Secrets of Gastric Bypass Surgery: Lose Weight Without Surgery

There's more to gastric bypass than surgery and rapid massive weight loss. Patients who undergo weight loss surgery (WLS) sign-up for a lifetime of rigid behaviors to guarantee their long-term success.

Just imagine: If you knew what those behaviors were, could you lose the weight and keep it off without surgery? Take a look at the four rules WLS patients live by:

Rule 1: Protein First:

The first rule for living after Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) is Protein First - that means eating protein for three daily meals, and protein must be 50 percent of food intake. Animal products are the most nutrient rich source of protein and include fish, poultry and meat. Dairy protein, including eggs, is another excellent source of protein. Nuts and legumes are also good sources of protein, but sometimes difficult for the bariatric patient to consume.

Science is proving that a protein rich diet will prompt weight loss and increase energy. The body contains over fifty-thousand different active proteins all made out of the same building blocks: amino acids. Amino acids are made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen as well as sulfur, phosphorus and iron. Many diseases - including obesity - indicate an amino acid deficiency.

Weight loss surgery patients don't have a choice, they must eat lean protein or they will get sick, anemic, and weary. Weight loss will cease if they eat processed carbohydrates instead of lean protein. Dumping or vomiting may also result if patients do not eat lean protein for the first half of every meal.

The distinction must be made between high fat proteins and lean proteins. A gastric bypass patient cannot tolerate high fat proteins such as bacon, fatty beef or sausage products or greasy fried chicken: these foods cause nausea and vomiting. In addition, these high fat protein rich items are contributors to obesity and should be avoided by anyone wishing to control their weight.

Rule 2: Drink lots of water

Dieters are often told - drink water. Drink a minimum of 64 ounces a day - eight glasses a day. Gastric-bypass patients don't have a choice: they must drink lots water. Other beverages including coffee, tea, milk, soft drinks and alcohol are forbidden. Water is the essential fluid for living. Water is one of the most important nutrients the body needs to stay healthy, vibrant and energetic. A tell-tell sign of a gastric bypass patient is the ever-present water bottle.

The human body is a magnificent vessel full of water. The brain is more than 75 percent water and 80 percent of blood is water. In fact, water plays a critical role in every system of the human body. Water regulates body temperature, removes wastes, carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells, cushions the joints, prevents constipation, flushes toxins from the kidneys and liver and dissolves vitamins, minerals and other nutrients for the body's use.

Nutritionists say a precise measure of the body's need for water is to divide body weight (pounds) in half and drink that many ounces every day. That number could well exceed 200 ounces a day for morbidly obese people actively engaged in weight loss.

The body will panic if actual water intake is significantly less than required. Blood cannot flow, waste processes are disrupted and the electrolytes become imbalanced. Proper hydration prevents inflammation, promotes osmosis and moistens lung surfaces for gas diffusion. It helps the body regulate temperature, irrigate the cells and organs and promotes all functions of elimination. Certainly by drinking plenty of water many people could resolve inflammation and elimination problems that result from insufficient water intake. Adequate water facilitates weight loss.

Rule 3: No Snacking

Gastric bypass patients are instructed to avoid snacking. No exceptions.

Snacking is the worst possible thing a WLS patient can do. If patients snack they cease to lose weight and could possibly regain weight. In addition gastric bypass snackers risk severe swings in blood sugar levels and glucose overdose, they fail to move forward to the healthy life that surgery makes possible. They feel like failures when the WLS does not result in weight loss.

The nature of gastric bypass surgery gives patients an edge on beating the snacking habit. When a patient eats three protein-rich meals a day the body's fuel requirements are met and satiation results. Hunger does not occur if water is sipped throughout the day. If a patient is taking vitamins they will not be nutritionally wanting. Given that, patients who snack are doing so out of the very habit that contributed to obesity.

If a dieter must snack they must be mindful of their choices. Fruits, vegetables and lean proteins will contributed to wellness and weight loss. Processed carbohydrate convenience foods fail to meet nutritional needs or facilitate weight loss and should be avoided.

