calories/malabsorption 3 years out

 Hi,

I am wondering what the deal is on malabsorption of food 3+ years out?

I ask because I am tracking on livestrong and they set a calorie goal and I am not sure that it is accurate?

Thanks!

All I can tell you is what my surgeon's office told me. YMMV.

First, malabsportion of calories is almost certainly done before you hit 3 years. If we eat it, we got it.

As far as calorie targets, he feels that's more individual and is influenced by how badly we trashed our metabolism pre-op. His recommendation is to go a bit lower than the generic websites (like Livestrong and Fitbit and Sparkpeople) calculate. However, he couldn't be more specific about what "a bit lower" meant, and said I'd need to track calories/exercise/weight and tweak as needed to stay where I wanted.

I'm hoping somebody else has more ideas for you!

That was a great answer.  There is so much differing info about malabsorption.  I know everything on here says it stops.  I am going to ask my surgeon that question in the fall.  I asked his resident that question right after I had surgery, and he said it does not totally stop.  He said the body is altered.  I wonder if he was referring to nutrients, but I was talking about calories.  I think I made that clear.  I like the fact your surgeon looks at this holistically taking into consideration our metabolism, etc.  How many calories do you generally consume in order to maintain, and how much exercise do you get?

I'm a bad person to ask... I put on 10 pounds this spring, only 2 of which I wanted.  So I'm now back on the bandwagon.

At this point, I get in between 1300-1600 calories per day most of the time.  Sundays tend to be sedentary, so I try for 1200 then.  I walk at least 5 miles per day, ice skate 2-3 times per week for about an hour (if school is out, I'm there 4-5 times for about 90 minutes), and try to work on strength via body weight tasks (push-offs, pull ups, that sort of thing).

So, in the past 3 weeks, I've actually lost 5 of the 8 I wanted to lose.  That's faster than I anticipated, and tells me that to actually maintain when I get back where I want to be, I need to increase my calories over what the generic sites say a bit. 

I like my surgeon a lot.  I liked the nut I started with there as well, although the current ones are idiots.  But the surgeon is great.

Thanks...you are very active.  My calories per day are similar to yours. 

I try to be!  I find that when I'm not active, I sleep less and crave junk.  When I'm more active, my body is just happier.  Still, there were a couple weeks this spring where all I was willing to do was sit and knit or read, and it took a bit to get back into the swing of things.  However, I hear that normies to through that too!

At this point - I want my body to be happy! LOL!

However, while you no longer malabsorb food (as a RNY), you STILL malabsorb vitamins and minerals from the food. So don't stop supplimenting with vitamins.

Liz

I have my 18month appt next week and will try to ask.  However, I generally agree that calorie malabsorption may be nearly gone, nutrient doesn't come back as quickly or ever.  Keep taking the suppliments.

The calorie recommendation on My Fitness Pal makes me laugh.  It calculates my base metabolism requirement at 1200 calories, then yells at me if I eat less than 1200 calories....

In truth, if I ate 1200 calories a day, I'd be gaining.

I work at the protein levels then try to minimize useless carbs, and see where that gets me.

I thought malabsorption of food stopped at around 2 years out with RNY and vitamins never stops.  I increased my exercise because I liked drinking my protein drinks and eating different foods.  I felt like if I didn't increase the exercise, I would really need to cut back on the food.

When did your gain start?  Was it during year 2-3?  We are close to the same surgery date.  I am going to talk with my surgeon when I got back, but that is in August.

I can eat a lot more now than say a year ago.  I am a daily weigher so if I see an increase, I really try to cut back and increase exercise again.  I know me and know that I can't let it go or I would be right back where I started from.  I really can get into denial.....

I don't actually count my calories anymore.  I post on the Menus and Miles everyday, but don't do any calculations.  I probably need to do that and see what I am getting.  I pretty much eat the same thing most days.  I always have 3 protein drinks a day.  That helps keep me from snacking between meals too much!!

Linda