Success of WLS depends upon changes in Lifestyle

By Ruth Rosa Lenox | June 30, 2009

Success of WLS depends upon changes in Lifestyle

Weight loss surgery is not the immediate solution to your obese body; it is a continuing process to lose weight by bringing changes in your lifestyle. To have long-term success and maintain a healthy body, you need to prepare yourself to make several lifestyle changes. Before considering weight loss surgery, you need to have a complete understanding and acceptance of the changes you will face.

Managing life after weight loss surgery requires significant lifestyle changes and modifications in daily habits. Weight loss surgery offers several benefits for the morbidly obese patients, who can no longer lose weight with drugs, diet changes and exercises. Still, even the most successful procedure demands an effective weight maintenance strategy after surgery to keep the patient in great shape and work towards a healthier lifestyle.

Significant weight loss will follow if a patient follows the recommended dietary, exercise and lifestyle guidelines set by your bariatric surgeon, nutritionist, therapist and other bariatric support staff.

Changing your eating habits and staying motivated will create not only amazing results, but also a healthier life that you will able to enjoy for many years to come.
Before surgery, you should prepare yourself for the steps you will need to take after you get the weight loss surgery done.

1. Diet-WLS involves significant modifications to your gastrointestinal tract. The patient needs to make changes to the diet after undergoing weight loss surgery. After either gastric banding or gastric bypass surgery, you will only be able to eat few bites in each meal. In order to ensure good nutrition and health, you must pay close attention to the types of food you eat. Foods that are well tolerated before surgery may cause discomfort afterwards. Take small bites, chew your food well and eat slowly, take a few minutes gap between each bite.

 Changing one’s eating habits is the most important lifestyle change. Eating lots of vegetables and fruits and drinking plenty of water can also make you feel fuller. Eat a balanced diet that is low in fat and high in protein. Protein is important for healing directly after surgery and also during weight loss in order to build tissues in your body.

It is important to set realistic goals that are specific and achievable. Regularly record what you do in your weight-loss program such as daily calorie intake and amount of physical exercise. Keeping track on your progress can also help you stay motivated.

2. Follow-up after surgery-This is a very important part of the success of the surgery. Regular follow-up visits must be maintained to prevent complications and achieve optimum weight loss. Depending on your diet after surgery, you may have nutritional deficiencies over the years. Therefore, you are required to get check-ups done periodically.

3. Exercise- After surgery, it is vital to adhere strictly to the proper dietary and exercise guidelines. Exercise is an essential component in your weight loss program. Patients often need 2 to 3 weeks of healing, rest and recovery before any type of formal exercise, but light walking is recommended after discharge from the hospital.

4. Stress management- Managing stress, emotions and anxiety without turning to food can be a challenge for any individual after surgery. Working with a therapist to tackle difficult emotional issues can make weight loss surgery more rewarding and help to lead a healthy lifestyle for a long-term.

5. Support groups- Participation in post-operative support groups can be beneficial for patients. Support groups provide patients an opportunity to discuss personal and professional issues.

After a weight loss surgery one need to take care of many things like making lifestyle changes that you have to stick to for the rest  of your life. If not, then the entire procedure can reverse itself and the weight will come back.

Options to Cure Obesity

By Ruth Rosa Lenox | June 10, 2009

Options to Cure Obesity

Obesity means accumulation of excess fat on the body. Foods provide us with the nutrients we need for healthy bodies and calories for energy. But if you overeat regularly, you gain weight and if you continue to gain weight, you may become obese.
Poor diet cause obesity. Beyond a person’s heredity, poor dietary habits can contribute to heart disease and diabetes.

