Bypassers low fat v full fat

[weegie]

I have noticed that some bypassers say they do not bother with low fat versions of foods and just eat the normal stuff i.e yogurt. Is this because of advice from dieticians or provider? How does it impact things like toilet habits .. Obviously I mean when taken in moderation ?

I tend to avoid fat as much as possible but does that mean I am squadering the malabsorption part of how the bypass works?

I am a slow loser and recently, due to painkillers, getting constipation more often than not. My fluid intake is pretty high so it is down to the meds I think. I really do not want to rely on yet another med just to keep me regular so have been thinking of introducing more fat.. not a lot, but perhaps just swapping my almost daily greek yogury for the standard one. Obviously it would mean reducing other things so that calorific intake wasnt higher.

Am really interested in why it is some bypassers do this. Thanks in advance of any replies.

 

[Miss Tickle]

I'd like to know the medical standpoint on this too. Throughout my weightloss I stuck religiously to low fat everything, and was steadfastly constipated ! When I got to target I started to use a bit of buuter and had cream on fruit. The constipation went everytime I did this. However, telling myself that I need some fat to keep me regular has not helped me maintain my weight . I am a greedy cow with butter !
Still have low fat everything else though and have had everything low fat this week. Was back to constipation city by Wednesday !

 

[weegie]

I'd like to know the medical standpoint on this too. Throughout my weightloss I stuck religiously to low fat everything, and was steadfastly constipated ! When I got to target I started to use a bit of buuter and had cream on fruit. The constipation went everytime I did this. However, telling myself that I need some fat to keep me regular has not helped me maintain my weight . I am a greedy cow with butter ! Still have low fat everything else though and have had everything low fat this week. Was back to constipation city by Wednesday !

I am the same, its Lurpak or nothing for me. So I am opting for nothing most of the time. One occasion I had 10gm as a treat scraped every so thinly on crispbread with some stilton. This is the sort if thing I am thinking of introducing. Even the stilton is fatty, but you need so little of it, whereas I find the light triangles are pretty tasteless tbh.

Hoping someone who doesn't use low fat will post their take on it. But it does sound like it might be worth a shot.

 

[Dilligaf]

I keep to the low-fat thing not just because of my surgery, but also because I have heart issues. I have "good" fats (avocado, etc) but not too much. I did have the dreaded constipation problems for the first few months after surgery but have some whole flax seeds in my yoghurt every morning, with some low-sugar, high-fibre cereal, and have a serve of either kiwi or citrus every day. Between that and plenty of water, I'm all good!

 

[Butterfly_lady]

As I'm now maintaning (well trying to, have lost 1lb each week I tried lol) I have changed from low fat to "normal" ie flora lite to lurpak butter etc, I've not noticed any differences in toilet habits, I'm lucky in one way as I don't really dump, all I get is very tired if I have carbs, I'm not a sweet toothed person either very much a savoury person.

 

[Sunshine100]

Hi, I had a bypass in January this year and at my last appointment I was instructed to switch from low fat versions of foods to normal. This advice was given because most low fat versions of foods have higher sugar content. (If you take yoghurt for example) I am diabetic and since surgery I have had issues keeping my sugar levels up and eating high sugar makes a blood sugar spike then rapid fall.
I got quite an eye opener when I started to take notice of the sugar and salt content in most low fat versions of food so my advice to anyone would be vary what you eat, see what you personally can tolerate and what effect it has on your own weight change then adjust accordingly.
Just check your labels for fat and sugar, they both can be troublesome to weight loss so it's about balance

 

[los in it]

I do buy as low fat/sugar food but sometimes I will buy "normal" foods just have a smaller portion of it especially after reading some of the labels its true that sometimes the so called low fat is pumped full of sugars !I do dump if I during a normal day have too much sugars /fats in anything I eat during the day but its only really happens in the morning so I'm ok with that

 

[weegie]

Thanks for all the replies, very interesting. I am aware of the low fat/ high sugar thing and avoid that also.

I have only had one occasion of early onset dumping, toilet wise, and that was via me not realising how high in fat a kids meal in Ikea was. No way would I want to repeat that but think I will now see of there is a happy medium.

 

[Flickalicious]

I've been told to increase the fat I eat so I can maintain my weight. The idea is to equal the amount of calories in to calories burnt daily. This was advised by the dietitian as the bypass was working very well, so well that they were worried about my continuing loss and malnutrition. It's an utter headscrew!

 

[weegie]

I've been told to increase the fat I eat so I can maintain my weight. The idea is to equal the amount of calories in to calories burnt daily. This was advised by the dietitian as the bypass was working very well, so well that they were worried about my continuing loss and malnutrition. It's an utter headscrew!

Agreed and we are all so different, mine's not working well enough. Maybe someday someone can explain why, that research needs to be done, it will help with outcomes and save on revision surgery. It is so easy if you are on opposite spectrums to think the other group is not eating enough or eating too much but that just does not explain it. At the moment it is a lottery as to wether you can get to a normal BMI, surpass that or still be in the overweight/obese category once the losses stop.. as they invariably will.

