Gastric bypass surgery is a weight loss procedure that results in major changes not only in the body, but also in ones lifestyle. To be able to adapt well to those changes, a patient needs to bear in mind these guidelines that ensure success after the surgery. Success means maintaining a healthy weight and preventing the possibility of regaining weight.

1. Avoid foods that are not nutritious. The culprits for weight gain are foods and liquids that are rich in calories, fat, and sugar. These include soda, milk shakes, alcohol, and sugar-rich desserts. These foods do not provide nutrients; instead, they cause hunger pangs and vomiting. Avoid them so that you do not out your weight loss effort to waste. Make sure that your diet is rich in protein, and include lots of fruits and vegetables.

2. Avoid foods that cause discomfort. Sticky, dry, and fibrous foods such as pasta, rice, bread, and meat are usually a no-no for bypass surgery patients. Soda is also not allowed because it causes bloating, gas pain, and even pressure in the stomach.

3. Avoid snacking between meals. This will only hurt your chances of keeping a healthy weight.

4. Avoid drinking liquids immediately before, during, or after meals. Filling your stomach with liquids instead of foods will deprive you of your much-needed nutrients for healing and recovery. Be sure to drink fluids at least 30 minutes before and after your meals. And of course, avoid drinking fluids while eating meals.

5. Refrain from drinking alcoholic and caffeinated drinks. Alcohol does more harm than good for people who have gone through weight loss surgery. Devoid of calories, alcohol can cause stomach ulcers. Caffeine have the same effect, aside from working against hydration in the body.

6. Contact your surgeon if problems arise. If you experience one or more of the following problems, call your surgeon immediately: extreme pain in the legs, shortness or difficulty of breathing, fever, bleeding of the incisions, and dark stools.

7. Maintain your follow-up visits after the surgery. This will make it easier for you and your surgeon to monitor and assess your progress. Also, this will result in early detection of problems such as surgical complications and nutritional deficiencies.

8. Keep yourself from getting pregnant for two years following surgery. Because your body is undergoing weight months after the surgery, it may not be able to support a baby. This will be unhealthy for both of you and the fetus. Ask your surgeon for advice in case you plan on getting pregnant.

9. Join a support group. Coping with the aftermath of the surgery may be much easier if you do it with the help of other people. There are many support groups formed to provide emotional support and advice for people who have undergone weight loss surgery. Search for these groups on the Internet; for sure, you can find one within or near your locality.

10. Find ways to cope with stress. Stress usually leads to comfort eating, which is not good for people who have had weight loss surgery. Listen to your favorite music, read books, meet up with friends, and do whatever you can to effectively deal with stress.

You will get the best results from gastric bypass surgery if you follow the guidelines mentioned above.

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Gastric Bypass: What You Need to Know Before You Go Under the Knife

Tired of all your weight loss methods that dont work? Surgery may be your only lifesaver. In fact, some overweight people go to greater lengths by going under the knife to be able to lose weight fast. You might want to consider gastric bypass surgery to eliminate those unwanted bulges and flabs. In essence, it lowers the volume of the stomach by as much as 30 ml. This procedure, which is sometimes referred to as bariatric surgery, is the most preferred weight loss surgery by surgeons in the United States.

It is because this type of bariatric surgery is much safer and less risky than other weight-loss procedures. Compared with the other type of bariatric surgery (gastric banding surgery), this procedure does not easily lead to weight gain. And with consistent changes in a patients lifestyle and behavior, the surgery can result in a long-term and immediate weight loss, as well as other health benefits such as treatment of sleep apnea and type II diabetes.

How safe it is?

The technology used in the weight loss surgery makes the operation much safer than before. Majority of bariatric procedures take advantage of the new laparoscopic technology, which uses a tiny video camera and other instruments to make very small incisions on the abdomen. Whereas before, surgeries of the stomach involved creating large incisions that usually caused intense pain and inflammation to patients. Smaller incisions using the laparoscopic technique leads to less pain, less swelling, fewer scars, and faster recovery rate.

How does it work?

Usually performed within two hours, the surgery involves making the stomach smaller by creating a line of staples that is joined to an end of the small bowel.

Is this surgery right for you?

It depends on your body mass index (BMI). You are a candidate for the surgery if your BMI is not less than 40. But if you have any serious disease such as pneumonia, bronchitis, or diabetes, your BMI must be at least 35 in order to undergo a weight-loss surgery. Otherwise, the surgeon may not allow you to go through the procedure because of the complications. Aside from the right physical condition, you must be emotionally and mentally prepared for the surgery. For the operation to be successful, you should be properly motivated and aware of the risks or complications that may arise. Also, surgery should always be the last resortmeaning you use it only after you have tried dieting and exercise but to no avail.

What are the risks?