Again, obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) more than 30. The BMI is a measure of your weight relative to your height. It can also be calculated for weight in pounds and height in inches.
 For most people who are obese, the safest and most effective way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more.
 Below are various options to cure obesity.
Controlling diet
Reducing calories moderately is essential to achieve a slow but steady weight loss. Strategies of dietary therapy includes knowing about the calorie content in different foods, food composition, understanding nutritional value and how to prepare food and what to buy etc.
Physical activity
Moderate physical activity on daily basis is recommended for weight loss. Abdominal fat and waist circumference can be mostly reduced through physical activity. Strategies of physical activity should include the use of aerobic exercises like- cycling, dancing, swimming etc.
Diet and exercise are always a better alternative to weight loss surgery, but if these don’t work, you may need some extra help.
Behavior therapy
This includes changing diet and physical activity patterns and habits to new behaviors that promote weight loss. This includes joining a support group that can encourage weight loss in a positive way, developing a social support network, setting achievable goals about weight loss and working for it, maintaining a record of daily exercise and diet. A combination of a lower calorie diet and increased physical activity is reported to produce more weight loss than diet or exercise only. This is more about mental activity-changing your attitude towards food and exercise.
Medical treatment
If you are unsuccessful at losing weight on your own, you can seek doctor’s help. Various drugs are also used for weight loss and weight maintenance. For this, patients should be continuously assessed to determine the effects and safety of the drug. A combination of drugs, diet and exercise could prove to be an effective treatment for obesity.
Surgery
Obesity surgery is recommended as a treatment option for persons with obesity that have-a BMI of more than 40. Obesity surgery is used either to modify the stomach or the intestines to reduce the amount of food that can be eaten. This is for long-term weight loss control with severe obesity. Patients should know the benefits and risks associated with surgery before operation. For morbidly obese patients, who have significant obesity-related medical complications, surgery is the only option for them.
Mainly, there are two types of bariatric surgeries are done-gastric bypass surgery and lap band surgery. While they are helping people lose weight, to be more successful, it must be accompanied by healthy eating habits and regular exercise.

Success of WLS depends upon changes in Lifestyle

By Ruth Rosa Lenox | June 2, 2009

Success of WLS depends upon changes in Lifestyle

Weight loss surgery is not the immediate solution to your obese body; it is a continuing process to lose weight by bringing changes in your lifestyle. To have long-term success and maintain a healthy body, you need to prepare yourself to make several lifestyle changes. Before considering weight loss surgery, you need to have a complete understanding and acceptance of the changes you will face.

Managing life after weight loss surgery requires significant lifestyle changes and modifications in daily habits. Weight loss surgery offers several benefits for the morbidly obese patients, who can no longer lose weight with drugs, diet changes and exercises. Still, even the most successful procedure demands an effective weight maintenance strategy after surgery to keep the patient in great shape and work towards a healthier lifestyle.

 

Significant weight loss will follow if a patient follows the recommended dietary, exercise and lifestyle guidelines set by your bariatric surgeon, nutritionist, therapist and other bariatric support staff.

Changing your eating habits and staying motivated will create not only amazing results, but also a healthier life that you will able to enjoy for many years to come.
Before surgery, you should prepare yourself for the steps you will need to take after you get the weight loss surgery done.

1. Diet-WLS involves significant modifications to your gastrointestinal tract. The patient needs to make changes to the diet after undergoing weight loss surgery. After either gastric banding or gastric bypass surgery, you will only be able to eat few bites in each meal. In order to ensure good nutrition and health, you must pay close attention to the types of food you eat. Foods that are well tolerated before surgery may cause discomfort afterwards. Take small bites, chew your food well and eat slowly, take a few minutes gap between each bite.

 Changing one’s eating habits is the most important lifestyle change. Eating lots of vegetables and fruits and drinking plenty of water can also make you feel fuller. Eat a balanced diet that is low in fat and high in protein. Protein is important for healing directly after surgery and also during weight loss in order to build tissues in your body.

It is important to set realistic goals that are specific and achievable. Regularly record what you do in your weight-loss program such as daily calorie intake and amount of physical exercise. Keeping track on your progress can also help you stay motivated.

2. Follow-up after surgery-This is a very important part of the success of the surgery. Regular follow-up visits must be maintained to prevent complications and achieve optimum weight loss. Depending on your diet after surgery, you may have nutritional deficiencies over the years. Therefore, you are required to get check-ups done periodically.

3. Exercise- After surgery, it is vital to adhere strictly to the proper dietary and exercise guidelines. Exercise is an essential component in your weight loss program. Patients often need 2 to 3 weeks of healing, rest and recovery before any type of formal exercise, but light walking is recommended after discharge from the hospital.

4. Stress management- Managing stress, emotions and anxiety without turning to food can be a challenge for any individual after surgery. Working with a therapist to tackle difficult emotional issues can make weight loss surgery more rewarding and help to lead a healthy lifestyle for a long-term.

5. Support groups- Participation in post-operative support groups can be beneficial for patients. Support groups provide patients an opportunity to discuss personal and professional issues.

 

After a weight loss surgery one need to take care of many things like making lifestyle changes that you have to stick to for the rest  of your life. If not, then the entire procedure can reverse itself and the weight will come back.