Our Bariatric & General Surgery Blog
What Happens If I Don’t Take Vitamins?
When our patients start their weight loss surgery journey, we try to stress the importance and permanence of the commitment they are making. Not only does bariatric surgery permanently change your body, it is ultimately changing the way your gastrointestinal system works. Whether you choose a gastric sleeve or gastric bypass, you will be eating differently than before and your body will now react to food differently. Because of this, we want to be very aware of how your body is maintaining levels of certain vitamins and minerals that we know can be affected by weight loss surgery. If you don’t take your vitamins, they can’t help you. So, what happens if you don’t take the recommended vitamins and minerals?
Swimming – Its Benefits and Potential Risks
Swimming is without a doubt one of the best and most effective exercises that a postoperative bariatric patient can start. Just a few of the many benefits of the swimming include:
The Best Ways to Get Vitamin D After Bariatric Surgery
Vitamin D is an essential part of a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Without vitamin D, our bodies would not be able to properly absorb and process calcium to strengthen our bones. A deficiency in vitamin D, similar to a deficiency in calcium, can lead to osteoporosis. Vitamin D has many other uses and studies have shown that it can improve our mental well-being by helping depression and even enhancing low calorie diets to lose weight.
It’s a Journey Not a Destination
By Collin E.M. Brathwaite, MD, FACS, FASMBS
These are wise words that we often hear in our lives, and we should take heed. The journey for weight loss is not what we “get to”. It is about taking a lifetime to travel through and maintain a healthy weight.
Bariatric Surgeons often talk to their patients about measurable and attainable number goals. We measure abdominal girths, calculate BMI’s and discuss excess weight percentages. I find this to be a bit misleading for the patient. I think it is better to look at the weight loss after bariatric surgery, regardless of which procedure, as a continuum of care, rather than a finite number patients need to attain.
How To Make Healthy Habits Stick
By Barbara Brathwaite, RN, MSN
The most important thing to remember in trying to maintain healthy habits is that you must allow your health and well being to come before anything else. All the other things will follow.
- Assess your readiness— Motivation must come from within with a heartfelt desire to change.
- Plan realistic SMALL changes— Major changes can seem overwhelming. Instead, start small.
- Believe in yourself —confidence in your ability to change is essential.
- Track behavior— monitor your behaviors – studies show people who use a food diary are more effective in making changes.
- Sleep— adequate sleep is so important in trying to make changes. Lack of sleep can lead to poor decisions and irritability, which can affect your attempts to change. Remember: anxiety and irritability can contribute to emotional eating.
- Manage stress— stressful situations can detour the best of healthy intentions. To be successful we need to find ways to cope, we need to set aside time to relax, and we need to let go or delegate some responsibilities.
- Surround yourself with support— family and friends and support group participants encourage and reinforce positive changes.
- Bounce back— Old habits can be ingrained and occasional lapses will occur. We are not perfect. It’s important to get back on track with another small step forward and carry on.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) & Obesity
By Raymond G. Lau, MD & Antonia Pinckney, CDE, RD, RN
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition that is observed in women who have obesity. One symptom of this disease is increased hair growth in abnormal areas. Women may find growth in areas such as the face or chest. Another common symptom may include irregular periods with possible infertility. If you have either of these symptoms, you may possibly have polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Surviving Setbacks After Bariatric Surgery
By Barbara Brathwaite, RN, MSN
All or nothing thinking: “I am a total success in my meal plan or a total failure.”
Black or white thinking: “I ate those cookies so I may as well forget healthy eating.”
Do it perfectly or not at all thinking: “I am either perfect or a total failure.”
All or nothing thinking, and black and white thinking, and perfectionist thinking can get us into trouble. They will sabotage any plan for change. There are gray areas! If we slip up, we can forgive ourselves and get back up.
Food Safety Facts
By Elizabeth Schledorn RN, MSN, CNOR, CBN, CHHC
After weight loss surgery, making conscious decisions about what types of foods you ingest is very important. The best way to accomplish this is to cook your own meals at home. Home-cooking allows you to control exactly what ingredients are going into the meals you ingest. This enables you to meet your post-WLS nutritional requirements while keeping questionable, and even harmful, additives and chemicals out of your body. The process of home-cooking is not without its own risks, though. If you are a novice home cook, or even a more experienced cook, it is vital to keep food safety practices in mind to keep your nutritious, bariatric-friendly meals from making you sick to your (smaller) stomach.
Eating What You Want Within Reason
By Michele Lubin, MS, RD, CDN
Think back to the time you were preparing for your weight loss surgery. What were your expectations? You must have heard from your doctor, nurse, dietitian, therapist or other patients that “this is only a tool…..you need to follow the healthy lifestyle guidelines to be successful.” Although patients may hear this, that concept may be interpreted to mean: “I can eat the same foods I was eating before surgery, but in much smaller amounts and still be successful; I can eat what I want within reason and in moderation.”
Slow Thyroid – Separating Truth from Myth
by Patricia D. Cherasard PA-C, MBA
Chief Bariatric Surgical Physician Assistant
Winthrop Surgical Associates, PC
You’ve been diagnosed with a Slow or Underactive Thyroid (aka hypothyroidism). What does that mean? It means your thyroid gland is not making enough thyroid hormones. Low Thyroid hormone levels can make you feel tired and weak. Untreated it can cause lasting effects to your whole body. Slow thyroid comes with many generalized symptoms that are often mistaken for other conditions such as aging and menopause. It typically affects middle-aged more than younger adults and women more than men.
