After Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Life changes after Gastric Sleeve Surgery. When you consider your life after gastric sleeve surgery, and the possible benefits of the weight loss, progressive health and improved quality of life, the gastric sleeve looks more appealing. It is also essential to consider the new diet and exercise routine, as well as the behavioral changes needed to ensure your long term weight loss success.
Accepting a change in your lifestyle is the key to accomplishing and maintaining your new weight after gastric sleeve surgery. While the weight loss is very gratifying, maintaining that new weight can be a challenge for some. Knowing what you should expect after gastric sleeve surgery is essential to your success, so it is very important to educate yourself on this matter. This page will give you some insight to the things you can expect after gastric sleeve surgery.
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What Changes After Gastric Sleeve Surgery?
- Diet & Nutrition
- Physical Activity
- Going Back to Work
- Birth Control & Pregnancy
- Routine Medical Care
Diet & Nutrition After Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Gastric sleeve surgery involves reducing the size of the stomach, which will aid in decreasing the intake of food. This means that after gastric sleeve surgery you will be experiencing a feeling of fullness after eating only a small portion of food. Since the amount of food you can eat is limited, it should be food that will provide your body with the stuff it needs, so it is wise to opt for healthier foods and take on a new eating routine.
The new meals after gastric sleeve surgery should now be centered on a low fat, low calorie, and nutrient rich foods, including things like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, legumes and whole grains. You must learn to control yourself when it comes to fast foods, desserts and unhealthy things. You will need to stay away from the high calorie, high sugar and high cholesterol foods to avoid disruption of the weight loss attempt.
To help you maintain your new weight after gastric sleeve surgery, you will need to follow a strict gastric sleeve diet for the first year. Your weight loss surgeon will connect you with the bariatric dietician and nutritionist who can educate and instruct better ways of eating. The dietician and nutritionist will not only give details regarding the dietary rules and nutritional guidelines that must be adopted in order to lose the excess weight and maintain the new weight throughout the process, but they will also help to motivate you in order to be in track.
You will need to stick to the strict diet for at least the first year after gastric sleeve surgery. If you stray from the diet, you may end up gaining back the weight, and not only that, if you consistently eat unhealthy food, you may wind up with low energy levels, and other complications due to insufficient nutrients. This is why it is important to learn how to eat healthy until it becomes second nature.
Physical Activity
Exercise and some physical activity is a vital component of the whole process of the weight loss after gastric sleeve surgery. Working out does not only burn a lot of calories, but it will also boost the metabolism and tone the muscles.
The bariatric surgeon will suggest that you meet up with an exercise guru who will aid in developing a suitable exercise program to fit your physical echelon. It is important to hit upon the activities that are enjoyable in order to stay in focused and motivated.
After gastric sleeve surgery, bariatric patients are suggested to actively participate in the aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes every day of the week and weight training for at least 10 minutes each day, but only 3 or 4 days a week.
Of course, you will not be doing hardcore workouts immediately after gastric sleeve surgery, your body must heal first, so it is important that you give it time to completely heal before you start to push it. After it is healed, your surgeon or your fitness instructor will advise you to start off slowly, and take your exercise one step at a time. The fitness guru will help you along the way, and keep you on track to a new healthier you.
Going Back to Work
The length of the recovery period can vary from person to person because everyone’s physical condition is different. It is very important that you do not put any type of stress on your body immediately after gastric sleeve surgery, your body needs to heal, so you must give it some time to do so. This is especially important if you engage in any type of physical activity at the workplace. Generally, after gastric sleeve surgery, you can get back to work in about 2 weeks, but the final word will come from your surgeon.
Birth Control and Pregnancy
For women of childbearing age, it is firmly advised to use an efficient method of birth control to avoid getting pregnant for the initial two years after gastric sleeve surgery. Take note that the menstrual flow will be lost when undergoing the weight loss procedure and pregnancy at this time will jeopardize the weight loss attempt and the baby’s overall health.
If you would like to get pregnant after gastric sleeve surgery, it would be best to seek the advice of your weight loss surgeon to find out the necessary dietary parameters, and any other factors that will ensure a healthy pregnancy following a gastric sleeve. Getting pregnant will entail additional stress on the body, so it is essential that you provide your body with sufficient supplements for you and the baby.
Routine Medical Care
After gastric sleeve surgery, it is necessary to have a regular follow up care on a regular basis. At first, the doctor will be keeping an eye on your recovery, nutrition and amount of weight that is lost. In the long term basis, a routine exam and laboratory tests will be done to monitor your health and to check for nutritional insufficiency after gastric sleeve surgery.
After gastric sleeve surgery, you will quickly notice that excess weight disappearing, but you must be prepared to make a lifestyle change. Following surgery, your eating habits must change as well as your exercise routine, and you must adhere to the new lifestyle to ensure that you keep the weight off so you can enjoy a healthier and happier life After Gastric Sleeve Surgery.
