The most common type of weight loss surgery is the Roux en Y gastric bypass, with guidelines that include having a BMI of 40. With the Lap Band System, the BMI guideline can drop down to 35 if there is an underlying medical condition as well.
However, there are some limitations to how high the actual BMI can go before the surgeon will consider the risk to be too high. This is an individual consideration for each surgeon and type of surgery.
For those who have a BMI that is considered to be too high for conventional surgery, there is an alternative, which includes the possibility of having two surgeries, a primary procedure called the sleeve gastrectomy and then a secondary surgery to convert to the gastric bypass.
Also called a “banana surgery” because it leaves the stomach in the shape of a banana, it is a safer surgical type for those who are considered to be too obese for surgery to be safe.
Healthy Diets, Not Fads
There are over 34 million obese people in the United States. (www.med.Stanford.edu) 20 million of them are on a diet at any one point during the year.
Diets start, fail and then are tossed aside. The average person has an average of eight diet books growing dust on his or her shelves.
- They have several different types of weight loss pills and dietary supplements under their bathroom sink or in the back of a kitchen cabinet.
- They also have a variety of exercise equipment that they do not even get near except to occasionally dust it.
Fad diets are not effective and may even be dangerous. In the 1980’s, one of the fads was the all liquid protein diet. However, this turned out to be dangerous and not sustainable. The newer and more improved liquid protein diets are better, however, they are not advocated for long-term use but may be perfect to jumpstart a balanced and healthy weight loss system.
Long-term use of the liquid protein diet may cause gall stones in as many as 25% of people who are using it. In addition, because they have such low calorie counts, the liquid protein diets may cause a slowed metabolism (Source: The Vanderbilt University Psychology Department.)
Obesity, Metabolism and Progress
Metabolism is the speed at which your body uses the food that you take in. Some people are blessed with a super fast metabolism and it may seem that although they eat everything in sight, they never gain a single pound.
On the other hand, some people may only seem to nibble at this and that, in tiny amounts, but can never seem to lose any weight at all. It is not always what you eat or when you eat it that determines if you lose or gain weight, but instead this can usually be attributed to your metabolism.
The key to long-term and effective, as well as healthy, weight loss is getting the metabolism back in gear.
Dieting, especially with very low calorie counts, can kill the metabolism.
Food comes in and is digested in a very complex process.
Healthy foods will allow the body to get the nutrition that is needed. From the moment that your body sends out the signal that it is hungry and triggers eating to the moment that your body sends out the signal that it has had enough (which is possibly faulty in some people), the process of digestion is not only a chemical and physiological one but potentially an emotional, psychological one as well.
We do not always eat because we are actually physically hungry but because we have emotional hunger as well. There are many reasons that cause us to eat as well as to over eat or even to under eat. However, all of these different things may leave the metabolism changed, sometimes for the worse and sometimes permanently.
The body will view an occasional shortfall of calories as just a fluke and simply draw on the deep reserves of energy, which is the basis for weight loss.
However, if you have a continued extreme shortage, the body will become convinced that it is starving and will hold on to every morsel that passes your lips, leading to weight gain, even though you are barely eating at all. It is self defeating to try to starve yourself to thinness – in most cases, the body will not allow this to happen.
While the person who is already obese may seem to have endless stores of reserve energy to draw on, the body does not see that and will continue to hold on to the weight if the metabolism becomes slowed or stalled through extreme dieting.
It is important then that the right balance of calories and nutrition be received by these people, especially if they are trying to get their weight down to the level where they can comfortably and safely have a weight loss surgery completed.
They will need to meet their daily needs of all three macronutrients, fats, carbohydrates and proteins, as well as get all of the vitamins and minerals that they need.
The body needs a set amount of protein for all of the vital functions that it does, as well as the right type. If the body does not get the right kind of protein, it will cause the person to continue to eat until the right level is reached, regardless of the extreme calories it might cause to be consumed (Source: Science Alert, Massey University). Eating a small, well spaced and balanced diet will keep the metabolism working well, which is a far better option.
Protein for Digestion, Metabolism and Health
Before the weight loss surgery, during recovery and following its completion, good nutrition is very important. Protein plays a role in every cell and function of the body, including digestion.
The body breaks down protein into amino acids, which are then used to make other amino acids as well as hormones and enzymes in the body. Some of these are used in further digestion as well as other functions.
Protein is also important because it plays a role in the feeling of satiety, keeping us feeling full on smaller amounts of food. A snack or supplement that is a combination of protein and carbohydrates may go further towards keeping us from overeating at subsequent meals than one that is comprised of one or the other.
Protein may also help the patient to recover from surgery faster, allowing for a faster return to daily activities and, hopefully, an active life as well.
Considering Supplements
After the weight loss surgery, no matter what type is done, the body will only be able to hold a very small amount of food. This means that every bite that goes into the mouth really has to count.
- Sure, you can eat a tiny chunk of birthday cake, but what will it do for your health?
- You can opt to drink three ounces of cola, but again, does it really help in the long run to do so?
- You have to make sure that you are getting the right foods in the right amounts, but since each meal will only be a few tablespoons in size, will you really be getting all of the vitamins that you really need?
The answer is most likely no, so you will need to, of course, supplement.
Most protein supplement bars are the size of a regular candy bar and will therefore be too big.
If you cut up a chunk and blend it so that you can actually eat it, will you be getting the right amount of protein or vitamins?
Liquid protein supplements, like protein shakes and powders, may give a little edge in that department, but again, could be too big to consume and have too many calories.
A better option might be a liquid protein supplement shot.
Most people assume that the gastric bypass and other weight loss surgeries are available with no limitations to the people who need them. However, there are some people who are so obese that they present too big of a risk for surgeons until they are able to lose some weight, typically while on a strict regimen of medically supervised care.
IMPORTANT: After some people gain so much weight that they are a danger to their own health, they may end up in a hospital so that they can be cared for.
