A recent study that appeared in the Obesity journal pointed out that food addiction can be significantly lowered with the help of bariatric surgery. The results of the research showed that the surgery, which is primarily used to reduce weight, probably has the ability to decrease a large number of eating disorders associated with extreme obesity, as well.

Note that even though bariatric surgery has been widely accepted as one of the highly effective weight loss therapies for treating obesity, it is yet undetermined to what extent the surgery can influence food addiction.

So, a study undertaken by some researchers of the Atkins Center of Excellence and the Center of Human Nutrition of St. Louis’ Washington University School of Medicine attempted to tackle exactly that. They wanted to see if weight-loss-induced gastric banding, gastric bypass, or gastrectomy played role in food addiction remission. Another aim of the study was to understand eating behavior normalization patterns.

For conducting the study, 44 patients were picked, each suffering from obesity. Among them, 39 were women. The patients exhibited mean BMI of 48 ± 8. The researchers examined the patients before the surgery and after it. Among the subjects, 25 experienced gastric bypass, 8 exhibited sleeve gastrectomy, and 11 showed gastric banding.

Besides that, 14 or 32 percent of the 44 subjects showed food addiction before the surgery took place. Factors like race, age, education level, or income level did not affect that.

Reports showed that food addiction decreased surprisingly in 13 of the total 14 subjects, or in nearly 93 percent of cases, after the surgery was done. Once the surgery being over, new cases ceased to crop up. Food addiction prevalence reached 2 percent from 32 percent (p< 0.00001). In addition to that, all subjects started to experience lesser extent of median symptoms (p< 0.0001).

Both the groups showed reduction in food craving after the surgery, but the effect was more pronounce among the patients who had serious food addiction. When the surgery was over, even patients who craved food very frequently stopped craving food much. Another thing noticed was that the craving for starch did not decline a lot among the noted food addicted subjects (p=0.009) after the surgery, even though that did not apply in case of other foods.

The authors of the study concluded that, based on the data, it was evident that obesity does not really result in food addiction. However, food addiction certainly seems to be one of the contributing risk factors. They also concluded that food addiction may very well be modifiable. Other than that, the authors agreed that in order to understand what mechanisms were responsible for reducing food addiction, and to rightly determine if food addiction presence influences the efficacy of weight loss when it comes to bariatric surgery, further studies are required.

While it isn’t ideal for every day, this is a sugar free ham glaze recipe that will allow you

to celebrate your holiday with a traditional baked ham after weight loss surgery. Spicy

sweet without going over the top and ruining your healthy diet, this Bariatric holiday

recipe includes a sugar free Maple Mustard Sauce which can be served at the table.

You will need to purchase a four to five pound lean smoked ham that has been fully

cooked for this recipe.

Sugar Free Apricot Ham Glaze Ingredients

One Jar of Smucker’s Sugar-Free Apricot Preserves, approximately 10-12 ounces

2/3 Cups of Healthy Brand Orange Juice

One Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar

1/3 Cup of Original Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard

Whole Cloves

This glaze is quite easy to make and the ham will taste absolutely heavenly. Simply

heat your oven to 325 degrees and blend the first three ingredients, above, in a small

sauce pan.
Watch the sauce pan closely as you bring this mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and

allow the mixture to simmer on a low heat setting, simmering gently until the glaze is

thick enough to coat a spoon. Remove the sauce pan from heat and whisk in the Grey

Poupon Mustard.

Next, prepare your ham by placing it inside a shallow roasting pan. You will need to

score the ham with a diagonal pattern, and insert the cloves. Pour half of the mixture

over the ham slowly and carefully, making sure the glaze seeps into the diamond

patterns.

Bake the glazed ham according to weight (approximately fifteen minutes per pound),

making sure to baste the meat in regular intervals for optimum flavor. Remove the ham

from your oven and allow the ham to set for fifteen to twenty minutes before serving.

Each three ounce serving of this exceptional ham glaze offers only 155 calories, two

grams of fat, one gram of carbs, 18 grams of protein, and absolutely no sugar! Now

that’s a Bariatric recipe worth keeping and sharing!

