With ever increasing numbers of obese or morbidly obese people in the world today, it’s somewhat comforting to know that there are solutions that can speed up the process of weight loss. While diet and exercise are efficient methods of improving your health, for many people who are suffering from the serious medical complications of being overweight, it simply takes too long, they need help and they need it fast. Gastric bypass surgery can be the answer for many people. If you are considering this type of surgery, you’ll likely want to know more about it, such as learning more about gastric bypass recovery.

The actual time you spend in the hospital after the surgery can vary greatly from one person to the next and what type of procedure you had performed. For example, for someone who has the minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure the average post op hospital stay will be between 3 – 5 days assuming you don’t have any complications.

If, on the other hand, you have the somewhat more involved open gastric bypass procedure you will have a larger incision and will require a slightly longer hospital stay, generally between 5 – 7 days, again, assuming you have no complications. Your surgeon will be able to provide you with more specifics based on your situation and your overall health and the exact type of procedure you are having.

As to recovery after the surgery, there will also be a fairly involved process which will include significant lifestyle changes, in particular the types and amounts of food that you eat. It’s important to understand that this procedure will make your stomach about the size of a walnut, and that will greatly reduce the amount of food and drink you will be able to consume at one time. That change will be permanent so the days of having a huge feast are over, or at least you’ll have to spread the meal out over several hours.

Most people will continue to lose weight up to 2 years after the procedure, and weight loss of up to 80% of your excess body weight is not uncommon. It’s not likely that you’ll lose 100% of your excess weight but losing the majority of it is still a great start for most people.

Losing weight at such a rapid pace can have virtually immediate impact on other obesity related issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Another benefit, after your recovery period, should be an overall lessening of many aches and pains and increased mobility. Just being able to move around more comfortably can have a dramatic effect on your health as well as your overall disposition.

For many people, gastric surgery really is a matter of life and death. While it is possible to lose weight the ‘old fashioned’ way, for people with serious and potentially life threatening health issues time is of the essence and this surgery can help them lose weight much faster than they would normally be able to do. Just make sure that when you’re considering surgery, you pay close attention to the gastric bypass recovery time and carefully follow all of your doctors advice.

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You know, it may not be fair that society and advertises perpetuate an unreasonable ideal for what people should look like. Nobody’s perfect. On the other hand, there is also a point when it’s a good idea to lose weight. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be healthy, or to look your best. Losing weight isn’t always easy, but what follows will make it much, much easier. Nothing complicated, just stuff that actually works.

Building muscle burns calories even when you’re at rest. Wait! While that may be true, the calorie-burning effect of extra muscle tends to be exaggerated. The one thing that is not in dispute is that muscle does burn more calories, pound for pound, than fat does. The only question is how much, but in the battle of the bulging waistline we’ll use every trick in the book.

Write a plan to lose weight. Even if you’re writing down somebody else’s plan. The sheer act of writing it down increases the odds of your success. What foods will you be adding or reducing? What new habits will you encourage? What about exercise? There are no right or wrong answers, you know yourself better than anybody, so only you can make the best plan for you. The more specific your plan, the better.

Be ready for the inevitable roadblocks and setbacks. Yeah, I’m human, too. There will be times when you veer from your plan. It may be a moment of weakness, or it could be due to an unforeseen circumstance. The trick is to not let it get to you. All too often we make one slip and use that as an excuse for letting our plan slide for the day. Don’t let that happen. Forgive and forget and get back to your plan.

Make the better choice. This ranks right up there as an easy way to lose weight. For example, let’s say you are buying a bag of potato chips (yes, you can eat chips), compare it to another bag and see which has the fewest calories. Or, even better, compare the chips to another snack food, or something from the produce department. You always have a choice. How much weight loss you experience will correspond directly to how good your exercise and food choices are.

Perhaps you noticed that we actually said you can eat potato chips earlier. Yes! Chips. It’s silly to think you will really be able to swear off the foods you truly love for the rest of your life (barring serious health reasons for doing so). So, instead of fighting it, you’re going to control it. How? By eating smaller portions of the foods that do the most damage to your waistline.

None of the things we just covered are complicated. Start incorporating them into your daily routine now. The best part is that you can keep eating all of the foods you love if you’re willing to build a little extra muscle, have a plan, be prepared, make better choices and keep portions in check.