Successful WLS patients understand that snacking is bariatric purgatory. When they begin to snack weight loss will cease and weight gain will certainly result. Successful weight loss patients - those who maintain their weight loss years after surgery - do not snack. The same is true for all successful dieters regardless of the means by which they initially lost weight.

Rule 4: Exercise

The final rule, the one WLS despise the most, patients must exercise every day.

Nothing is more disappointing than hearing a gastric bypass patient brag that they didn't have to exercise to lose weight. It's true; patients will lose weight without lifting a finger. But patients who do not use the time of rapid weight loss to incorporate exercise into their lifestyle are doing themselves a grave disservice.

Obesity cripples the body. Bone tissues are compromised, joints are swollen, the vascular system is inadequate and the skeleton overburdened. As weight is lost, the burden on the bones, joints and vascular system is decreased. However, the body is a magnificent machine. Given proper nutrition and physical motion it will rebuild its broken framework. The systems can become strong and vital.

The most effective way to heal the body from the ravages of obesity is to exercise. Exercise means moving the body: walking, stretching, bending, inhaling and exhaling. Exercise is the most effective, most enjoyable, most beneficial gift one can bestow on themselves in the recovery from life threatening, crippling morbid obesity. People who successfully maintain their weight exercise daily.

Conclusion:

Successful weight loss surgery patients will tell you these are the four rules they live by, that the gastric bypass is only a tool to facilitate mindful behavior for better health. They will confirm that weight control, even with surgery, takes a lifetime of diligent attention to their bodies and behavior. They will assure you it isn't easy, but the results are worth the effort.

By Kaye Bailey

Gastric Bypass Causes Hair Loss: Can It Be Avoided?

Surprisingly, hair loss is one of the reasons female pre-operative patients sit on the fence before deciding to have gastric bypass surgery. Obese people, particularly obese women, often have lush gorgeous hair. Of course they do - it's well fed and nourished! How many of us have been described as the woman with "beautiful hair and a pretty face"? What person in their right mind would give up one of their beautiful features?

Hair loss usually occurs in the fourth of fifth month following weight loss surgery. During the phase of rapid weight loss, caloric intake is marginal. This puts the body in a state of panic called starvation. Think about the pictures of prisoners of war. Most victims of this atrocity are without hair because they are literally starving to death. A healthy body normally sheds ten percent of hair follicles at any given time. When a body is starving roughly thirty to forty percent of hair follicles are sacrificed as the body channels nutrition to more vital areas. During this phase hair loss is dramatic, often patients find clumps of hair on the shower floor. Remaining hair becomes drab and lifeless.

I knew hair loss was a potential result of weight loss surgery, but because I'm a "cup-half-full" person, I didn't believe that hair loss would happen to me! That just happens to other people, I told myself! Imagine my surprise when my blonde locks were littering the bathroom floor like hair saloon. I shed some tears over that.

The hair loss is a transient effect of your gastric bypass surgery and will be resolved when nutrition and weight stabilize. When my hair began falling out, my husband, who has been a proponent of vitamin supplements all his life, found a vitamin specifically formulated for building strong healthy hair. The vitamin I take for healthy hair and nails is Silica Complex by Puritan's PrideÒ. It contains calcium, magnesium, zinc, boron, betaine and horsetail extract. Consumption of this supplement almost immediately retarded my hair loss and renewed my dull lifeless hair. I will continue taking this supplement throughout my life. Three years after surgery my hair is long, full and lustrous - one would never know I had suffered significant hair loss. In hindsight, I would certainly begin taking this supplement prior to my surgery. In the very least I would begin taking it soon after surgery before the signs of hair loss were apparent.

