometimes a piece or two of bread with LOTS of butter, an entree of my own, and sharing a dessert, along with a drink (Mai Tai!). I usually take home some of one of the appetizers, and half of my main course, and fini**** off before bed or for breakfast the next day. I didn't have a major sweet tooth pre-op, but I eat even fewer sweets now -- the DS changes metabolism to correct insulin resistence, and after 2-4 bites of something sweet, I am generally done. I am satisfied with less sweets than I was pre-op -- sweets taste DELICIOUS for a couple of bites, and then taste overly sweet. I get both the pleasure of having sweets with no repercussions, and no fear of overindulgence. Sometimes, when I feel inclined to indulge but find myself physically not wanting more, this is almost amusingly annoying. No willpower needed! By the way, based on studies on people with short bowel syndrome, intestinal adaptation is generally complete by about 2 years out. The statistics of weight loss maintenance over 10-15 years with the DS supports the theory that the same is true for DSers -- if there was continued adaptation of the intestines after two years, there would likely be significant and ongoing weight gain in long term DSers, which there generally isn't.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! That's what this post is all about.
I always get about 100 g of protein/day (and NONE of it makes me puke or foam or gets stuck, and I have NEVER had protein shake -- since surgery, I have eaten all my protein as FOOD). 100 g of protein x 4 cal/g = 400 cal eaten; x 0.6 (60% of protein absorbed) = 240 cal from protein absorbed.
Since I eat at least 50% of my calories as fat (full fat mayo to my heart's content; butter with my seafood and veggies; full fat salad dressing, and lots of it, with my salads and veggie dips; nice marbled meats including steak, bacon and crispy chicken skin), let's call it 1530 calories which equals 170 g of fat (fat is 9 cal/g) to make the math easier. But I absorb only 20% of the fat I eat, for only 306 cal from fat absorbed.
So, fat + protein eaten = 1930 calories of the 3000 I eat per day. That leaves 1070 cal or 267.5 g of carbs (4 cal/g). But I only absorb about 60% of complex carbs. I have to account for sugar first, because I do absorb 100% of sugars -- I would guestimate that I eat about 50 g of sugar/day x 4 cal/g for 200 calories from sugar absorbed; of the remaining 870 calories of complex carbs x 0.6 (60% absorbed) = 522 cal from complex carbs absorbed.
So, my ABSORBED calories from 3000 ingested calories (eating 100 g of protein, about 50% fat and the rest carbs) is:
240 cal protein
306 cal fat
200 cal sugars
522 cal complex carbs
1268 calories absorbed per day from eating 3000 cal
And that is why I (and other DSers) can eat like that, not exercise, and still be either maintaining or losing weight. It doesn't suck!
To be clear, I am NOT advocating not exercising! Everyone needs exercise for cardiovascular health, bone health, looking toned, etc. My point is, exercise for losing or maintaining weight loss isn't as necessary for most DSers. As for arteries clogging from all that fat -- what doesn't get absorbed doesn't get to my arteries, of course! My total cholesterol is 167, my HDLs are 53, and my LDLs are 95. My triglycerides are 95. All of which numbers are EXCELLENT -- my doctor wishes her levels were that good. My CRP (an indicator of inflammation and thus cardiovascular risk, especially in women), which was a dangerous 10 times normal pre-op, and which was not helped much by statins, is now completely normal with NO statins. My cardiologist released me -- there is no need to see him anymore! Note that contrary to unfounded accusations, I don't eat huge amounts of food at a time (nor do most of us) -- I do eat smaller, higher calorie meals (full of yummy fat!), and I eat 4-6 times/day. I didn't binge pre-op, and I don't binge now. I usually get at least a snack if not an entire second meal out of a restaurant meal, which for me is generally sharing a couple of appetizers with my husband, sometimes a piece or two of bread with LOTS of butter, an entree of my own, and sharing a dessert, along with a drink (Mai Tai!). I usually take home some of one of the appetizers, and half of my main course, and fini**** off before bed or for breakfast the next day. I didn't have a major sweet tooth pre-op, but I eat even fewer sweets now -- the DS changes metabolism to correct insulin resistence, and after 2-4 bites of something sweet, I am generally done. I am satisfied with less sweets than I was pre-op -- sweets taste DELICIOUS for a couple of bites, and then taste overly sweet. I get both the pleasure of having sweets with no repercussions, and no fear of overindulgence. Sometimes, when I feel inclined to indulge but find myself physically not wanting more, this is almost amusingly annoying. No willpower needed! By the way, based on studies on people with short bowel syndrome, intestinal adaptation is generally complete by about 2 years out. The statistics of weight loss maintenance over 10-15 years with the DS supports the theory that the same is true for DSers -- if there was continued adaptation of the intestines after two years, there would likely be significant and ongoing weight gain in long term DSers, which there generally isn't.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! That's what this post is all about.
have been on ww and nutrasystem and god knows what else, seems mushrooms. Put some fat on that veggie burger to go. 
Hi there, my deranged and obsessed stalker! 
You sure are obsessing over my one week attempt to try Nutrasystems earlier this year -- why is that? Do you wish you could try it?
As I said on the other thread, that attempt to see if I could modify my carb intake with the allegedly higher glycemic index carbs in the Nutrasystems crap was aborted when I realized how AWFUL it was -- and I gave it all to my daughter, who did manage to use it to lose 25 lbs for her wedding, which was why I actually bought it in the first place. I was of course supplementing the crap with more protein and fat, but I could not tolerate the food at all (OK, there were a couple of meals that were OK, but they were not good enough to get me to stick to their plan).
