Calories?

McKenzie G.
on 3/3/09 1:51 am - Muscatine, IA
So I am assuming that after RNY we don't absorb all the calories that we take in, anyone know what percentage we do absorb & how many we are supposed to take in daily?
    
wendy_fou
on 3/8/09 2:10 pm - AR
Some people will claim to know with great authority.  But 99% of the papers published by the experts who have been in the field for years state that noone really knows. 

They can APPROXIMATE - but even that is somewhat of a guess and will vary depending on what TYPE of calorie you are consuming.  Different calorie TYPES, carbs, fats, protein, etc are absorbed the best in different PLACES in our intestines - some of which have been bypassed, some of which have not.  (I hope I worded that right - it's late.  LOL)

The best way, in my opinion, to know how many calories you need to be consuming is to invest in a MedGem test.  They are EXTREMELY accurate when administered by a professional.  Many gyms have RDs on staff that will administer them.  A fellow RNYer and myself drove over an hour to get to a gym to have one administered by a RD who has worked with post-op WLS patients for YEARS.  It was a flat $100 and came with a 1 hour nutrition consult.  It was money well spent and really put my mind at ease about what I was doing/consuming.

Keep in mind that most of the macronutritient malabsorbtion associated with RNY is compensated for at 3 years post-op.  (This is not true of micronutrient absorption which is why we have to take vitamins for the rest of our lives.)  So at 3 years post-op, you are probably absorbing most of the calories you take in.  (This according the 2008 article on Bariatric Nutrition posted on the Am Soc of Metabolic / Bariatric Surg website.)
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