I wish you well with your maintenance hun and hopefully get in enough for both you and baby. . Hugx

 

[SerenityValley]

I don't even check the fat content on anything, and haven't since 3 weeks in.

I eat full cream milk, full fat cheese, etc. I'm more careful about sugar, but even then it's types of food I don't eat rather than checking content.

The reason I made this choice was because my instructions were to cut back to levels far lower than the purée stage and it was becoming next to impossible to find food I could eat.

I mostly eat veg anyway, and apart from a small bag of crisps I don't eat any other junk, so I decided that I could have cheese (especially as I couldn't eat meat for so long) for the protein and calories. I was barely eating 400 a day until I added cheese.

Apart from constipation (which is gone) I've never had any other problems. I've been lucky. My losses have been consistent. In fact last week, I lost the most I'd lost for several weeks, despite upping my cals to close to 1000.

 

[SerenityValley]

Hi, I had a bypass in January this year and at my last appointment I was instructed to switch from low fat versions of foods to normal. This advice was given because most low fat versions of foods have higher sugar content. (If you take yoghurt for example) I am diabetic and since surgery I have had issues keeping my sugar levels up and eating high sugar makes a blood sugar spike then rapid fall.
I got quite an eye opener when I started to take notice of the sugar and salt content in most low fat versions of food so my advice to anyone would be vary what you eat, see what you personally can tolerate and what effect it has on your own weight change then adjust accordingly.
Just check your labels for fat and sugar, they both can be troublesome to weight loss so it's about balance

How low does your blood sugar go? Did you have the same issues pre bypass?

My wife has reactive hypoglycaemia which produces similar symptoms to diabetes, but for the opposite reason (her body continues to flood her system with insulin long after the sugar spike). That started for her, after her bypass.

She had diabetes in both pregnancies, so I'm worried she'll eventually develop diabetes but still have the reactive hypoglycaemia. The irony is, the diabetes in pregnancy cured her hypoglycaemia for several months!

 

[Sunshine100]

How low does your blood sugar go? Did you have the same issues pre bypass?

My wife has reactive hypoglycaemia which produces similar symptoms to diabetes, but for the opposite reason (her body continues to flood her system with insulin long after the sugar spike). That started for her, after her bypass.

She had diabetes in both pregnancies, so I'm worried she'll eventually develop diabetes but still have the reactive hypoglycaemia. The irony is, the diabetes in pregnancy cured her hypoglycaemia for several months!

Hi Serenity,

My blood sugars Have gone as low as 2. I am quite good at feeling them start to drop and usually start to feel low when there around the 3.5 mark and always carry something with me to correct the low.

I started out with insulin resistance which developed in to type 2 diabetes around two years prior to bypass. I had massive issues keeping my bloods stable before surgery, they were very high most of the time but I would have episodes of rapid drops.

From two days post surgery I have never had a blood sugar reading above 6.5 which is a miracle for me but the lows are troublesome some times.

I hope your wife manages to avoid developing Diabetes! Im sure she is being closely monitored but if not... insist upon it

 

[SerenityValley]

Thanks for the reply sunshine. My wife has had readings as low as 1.4. She even had 1.2 at the hospital when she went for a glucose test - she warned them that it went very low, and they told her not to worry - just to buzz when it happened. They took so long to come, she was at real risk of slipping into a diabetic coma.

Muppets did the wrong test on the bloods. Then she got pregnant so couldn't repeat the test. Since then, it's been under control with 12 acarbose a day (the max dose).

Annoyingly I diagnosed the reactive hypoglycaemia about 12 months before they did. Would have taken them longer if I hadn't pressed them on it.

Anyway, reason I'm saying all this - makes me wonder if you have reactive hypoglycaemia as well as diabetes. It can be caused by a lot of things including insulinomas (small, almost always benign tumours in the pancreas), which makes it possible to have rushes of insulin even in diabetes.

 

[Sunshine100]

Thanks for the reply sunshine. My wife has had readings as low as 1.4. She even had 1.2 at the hospital when she went for a glucose test - she warned them that it went very low, and they told her not to worry - just to buzz when it happened. They took so long to come, she was at real risk of slipping into a diabetic coma. Muppets did the wrong test on the bloods. Then she got pregnant so couldn't repeat the test. Since then, it's been under control with 12 acarbose a day (the max dose). Annoyingly I diagnosed the reactive hypoglycaemia about 12 months before they did. Would have taken them longer if I hadn't pressed them on it. Anyway, reason I'm saying all this - makes me wonder if you have reactive hypoglycaemia as well as diabetes. It can be caused by a lot of things including insulinomas (small, almost always benign tumours in the pancreas), which makes it possible to have rushes of insulin even in diabetes.

It's unlikely in my case, I have asked about it. My consultant says reactive hypoglycaemia is diagnosed in people who have blood sugar drops within (I think he said 4 hours) of eating carbs. My drops have no pattern. I'm sure we will work it out at some point

 

[SerenityValley]

Ah I get you. Yes, the Mrs has her drops within 4 hours, usually at night. Can almost guarantee one if she's eaten maltesers lol