Malabsorbstion

If I indulge, it's usually on Sunday (or at least a weekend day)...or sometimes, it will be thru the week but 9 times out of 10 its on the weekend (note: tracking is a huge part of my life so I know if my daily counts allow for a treat should I allow it -- the trick is to not do it every day or even every other day). This past Sunday it was Ben and Jerry's pistachio ice cream, an icee, some chocolate, and get this -- Ramen noodles (haven't had in like 6 years but it sounded good LOL)....generally, it will be dessert of some kind or a Waffle House breakfast. I also had some pizza after my race Saturday night. Or whatever else that strikes my fancy.

However, please be aware that I am in maintenance -- I have no desire to lose weight (even though when the scale goes up and stays up I know that the indulgence has to go away) -- and that I am an avid exerciser.
I was very strict during my weight loss phase.

Carbs? I'm embracing them more freely. Nobody ever got fat eating a banana, an apple, etc unless they have other medical issues or ate 30 per day or something like that. I'm a runner and right now am in training so the carbs are around 150-200 per day and even more on long run days. In weight loss mode, it was 100 or less per day.

Wow.  Good to know.  Thanks again!!!

I am maintaining at 4 years out.  You MUST change your eating habits and approach to food.  This needs to be a lifestyle change NOT a diet with a list of "approved" and "forbidden" foods... because this is FOR LIFE... and eventually you will want to eat things that are less than idela food choices so you will need to figure out how you will handle that.  Some people force themselves to completely avoid certain foods.  For many of us, though, that doesn't work... for us, it is a matter of finding ways to eat small amounts of things occasionally.  IMO, that makes for a much happier life, but it is all about finding what will work FOR YOU.

Lora

I've always assumed I absorbed calories 100% even though I knew I had some malabsorption going on. But I can almost pinpoint the timeframe when I knew it was gone -- around 20 months. Things kinda "shifted" and I could tell a difference. I can assure you that at three years out, I DO absorb every single calorie.

 That is what my in-laws have told me to do.  My MIL is 15 months post op and my FIL is 3 years post-op.  That way I just stay away from the higher fatty foods. 

Because of my pattern of weight loss, both my surgeon and I suspect that most of my malabsorption was gone pretty early... about 14 months out...and since my RMR is about 1400 and my weight starts to creep up if I eat much more than that, I know that I am absorbing all the calories I eat (or at least the 90% the studies say the body can typically adapt for)... but at 4 years out, I would expect that.

Lora

The scientific studies on intestinal adaptation indicate that the process is generally complete by about 18 months, but that it varies within a 12 - 24 month range.

Lora

I wish my malabsorbtion would go away but I am almost 3 years out and malabsorb everything.  Without being to gross, I can see most things I eat a few hours later in the toilet - they just go right through me.  My Endocrinologist just put  me on Pancreatic Enzymes to try to help me absorb something and to try to help me gain some weight - not something we usually see on these boards.

The weird part is, you see people that are at goal and in tiny sizes.  I am 20 pounds under weight and wear a size 10, sometimes I can get into an 8.  I can't imagine how imaciated I would be if I wore a size 2 or 4 like I see some others.

Sorry you're having trouble with this.  Wish you could share some of your malabsorption with me...

On the size thing, unless you are very tall or very short (height extremes seem to really skew things), I think it is just more evidence that sizes are dependent on body build as much, if not more, than height/weight.  I know two people who are within an inch of my height, have body fat % that are higher than mine, yet one wears a size 8 and one is a size 6 (whereas I am a solid 10 and 12 -- 10 bottoms, 12 tops because of the boobs).

Lora

I'm sorry for this question, but I am a victim of public education. If the malabsorption problem repairs itself after approx 18 months, why then do we still have vitamin absorption issues?