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When You Hit A Plateau With Your Weight Loss

Dieters everywhere dread the plateau; the phase of your diet where all your hard work seems to get you no results. It seems that you are dieting and exercising your heart out for nothing. If you feel that you are currently on a dieting plateau, keep in mind that there has to be an up side (your previous weight loss), a leveling off (which you are currently experiencing) and a down side (which you’ll get to soon). Each plateau you come upon in your weight loss journey will have these same characteristics. Learning how to deal with them now will help you in the future.

Follow these guidelines to break through your dieting plateau and get back on the weight loss trail –

Continue to Exercise:
Even if it seems that you are not making progress towards weight loss, it is important to continue to exercise. Not doing so will allow extra pounds to creep back on. In fact, if you are experiencing a plateau, it may be wise to increase the amount or intensity of your exercise, to help you break out of your slump.

Continue to Eat Well:
Maintain the weight that you have lost so far by continuing to eat healthy foods. Do not use your plateau as an excuse for a binge, or drastically reduce your calorie count. Continue to eat the diet that has helped you lose weight so far. Do so consistently, and you will soon be out of the plateau.

Develop a Support Network:
Find a message board or a group of real life friends, and draw on them for support. This will help you to continue towards your weight loss goals, even when it becomes more difficult. If possible, find friends who are also dieting. They will be a great support to you throughout your weight loss journey.

As you fight your way through your dieting plateau, you are responsible for every action you take. Each decision you make will impact your weight loss now and in the future. Do the best you can to continue to make healthy choices, even though the scale may not show it.

If you have been exercising a lot, keep in mind that you may be losing fat and gaining muscle, leading to no drop in scale weight. Use the above guidelines to maintain your diet, and stay strong. Soon youll be breaking through that plateau and soaring on down the scale.

This article isn’t medical advice nor should it be interpreted or substituted as medical advice. This article is for informational purposes only. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. It is much better to be safe than sorry.

Tags: Binge, Break, Calorie Count, Diet, Dieters, Dieting, Excuse, Exercise, Healthy Choices, Healthy Diet, Healthy Foods, Heart, Intensity, Life Friends, Lose Weight, Losing Weight, Message Board, Personal Physician, Plateau, Slump, Weight Loss Goals, Weight Loss Journey, Weight Lost —

To encourage motivation as you lose weight, it is important to set goals. Setting goals that will stretch you allows you to improve both your exercise and eating habits consistently. Goals help you maintain focus as you strive to reach your target weight. Without goals and planning, youre setting yourself up for failure before you ever begin. Take the time to design a system of goals leading up to a stretch target to help you meet your fitness goals.

Stretch targets are goals that are designed to stretch you. When designing a stretch target, you need to plan a goal that you think is out of reach, and then set smaller goals to help you work towards it. For example, if you never exercise, you could make your goal to run a marathon in six months. You would then set smaller goals to get you there.

Goal setting is essential when you are attempting to make any lifestyle change. Take the time to design a stretch target, and smaller goals leading up to it. For example, you could begin by setting goals of walking each day with short bursts of running. Do this for 30 minutes per day for awhile, and then add more running each week. Eventually, by meeting these mini goals, youll be building up to running your marathon.

Be sure to encourage yourself along the way. As you design each goal, pick out a small reward that you will get when you achieve it. Set a much bigger reward for achieving your target goal. This gives you small incentives to work towards the bigger goal. If youre like most people, you require some sort of immediate gratification to keep you motivated. These rewards provide just that.

Goals are essential to any type of long term change, and weight loss is no exception. Setting goals leading up to a target that stretches you is a great way to encourage motivation. Tell others about your goal, so that they can encourage you as you begin. With dedication and hard work, youll be achieving your goal in no time at all. Be sure to choose a goal that really matters to you, so that youre even more motivated to work towards achieving it. Keep your mind focused on how proud youll feel when you finally reach your goal. Congratulations! Youre on your way to a better life.

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, nor should it be interpreted or substituted for medical advice. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. Better safe than sorry.

Tags: 30 Minutes, Dedication, Eating Habits, Exercise, Failure, Fitness Goals, Goal Setting, Healthy Diet, Immediate Gratification, Incentives, Lifestyle Change, Losing Weight, Marathon, Motivation, Personal Physician, Rewards, Running, Setting Goals, Six Months, Stretch Targets, Target Goal, Target Weight, Weight Loss —