Maple Mustard Sauce

When serving this delicious baked ham, mix up a batch of Maple Mustard Sauce as a

table condiment. While the ham is roasting, you should mix together the Dijon mustard

and maple syrup in the amounts listed below and serve with your holiday ham.

1/2 Cup of Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard

1/4 Cup of Sugar-Free Country Maple Syrup

Setting Weight Loss Goals

Weight loss surgery is a life changing step and an advancement toward a newer and healthier you. Undergoing weight loss surgery is a huge step that means that you have decided to make a lifelong commitment to your health and happiness. To achieve success in your weight loss journey,many lifestyle changes are inevitable.

Some of these changes will depend largely upon the type of weight loss surgery that you choose, while others will be part of your conscious decision to improve your lifestyle and your health.

 

Changes Necessary for Weight Loss

Not sure how to make the necessary changes in your life? Don’t worry. This is a question every Bariatric patient must ask him or her self at some point. One way to set these changes in motion is through the process of setting goals and striving to reach them. It is difficult to remain focused without something to strive for.

Avoid falling back into those old patterns and behaviors and allowing yourself to sabotage your own efforts and hard work. Having a weight loss plan with an end goal requires visualizing the result that you desire, within a reasonable time-frame.

 

Choose Your Weight Loss Surgery  Goals

Changes to Your Diet:

While weight loss surgery does limit the amount of food that can be eaten, it is still up to you to choose the right foods. Choose only the foods which are beneficial to the body while avoiding foods that are not healthy.
Implement Physical Exercise and Activities:

Maximize your weight loss potential by creating and following an exercise routine that can be incorporated into daily activities. Choose those activities that you enjoy and keep a record to look back on as you work toward your goal.
Culling the Bad Habits: 

Now is the time to say goodbye to alcohol and cigarettes, if at all possible. It is vitally important to strive for optimum mental and physical health. If you smoke and/or drink, consider quitting now to experience better overall health. Speak to your doctor about helpful options available to those who are trying to kick the habit.

Mental changes:

Those who have suffered with obesity over long periods of time will likely struggle with negative confidence levels and low self-esteem issues. After weight loss surgery, set goals to think positively and stay motivated for emotional health. Setting goals may sound easy but it can be quite difficult to change one’s way of thinking. For optimum results, consider the list of tips given below.

 

Set specific goals.

Write your goals down.

Focus on only one goal at a time.

Set realistic goals. 

Decide on a reasonable time-frame.

When deciding on the changes needed for weight loss, it is important to set realistic goals. Avoid being too hard on yourself because weight loss is a journey that takes time. Don’t expect instant gratification after weight loss surgery. Remembering this bit of advice will help you achieve the ultimate success.

Bariatric Diet Leads to Better Sleep

After weight loss surgery, it is important to take care of every aspect of your health and follow a well-balanced diet. Many daily habits, such as sleep habits, can have a large impact on your weight loss journey. In addition, your dinner choices may be affecting how long and comfortably you sleep at night.

Researchers from Brazil recently conducted a sleep lab and the results suggested a diet high in fats may be as unhealthy for your resting habits as it is for your waist. Further studies suggest that the higher your intake of fat during the day, the more likely you are to do the following:

• Toss and turn all night
• Wake up frequently
• Exhibit abnormal breathing patterns while sleeping
• Spend less time in REM, the deep sleep state when dreaming occurs.

Additionally, the rapid eye movement that occurs in deep sleep, also referred to simply as REM, is vitally important. This is the time when your body tries to heal, regenerate, and restore itself from the outside stresses of the day.

Research is also showing the last meal of the day to be the most important one when considering the issue of sleep. How well you sleep can also have an impact on weight loss. Scientists studied the fat content of each meal eaten throughout the day and found that a high fat dinner in the evening was far more likely to cause sleep issues and disruptions than any other.

A good night’s sleep with adequate REM time is vital for physical and mental health while a lack of REM sleep can often to blamed when feeling fatigued the next day. This can create a setback and spur other minor complications including a general lack of motivation, an increased appetite and possible weight gain.

A Good Night’s Sleep can Affect Weight Loss

A good night of sleep – at least seven hours – is an essential aspect of good health. Sleeping well means you will be better prepared for a productive and energized day. After weight loss surgery, good sleep habits can be an important goal on your journey to good health. It is important to eliminate any negative habits that could be harmful to your health.

