question for the vets

Okay I understand for the rest of my life I should be consuming only sugar free things or artifically sweetened things. I also know that this is impossible unless you make EVERYTHING you consume for yourself.

My question is how is everyone affected by regular sugar after RNY? How much "table sugar" can an average tool handle? I mean if you go to a resturant and your splitting a desert with friends you can't say make my piece sugar free please. Also, certain things are natural sugar (fruits for one); so how much of those sugars are normally tolerable? Also, fruit juices. I have heard some say they get 100 percent juice and just dialute? Crazy or not. Does dumping ever go away or does it just lessen as you get used to certain food or do you dump on anything over a certain amount of sugar or fat forever?

Carbs and fat...how much is too many, early on and on how many months out you are?

I really want to make sure I have a full grasp on this and while I ask my nut I feel better asking you guys for reassurance cause we are the ones actually living with the tool. With everything she told me she manily focused on foods rather than numbers in nut facts...so how can I go out to eat (not planning on it anytime soon but like I went to my friends house today for a baby christening and was lost, so I didn't eat ANYTHING and kept getting questioned) and look at a menu and judge this for myself...thats it I can't!

Thanks for the help. And please I would rather all the just do what your nut says yada yada yada because I know this and I have also gone through 2 nuts and on my third because they weren't realistic enough for me to believe a word they were saying.

From what I hear the results people have really vary. You have to find out yourself how much you can handle. Some people say they don't dump at all and some say a bite or two of some things will make them sick. I think for the most part after you're really healed you can have a bite or two of most anything. Although it would probably be more of a problem if it was the only thing in your stomach at the time. My mother for example has never dumped on anything, so she's happy about it, but I also don't think she's really pushed the limits which is a good thing, Who wants to feel sick right? She often steals bites of other people's stuff but that's pretty much the extent of the stuff she eats that's not good for her. If you found out you COULD eat a half a piece of chocolate cake or whatever other dessert, would it really be a good thing?

It really depends. Some people dump on sugar, some people dump on fat. Some people dump on just about anything, some people don't dump at all. Trust me, if you eat something and dump on it, you won't ever want to touch it again.

I can't have too much sugar. I look at my food labels extensively. Anything over 9 grams is a NO NO NO. I don't dump as badly with fats, but I definitely know if I have had too much. I've been able to have a teeny bite of teramisu, little bit of whipped cream, etc, but I refuse to have more. I don't know what I could tolerate, but I'm not going to pu****

I can have natural sugars just fine. Ate the majority of a HUGE red delicious apple today, and it was glorious. Fresh fruit is nummy, and I need to eat more of it. The BF brought home some strawberries from the farmer's market, and OMG, I was in heaven. However, some people are bothered by the natural sugars...so beware.

In the words of my surgeon and nurse, I was told that I could try just about anything. My body would tell me what I could and could not eat. I try very hard every day to stay with high-protein, low-cal/fat/sugar foods. Some days, that doesn't go so well, but hey, I'm only human.

Nutritionists are good for advice, however, they deal in "ideal" situations. Life, real life, is much different. I have been to several nutritionists, both pre and post surgery, and they all had conflicting information. So confusing and frustrating.

Only you will know what you can and cannot tolerate. My advice is to listen to your body. Your tool will let you know.

Good luck!

I think your intuition might actually serve you pretty well here. If the food you're about to eat is a "sweet", then you have a decent chance of dumping if it isn't artifically sweetened. In most cases, you probably won't dump from the small amounts of added sugars in non-sweet foods. This varies of course, though. Some people dump as soon as you hit 1g of sugar, and others (like me)  don't dump from sugar at all. I share desserts with people every once in a while, after I've gotten my protein, fruits, and veggies in. I think it's unrealistic as you say to go completely sugar free, and the idea should be to just minimize it. A few days ago, I went to a seafood restauarant and shared a slice of cheesecake with my sister. I let her eat about 2/3 of it, and I had the rest. I think this is actually a healthy thing to do, and I'm still losing pretty well. Some people probably fall into some sort of slippery slope doing this, but for me it gets rid of the sweet cravings. Some people really don't like this idea, but my trigger foods were never really sweets anyway. I always had a thing for greasy food, but now I can't eat any of it without feeling sick-ish.

Considering fruit juices - I don't buy them. I don't dump from sugar, and they are way to high in calories to justify, in my opinion. 1 tiny cup of most juices is 120-200 calories, which is the same amount of calories in 30-50 grams of protein. You're almost certainly better off eating the actual fruit then the juice, as the fruit usually has far less calories and more fiber.

Carbs and fat - I think they're ok in moderation. Fat is actually more important then carbs, according to my nut. You want all of your fat to be monosaturated or polysaturated fat, with minimal saturated fat. You want all of your carbs to be complex carbs, like vegetables, fruit and whole grains, and keep simple carbs like sugar to a minimum. I'm around 5 months out, and I probably eat around 20-40 grams of fat/day and 40-50 carbs/day. That's around 600 calories worth of stuff that isn't protein. The other 500-600 calories or so that I typically eat are usually protein. At the point you're at, I was probably eating about 1/3 of that, with more protein and less of the other stuff.

Hope this helps!

lol. relax girl you are gonna learn all this things with time every one is diferent. i know u have heard this tons of times but is true.
u can have some sugar if you dump.  (pray that u do lol) you i`ll be fine with 2 table spoons of a desert. but you don´t supossed to have any lol.
and you can ask all this cuestions to your surgeron's nutricionist. if your dr. does not have one as him/She. is the best person to tell u how many calories and proteins and sugar you should get.
but don´t worry you`ll be fine.
hugs.

It'**** or miss really. You have to approach everything with common sense, caution, and balance. That's how I live anyway. If I am out with friends I might have a bite or two or cake but I really avoid testing my limits any further. Aside from the fact that you may or may not dump, which could mean hot flashes, sweating, stomach cramps and diarrhea in publc (ummm not pretty) it's also more important to avoid reverting back to bad habits that made us so unhealthy and dependent on food in the first place. Once you're a bit further out, it's ok to have a taste here and there (with caution, even a taste can make you feel sick) but don't pu**** or you'll be right back where you started before you know it. Good luck!