Full Fat vs Reduced with DS

Hi all,

As I plan ahead for the purée and soft food stages after DS, it seems many sites and info are general for all WLS. Am I wrong that the DS is substantially different?

Case and point; reading over the purée food suggestions, it says "low fat" everything... yogurt, soups, etc. It also says to avoid "full fat" products. The sheet I'm looking at is for all WLS.

Am I wrong in thinking that DS patients don't process fat, so full fat products should be fine? Just trying to be logical but need to know what I'm missing.... thanks in advance for clarifying for me....

At first you may want to avoid fat because of the poop issues. But long term, if you have a true DS, fat is your friend. I don't use low fat anything. I do nothing to avoid fat at all. After all, if you don't absorb it, it becomes free food!

See that's exactly what I thought... thank u!

Hi all,

As I plan ahead for the purée and soft food stages after DS, it seems many sites and info are general for all WLS. Am I wrong that the DS is substantially different?

Case and point; reading over the purée food suggestions, it says ?low fat? everything... yogurt, soups, etc. It also says to avoid ?full fat? products. The sheet I?m looking at is for all WLS.

Am I wrong in thinking that DS patients don?t process fat, so full fat products should be fine? Just trying to be logical but need to know what I?m missing.... thanks in advance for clarifying for me....

I agree with patty. I eat full fat everything and lots of it.
Carbs are what you want to seriously watch since we absorb the calories from them 100%.

Any idea why we magically absorb 100% of carbs? There must be some science but I don't get it...

because many of them are basically sugar, simple carbohydrate. I think it also has to do with the intestine that is bypassed. It's not magic, it's science.

Carb absorbtion actually starts in the mouth. A nasty little enzyme called maltase. You can prove it even. Eat a wheat thin and chew, chew, chew. Then chew some more. That wheat thin will become sweet! That's that damn maltase.

As others have said, avoid fat at the very beginning but I haven't touched anything that's "low fat" or "fat free" in probably 17+ years. Early out I learned to read labels. It would take me forever to grocery shop because I read everything. My favorite comparison is salad dressing - if you compare the nutritional info you'll see that the low or fat free stuff is loaded with sugar (carbs), which you have also learned we absorb 100%. On a label I only look at 3 things -- protein, fat and carbs.

You had your DS surgery over 17 years ago? Have you kept most of the weight off? Any regain? Overall, would you say the surgery was worth it?

Actually it was 18 years ago - 2003. I had one of the best DS surgeons in the country do my procedure and had a great support system early out (and it does continue).

I have kept all my weight off. My only regain (about 3-4 years ago) was about 15 pound and I took it off by going back to basics - high protein, low carb and lots of water. I try to exercise but you know how that goes.

I've had two significant issues - I don't absorb oral iron so I have to keep a very close eye on my iron numbers (particularly ferritin). I have had infusions on and off over the last 15 years or so and it will always be something that I will deal with. It started pre-menopausal but continued after menopause. I was in my mid-40's when I had my DS. My anemia was really bad so through a series of procedures, I went into menopause, which has definitely helped (no bleeding - sorry TMI). My other issue is osteoporosis. I have significant bone loss even though I take massive amounts of calcium, try to do weight bearing exercise, etc. I'm getting ready to start Prolia treatments so we'll see if that helps.

For me personally the DS was 150% worth it. I always tell people to do their research. I never recommend a particular procedure but with the DS you MUST be willing to make a lifetime commitment to vitamins, labs, eating healthy for the DS, and just taking care of yourself. You have to find a procedure that you can live with FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.