Whole 30 with Duodenal Switch - Questions and Concerns

[Bywater]

I've had weight loss surgery - the duodenal switch to be exact.  I've lost a significant portion of my extra weight, but now I'm looking at moving into getting rid of the last of the weight.

 

I've got two concerns - first, I use dairy as a significant source of protein - how do I manage that in the Whole 30 when dairy is off limits?  And second, I have to prioritize my proteins and fats since I absorb approx 30-40% of the protein I eat and ~20% of the fat I eat, and with the shortened small intestine, veggies aren't necessarily my friend (I can tell you that lettuce goes through me in just over three hours).  Can I do the Whole 30 without the levels of veggies suggested?

 

Thanks,

 

Wendy

[ShannonM816]

Hi, Wendy. Obviously, none of us here on the forum are equipped to give medical advice, so anything that you have concerns about, definitely run it by your doctor.

 

That said, if I were in your position, I would figure out other sources of protein besides dairy, at least for the length of your Whole30 plus reintroductions. Many, many people are lactose intolerant or have other issues with dairy and don't even realize it, which is why Whole30 leaves it out. Can you eat fish or other seafood, eggs, chicken, beef, pork, or other animal proteins? If you can eat them, find the ways to prepare them that are most digestible for you. You could ask your doctor about the possibility of using digestive enzymes which sometimes help people who are not used to eating animal protein. (That article is older, and I'm not sure if the brands mentioned in it are still Whole30 compliant.)

 

For the vegetables, eat the ones you can, get as much variety as you can, eat the volume that works for you. Don't eat lettuce if it has that effect on you, but there are tons of other vegetables out there. It's probably best to go for cooked vegetables, as you will probably be able to eat more of them than of raw, and even for people with no digestive concerns, raw ones in large quantities can cause bloating and other digestive issues.

[Bywater]

Hi Shannon,

 

Thanks for the reply.  if I follow the directions from my nutritionist and my surgeon I'd be dead - they talk to me about supplements and diet and give me the advice for someone who's had an RnY - serious and significant differences in the two surgeries and how the body works.

 

I'll look at what I can do with other protein sources.  And digestive enzymes would bypass the reason for the shortened duodenum; my body is supposed to malabsorb.

 

It sounds like the veggies are negotiable - getting in 150g of protein a day doesn't leave a whole lot of room, but I'll look at more of the other veggies and just work on them as singletons.

 

I appreciate the quick answer!

[praxisproject]

For anyone with a reduced stomach or digestive capacity, the restriction on number of meals does not apply (your #1 goal is to make sure you're getting enough nutrition).

 

Sticking to the Meal Template ratios will give you the best results, but this can be done with soup in as small portions as you require, you don't need to eat any raw veggies or fruit if you don't want to.

 

If you're allowed them, supplements like Vitamin K, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3 and magnesium are supportive of weight loss and repair.

[Bywater]

I can't think about life without supplements.  Daily, I take multivitamins, a multi-B, Folate, B12, C, zinc, copper, iron, calcium, dry D, dry A, dry E, dry K1 and  dry K2 along with the PPI and my synthroid.

 

Still beats the metformin and insulin daily.

[praxisproject]

Do you take any Vitamin D3 or magnesium?

[Bywater]

I take 200,000 UI Dry D3 a day.  And, my calcium is a blend of Calcium Citrate and Jarrow's Bone Up that has Mag in it.

[praxisproject]

Sounds like you're on the right track!

 

One of my favourite veggie soups is Silky Gingered Soup from Mel Joulwan (Well Fed cookbooks)

http://meljoulwan.com/2012/11/05/silky-gingered-zucchini-soup/

[Bywater]

The DS has totally changed how I absorb fats, including fat soluble vites.

 

I absorb ~20% of the fat I eat, ~30% of the protein I eat, ~70% of the complex carbs I eat and 100% of the simple carbs.  

 

I've got to get off the carb train (I love carbs and let them creep back in because...just one can't hurt) which is why I'm looking at the Whole30.  The rest of this month is known as eating out of the pantry and freezer to get rid of the staples I have that aren't Whole30 but reasonable for the DS, aka dairy.

[SugarcubeOD]

  The rest of this month is known as eating out of the pantry and freezer to get rid of the staples I have that aren't Whole30 but reasonable for the DS, aka dairy.

Be careful with this... the amount of 'suck' that you experience in the first few days is directly related to the state of your diet before you start... so if you're going to town on dairy, grains, sugar etc... it's going to be a pretty big transition to Whole 30.  We often don't recommend that people 'clean out' their pantries by eating the stuff that is in them... 

[Bywater]

High carbs would kill me so even though I'm cleaning out the pantry, it's an amazingly healthy one for a  non-Whole 30.  I've got more pouches of flavored tuna fish than I can count.  I've got flavored salmon pouches.  Then in the freezer, I've got an assortment of stews and soups that I made over the winter that aren't whole-30 friendly.  Not to mention the brie mini's, cottage cheese, sargento cheese bites, P3 pouches, that sort of thing.  

 

I've already killed off most simple carbs that I allowed to creep in.