Question about fat (the kind you eat)

[SkeeterN]

My sister had weight loss surgery and was told not to eat any fat. Is this forever or just while she is healing. Why is fat bad. Like heavy cream and such?

[emily1965]

Eating high fat foods with a gastric bypass will cause "dumping syndrome". Google it for more information, but "dumping" can include vomiting, diarreah, dizziness, light headedness, cold sweats and a variety of other symptoms. This is because food is "bypassing" the stomach and going straight into the intestine. The intestine was not made to accept food that hasn't been processed by the stomach so it reacts adversely to it. High fat food and high sugar food can both cause dumping.

The secondary reason is that fat is very high calorie and she is supposed to be severely restricting calories for now. I didn't have a bypass, so I have no dumping, but my surgeon was adament about no butter, mayo or cream during weight loss.

Yes, this is a lifetime commitment, but your sister would have been educated on these issues prior to surgery and agreed to changing her way of eating for life.

[SkeeterN]

Originally Posted by emily1965

Yes, this is a lifetime commitment, but your sister would have been educated on these issues prior to surgery and agreed to changing her way of eating for life.

Oh she is educated. But I am asking the questions to educate me. LOL

[Mysstwalker]

Some doctors take a different approach. My surgeon only has us count carbs and protein. Fat was never an issue, I used full-fat products from the start. I eat lots of cheese, bacon, all sorts of stuff. Lowcarb all the way. As for dumping from fat, I personally do not dump from it. If I have something with an extreme amount of sugar, yeah I might not feel too good. Statistics show that only about 30 percent of gastric bypass patients end up being dumpers.

[dansamy]

It's also important for WLS patients to get their daily protein in first.

[Hot Tamale]

Every person reacts differently to the foods they eat. I can eat moderate quantities of anything it seems without dumping. However, if I eat certain foods by themselves (say, a serving of nuts...) I will feel a bit queasy for a while. Now is the time for your sister to re-train herself on what and how to eat. I'm sure her doctor and/or nutritionist have instructed her about this. She also might have a support group she could attend? If so, you might want to tag along to learn more. My support group meets once a month and it can be very helpful.

[SkeeterN]

I live 100 miles away so tagging along would be hard. I can learn, I can and do support with daily texts and phone calls

[Mysstwalker]

Skeeter, you might try to see if her surgeon has a website, a lot of times they will put up the information for patients about the eating plan and guidelines they wish to follow. The more information you have, the better you can support her!

[myyellowstang]

Did she have a RNY? Due to malabsorption, EXCESS amounts of fat causes issues with diarrhea and dumping.

I can still eat fat. Fats are not bad and you should not avoid them completely. The bdy still needs them. Just moderate them. Early out smaller amounts bother you, but as you progress it bothers you less. I eat regular full fat cheese and dressing and stuff like that. I don't avoid fat, but I make better choices around it. I've never dumped on fat (post-op, I did pre-op after fatty meals since I don't have a gallbladder...), but then I've never pushed the limits. I'm not about to go eat chicken wings and cheese fries.

And even if for some reason you don't dump - high fat foods = high calories, and why go there? This process is about retraining yourself for a healthy lifestyle.

Where as before I could and would eat 25 grams of fat in ONE MEAL now I probably that much or less in a whole day.

[Shadylil]

Can someone explain the relationship between fat and the gallbladder?

[MSN08]

Originally Posted by Shadylil

Can someone explain the relationship between fat and the gallbladder?

Yes please! I can no longer eat fatty foods now that mine has been removed and I would love to hear from anyone following Atkins and how they are doing without their Gallbladder because fats make me ill now.

[Leo41]

I still have a gall bladder, but about 10 years ago, I was having serious gall bladder attacks (it was never removed because there were no stones visible on testing, and it could not be removed without evidence of pathology).

I could control the attacks by eating low fat--and that's what my gastro advised me to do--i.e., to see if I could control the problem with diet.

I was eating low carb, and so I lowered my fat considerably. I continued to lose weight with no problems. However, I was eating a few bran crackers each day, and when I eliminated them, I discovered that with no grains at all, I could tolerate a higher level of fat. My fat was still moderate (low by low-carb standards), but I lost weight and had no further attacks.

Even today, I really can't tolerate high fat, and I eat low carb, moderate to low fat with no ill effects at all. I am very, very carb sensitive, so I must eat low carb.

I have not read Dr. A since I discovered his first book in 1972, but my memory is that while he encouraged us not to be 'afraid' of fat, the emphasis was entirely on lowering carbs. "High fat" was not stressed as necessary for weight loss. It certainly hasn't been necessary for me, as my stats indicate.

[MSN08]

Originally Posted by Leo41

I still have a gall bladder, but about 10 years ago, I was having serious gall bladder attacks (it was never removed because there were no stones visible on testing, and it could not be removed without evidence of pathology).

I could control the attacks by eating low fat--and that's what my gastro advised me to do--i.e., to see if I could control the problem with diet.

I was eating low carb, and so I lowered my fat considerably. I continued to lose weight with no problems. However, I was eating a few bran crackers each day, and when I eliminated them, I discovered that with no grains at all, I could tolerate a higher level of fat. My fat was still moderate (low by low-carb standards), but I lost weight and had no further attacks.

Even today, I really can't tolerate high fat, and I eat low carb, moderate to low fat with no ill effects at all. I am very, very carb sensitive, so I must eat low carb.

I have not read Dr. A since I discovered his first book in 1972, but my memory is that while he encouraged us not to be 'afraid' of fat, the emphasis was entirely on lowering carbs. "High fat" was not stressed as necessary for weight loss. It certainly hasn't been necessary for me, as my stats indicate.

Thank you for replying!

[emily1965]

I had my gallbladder removed 25 years ago and have never had any trouble processing fat and was never told to restrict fat because of the gallbladder. I still remember my first meal home from the hospital: a big, fat polish sausage smothered in sauteed onions, sauerkraut and spicy mustard.