Of course, any kind of surgery entails some risks due to the incisions involved in the operation. Deaths resulting from the surgery are very rare (about 0.1 to 2 percent). The complications of the surgery are bleeding, respiratory dysfunction, stenosis or the obstruction of stomach, and leaking due to the staples.

How to find the right surgeon?

Choosing the best surgeon is one of the most important decisions to make when it comes to weight-loss surgery. The surgeon is the only person to entrust your life and limb with, so to speak. So he or she must not only be competent, but also a person whom youre comfortable dealing with. Also, look for a surgeon with a vast experience in gastric bypass surgery, preferably someone who has performed hundreds of operations. That way, you can be sure that your surgery is safe and effective.

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Something that can make the difference for you when youre trying to shed pounds is finding good weight loss support. This isnt always easy. Often the people closest to us are the least supportive; sometimes they can be downright discouraging. If losing weight is something youve tried to do many times in the past but never managed to succeed, or if you lost weight only to gain it back as so many of us have, then maybe theyve heard you say you were going to do it before. While its not fair that they wouldnt be supportive now, often thats the reason the people closest to us dont get excited about our new efforts.

If you feel the people closest to you might have that discouraging attitude, then consider not even mentioning your efforts to them. You wont get any weight loss support from them if they dont know, but if theyre not likely to be supportive anyway its better to keep it a secret than have to deal with someone discouraging.

Sometimes the people we love sabotage our efforts without meaning to. The husband will start bringing home candy bars when the wife announces her new diet, for instance. When people fear change or worry that a new, slimmer you might make you want them to lose weight or change something about themselves, this saboteur-like behavior can start just when you need weight loss support from them the most. Dont take this personallymost people dont even realize theyre doing it.

If you have friends or family who also need to lose weight but arent currently concerned about it (at least, they dont mention it to you) be careful how much you talk about your own efforts. At best, theyll be happy for you at first but then wonder why you keep bringing it up, at worst theyll feel like your success just points out their own failure in that area. Its one thing to need weight loss support from those we love, but we also have to take into account that everyones human and people will react differently to your efforts and your success.

If all this seems discouraging, take heart! There are two great ways to find weight loss support that pretty much guarantee you wont be unintentionally alienating any family or friends, and you also wont be giving them the opportunity to take the wind out of your sails by unintentionally (or intentionally) being hurtful and discouraging. Look in your local paper for weight loss groups that meet once a week for the purpose of supporting each other. Several that cost a certain amount per week like Weight Watchers exist, as well as meetings that only require a donation like OA or TOPS.

Another great way to meet people on the same journey is through online support groups. This also has the benefit of anonymity, and convenience. An Internet search will lead you to dozens of places where you can find great weight loss support online.

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There are many different types of weight loss medicine available today. Some pills are hyped as medicine thats prescription strength and as effective as a prescription but you can order them off the television, online or through the mail. Dont. Unlike prescription medication, these pills arent regulated by the FDA.

Over-the-counter or mail order diet pills dont have claims that can be proven or backed up, because theres no evidence that has to be presented anywhere for them to make that claim. They can claim to make your hair grow, make you lose weight, make you taller or anything else, and get away with it.

At worse, this kind of weight loss medicine is dangerous and even deadly. Pills that expand and fill you up so youll eat less as well as pills designed to rev up your metabolism or keep you from being hungry have all made people ill. Deaths have been reported that were linked to each of those kinds of easily purchased pills. Dont risk your health on a bottle of snake oil that can potentially make you sick.

Any weight loss medicine you do decide to take should come directly from your doctor. And even then, you should ask lots of questions about the medication. Ask how youll feel on it, because sometimes there are side effects, especially in the beginning. Some medicines can make you feel slightly nauseous. You wont want to eat because of that, but thats no way to have to lose weight! Usually such side effects go away fairly quickly, but you should ask to make sure. You dont want any surprises after youre on the weight loss medicine.

An important factor in deciding to take medicine is to decide how committed you really are to losing weight. Since youre even thinking about pills, youve probably already tried many times with little progress. But you should think back and try to figure out why you didnt lose weight, or why you lost weight only to gain it back later. Be honest with yourself before you start taking the pills. Its best to be completely honest with yourself even before your doctor writes the prescription.

If you still feel weight loss medicine is the best thing for you, then you need to make a commitment right now to the other aspects of your weight loss plan. Youll want to commit to making cheating on your diet a very rare thing. Commit to not skipping that workout because youve had a long day.

Dont make the mistake so many other people make in thinking that prescription diet pills will work some kind of magic on them. The pills wont do all the work of losing weight for you. And they certainly cant undo anything you d wrong. Some diabetics eat all the sweets they want, figuring that since theyre on insulin, itll be ok. Dieters do the same thing. Dont make the mistake of thinking you can eat what you want while on weight loss medicine.

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