Your Bariatric diet is already low in fat and sugar, consisting mainly of fresh produce, lean protein and dietary fiber due to the stomach’s limited capacity. If you do decide to indulgent, be sure to limit your overall intake and consume these foods several hours before deciding to go to sleep. You do not want to sabotage yourself while on your weight loss journey.

Weight Loss Results Improve with Water Consumption

Once you have undergone weight loss surgery, it is vitally important to remain hydrated. This can

only be done by consuming plenty of water. Delicious, nutritious H2O may be the most important thing you can provide to your body, but many people don’t drink the amount of water needed to remain fully hydrated and healthy.

Because the human body is approximately sixty percent water, it does not function correctly when hydration levels are less than ideal. Dehydration, or lack of water in the body, can lead to such issues as fatigue, headaches, reduced concentration levels, and slight memory loss.

 

Even Slight Dehydration Can Harm Bodily Functions

 

Though dehydration may only be noticeable when you are sweating vigorously, such as during exercise, this condition can affect bodily functions even while resting. Therefore, hydration is an important issue to consider as the weight comes off. Because the body loses water through many of its daily functions, it is important to follow your doctor’s instructions regarding hydration requirements after weight loss surgery. However, the standard guideline is sixty-four ounces per day.

Your body has its own built in alarm when hydration is low. The best indication that you need an increased water intake is thirst. Additionally, both the color and quantity of your urine can be a good indicator as well. The clearer your urine is, the more properly hydrated you are. Additionally, normal hydration levels should result in urinating at least once every two hours or so.

Water is the Bariatric Patient’s Best Friend

When you need hydration, water is your friend – especially if you on a doctor recommended low calorie diet after weight loss surgery. The process of hydration is crucial for a healthy body, especially after undergoing weight loss surgery. Not all of the body’s hydration comes from water, however. Here are a lot of other great sources from which the body derives fluids to stay hydrated and healthy.

 

Eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

Approximately twenty percent of your daily fluids come from foods digested by the body. Some good examples include tomatoes, oranges, and many other fresh garden items which are packed with hydrating fluids.
Drink skim milk.

When consumed in moderation, skim milk can help provide the hydration your body needs, as well as some other key nutrients that are also beneficial for other processes in the body.

 

Avoid caffeine and alcohol.

Though these are normally purchased in liquid form, the stimulating effect of caffeine and alcohol can actually leave the body dehydrated. While drinking caffeinated or alcoholic beverages, it is important to also drink plenty of water with them. It is also important to note that these beverages and drinks are normally high in calories.

There are countless benefits of choosing weight loss surgery when traditional weight loss options fail to work and body mass index has reached dangerous proportions. In this instance, bariatric surgery can increase happiness, quality of life, life expectancy and health. Also known as weight loss surgery, bariatric surgery is quickly becoming an extremely popular medical procedure in the United States.

 

This rise in popularity regarding weight loss surgery can be attributed to the fact that so many have found a new and improved quality of life. This life changing bariatric procedure remove the struggle of losing weight and minimizes both the risks and the effects of many health issues that are typical in those who deal with obesity.

 

Bariatric can be life saving as well as life changing, as there are many serious complications that are often attributed to obesity. What may seem like a drastic intervention to some is actually giving the gift of a new and improved life for people who have struggled with their weight for years until giving up. Weight loss surgery intervenes, bringing new hope and a new outlook on life while eliminating many risks that obesity brings.

 

The numbers change every year as more and more people opt for this life-renewing option but recent records suggest more than 150,000 had bariatric surgery in the United States last year alone. According to the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, previous years saw numbers as high as 220,000 in weight loss surgery patients.

 

With each new and innovative technique discovered by modern medicine, weight loss surgery has become safer than ever before. The biggest problem with bariatric surgery is the millions who need this procedure will never reap these benefit. This is due to the fact that, out of the 15-20 million severely obese people in the United States, only about one percent will follow through with this surgery after meeting the guidelines.

