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Weight Loss Surgery: Successful Patients Embrace Four Stages of Growth
Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) is often viewed as a quick fix for morbid obesity. One day a person is fat, the next they are not. While it may appear to onlookers that a gastric bypass patient is losing the weight without personal struggle or effort, this really isn't true. WLS patients must follow four rules for success and they experience four phases of growth following surgery. The four rules for successful weight loss and long-term weight maintenance are: Eat protein first; No snacking, Drink lots of water and Exercise daily. Adherence to these rules moves the patient smoothly through the four stages of bariatric growth which I define as: Conception, Infancy, Adolescence and Maturity. Conception begins when patients consider surgery as a treatment for morbid obesity. It could be prompted by a life threatening illness such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, asthma, heartburn or sleep apnea. Or perhaps lifestyle prompts it - a person may lack the energy to play with their children or pursue the activities they love. Maybe self-esteem is so low because of obesity that a drastic measure - surgery - is needed to restore a sense of self-worth. Conception is followed by birth, an event left entirely to a carefully selected surgeon and staff of healthcare professionals. The surgeon partitions off most of the stomach creating a pocket or pouch that will hold one ounce of food. In most gastric bypass surgeries the digestive system is re-routed to bypass the intestine and shortcut to the bowel. This prevents too many calories from being absorbed and stored by the body in the form of fat. The patient wakes from the surgery a bariatric infant. Infancy On the second day of my WLS infancy my surgeon stood at my hospital bedside and showed me a cup, the size in which sacramental communion is offered and he said "This is the size of your stomach now." Just like bringing a newborn home from the hospital the bariatric patient brings home a tiny newborn tummy that has all kinds of requirements and restrictions. This new tiny tummy is completely foreign to the behaviors and habits that caused obesity. There is not one single thing an obese person has done in the past that they can continue doing. Patients who strictly follow the four rules quickly become acquainted with their new tiny tummy. This is the time of rapid weight loss. For the first time most morbidly obese patients are consistently losing lots of weight, something they have never experienced before. Infancy for most bariatric patients lasts from nine to 18 months. Similar to parents of a firstborn child who focus completely on their new baby, during bariatric infancy patients completely focus on their new tiny tummy. Then one day, without fanfare, they wake up and rediscover themselves. They enter adolescence. Adolescence Adolescence is the stage when patients test the system. Many patients don't dump, vomit, snack or eat the forbidden foods until they reach adolescence. But once they approach or reach target weight a mental bad boy shows up in a shiny black corvette saying take a ride on the wild side. So a patient jumps in the bad boy's fast ride and speeds down a dangerous road. They break the rules! Perhaps they eat sugar which results in a blood sugar imbalance called "dumping" or they may stuff themselves with starchy carbs causing vomiting. In the worst case, a patient returns to snacking, a little treat of hard candy here and a handful of popcorn there. Mark my words, nothing stops-short weight loss or maintenance more quickly than a little bit of rule breaking. But like any teenager, we all have to learn it on our own. The good news: the duration of adolescence is up to the patient! A patient only hurts themselves when they break the rules. Successful WLS patients commit to themselves early to be in control of their own gastric bypass growth cycle. However, some WLS patients get stuck in adolescence. I've heard many say, "Oh, I can eat anything I want, just not much of it." Don't believe it for a minute. They aren't saying how often they vomit, or dump or how they never quite achieved their weight loss goal. Weight loss patients who eat anything they want are abusing their tool and stuck in perpetual adolescence. Maturity At maturity a patient understands the gastric bypass system and is living the life they dreamed. They have achieved desired weight loss and are maintaining a healthy weight. A diligent patient can enjoy this phase for the rest of their life. I believe WLS maturity is reached when patients understand one word: respect. Respect for the tiny tummy, respect for the science of the body, and respect for oneself. Sure, we all experience an occasional lapse of judgment; that old lover of ours - food - is flaunting temptations every single day. But the gastric bypass patient is a brave and powerful person. Successful patients build on infant and teenage experiences and become an adult embracing all the good things gastric bypass has facilitated. The battle against obesity isn't easy; patients will fight old habits for the rest of their life. Gastric bypass is a tool, a weapon in the battle against obesity, but it is the patient who wins the war. Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.livingafterwls.com and http://www.livingafterwls.blogspot.com - Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often.
MORE RESOURCES: Weight Loss Drugs Changed Their Lives. Then They Lost Coverage. The New York Times WHO scientists endorse weight loss drugs for controlling obesity: What does it mean for therapies? The Indian Express ‘Was working on myself quite extensively’: Ram Kapoor shares photos after dramatic weight loss; tips on achieving sustainable fitness in middle age The Indian Express How to lose stubborn belly fat before wedding: Nutritionist shares simple weight loss plan to shed 2-3 kg in 10 days Hindustan Times Stanford Scientists Rewrite the Ketosis Rulebook: Metabolites That Suppress Hunger and Promote Weight Loss SciTechDaily Long-term weight loss effects of semaglutide in obesity without diabetes in the SELECT trial Nature.com FDA approves Zepbound® (tirzepatide) as the first and only prescription medicine for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity Investors | Eli Lilly and Company FDA approves weight-loss drug Zepbound to treat sleep apnea The Washington Post Weight Loss Drug Tirzepatide Now Approved for Sleep Apnea in Adults With Obesity AJMC.com Managed Markets Network Novo’s CagriSema Blunder Underscores Sky-High Investor Expectations for Weight Loss Drugs - BioSpace Are Weight-Loss Drugs Causing a Rift in Your Relationship? We Want to Hear About It. The New York Times Meghan Trainor Says This Strength Routine 'Changed' Her Life Women's Health FDA reaffirms Eli Lilly weight-loss drug is no longer in shortage The Washington Post Risks of weight loss medication breaks FOX 13 Seattle Wellness Wednesday: Weight loss resolutions newschannel20.com FDA Approves Weight-Loss Drug Zepbound for Sleep Apnea The Daily Beast Novo Nordisk stock plunges 20% after a trial of its latest weight loss drug disappoints Markets Insider Is Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (VKTX) the Best Weight Loss Stock to Buy Now According to Hedge Funds? Yahoo Finance Novo Crashes 18% After Next-Gen Obesity Drug Misses Its Mark Investor's Business Daily THIS weight-loss drug becomes first to gain approval for treating sleep apnea; details here | Mint Mint Best way to avoid weight gain when eating out: Nutritionist reveals clever restaurant hack; says you should drink... Hindustan Times FDA confirms shortage of weight loss drug tirzepatide is over, gives compounders a grace period STAT Reason behind Diddy's drastic weight loss behind bars as lonely Christmas approaches - The Mirror US IBD 50's Hims Tumbles On Bad News For Weight-Loss Drug Investor's Business Daily Opinion: Weight-loss drugs are great, but real food still matters Los Angeles Times Weight loss drugs are getting people to the doctor. Now comes the wave of long-ignored diagnoses Quartz Lilly's Zepbound® (tirzepatide) superior to Wegovy® (semaglutide) in head-to-head trial showing an average weight loss of 20.2% vs. 13.7% Investors | Eli Lilly and Company US obesity rates drop for 1st time in a decade, with possible help from weight loss medications ABC News Updated: Novo’s 23% weight loss with CagriSema falls short of high expectations, new trial planned Endpoints News Diddy stuns with dramatic ‘weight loss, grayer’ look at new court hearing, reporter claims Hindustan Times Novo Nordisk stock price takes a tumble after the Wegovy maker's next-generation weight-loss drug underwhelms Fast Company |
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