The Great Obesity Myth

Dr David Ashton calls for an end to dangerous misconceptions about obesity

Imagine you have been listed for an operation – say a hernia repair or a hip replacement – and you then receive a letter from your doctor telling you that before they can go ahead with the surgery, you will need to see a psychiatrist. The letter also makes it clear that you can only proceed to surgery if you pass the psychiatric assessment and there is a one in five chance that you will fail. How would you feel about that?
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Once you have had your Lap-Band  surgery, you can jump start your journey to better health by starting an exercise program, it does not have to be an all out, over the top program. Your body is probably not ready for that so you should start out slow, something that is low impact but enough to keep you on track to maintain effective weight loss in your daily routine.  Many patients don’t realize the benefits that low-impact exercises can have on the body, especially right after your surgery. The truth is that low impact exercise will benefit the body immensely when done routinely.
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Shopping After Weight-Loss

It does not take long, after weight-loss surgery, to notice you are in need of some new clothes. In time, you are not going to be able to continue to wear those lose fitting garments and it is going to be time to shop for some new clothes that fits you and starts showing off that new body. This can be a very exciting time in your process. Buying smaller sized clothes can give a confidence boost. This experience can also be intimidating for some people but there are several ways you can be prepared to make your shopping experience most pleasant.
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7 TIPS in Reaching Your Weight Loss Goals

Experts have theorized for decades, that weight loss is more than just diet and exercise. One must be in the proper mindset to make lifestyle changes that come with a change in attitude. In order for weight loss and lifestyle changes to occur, one must be able to make the transition in their mind to believe that these changes are indeed possible. How do you prepare your mind for this weight loss transition? Using these tips, you can help to adjust your attitude and reach your weight loss goals with ease.
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Set Limits and Short Term Goals During the Holidays

With the holiday season comes the temptation of food. It seems to be a part of every family gathering, festivity and party! For those patients who have undergone the Lap-Band procedure, the holidays need to be approached with a similar healthy eating routine that has become adapted as part of your daily life, since the time of the Lap-Band surgery.
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Strong Connection Between Diabetes and Weight Loss Surgery

We have known for many years that diabetes and obesity run a similar tract. Healthcare professionals are now coming to understand the increased risk involving obesity and the direct effect it has to the cause of diabetes. As a result of this strong connection, many healthcare professionals have even begun grouping the conditions together, using the term “diabesity.” Healthcare professionals are also beginning to understand that considerable weight loss can improve or completely eliminate diabetes in many obese patients. Diet and exercise is often very difficult for those suffering from diabetes and obesity, doctors and health professionals have also begun studying the effects of weight-loss surgery options such as Lap-Band on these conditions. While Lap-Band helps patients lose more weight over the long term than traditional diet and exercise programs, the Lap-Band’s success in treating diabetes has become one of the most popular procedures this year.
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Effectiveness of Weight Loss Surgeries

Weight loss surgery (also known as bariatric surgery) covers a wide span of procedures in which a portion of the digestive tract is restricted in some way, causing a physical sensation of appetite satiety after smaller than normal amounts of food have been consumed.  Consequently, the patient consumes fewer calories and loses weight. The two most commonly performed and recognized surgical procedures are Gastric Bypass and Gastric Banding, often referred to as the Lap-Band.
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Expected Weight Loss is Based on Several Factors

It is important to remember that weight loss surgery is not a magic wand that can make all your excess weight disappear in an instant. In fact, most patients choose Lap-Band surgery because it promotes weight loss at a healthier, more gradual pace.  At this point is important to set the right weight loss goals to achieve a long term chance of success with a Lap-Band. Post surgery, many patients might feel too overwhelmed with weight loss results while they are adjusting to the change. Some patients may expect unrealistic results that can risk their health as well as hurt their body image and self-esteem.

Rapid weight loss from bariatric procedures like Gastric Bypass has been documented to cause riskier health problems. Some patients may experience extreme physical and emotional pain and discomfort. Symptoms may include depression, vitamin deficiencies, gastritis, dehydration and malnutrition.

