Gastric bypass weight loss surgery patients should be concerned about fat intake and fat absorption. Both affect the health and diet of the weight loss surgery patient who underwent either gastric bypass and gastric banding. WLS patients who report the greatest success eat a diet low in fat.

Fat Absorption:

In a gastric bypass the stomach size is reduced to about a cup and most of the small intestine is bypassed. The stomach outlet is attached to the jejunum (middle section) of the small intestine. Most food absorption occurs in this section. The specialized cells of the jejunum contain digestive enzymes, carrier proteins and other secretions. However, because the digestive tract has been significantly reduced in the bypass there is less time for foods to be absorbed. In the case of gastric bypass the body will absorb fats in limited amounts.

Incidentally, most gastric bypass patients do not tolerate fats in the form of fried food. Eating fried foods can cause vomiting, diarrhea and weight gain. Monounsaturated good fats found in olives, nuts, avocados, olive oil and canola oil should be consumed sparingly. Polyunsaturated fats, the Omega-6 fats found in nuts, seeds, grains, leafy vegetables, soybeans, dairy products, corn oil, safflower oil and soybean oil, should also be consumed in limited quantity. Saturated (animal and dairy fat) and trans fats (hydrogenated oils) should be avoided.

In a lap-banding procedure the small intestine is not shortened or disrupted so the opportunity for full-fat absorption exists as it did before the lap-band was installed. Most lap-band patients do not report the nausea associated with fat intake that a gastric bypass patient reports.

Kaye Bailey

An award winning journalist and former newspaper editor Kaye Bailey brings expertise in writing and personal experience with gastric bypass surgery to EzineArticles.com. Ms. Bailey developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a teenager she found writing her feelings about obesity helped her cope in a world that is often cruel to overweight children and adults alike.

Ms. Bailey says she found out she was fat in kindergarten when another child told her she was fat. ?I didn?t even know what fat was but I could tell it was bad and I didn?t want to be fat. Until that day I had been unaware I was different. But there I was, a five-year-old girl sitting cross-legged on the floor learning a new word that would define me.?

At age 33 she underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. For the first time in her life after multiple failed diet attempts she lost weight. She said the decision to have surgery took courage, nerve, and a little bit of plain old faith. But she learned surgery was the easy part. Dealing with newfound emotions, struggling with food choices and fighting to keep from regaining weight were unexpected bumps in the road following massive weight loss with surgery.

Having spent most of her life overweight Ms. Bailey is strongly empathetic toward the obese, particularly overweight children. This compassion compelled her to found the website LivingAfterWLS.com, a fast-growing resource of information, understanding and support for the weight loss surgery community. While weight loss surgery is publicly perceived as an easy fix to obesity Ms. Bailey maintains the struggles after surgery challenge the vigor of even the most dedicated individual. As WLS becomes more readily available patients are finding there is a lack of long-term aftercare and support from bariatric centers.

The LivingAfterWLS.com site is complimented with daily blog. The blog, livingafterwls.blogspot.com offers readers the chance to comment or leave feedback about fresh content added daily. This site contains success stories and recipes as well as general information and WLS inspired topics. Complementing the site is a monthly newsletter titled ?You Have Arrived? available exclusively to people who subscribe through the website or the blog. The path forward includes community forums, nutrition and fitness tracking tools.

Ms. Bailey makes her home on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains with her husband of eight years who has been her consort in life after WLS.