Question:
Does anyone know how many calories are bypassed?

My surgeon told me that he bypassed 150cm of small intestines. PROXIMAL or DISTAL? Does anyone know how many calories are bypassed. Say if I consumed 1000 calories do I bypass 50%, 40% or what? This has been a topic I cant find any info on on the net.    — Carrie W. (posted on March 10, 2004)

March 9, 2004
I'm not sure anyone really knows the answer to this question...even the doctors. I thought I heard one time that it was about 30% though. Of course, you then have to take into consideration that God made our bodies with an amazing aptitude to function in spite of what we do to them. From the day you have surgery, your body is trying to heal itself and by 12-24 months the used part of your intestine will have grown new villi to absorb more nutrients and compensate for the missing part that was bypassed. It may never reach 100% function but I would say that if you eat 1000 calories...you should be counting all 1000 calories just to be safe.
   — eaamc

March 9, 2004
150cm of small intestines is DISTAL. Calories bypassed ?? Don,t know.
   — charanewme

March 10, 2004
Working as a Bariatric Surgery Program Coordinator I am asked this question almost daily. Most studies suggest that we initially absorb about 85% of the calories we consume. However, our bodies constantly strive to "fix" things, i.e. the malabsorption, and it has been suggested that by 18 to 24 months our bodies have begun absorbing everything. Also consider that carbs/sugar are absorbed at 100% from the very beginning. I agree with the previous poster - if counting calories is the plan that works for you then I'd count every calorie I put in my mouth and don't consider the malabsorption. Most folks don't worry about counting calories but instead just try to eat a sensible diet. Best wishes to you!
   — ronascott

March 10, 2004
I would just count all of your calories.
   — Carol S.

March 10, 2004
I was told a good rule of thumb is to figure you absorb half the essential nutrients you need and ALL of the calories. The only thing we seem to consistently malabsorb in large amounts is FATS, but count the calories from then anyway :-)
   — [Deactivated Member]

March 10, 2004
Try tracking what you eat on fitday.com once you're several months (or more) post-op. That way, you'll know exactly how many calories you need to be consuming (and what types -- because fitday helps you track protein, carbs, and fats), in order to lose weight, and in order to maintain weight (when you get to goal). That's really the only way to answer the question how many calories you can consume to obtain your objective (whether it be weight loss, or weight maintenance). I don't think anybody can tell you what percentage of "calories" you malabsorb, or how long that figure (even if it was known) holds over time.
   — Suzy C.

March 10, 2004
I was told by the BTC (Bariatric Treatment Center) that only 80% of what I consume will be absorbed into my body. Open RNY 10/20/2002 315/135
   — klinzey

March 10, 2004
My surgeon is asked that at almost every support group meeting. He says no one truly knows. He now however, can test our resting metabolic rate, which supposedly can tell you as a basic guide, how many calories you can consume daily and maintain your current weight. The test gives a number that represents 70% of the calories, so I try to stay somewhere near that number. Mine was 1340 calories, so that is 70% of the supposed number of calories I can eat daily and maintain. I try to stay near that number and not stretch it to the extra 30%. I don't fully understand it, but I have been able to keep my weight within a 3 pound range this way.
   — Fixnmyself

March 11, 2004
I have to disagree with the poster who said 150 is distal. I have heard some people say anything OVER 150 is distal, but there are distals who've had 500 cm passed. The average for proximals seems to be 100 cm; I'd say you're on the longer side of proximal. :-) My doctor says they don't really know how much is malabsorbed but after the first year, the body manages to adjust and eventually you're absorbing 100 percent again.
   — sandsonik

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