Oh, and as I said before, but for some reason you don't seem to understand, I have NEVER done WW, and never will. Another racket.
It really is sad how foolish you keep making yourself look. But you do help boost my readership, so POST AWAY! There was a post you started over on the main board earlier today (about me, of course) which had at the time I last looked at it, 1100+ hits and 5 responses. People see your name and can't resist opening it to see what kind of trainwreck you are today. But not many want to talk to you.
You sure are obsessing over my one week attempt to try Nutrasystems earlier this year -- why is that? Do you wish you could try it?
As I said on the other thread, that attempt to see if I could modify my carb intake with the allegedly higher glycemic index carbs in the Nutrasystems crap was aborted when I realized how AWFUL it was -- and I gave it all to my daughter, who did manage to use it to lose 25 lbs for her wedding, which was why I actually bought it in the first place. I was of course supplementing the crap with more protein and fat, but I could not tolerate the food at all (OK, there were a couple of meals that were OK, but they were not good enough to get me to stick to their plan).
Oh, and as I said before, but for some reason you don't seem to understand, I have NEVER done WW, and never will. Another racket.
It really is sad how foolish you keep making yourself look. But you do help boost my readership, so POST AWAY! There was a post you started over on the main board earlier today (about me, of course) which had at the time I last looked at it, 1100+ hits and 5 responses. People see your name and can't resist opening it to see what kind of trainwreck you are today. But not many want to talk to you. 
Alright, ****waffle. Here's how a DSer maintains their weightloss longterm. They eat, eat, eat whatever they want. One day, they get on the scale, and *GASP* they gained 5 pounds! IKES! So they go on Nutrisystem for a week and drop the 5 pounds. Then it's back to eat, eat, eat again. Get it? I'm sure you don't, but the bottom line is, DS LIFE IS GOOD!
I am RESPECTFULLY asking the following questions:
If you're consuming 3,000 KCal/day, doesn't that leave you with voluminous poops? That's a huge quantity of food to consume in a 24-hour period.
Also, from what I have read and heard first-hand, the issue of gas really IS something to deal with. What causes this, and how do you manage that?
Thank you for your honest and respectful reply!
Charming
My daily intake is fairly similar to what Diana described in her post. My poops are vastly LESS voluminous now than they were preop, because I'm eating much more calorie-dense foods. There just isn't as much volume going in, despite the high number of calories.
For me, the gas issue is about 95% controllable by what I eat. Fast absorbing carbs=gas from hell. Over time, I've pretty much figured out how long it takes for the gas to kick in and work its way through, so if I time my intake of something I really really want but know will be a gas producer, I can still have it without worry about its impact on my social life.
Once in a while the hidden sugars in something will catch me unawares and the gas will start up at an unplanned time. Then I exercise my cheek muscles really hard as much as I can, and I caryy a pocket sized air freshener in my bag and spray discreetly if needed.
It's really not much of an issue at all. Some people have more prolems than I do, some have less. From what I've read from others, I'd say I'm about average gas-wise.
Elizabeth, I really and truly appreciate your honest answer.
I was very much aware of the Duodenal Switch procedure when I deliberately chose RNY. One of the reasons I chose RNY was that:
1) I know a woman whose own children avoid being around her because of the odor following DS surgery;
2) I work in a classroom and teach two-hour blocks. There is no way that I can suddenly escape across the school to find a toilet if I have an urgent need to evacuate my bowels following DS surgery (and sometimes I can't even do it if I need to go potty NOW);
3) My classroom is a closed space, and there is no way I can force a classroom full of teenagers to endure my regularly foul flatulence and expect
a) to get away with it and
b) to force them to have to put up with it without repercussions
4) I have four children, and I am trying very hard to set a good example for them of the right way to eat, so that THEY are not in a position to have ANY kind of WLS in their future. I want them to be fit and healthy (like their father) for their whole lives. I cannot show them how to eat the right way, if I continue eating the way I did before the surgery. I really needed the surgery to condition me to eat the right way, which is why RNY was right for me.
Elizabeth, thank you again for your honest reply, I really am grateful!
Sincerely,
Charming
I was very much aware of the Duodenal Switch procedure when I deliberately chose RNY. One of the reasons I chose RNY was that:
1) I know a woman whose own children avoid being around her because of the odor following DS surgery;
2) I work in a classroom and teach two-hour blocks. There is no way that I can suddenly escape across the school to find a toilet if I have an urgent need to evacuate my bowels following DS surgery (and sometimes I can't even do it if I need to go potty NOW);
3) My classroom is a closed space, and there is no way I can force a classroom full of teenagers to endure my regularly foul flatulence and expect
a) to get away with it and
b) to force them to have to put up with it without repercussions
4) I have four children, and I am trying very hard to set a good example for them of the right way to eat, so that THEY are not in a position to have ANY kind of WLS in their future. I want them to be fit and healthy (like their father) for their whole lives. I cannot show them how to eat the right way, if I continue eating the way I did before the surgery. I really needed the surgery to condition me to eat the right way, which is why RNY was right for me.
Elizabeth, thank you again for your honest reply, I really am grateful!
Sincerely,
Charming
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