Studies have shown that although Gastric Bypass patients have faster weight loss results than Lap-Band users after the first year of surgery, weight loss results are the same with Lap-Band patients after three years.

Weight loss results can be dependant on several factors:

1. Body Mass Index (BMI)

Your expected weight loss can be measured dependent on your pre-operative BMI. Patients who average at 35- 40 BMI (minimum number required for gastric band surgery) can expect to lose weight a bit faster than those with higher BMIs. It is possible to lose one to three pounds per week after the first year of surgery. That rate decreases gradually 12 – 18 months after surgery.

2. Overall Body Health

Some cases of weight loss (and weight gain) can also be attributed to serious illnesses a patient might have that have no connection with their Lap-Band. Patients should be aware of infections and other illnesses that affect their body’s nutritional needs and well-being.

3. Post Operative Diet

After surgery, a dietician will advise a patient on the right kinds of foods to eat. This will help maintain and stabilize your post-operative body weight. In weeks following an operation, patients are advised to try out a clear diet that eventually graduates to solid food. With this being said, wrong food choices can also make or break your weight loss results.

4. Band Adjustments After Surgery

The Lap-Band system is (in most cases) a life-long implant that needs to be monitored to maintain your weight years after your surgery. When you are in the green zone, the band is helping you lose weight effectively with no physical discomfort whatsoever on your part. If your band is not tight enough, you run the risk of not losing any weight at all.

5. Commitment to Continued Exercise

Doctors advise up to 30 minutes a day of exercise to make you reach your weight loss goals safely. If you continue to resist burning calories the right way, the Lap-Band system can not do its job effectively.

Setting the Record Straight About Lap-Band Myths

The Lap-Band and other gastric banding procedures are relatively new and with that comes miscommunications and sometimes data that is not exactly accurate or is incorrectly attributed to one procedure rather than another. Hopefully this will disspell some of those myths and set the record straight.

Myth #1 – People who are very obese cannot use the Lap-Band surgery

It is another myth that patients who are what is called “super obese” which is a BMI over 50 are better served by the gastric bypass. While this may be the case in some patients, it is important to know that the Lap-Band is extremely effective with patients who have a BMI over 50. In addition to this, because the Lap-Band method does not have any effect on the nutritional absorption of food patients enjoy a better quality of life and have more health related issues resolved.

Myth #2 – If you have the Lap-Band, you cannot get pregnant

You in fact can get pregnant if you have the Lap-Band. However, your doctor may advise you, that if you are planning on having children you may want to wait until your weight loss stabilizes and you have lost a good percentage of your weight. This way you have an easier pregnancy and your chances of getting pregnant are potentially increased. Unlike the Gastric Bypass, the Lap-Band does not cause any issues with malabsorbtion of nutrients so mothers-to-be do not have to worry about reduced nutrition for their child. Also, it is important to remember that unlike the Gastric Bypass, the Lap-Band is adjustable so that anytime during the pregnancy your doctor can reduce the restriction on your Lap-Band to allow for additional caloric intake should you require it.

Myth #3 – Lap-Band surgery cannot effectively resolve obesity-related health conditions

Many conditions related to being overweight can be completely resolved by using the Lap-Band. Conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma and sleep apnea have been shown to be reduced or completely resolved after successful weight loss from using the Lap-Band. In fact a recent study has shown, that patients with Type II diabetes in 73% of the cases have achieved full resolution as a result of the decrease in weight. In cases where the patient has asthma over 60% had reduced symptoms and 35% of patients no longer had any asthma symptoms once they achieved their weight loss goals.

Myth #4 – The surgery prevents proper nutrition

This is untrue and is a common misconception. The reason lies in that a Gastric Bypass surgery, there are issues and concerns with the nutrient intake because the Gastric Bypass removes a big portion of the stomach which is responsible for absorbing nutrients from food. The Lap-Band does not re-route intestines or cut up the stomach, therefore there are no changes to the intestinal tract and as such nutrients are absorbed as they always have been in the past.

