Attended an EXCELLENT bariatric nutrition seminar with Dr. Jacques of Bariatric Advantage...

(shouts to Pam who bullied me into going)

So I'll save the longer learnings/findings for another day. It takes my two brain cells a minute to absorb all that info. Big take-aways (from my perspective BASED on the information she gave):

1. We focus too much on weight loss and not enough on long-term health

Of particular interest was her discussion on carbs. Did you know you need over 100g of carbs a day to maintain optimal brain function? Did you know carbs supply folate and B vitamins? Did you know that if you are aiming to get knocked up after WLS you NEED both those things to have a healthy pregnancy and baby? Eat carbs. You need them.

2. We should focus more on eating better, more nutrient dense food

She cited all sorts of studies that showed that people tend to be nutrient deficient before surgery, that obesity is actually linked to being nutrient deficient and that those factors can continue after surgery. Although we malabsorb and maldigest food (don't absorb nutrients and our digestion process is cut short), we should aim to take in nutrient dense foods to get in what we need.

3. Bone loss is real. Try to avoid it.

I wrote down a little joke in my book from what she said.  It reads:

The Good news: there is such a thing as being big boned
The Bad news: If you are it's prolly cuz you're fat (I use the "f" word...so shoot me...)

Seriously though. She said that when you are big your body builds up your bone mass to support your frame. When you lose weight your bone mass can diminish. Take your calcium. Get bone density scans.

All this is very in line with what I've been saying (in a much less educated manner). We are more than our weight. If you want to live a healthy life, treat your body well. Give it what you know it needs to survive. Being skinny means nothing if you are dead.

More on this as it trickles into my brain!

Thanks for sharing, that's great info!

"1. We focus too much on weight loss and not enough on long-term health"

Hmmmm....sounds an awful lot like my "*****" about the obsession here on OH on "the numbers"... and might also include my passionbate belief about the need for mental health as well as the physical weight loss and physical health... 



Lora

Of particular interest was her discussion on carbs. Did you know you need over 100g of carbs a day to maintain optimal brain function?

I have been saying this, on these very boards, for years.  I have been lambasted, on these very boards, for saying this for years.

Carbs are NOT evil.

Preach it, sister!  LOL

Lora

VIVA LA CARB!!!!

How do you get carbs like that in the beginning stages,or is this further out? I am averaging about 40-45 a day right now.

Nik,

   I agree we need carbs...but I'm still having trouble with dumping on fruits and veggies.  GIVE examples of the carbs we need...I get asked that from newbies at meetings and I need to make sure I'm giving the right advice.
   Keep going on NiK ...you're doing great.

  PS.  How can you eat carbs and not re-gain?  I know exercise..I do that but, I'm still re-gaining a little.

If you dump on fruits and veggies it's a waiting game. Usually that passes. Milk has carbs.

My message was mainly intended for carbophobes, not people who are honestly trying and have food intolerances.

With regards to regain, I eat a good amount of carbs per day (including two servings of starch) and have not had any regain as a result. Usually when people think they regain from eating carbs (provided they are eating ones that are not refined and have some fiber) they think they are regaining because they get on the scale too much, see fluctuations that might have happened anyway and associated it with the carbs they think of as "bad."

The scale will go up and down no matter what you do. My advice is not to make unsubstantiated links between carb intake and weight gain. It could be something else.

But if you can't eat certain things, don't eat them! I don't want you to get sick. But for those who are doing 50g of carbs on purpose, the message was clear: this is not healthy.

Nobody expects a new post-op to get 100+g of carbs a day. My message was mainly for carb-phobic longer term patients.

For you, your plan will mostly be protein as it should be. How you should eat and how I should eat are different.