After Bariatric Surgery
What Office Weight Loss Challenges Can Teach Us About Long-Term Success
You have likely participated in a weight loss challenge through your work. This widespread phenomenon combines the fun of a goal-oriented competition and the nudge we sometimes need to get motivated; these contests can be an excellent jumping-off point for a needed transformation. They can be fun for you and your colleagues to improve health while getting motivated to win office bragging rights and sometimes a solid prize. However, the reality is that most office weight loss challenges fail to […]
Why Am I Experiencing Back Pain After Bariatric Surgery?
One of the great benefits of weight loss associated with bariatric surgery is the improvement, and often elimination, of joint pain in various areas throughout the body. Patients who once had hip, knee, ankle, and foot pain may no longer experience these chronic conditions and may find themselves able to perform activities that they once thought were no more extended possibilities for them. However, this weight loss may lead to low back pain for some. This is not uncommon, and […]
Maintaining Muscle Mass After Bariatric Surgery
A significant challenge for anyone trying to lose weight, but especially somebody who has just had bariatric surgery is maintaining muscle mass while also significantly restricting their calories. Unfortunately, as we reduce our caloric intake, the body tends to use muscle mass for energy and the result can be a general sense of weakness, less definition in the body and less energy. This is especially problematic after bariatric surgery where muscle mass is one of the best long-term weight loss […]
What Is Dumping Syndrome and How It Can Help You Stay on Track
Ask any gastric bypass patient about dumping syndrome and you will likely be met with a distinct look of dread. Dumping syndrome is something that almost every bypass patient has experienced. So, let’s learn a little bit more about the gastric bypass and why dumping syndrome happens. Dumping syndrome is also known as rapid gastric emptying – when solids and liquids move from the stomach into the small intestine too quickly. Rapid gastric emptying occurs in bypass patients more frequently […]
Preparing for Holiday Eating
There is a definite weight and stress-boost that comes with even LOOKING at the family calendar around the holidays. From Halloween to the New Year’s resolution, we pack those dates with family get-togethers, work obligations, school parties and bake sales, candy, and sweets fundraisers, trick-or-treating and the aftermath, and endless buffets. We wash it down with spiced cider, eggnog, champagne, grown-up beverages, hot chocolate and then we do it again. And when we reread that, no one can argue that there […]
The Benefits of Bariatric Surgery Beyond Weight Loss
The topic of this blog is particularly interesting because while the most visible benefit of bariatric surgery is weight loss, it is not the most important nor is it the one that we focus on. In fact, we consider weight loss to be a very welcome side effect to the true purpose of bariatric surgery – disease improvement and/or resolution. What does that mean exactly? When we talk to a patient about bariatric surgery, we want them to understand that […]
Drinking Plenty of Water After Bariatric Surgery
It’s a given, bariatric surgery or not, that you should drink a sufficient amount of water every day to maintain your health. As a significant cause of readmission to the hospital after bariatric surgery, dehydration is even more of a concern for post-op bariatric patients. Managing your diet and liquid intake might be one of the trickiest things to achieve after bariatric surgery, but you must commit to these type of lifestyle changes to ensure that the surgery is successful.
Fad Diets: Are They Effective?
Let’s cut straight to the short answer: no., fad diets are not effective – at least not in the long-term. We live in an age where people are looking to lose weight quickly and easily. Social media has provided a platform for all kinds of health conversations and awareness, but along with that comes the spread of misinformation. We may see a person on Instagram who looks physically healthy and may be promoting meal replacement shakes or restrictive dieting. We […]
Grocery Shopping Like a Bariatric Patient
We often take grocery shopping for granted. For years, we may have bought the same foods without considering how they affect our health or weight. These foods are often the ones most heavily marketed on TV, in magazines or in coupon books. Unfortunately, these are also often the most heavily processed foods and the ones that can cause the most damage to our diets and general metabolic health. Whether you have undergone bariatric surgery or are considering doing so in […]
Head Vs. Body – Are You Really Hungry?
So, you think you are hungry – but are you really? Is your body hungry, or is it head hunger? Head hunger can be caused by different triggers, but emotions are often the culprit. Feelings like boredom, loneliness or sadness aren’t fun, and we all feel them. The first reaction for some of us is to distract. A quick, easy and often satisfying distraction is eating. That’s why it’s called comfort food. What we see on TV can often be […]
Older Posts Newer Posts