Myth #5 – With the Lap-Band, weight loss can be rapid and unhealthy

The average weight loss using the Lap-Band is just 2-3 pounds a week; this is just a bit above what you may be able to lose on a regular diet. The difference is that the Lap-Band helps you by making you feel fuller at a quicker rate, therefore you are not prone to cheating. Also, with the Lap-Band, you are more inclined to lose that same level over a longer period of time as your doctor monitors your progress and continues to constrict your band over time allowing you to continue to be successful in your weight loss goals.

Myth #6 – You can only have a liquid diet

Again untrue. However, where this myth probably stems from is the fact that many bariatric surgeons will have you go on a liquid diet for one to two weeks before surgery in order to allow for the liver to shrink and for the actual procedure to be easier to perform. Once you have the Lap-Band procedure, you will be slowly moved from a liquid diet post operatively and then moved back to a regular diet. The difference being that you will feel full sooner and thereby lose the weight.

Myth #7 – Follow-up care is not necessary

Nothing could be further from the truth. The Lap-Band is not a weight loss surgery that is performed and you never have to see the doctor again. In fact, after your surgery, your doctor may require for you to come back on a monthly basis to monitor your success and make adjustments to your Lap-Band in order to allow you to continue to be successful in your quest for your ideal body weight. When looking for a doctor who does the Lap-Band surgery, be sure to inquire about their follow-up care program and do not forget to view the section on Questions to Ask when determining who will perform your weight loss surgery.

Myth #8 – After the Lap-Band surgery, your lifestyle will not need to change

Incorrect. The Lap-Band as well as any other weight loss surgery is a tool. A tool that is part of a bigger tool kit that includes exercise, follow-up with your doctor and making good choices when eating. Like anything else, you cannot lose weight if you are not committed to the process. Consider that the Lap-Band restricts the intake of solid foods. Surely you could cheat and drink chocolate milk shakes all day as they would pass the Lap-Band with little resistance. That is why you must be committed to the process and visit you doctor often and attend any support group meetings that he or she may hold as there is always more strength in numbers and you will find that Lap-Band patients are very supportive of each other.

Myth #9 – Lap-Band patients have a lower quality of life

Studies show that Lap-Band patients and even others who have had some form of weight loss surgery, have had an increased quality of life due to their ease of mobility following their weight loss and reduced illnesses like sleep apnea, diabetes and hypertension. Most importantly, Lap-Band patients have a feeling of satisfaction and satiety after eating so they do not feel hungry all the time and does not risk stretching out their gastric pouch like gastric bypass patients do.

Myth #10 – The Lap-Band is a dangerous surgical procedure

When talking about weight loss surgery and dieting, many facts get confused between the Gastric Bypass and the Lap-Band system. The Lap-Band system utilizes a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure to insert the Gastric Band inside the patient’s body. The procedure consists of 5 or 6 small one inch incisions which allows for faster healing and allows the procedure to be done in a “same day” environment. in comparison, the Gastric Bypass requires cutting of the stomach and re-routing of the intestinal tract. The Gastric Bypass is statistically 10 times more risky of a procedure than the Lap-Band or other Gastric Banding solutions.

To view the Lap-Band procedure, please visit the following link http://www.swlc.ca/contact-us/video-gallery.php.

We are pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Symposium hosted by the Surgical Weight Loss Centre on Saturday, May 30th, 2009 at the Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference Centre in Mississauga. The Symposium is a one day educational event that includes an exciting line-up of inspirational speeches from professionals in our field. Among our line-up of guest speakers include Dr. Christopher Cobourn, surgeon and medical director of SWLC; Dr. Frank Lista, facility director of SWLC and medical director & founder of the Plastic Surgery Clinic; Dr. David Mumford, surgeon; Dr. Monica Ganz, founder & president of MG consulting; and Dr. Jacqueline Jacques, naturopathic doctor in medical nutrition.

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