Undergoing bariatric surgery is a life-changing decision that requires a fundamental shift in how you approach food. While surgery helps limit food intake and alters digestion, long-term success depends on adopting healthy eating behaviors. Mindful eating—paying full attention to the experience of eating—can play a crucial role in maximizing weight loss, preventing complications, and fostering a healthier relationship with food.
Read more: The Power of Mindful Eating After Bariatric Surgery
We are thrilled to announce the return of our popular Free Weight Loss Information Seminars in an in-person format at our new location, The George Centre. Since 2012, these seminars have been a cornerstone of our service, providing valuable insights and support to those considering weight loss surgery.Â
We are excited to share some wonderful news with you! In our continuous effort to enhance our healthcare services, we have expanded our practice to a new location. Alongside our Campbelltown consulting rooms, we are now also consulting and operating at The George Centre, located in the beautiful area of Gledswoods Hills.
Read more: New Consulting and Operating Location at The George Centre, Gregory Hill
Burping, also known as belching, is a common experience after sleeve gastrectomy. While it can be surprising at first, this is a normal part of recovery for many patients. In this article, we explain why burping happens after a gastric sleeve, how long it typically lasts, and what you can do to manage it effectively.
Read more: Burping After Sleeve Gastrectomy: Causes and Relief Tips
What is Dumping Syndrome?
Dumping Syndrome is a collection of symptoms that occur after eating resulting from rapid delivery of stomach content into the small intestine. Symptoms can range from mild to severe. Normally there is a muscle sphincter (the pylorus) at the lower end of stomach that regulates the slow delivery of broken down food into the intestine. Therefore, dumping syndrome is very common in operations that bypass or remove the pylorus such as stomach cancer surgery and gastric bypass (85% of patients). Dumping syndrome is also seen in some patients having other stomach operations such as sleeve gastrectomy.
Sleeve Gastrectomy can rapidly change your life. Most patients see a 60% reduction in excess body weight within six months 1* (* Results may vary from person to person). Weight-related conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and sleep apnoea significantly improve or disappear altogether. Everyday you'll feel lighter, be able to do more than you could before, and stay active for longer periods of time.
After six months that rapid weight loss slows as your body adjusts to your new caloric intake. By nine months it's almost stopped. That's why it's so important to act quickly and take advantage of the positive energy and momentum now.
What You Can Do to Maintain that Weight Loss Momentum?
Read more: Use Your Sleeve Gastrectomy Weight Loss Momentum to Change Your Life
Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy has become one of the most popular weight loss operations in recent years. You will be able to eat a normal diet and feel satisfied after a quarter of what you used to eat. The operation also reduce your hunger by removing the Ghrelin hormone.
Like all weight loss operation, the sleeve gastrectomy should be a viewed a tool that you need to use properly in order to maintain your weight loss long term. Adapting a new healthy lifestyle will ensure your long term success.
There are certain habits that you must avoid in order to achieve long term success.
1. Grazing
Constant grazing or snaking between meals is the worst thing you can do after sleeve gastrectomy. Eating chips or crackers slowly one after the other will defeat the tightest sleeve gastrectomy that I can perform. It leads to unnecessary calorie pileup and can impede weight loss. If required, choose healthy snacks such as fruits or proteins.
Read more: Habits That Can Sabotage The Success Of Sleeve Gastrectomy
The Gastric Band has emerged as a popular weight loss operation during the late nineties and early 2000s, however, over the last 15 years or so its popularity has decreased due to high failure rates, food intolerance and late complications associated with the procedure.
Quite often, the patient is blamed for failing to lose weight or maintain the weight loss. The patient's friends, family and even doctors believe that the patient has stopped following the recommended diet resulting in inadequate weight loss or even weight gain. Even many patients start to drown themselves in self-blame. In my view, this is incorrect.
The gastric band works by creating an area of fixed narrowing in the upper part of the stomach that limits food intake. Because of this area of obstruction, healthy food items such as red meat, chicken, and fruit and vegetables tend to get stuck resulting in frequent vomiting and regurgitation of food. Vomiting or bring up of food becomes part of the patients' daily routine that patients do not even report to their doctors. On top of this, the band does not address the hunger most patients experience with eating less and for losing weight. After few trials patients quickly change their diet from the healthy food that get stuck to diet consisting mostly of smooth, sloppy, calorie-dense food such as smoothies, ice cream and chocolate. These food items go through the band without restriction and without discomfort. In effect the band punishes patient for eating healthy food and rewards patients for cheating.
We cannot blame the patient for failing the band. It is the gastric band itself that fails the patient.
