Dealing with stubborn weight issues can be frustrating and even overwhelming at times. All the good intentions, resolutions and various diets might not do the trick. Here at Whyweight.com we help thousands of patients get on a healthy track and put their struggles behind for good.
Recently, SSL’s Dr. Tom Lavin was interviewed about when to “ditch the diet” and start considering bariatric procedures to help you lose the weight and achieve a healthier lifestyle. Today we would like to share some of these important considerations with you.
Over the years, our experience shows that weight loss patients typically fit into one of three categories:
• 20 to 30 pounds overweight
• 30 to 70 pounds overweight
• 80 pounds or more overweight
Now, let’s take a closer look at these groups and the specific weight management options that we suggest.
20-30 pounds overweight
The best strategy for the first category of patients is lifestyle change by improving eating and exercise habits. We help our patients develop a new eating plan that eliminates all processed foods, reduces simple carbs and fats. We also recommend increasing protein intake as well as adding more fruits and vegetables to their food regimen. Additionally, we develop an exercise plan that best suits the patient’s needs.
It’s important mention here that we don’t like to use the word “diet”, which implies some sort of deprivation. Instead, we prefer to focus our attention on replacing certain foods with healthier choices and referring to it as a new eating plan. This helps create a more positive attitude which makes a difference in the patient’s approach to the change.
30-70 pounds overweight
When it comes to patients who are 30 to 70 pounds overweight, it’s apparent that they often develop serious health problems due to excess weight, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and others. First of all, we work with these patients to make sure they have made significant efforts in the past to reduce their weight naturally, through lifestyle changes. Consequently, we may offer them an endoscopic procedure to help break the vicious circle of yo-yo dieting and get a head start with their weight loss.
80 pounds or more overweight
For patients who are 80 or more pounds overweight, their excess weight is usually not the only health consideration they are dealing with. Joint problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, heart disease, cancer and even infertility are common to people in this category.
However, the great news is that many of these problems can dramatically improve or in some cases even go away, through bariatric surgery. Various laparoscopic procedures like gastric bypass, banding and gastric sleeve are generally offered to this third group of patients. The surgery is performed through very small abdominal incisions, which reduce the risk of complications and the recovery time. After the surgery, the patient stays in the hospital overnight and is soon ready to resume normal life. The risks from this procedure are much lower than the risks of living a life with so much extra weight.
The bariatric surgery secret
A little known but very important fact is that there is an additional bonus to endoscopic and laparoscopic bariatric procedures: besides reducing the capacity of a patient’s stomach, the procedures also impact the production of hunger hormones. Our bariatric patients report a significant reduction of cravings after their surgery, which helps them lose weight at an increased rate. Contrary to a popular belief, hunger drive is not a purely emotional state. In fact, it’s triggered by hormones produced in the digestive track, and that’s why they are so hard to control. The decrease in this hormone proves to be one of the most important weight loss factors.
Take Action
As surgeons we’ve been successfully performing state-of the art procedures on thousands of patients yearly, but our main concern is their overall well-being. We can’t emphasize enough that although our work produces dramatic results, it is not a 100% guarantee of long-term weight loss success. It is imperative that every patient makes consistent efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle – both a smart eating plan and an individualized exercise regimen. In fact without such changes, maintaining a normal weight over the long run becomes exponentially challenging. That’s why we constantly work with our patients to help them develop life-long habits that will ensure they stay faithful to their commitment to health.
So, don’t delay…get started by talking to us today! To learn more and to find the optimal, long-term solution for your specific situation, call us today at 877-691-3001 and or watch a FREE online seminar or schedule an appointment with one of our experienced specialists online.
Image from opensourceway on Flickr
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