Success of WLS Depends Upon Changes in Lifestyle

Weight loss surgery is not the immediate solution to your obese body; it is a continuing process to lose weight by bringing changes in your lifestyle. To have long-term success and maintain a healthy body, you need to prepare yourself to make several lifestyle changes. Before considering weight loss surgery, you need to have a complete understanding and acceptance of the changes you will face.

Managing life after weight loss surgery requires significant lifestyle changes and modifications in daily habits. Weight loss surgery offers several benefits for the morbidly obese patients, who can no longer lose weight with drugs, diet changes and exercises. Still, even the most successful procedure demands an effective weight maintenance strategy after surgery to keep the patient in great shape and work towards a healthier lifestyle.

Significant weight loss will follow if a patient follows the recommended dietary, exercise and lifestyle guidelines set by your bariatric surgeon, nutritionist, therapist and other bariatric support staff.

Changing your eating habits and staying motivated will create not only amazing results, but also a healthier life that you will able to enjoy for many years to come.

Before surgery, you should prepare yourself for the steps you will need to take after you get the weight loss surgery done.

1. Diet-WLS involves significant modifications to your gastrointestinal tract. The patient needs to make changes to the diet after undergoing weight loss surgery. After either gastric banding or gastric bypass surgery, you will only be able to eat few bites in each meal. In order to ensure good nutrition and health, you must pay close attention to the types of food you eat. Foods that are well tolerated before surgery may cause discomfort afterwards. Take small bites, chew your food well and eat slowly, take a few minutes gap between each bite.

Changing one’s eating habits is the most important lifestyle change. Eating lots of vegetables and fruits and drinking plenty of water can also make you feel fuller. Eat a balanced diet that is low in fat and high in protein. Protein is important for healing directly after surgery and also during weight loss in order to build tissues in your body.

It is important to set realistic goals that are specific and achievable. Regularly record what you do in your weight-loss program such as daily calorie intake and amount of physical exercise. Keeping track on your progress can also help you stay motivated.

2. Follow-up after surgery-This is a very important part of the success of the surgery. Regular follow-up visits must be maintained to prevent complications and achieve optimum weight loss. Depending on your diet after surgery, you may have nutritional deficiencies over the years. Therefore, you are required to get check-ups done periodically.

3. Exercise- After surgery, it is vital to adhere strictly to the proper dietary and exercise guidelines. Exercise is an essential component in your weight loss program. Patients often need 2 to 3 weeks of healing, rest and recovery before any type of formal exercise, but light walking is recommended after discharge from the hospital.

4. Stress management- Managing stress, emotions and anxiety without turning to food can be a challenge for any individual after surgery. Working with a therapist to tackle difficult emotional issues can make weight loss surgery more rewarding and help to lead a healthy lifestyle for a long-term.

5. Support groups- Participation in post-operative support groups can be beneficial for patients. Support groups provide patients an opportunity to discuss personal and professional issues.

After a weight loss surgery one need to take care of many things like making lifestyle changes that you have to stick to for the rest of your life. If not, then the entire procedure can reverse itself and the weight will come back.

NFL – Favre May Come Back But It Depends On His Shoulder

Brett Favre has stated that his return to the NFL will depend on the healing of his shoulder, to which he was submitted to surgery on May 22nd to address an injured biceps tendon. Favre decided last season to retire due to the problems that he was having with his shoulder and he stated that he was a little tired after 18 NFL seasons.

Favre has announced his retirement in two occasions already; on March 2008 with the Green Bay Packers, which was his team for 15 years. It was unclear if he wanted to retire because he didn’t want to play anymore or because he had some troubles or differences with the Packers general manager Ted Thompson and the Packers crew. He then reconsidered to comeback for the 2008 season with the New York Jets, blaming it to an early decision of retirement, but then he started having problems with shoulder since last December.

A few months after, he decided to announce his retirement again early this year since he knew he had to be submitted to surgery. Favre’s interest to come back and play again was revealed a few weeks ago after he was submitted to surgery and after the Minnesota Vikings revealed their interest on trading Favre to their team.

The Vikings have been very clear and said that the decision of coming back to play with them will depend exclusively on the quarterback and on how does he feels about his shoulder. Dr. James Andrews was the one in charge of performing the surgery on Favre, and he said that it was not a complicated procedure since it was arthroscopic surgery and that the results of whether the surgery was completely successful should be seen in 4 to 5 weeks.

Favre has stated that he feels great with his shoulder and that he has been throwing some balls lately and it just feels good but there are some places that he stills has sore and he hopes it will get better as time passes. Favre emphasized also that in order to come back and play in the NFL again he has to be 100% in shape. If his shoulder doesn’t heal completely and if he doesn’t get to throw the same way that he did before he will not come back.

Coach Brad Childress from the Minnesota Vikings is the one that has been speaking with Favre lately and has revealed his interest on playing back again, but he also said that he knows that Favre is making and extra effort to be ready but if he doesn’t get to reach the level of play he is used to, he will not play again. Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf had also revealed his interest of Brett Favre playing with the Vikings, but he was very clear on Wednesday when he said that everything will depend on Favre and his repaired shoulder. Wilf didn’t set a dead line for Favre to make a decision, but training camp will start at the end of July and that seems to be the moment for him to decide if he plays or not with the Minnesota Vikings; but then again, it’s all up to him.