Fat consumption

[southernlady]

I posted a new link for more fat bombs and @robs477 had this question...but in order for it not to be lost, I'm bringing it and my answer over here for all to discuss.

Those are some really good looking recipes and ideas, but, Peeps, I’ve been meaning to ask some fat related questions for some time now and I really am unclear on some of this. I hope to not sidetrack the thread, but it is closely related.

How much fat are we supposed to take in daily and how in the world do you measure it???? In other words, how can you measure that fat you eat from a steak etc? That all depends on the steak, how much it’s trimmed, how much of the fat you eat etc. So far, I haven’t even thought about counting fat, but yet I see all of you’ll doing it fairly religiously? With me getting 50% or more of my needed protein from the stupid shake still, I’m sure I’m not meeting whatever numbers I should be meeting, AND, how important is that AND what are the repercussions of not getting enough fat??? I’m assuming, you guys eat those “fat bombs” to help with digestion, i.e., constipation prevention etc.?

Rob, I don't count...I do keep a running total of protein and carbs in my head (general NOT an exact number). I just know when I am low on fat if I have a hard time pooping the next day...signal for me to up my fat intake. OR if it's very loose, to back off a bit.

Best rules about fat...
Don't avoid it
and once healed and on ALL your vitamins (esp calcium)
If you have diarrhea, cut back on fat. If you are constipated or have dry skin/hair, ADD FAT!

Reason for not avoiding fat is that the human body needs it for the brain, skin, ease of pooping, etc. The LOWEST number I saw for minimum fat grams for a NORMAL adult is 30 grams a day. Well, the one paper that has been done on percentage of malabsorption just happened to be on fat. And that mentioned that we (DS'ers) only absorb 20% of the fat we ingest. That is why fat is a free food for most of us. See this thread: http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/ds-math.735/

Worse thing the food industry EVER did was discover "LOW fat" cause to make stuff taste good and lower the fat, they had to increase the sugar content. Look at labels in the store...and go down the candy aisle reading labels. Example, Twizzlers has "LOW FAT" on the label. Well, DUH, of course it's low fat, actually I would be surprised if it had any fat as it's nothing really but sugar and flavorings. But we KNOW better than to make a meal off Twizzlers JUST because of the low fat label.

The low fat mantra is why skim and 1% milk still exists (blue water, I call it). It's why butter and eggs were vilified. And while it's not PROVEN that the food pyramid and the low fat mantra caused the current obesity epidemic, it sure did not help matters. The food pyramid that most of us grew up with was introduced in 1974. YES, there was obesity all along but we didn't start reaching epidemic proportions til the 70's. Much of it can also be laid at technology's doorstep.

But back to counting...if it makes you feel better to count everything, do so...but many of us don't. I do about 2 times a year to see where I am actually landing but I go by my lab numbers for protein, and watch the scale for carbs...Fat, I watch my toilet habits. Actual counting makes me nuts...too much of a diet mentality and I got the DS to get OFF the diet roller coaster.

 

[star0210]

I'm a tracker...I just know me and if I don't I lose sight of what I'm actually eating and things get out of whack.
As for how to track fat...in my fitnesspal you can scan barcodes that provide all the nutritional information. They also have a huge database of foods and even tons from restaurants...sometimes you can't get exact but you can guesstimate or get very close.
At home, I weigh or measure everything I eat so that I can properly track it.
After my VSG..that's one of the areas I failed in. I stopped tracking. I stopped visiting support sites when the newness of it all wore off and I was just busy living my life....and none of that was a big priority anymore. That was a mistake.
Will I do this forever? Doubtful...but I have no intention of stopping anytime soon. It keeps me accountable to me and it's the only way I can know I'm getting in enough protein, fats, and keeping my carbs where I want them.

My goals are 100g protein, 100g fat, and under 30g total carbs.
Even with that amount of fat, I'm still battling constipation. But I just don't have room to add anymore.

 

[robs477]

Thxs Liz for taking the time to do that and also answer those questions.

 

[tabby1121]

I'm a tracker...I just know me and if I don't I lose sight of what I'm actually eating and things get out of whack.
As for how to track fat...in my fitnesspal you can scan barcodes that provide all the nutritional information. They also have a huge database of foods and even tons from restaurants...sometimes you can't get exact but you can guesstimate or get very close.
At home, I weigh or measure everything I eat so that I can properly track it.
After my VSG..that's one of the areas I failed in. I stopped tracking. I stopped visiting support sites when the newness of it all wore off and I was just busy living my life....and none of that was a big priority anymore. That was a mistake.
Will I do this forever? Doubtful...but I have no intention of stopping anytime soon. It keeps me accountable to me and it's the only way I can know I'm getting in enough protein, fats, and keeping my carbs where I want them.

My goals are 100g protein, 100g fat, and under 30g total carbs.
Even with that amount of fat, I'm still battling constipation. But I just don't have room to add anymore.[/QUOT
How soon after surgery did you start these goals?

 

[tabby1121]

How soon after surgery did you start these goals?

 

[southernlady]

How soon after surgery did you start these goals?

Well, the first 2 months after surgery, my focus was hydration and protein...if it had fat, that helped but I had NEVER gone low/no fat. I used full fat sour cream, ate cheese, added butter to my food, etc ALL MY LIFE. Fat is not what made me fat, carbs were.

You need to be healed inside (about 8 weeks) before being back on a reasonable way of eating which includes protein/fat and LIMITING or NO CARBS. Your system has very limited room early on and you need that room for protein and hydration.

 

[DianaCox]

Keshishian thinks fat bombs are a big mistake, and lead to rebound constipation.
http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/m...d-very-lchf-diets-crap-cycle.3482/#post-51606

Crap Cycle: "too much fat in the diet causes them not to absorb calcium and vitamin D, then they start overusing the calcium and they get constipated and then the cycle continues. (This mechanism of loss of calcium is well described in pancreatitis patients whose calcium drops significantly because of the increase in the undigested free fatty acids in the gut, which binds their dietary calcium and prevents absorption, which in turn causes clinically significant low calcium.)"

 

[southernlady]

Keshishian thinks fat bombs are a big mistake, and lead to rebound constipation.
http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/m...d-very-lchf-diets-crap-cycle.3482/#post-51606

Crap Cycle: "too much fat in the diet causes them not to absorb calcium and vitamin D, then they start overusing the calcium and they get constipated and then the cycle continues. (This mechanism of loss of calcium is well described in pancreatitis patients whose calcium drops significantly because of the increase in the undigested free fatty acids in the gut, which binds their dietary calcium and prevents absorption, which in turn causes clinically significant low calcium.)"

True, BUT I use fat bombs when I don't get enough fat in any other way. And I do NOT add more calcium to firm things up again which leads to more fat. I simply cut back on the fat and let my normal dose of calcium do it's job.