 

In terms of weight loss surgery, there are several options and various procedures that can be chosen to help you lose weight effectively. Your doctor and nutritionist will know which of these bariatric procedures can best benefit your personal situation, health needs and lifestyle. The most common bariatric treatments are called:

      Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery

      Adjustable Gastric Banding also know as the Lap Band

      Realize Band

      Sleeve Gastrectomy

      Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch Surgery

These are some of the more popular bariatric surgery techniques, most of which are performed using a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures. Usually, this entails one or more tiny incisions, rather than open surgery techniques using one larger incision, for minimal pain and healing time.  

Who Needs Bariatric Surgery?

Obesity is considered to be a chronic health condition that many suffer with for years, sometimes even an entire lifetime. People who suffer from the many effects of obesity find it difficult, if not impossible, to lose weight through the traditional methods such as exercise, healthy diet, or medically supervised programs such as diet pills. Bariatric surgery is not always the easiest option but it does give hope to obese individuals. Chosen by doctors as a last resort to save lives, bariatric surgery gives new options to those who need a medical intervention to increase quality of life.  

Weight Loss after Bariatric Surgery

Now that you know the basics about weight loss surgery, it is important to know how much weight you can expect to lose after undergoing a bariatric procedure. The results of bariatric surgery have been quite favorable as a permanent treatment for obesity, promoting and providing long term weight reduction. If you are at least one hundred pounds overweight, the only permanent treatment for weight loss is bariatric surgery.  

To better understand the benefits of bariatric surgery, please consider other popular weight loss options. When obese patients lose weight via diet and exercise, the long term weight reduction equals only about ten percent. However, with Gastric Bypass and Lap band surgery techniques, this number increases to an impressive fifty to sixty percent over five years. With the Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch Surgery technique, average weight loss increases to as much as eighty percent of the excess weight.

While bariatric surgery options are designed to specifically deal with the need for weight loss, these options offer amazing results regarding many other metabolic conditions and diseases. Many positive results have been seen after weight loss surgery in health conditions such as

      Type 2 Diabetes

      Obstructive Sleep Apnea

      Hyperlipidemia

      Cardiovascular Disease

      Hypertension or High Blood Pressure

      High Cholesterol

      Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease  

      Skin Issues such as Rash and Infection

      Lymphedema

      Arthritis

      GERD

      Depression

      Venous Stasis Disease

      Stress Urinary Incontinence

      Gout

      Swollen Ankles

      Infertility

      Heart Failure

      Metabolic Syndrome

      Migraines

      Asthma  

      Premature Death

 

Extended Your Life Span with Bariatric Surgery

You may have noticed the last item on the long list of benefits above is Premature Death. People who suffer from obesity not only suffer from a reduced quality of life but a reduced life expectancy as well. Weight loss surgery could add anywhere from thirteen to twenty years to a person’s lifespan.

Bariatric surgery improves nearly every aspect of an obese individual’s life including those related to social, economic, physical, recreational, and even relationship opportunities. With an increased sense of happiness and well-being, bariatric surgery patients can also expect to save money in future medical expenses and lost wages to illnesses which would have related to their obesity.   

 

 

Fitness Gurus are always talking about incorporating exercise into your everyday lifestyle.  In Russia they have done just that.

If you live in Moscow, your morning commute can now include a brief fitness session.

To promote the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, subway stations in Moscow have added these impressive new machines which allow passengers to do 30 squats for a train ticket.

It’s a little like how you used your Wii Fit that first week after Christmas, but with an actual reward. This machine can also tell if you’re cheating, unlike the couch calisthenics you can get away with at home.

Would you be up to the 30 squat challenge?

BARIATRIC VIDEO CONTEST!!!

We want to hear from you! Pull out your Smartphone or use your Webcam, and let us know about your bariatric journey so far.

In your Bariatric Video you can tell us about the best thing, worst thing, unexpected surprises, how much weight you have lost up to now, ect.

If you haven’t had your surgery yet, let us know what was your “last straw that broke the camels back” that made you say enough is enough and I’m ready to change my life and health for good!

Unlimited Bariatric Video Entries.

What is the Prize? 3 month supply of bariatric vitamins.

Follow this link to enter http://www.nationalbariatriclink.org/bariatric-testimonial.html