Gastric Bypass, Paleo, & Crossfit

[mj35]

Looking for help! I had RNY(gastric bypass) 14 years ago but still can only eat about 1 cup of food at a time. I love Crossfit, but do not feel I am getting enough clean calories to sustain my workouts. I get about 800 calories a day. Has anyone else had this same issue?

I don't think I'm getting enough calories from Paleo...do I need to up my fat? Incorporate more starches? Any advice is gladly welcomed!

[queenamideana]

I am sure someone will chime in here with a little more expertise, and even though I am not speaking from experience, I know a bit about bypass from working in healthcare. The fact that you still can only eat about 1 cup of food after 14 years is fantastic! I have seen so many people stretch their pouch out and gain almost all of their weight back after just a few short years. This likely means that you dealt with the reasons why you were over eating and now have a good relationship with food. Bravo!

How often can you eat your 1 cup of food? True that this lifestyle is more conducive to eating 3 larger meals a day, you would likely be the exception due to the situation. So, in that sense maybe you could include 1-2 "snacks", or "mini meals" really, throughout the day. Do you blend? One of the mini meals could be smoothie, which is a really easy way to get a lot of calories in a compact easy-to-digest size. Are you looking to be standard paleo or AIP? Reason I ask is that would of course determine what you put in the smoothie. Nut butters are super calorie dense and go great in a smoothie. So a standard paleo smoothie might be something like a handful of greens, some frozen fruit, milk of choice (additive free coconut milk for AIP), nut butter of choice (coconut butter aka manna aka creme concentrate for AIP) collagen hydrolysate (great lakes is a fantastic product) for the protein and other nutritional benefits. I make something similar to this everyday for my kids, though I do add a squirt of honey and/or maple syrup. A smoothie like this could actually be a great post workout drink. I know someone might say that it is important to chew your food and therefore smoothies aren't a good meal, but again I think in your case it should be the exception due to you trying to get more calories in.

Besides that, adding more fat in general is an excellent way to get more calories. Fat is super calorie dense. Just one tablespoon of coconut oil is over 100 calories, 2 tablespoons of coconut butter is almost 200 calories, and depending on the brand or whether or not it's homemade; coconut milk is about 200 calories in half a cup. Then if you let it settle and just use the full fat part that rises tot the top, it is even more concentrated. Nut and seed butters are super calorie dense as well, if tolerated. Plus, the fat in coconut oil contain MCTs; medium chain triglycerides, which are easily used by the body for energy.

Starches are another calorie dense food group that should help you sustain your energy levels for crossfit. I believe starches are important (I know this from my own experience of eating low carb), especially if you are doing any sort of high intensity workouts.

The whole reason I clicked on your post was because your mention of crossfit. I am starting my first on ramp class tonight! Due to my autoimmune issues, I had to cut WAY back on exercise intensity for the last few months. I want in last week to speak to the crossfit gym (or box really!) owner about my interest and also concerns with my issues. He is an AI sufferer as well and is very familiar with the elimination diet and exercise modifications. He put me through a few exercises and a mini workout, and of course I was sore the nest day, but I really felt great! I am going to do the on ramp classes this week and then make a final decision as to whether or not I will sign up. I have high hopes and in my mind I plan on doing it, I just have to judge it based on how my body reacts. I am also looking forward to meeting more like minded people. I don't have any paleo friends, and since all my pre-paleo friends just want to go out to eat and/or drink, I do not hang out with them very often. Well, not at all actually...:/

I hope this helps you. Please post how you decide to proceed. I wish you the best! Wish me luck too!!