Nutrition Levels with DS

I've been reading posts and see such a variety in numbers. If and when my appeal/reconsideration is approved, I want to have clear goals but I need some help in setting those. As always, I know the vets here will be a huge help!

Here are my daily nutrition goals based on info I've seen from vets, combined with info from my surgeon:
Protein - 100g minimum (surgeon says 80-90g)
Carbs - under 50g (surgeon has no guidelines on this)
Fat - 60g minimum (again, surgeon has no guidelines on this)
Fluid - 64oz minimum 

Are there any other important nutritional goals I'm overlooking? And to the vets here, if your goals are different, why are they and does the level you've chosen seem to work better?  Also, I'm convinced that the length of your common channel is related to your nutritional needs, so please include that if you don't mind sharing.  My surgeon used to do them at 100cm but too many of her patients got below a healthy BMI and needed to gain (some using a NG tube). So she adjusted her procedure and now does them at 150cm. If all gets approved, mine would be 150cm. Praise baby Jesus that it gets approved!

Thank you all in advance for your help!

Sounds good apart from the fat - you probably want more like 150g once you're fully recovered (I don't count very strictly, but 60g would be low for a normie).  Early out go easy on the fat and build up slowly.  My stools were loose early out and I didn't need the fat.

100g protein would be a bad day for me - I aim for 120 - 130 as a minimum (I made it to 160 today - I had some more creamcheese pancakes with peanut butter after I posted on bites n vites).

Those sound great. Will you share the recipe? Or a link to it since I'm sure I'm not the first to ask.

Also, if you don't get 120+ on protein, do you see side effects?

A couple things I am confused about. With all the extra protein we have to consume after surgery  how does that affect our cholesterol?

Also how do you tell the difference between dry vitamins and fat soluble ones?

On a side note, when I find the skinny me I wolud love to do some traveling and have always wanted to visit the UK what is it like over there?

Your cholesterol should go down.  I had labs a few months back, non-fasted and was told that if my cholesterol was within range non-fasted then I was DEFINITELY fine.  You just don't get to absorb enough of the protein and fat to have issues - I've not heard of any DSers with high cholesterol.  It'll only head down post op.

I'd certainly start off with the Vitalady prepackaged vites until you know what you're doing.  The vitamins are in the correct form and something approximating the correct dose (you'll have to tweak following your first labs depending what's high/low/OK).  They're available here http://www.vitalady.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?multiadd=action &msku0=1930X60DS&mqty0=1&msku1=1999XDS&mqty1=1

If you search for vitamins like vitamin E you have to specifically search for 'Dry vitamin E' and you should find dry versions.  Multis tend to be dry anyway.

Right now England is COLD!!  It's been snowing here and it has settled, nothing like in New York at the mo, but I can't believe we're still getting snow in the middle of February :-S

I recommend it in the summer, say May to September.  It'll be far more enjoyable.  It's lovely to sit in a pub garden on a warm summers day, or go punting on the river Cam in Cambridge or head to Covent Garden in London, but all are best done in the nice weather IMO ;-)

My cholesterol went from something like 220 pre-op, to 112 after surgery---even when I was eting a half-pound of bacon for breakfast every day. What you don't absorb can't hurt you.

A,D,E, and K are the fat-soluble vitamins, and you'll want to read labels and buy ones that said "dry" formulation or "water-miscible".

I agree with Huneypie about the fat.

Normal people NEED about 30 grams of fat to stay healthy. As a DS'er, we absorb only 20% of what we eat. Therefore to get 30grams of fat for a DS'er, it means eating 150 grams each and every day. Basically fat is a free food...kinda like lettuce was back in your pre-Ds dieting days. Surgeons/Nuts are still hung up on the LOW fat way of eating.

Protein, you will absorb about 60% of that so to get minimum requirements, you ALMOST need to double the amount. Protein goals are 30-60-90 (30 the first month, 60 the second month, 90 the third month)

Carbs are your own personal goal...most stay around 50 NET carbs (I use all carbs so I go 100). The closer to the animal a carb is (like those in milk, yogurt, etc) the better for you. I don't actually count mine any longer...just very aware of them.

You are right on the fluid...and THAT is from the very beginning. Your job once you have surgery and get back home from the hospital is to drink (sip actually) ALL your waking hours...and get a minimum of 64 oz of fluid each and every day. Do not be without fluid in your hand or RIGHT next to you. If watching TV, take a sip or two or three each and every commercial.

Easiest way to make sure you get enough fluid is to take bottles and fill them...and go thru each one every day. Have at least 64 oz of bottles filled (so if 16 oz bottles, put 4 in the fridge every morning. By the time you go to bed at night, they should ALL be empty. Then whatever broth/protein drinks, etc will be extra fluid.

I am a 175 common channel...and I had no trouble getting my weight off. It also may be a big factor in why I don't NEED as many vitamins (according to MY labs) as most people.

Liz

 

How do you calculate Net Carbs?

I don't...so I never figured out the way to do it. I count all mine. I was on insulin pre-op and all carbs affected my blood sugar so I just have always counted all of them.

Now, majormom does count net carbs...if you ask her, she can explain how she does it.

What Southern Lady said except I drink about twice that much water.  Before surgery I drank 0 water, only diet soda.  I work at getting in fat.  I probably get 200 of protein.  If I don'****ch my carbs I gain weight. 

It isn't hard after you get through early recovery.

~Becky