Kaye Bailey

Different Ways For Weight Loss

Are you overweight? Have you noted that every time you try a new diet, it works for a while and then the weight comes back? Do you know friends who just cannot seem to stay on track or lose those extra pounds even though you know it is damaging their health? Would you like to know of a plan that really works, one which makes sense, but also encompasses life style changes?
Well then, it is time for you to lose weight now, but don't you dare ask me how, rather, let me recommend a very good book that I think you should read by a very popular self-help dietary author, who knows a good bit on the topic of weight loss, diets, nutrition, and exercise all subject you need to know to create the changes in your life to accomplish your objectives and become a better slimmer, thinner, and leaner you. So, without further ado, this is the book I'd like to recommend to you:
The author just happens to also be the CEO of one of the largest weight loss centers in the country, and this book starts out with a dozen plus testimonials of folks that had lost well over 50-pounds each, wow. This book is about taking a personal journey, making a change in life-style, and living a fuller, but leaner life because of it. This book is not for anyone that isn't serious, or refuses to make those changes, all of which will be for the better. It's not for lazy folks or the uncommitted soul that wants to take diet pills and call it a day, or try the newest crash diet craze of Hollywood. This is for real, and for really serious people. With that said, it is also fun, and the results make a believer out of the readers.

It is basically a two-phase approach encompassing 6-vital ingredients to weight loss. The reader will learn about Ketosis, as it is a major part of this diet plan. The book after educating the reader goes day-by-day and step-by-step as it explains the need for protein, proper calorie intake, carbohydrates, liquids, electrolytes, and the reality behind body mass index charts and graphs, as well as the genetic components of healthy eating. It's all there, and you will learn tons about how you got overweight, and how to stay thin and trim without crimping your style or ruining the fun in your life.

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Beth Chapman Weight Loss Story

When you hear the name Beth Chapman, many of you think of "Dog, the Bounty Hunter". More recently everyone has been at awe of her drastic weight loss and want to know what the Beth Chapman weight loss plan is. She has made appearances on Family Fued with the whole Bounty Hunter crew that really showed off her new slimmer body. At age 21, Beth became the youngest bondsman in Colorado with the family business. She got her inspiration and success from working in bail bonds with Denver's best bounty hunter, "Dog".

Beth Chapman is the fifth wife of bounty hunter, Duane Chapman and they both appear on the television show Dog the Bounty Hunter. Beth assists "Dog" in hunting down fugitives and running Da Kine Bail Bonds. Known for being sassy and fabulous many are questioning the Beth Chapman weight loss diet or if it was surgery related. For anybody to lose weight naturally you need to stick to a healthy diet and regular exercise. Whatever it takes try and get motivated, if it takes Beth Chapman to motivate you then use that to your advantage. It is important to make healthier lifestyle habits so a "good habit" will stay with you for life.

To lose a significant amount of weight you need to first make realistic goals for yourself. If someone believes 2-3 months as being quick then they can certainly lose a substantial amount of weight that is healthy for the body. If you want to lose weight in just a few weeks for a vacation or reunion you are attending then you may need to reevaluate your weight loss goal and find something more realistic. Weight loss is not something that just occurs over night but something that takes motivation and dedication to exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet. Do not be tempted to lose weight as quickly as you can, because a crash diet will have you eating less than a thousand calories a day slowing down your metabolism. Even though we live in a society that wants quick results, weight loss does not have to be one of them. It takes time, control and a healthy diet and exercise plan. To achieve Beth Chapman weight loss you need to make sure you are also watching how many calories you are consuming.

To lose weight it is simple you need to burn more calories than you eat by increasing your physical activity. It is important not to eat too few of calories though, because this is the fuel you need to energize you in the gym. By reducing the amount of salt and starches in your diet you will be able to reduce fluids and fluid retention. Dieters should try and eat mainly fruits, veggies, egg whites, soy products, fish and 95% lean meat. Some other weight loss tips are to drink lots and lots of water and eat plenty of protein. Get rid of and throw away all those snacks that are full of sugars and fats. This includes candy, deserts and your basic "junk food". The best tip is to not go to the grocery store when you are hungry! This will cause you to buy food that is high in fat and easy to consume.

These are all ways to lose those extra pounds but the real Beth Chapman weight loss technique can't be found anywhere. There has been rumors of a tummy tuck or she went through surgery to lose that extra weight. No matter how she lost the weight or if you look up to her due to her success in the bonding business she should be looked at as an inspiration to others.

Scott White