Can Low Testosterone Be a Cause of Your Weight Gain?
You’ve probably heard of Biohacking. It’s a relatively new term to describe something scientists have tried to do for hundreds, if not thousands, of years – optimize body function through activities and supplements that deliver peak function. With the advent of social media, influencers, and thousands, if not millions, of videos on different ways to improve performance, we may have taken it too far and gotten so granular with the advice available that we miss the larger picture. This is very much the case with testosterone. As a darling of Biohackers worldwide, low testosterone is being flagged by some weight loss clinics and body optimization influencers to the point where you might think it is an epidemic. However, it’s essential to set the record straight on testosterone.
Will I Feel Hungry After Bariatric Surgery?
It’s a common question that makes a lot of sense. After bariatric surgery, will you have an unenviable situation where your stomach is significantly smaller, but you remain hungry? The answer will depend from person to person; however, generally speaking, every major bariatric procedure currently offered has a mechanism by which it reduces hunger. Let’s take the three most popular bariatric surgeries today and discuss them one by one. Before discussing weight loss surgery options, knowing that the Lap-Band and the gastric balloon are not performed very often is essential – as such, we do not include these procedures in our analysis.
Why Does the Bariatric Surgery Process Take So Long?
What stands out to most patients when they begin their bariatric journey is how long it takes to go from the initial consultation to surgery. After all, we’re all aware that obesity is a disease that causes several follow-on metabolic disorders that can be debilitating or even life-threatening. We also know that the obesity problem is not improving in the United States or worldwide. Unfortunately, while weight loss medications and injections that are currently so popular do offer a short-term solution, the likelihood is that they will not usher in the long-term lifestyle change required to change the tide.
One of the most significant barriers to a patient getting bariatric surgery is how long they must wait to get their procedure. While the weight loss surgery process is not quick or easy, it can’t be challenging to maintain the excitement and motivation of that initial decision for several months. Let’s dig into why bariatric surgery can take so long and what patients can do about it to shorten the process.
Regaining Weight? Don’t Quit Your Support Group
You’ve heard it repeatedly, starting from before your procedure, support is essential to long-term success in your bariatric journey. Support groups are not just places to commiserate with people in the same position as you are. Instead, they are important forums for discussion about strategies to lose additional weight, places where you can celebrate your successes with others, who are cheering you on, and a place where you can turn to get practical advice and help when you’ve gone off track.
The reality of the bariatric process is that there will be plateaus and even weight gains along the way. This is perfectly normal, and you are following a trend that virtually every patient has been through before, no matter how dedicated to their health and weight loss they may be.
Maintaining Muscle Mass as You Lose Weight
Are you losing weight from a bariatric procedure and trying to keep your muscle mass? Understandable and, you may be surprised, feasible. It doesn’t have to be one or the other; it’s straightforward. Watching what you eat, workout routines, and even specific exercises at home can all help you burn calories while packing on muscle or at least maintaining it. Before we get into the nitty-gritty, it’s important to understand that with a significantly reduced caloric intake, your body needs to consume something to get energy, and often the target is muscle.
Check out how to stop that from happening below.
Beef Substitutes: Legit or All Hype?
With excess weight and obesity running rampant in modern-day society and no end or significant improvement in sight, we have become a culture obsessed with dieting and physical health. For many of us, years of living with obesity make it very difficult to lose and keep weight off over the long term. This is why about 90% of patients who follow a diet and exercise program may lose weight but ultimately regain it once their diet and exercise program becomes unsustainable.
Of course, many individuals and companies have pounced on a focus on diet and health as well as the myriad social media influencers to develop new, innovative food products. A beef substitute is a great example, created partly to be sustainable while offering an alternative to red meat. The highest-profile beef substitutes include products from Beyond Beef and Impossible Burger amongst others. But as bariatric surgery patients, or even preop patients waiting for surgery, does it make sense to substitute our beef consumption with these plant-based products?
Will We Remove Your Gallbladder During a Primary Bariatric Procedure?
Of the many questions you will want to ask before surgery, understanding gallbladder disease and how it relates to your bariatric procedure should be on your list. It’s well known that obese female patients in their fertile years – prime candidates for bariatric surgery – are at significantly higher risk of developing symptomatic gallstones. To answer this question, we must distinguish gallstones from symptomatic gallstones. Gallstones are extremely common and can form in just about anyone. Typically, there are several risk factors, the least of which is yo-yo dieting, which many patients experience throughout their lives before having bariatric surgery.
Wegovy®, Ozempic®, MounjaroTM – Dissecting the Diabetes / Weight Loss Medication Trend
In this article, we’ll discuss a new trend that started online and has taken the social media world by storm. The trend is so popular that patients, once relying on the injections we are about to discuss, now have difficulty finding them to manage their diseases. This trend is using newer diabetes and weight loss medications, including Semaglutides like Ozempic and Wegovy, and other diabetes drugs like Mounjaro for weight loss, even if the patient does not qualify by FDA standards.
Uncovering the Truth About “Acid” Reflux
Chronic acid reflux (gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD) is a significant and worsening condition affecting millions of Americans. As a result of the persistent obesity epidemic in the United States and worldwide, reflux has affected more and more of the population than ever before. While reflux may seem relatively benign, it can lead to far more severe consequences.
The constant wash of acid from the stomach into the esophagus can create a precancerous condition known as Barrett’s esophagus. This is where the lining of the esophagus begins to resemble the lining of the stomach. A small proportion of those with the condition will eventually develop esophageal cancer, which can be very aggressive if not caught early.
Is Agave Syrup a Healthy Sweetener Alternative for Bariatric Patients?
Agave syrup has taken the sweetener world by storm. Because it is low on the glycemic index, it has been put forth as a beneficial sweetener and is often touted as better than table sugar, honey, and maple syrup. After all, it comes from the same plant that gives us tequila! It’s the perfect sweetener, right? Not quite.
Let’s Start by Understanding What Agave Is
Agave is a succulent found in North and South America and has been used for thousands of years as a sweetener and to make tequila. It has even been explored for its potential medicinal properties. However, like many other new-to-us foods, it only arrived on the American table in the past few decades and, in doing so, has made quite a bang. While the agave plant has objective health benefits, many of these are negated and lost during the processing of the plant to convert its sap into the sweetener we use at home. For example, much like some whole fruits, the agave plant, in its simple form, has plenty of fiber, which is lost when the sap is extracted from the plant and boiled down into fructose.
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