Today is the day - I still can't believe it!!!

I started this journey at 235.6 and today I'm 135 - my goal weight. I feel great at this number. I had my RNY on 9 September 2016. I still can't believe that I lost 100 lbs.

Now the fun begins - actually this is very scary. During the last 2 weeks, I have been taking an extra bite here and there, this is a terrible habit that I want to stop right now. So the vets are so right that with time we can eat more. I want to stay positive but at the same time have a sense of awareness that this will be my fight everyday for the rest of my life. I do weight everything I eat and will continue this forever.

But I have a question for the vets: I have seen many time on here that the "malabsorption" last about 1.5 to 2 year so one should take advantage of this period for their weight loss. I have done that. I'm compliant most of the time. I eat literary 0 carbs. I take my vitamins 100% of the time. Now if malabsorption is no longer effective lets says 2 years from now - why do people who had the surgery need to continue taking their vitamins if we are actually absorbing nutrients? Before people start freaking out - folks I will continue taking all of my vitamins forever - I was just curious about this.

I hope JB is enjoying Paris (I am French) - it is the best place to be!

Huge congrats! I know you feel great.

You need to keep taking the vitamins cause the section of intestine where vitamins are best absorbed never works the same way again.

Congrats on the 100#.

I always wonder about people who say they eat zero carbs. So you eat no dairy? Yogurt? Cheese? If I'm taking an extra "bite" here or there it sure as heck isn't gonna be off of a steak- it's gonna be a carb 85% of the time.

Congratulations, your progress is awesome! I had surgery just before you and I agree, I can tell things have changed and it is already harder work for me. That's scary!

Congratulations! I'm right behind you having my surgery last September. Hopefully I'll hit 100lbs lost too. I am also dealing a bit more every day with head issues. The challenge is real but we can do it!

Congrats on that big, beautiful round number weight loss.

I've tried to research malabsorption and how long it lasts and basically found 1 study that pertains to RNY. I'll summarize but first a disclaimer; it was written by medical researchers for doctors and I couldn't read the whole thing because it kinda made my brain hurt.

Anyway they somehow measured calorie absorption in RNY patients at two set post surgical intervals I think it was at 6 months and 18 months. Here's the good news. Malabsorption didn't decrease at all. As a matter of fact the study reported a slight increase. Now the bad news. Malabsorption is not the weight loss mechanism most of us think it is. IIRC the study put the calorie loss at around 60 per day because of the bypass. Over 1 year 60 calories a day equates to about 6 pounds.

Bottom line is the true workhorse of our weight loss is the restrictive aspect. Over time we consume more calories as we lose some of that restrictive aspect AND at the same time we burn less calories because we are smaller machines that need less fuel to get around.

My surgeon insists that calorie malabsorption is drastically overstated. He told me to ignore it. It was small, and starts disappearing right from day one -- it doesn't just vanish overnight after a year or two.

Calories can be absorbed anywhere in your intestine. Mostly in the small intestine, some in the large. Though some intestine is removed, what remains becomes more efficient at grabbing calories. Studies of soldiers, cancer victims, etc who have much of their intestine removed still get by. You can get enough calories with very little bowel.

But vitamins and minerals are absorbed in very specific places. Much of our iron is absorbed in the duodenum, for instance. And the duodenum is forever bypassed in RNY. So most of us have to take lots of extra irion to make sure we get enough.

B12 from food needs intrinsic factor to be absorbed. And intrinsic factor is produced in the stomach. So both VSGers and RNYers won't ever get enough B12 from food alone, or even older supplements. Sublingual B12 works, because it is absorbed differently.

Vitamin K is absorbed, in part, in the large intestine. So Vitamin K is not an issue for as many people.

Those who absorb vitamins well transdermally do great with the patch. Patches obviously have nothing to do with our altered insides, and aren't affected by surgery.

Congrats!