This simply works as a guide and helps you to connect with doctors of your choice. Please confirm the doctor’s availability before leaving your premises.
Emergency bariatric care may be needed if you experience severe abdominal pain, complications from weight loss surgery, or symptoms of nutritional deficiencies.
There is a ton of information today online and it is very easy to make assumptions when it comes to bariatric surgery.Bariatric surgery can be life changing and it can also save your life.It allows you to lose a great deal of weight by way of a tool which offers restriction and sometimes restriction with malabsorption.Let’s have a little chat about weight loss surgery and let’s go over a few of the big myths regarding these procedures.
Myth 1: Surgery is a magic bullet
I wish this to be true but in all honesty, it is not the truth.Over the decade I have spent helping clients work through the medical travel details as well as the pre and post surgery guidelines, I am here to tell you that surgery is not the easy way out.Surgery is only a step towards wellness but the real work needs to be done after the surgery by the person having the surgery.Real lifestyle changes need to be made and sometimes addictions needs to be worked though.To see real and lasting change, nutrition needs to change and habits needs to be worked on.When clients schedule their surgery through me, I ensure a good follow up as I am a RHN who specializes in bariatric nutrition but having said that, it is the client that needs to do the actual work.The work is constant and real so the “magic bullet” really is the work that clients are willing to do and not the surgery itself.
Myth 2: All bariatric clients regain all of the weight
Yes, some people who have bariatric surgery will have a re-gain years post surgery but it does not need to be this way.This re-gain is not due to the surgery, this re-gain is due to allowing poor habits to creep back into the lifestyle post weight loss.In order to avoid this regain, it is important to adopt new lifestyle habits and to embrace a healthier way of living.If regain has occurred, it is always possible to use the bariatric tool to get control of the regain and to go back to the bariatric basics through nutrition and exercise and lowering stress levels and sleeping better.We all go through good times and bad times so try not to be so hard on yourself if you do not have a perfect diet all of the time.Strive to make better decisions the next time you eat/drink.
Myth 3: Obesity is less of a risk than surgery
Being overweight used to come with a stigma of lack of willingness to change or a lack of desire to put in the effort to lose weight.Today there is more understanding but we still have a long way to go.Obesity is a real disease and it is also linked to many other diseases like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and the list goes on and on and on.If obesity is not treated it can lead to a much shorter life span.
Laparoscopic bariatric surgery today is considered very safe.The complication rates when compared to a gallbladder surgery, appendectomy and hysterectomy are the same as that of a gastric bypass.When researching the studies done, it is shown that obese patients that have bariatric surgery are able to reduce their mortality rate by up to 89% over those people who are obese and decide not to undergo bariatric surgery.
Myth 4: Eat what you like post bariatric surgery but only small quantities.
This is absolutely untrue.We just wish it was this way but the reality is that if you consume smaller amounts of foods that are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates (think fast food and frappuccino’s), your weight loss will be hindered at a certain point.If you want real lifelong changes post bariatric surgery, you need to do the work and make the lifestyle changes to encourage long-lasting results.I am not telling you to eat foods you don’t like, but doing an overhaul of your unhealthy habits is a good place to start.This is a lifelong journey of learning about food and how food can fuel your body.
I support you on your journey to a healthier you.
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
Are you a bariatric calorie counter ?Do you believe that it all comes down to “calories in vs calories” out?Have you not hit your bariatric goal or are you struggling to maintain or have you had a regain?
Not all foods are the same when you see how they have an impact on our weight.Sure, there are people out there who can eat what they want and never gain any weight but bariatric patients know that even post surgery, they are not one of those people with that kind of luck.It’s not possible to make the same food and beverage choices as those people and our food habits need to change if we want to reach bariatric goals and maintain them for the long haul.
The reality that is staring us directly in the face is that overweight people make poor food choices a lot of the time.There are times where the portions are too large and there are times when the food choices are extremely high calorie.Sometimes the foods are of larger portions and calorie dense … think ice-cream or frappuccino.
I think that we need to be aware of the foods which we should stay away from if we want to have full control over our body weight. If we can see what those foods are, we can work to change habits that prevent us from reaching goals or regaining weight.
Okay Let’s Talk Food ….
Bagels – this is the ultimate yummy food to grab on the go smeared with cream cheese.Bagels used to be less than half the size that they are today.Today they are GIANT and smeared with butter and cream cheese.If they are “breakfast bagels”, they are topped with an egg, cheese and bacon.Guys, I am here to tell you that this is a calorie BOMB and that nobody eats a plain bagel topped with nothing.Bagels are big and dense and theycause weight gain.
Salad Dressing – you are not going to be happy with me but I need to make it real … you cannot smear your lovely garden salad with 300 calories of ranch dressing and believe you are making a healthy choice.These dressings are loaded with sugar and the kind of fat that is very bad for you and your health.The sugar free kind is a better choice but the best choice out of respect for yourself and your body and your weight is a drizzle of a healthy oil such as avocado oil or olive oil and a squeeze of lemon or apple cider vinegar.I promise you that if you give the latter a chance, you will get used to it and you will begin to enjoy the flavors of your salad and not just the flavor of the dressing you use to top it with .
Crackers and Chips – sure they are convenient and yummy but these types of snack foods are slider foods and they are commercially high in unhealthy fats. They are loaded with things which are not actually foods but engineered ingredients.Those healthy veggie chips and apple chips are dipped in high fructose corn syrup and then stuck in a deep frier.There is nothing healthy about them by the time they are packaged and shipped to you.All those chips which are disguised as “healthy” are the same as eating regular potato chips.Don’t be fooled by clever packaging and healthy claims. Eat the fruit or the veggie and stay away from the sugary, fried packaged counterparts.
Smoothies – these are all the rage today.People are addicted to blending up their calories and drinking them in a pretty glass while posting about it on facebook.Sure, those smoothies have vitamins and minerals but it is much easier to drink your calories than it is to eat them.I know clients who believe they are helping themselves but downing smoothies instead of soft drinks but how quickly can you drink up 600 calories in juice?But what about fruit being healthy for us?Sure, you can tell yourself that while downing an enormous portion of fruit juice or a smoothie because our thinking is warped when it comes to portion sizes.I want you to commit to your weight loss and drink only the beverages which contain no calories.It is so easy to over-consume high calorie beverages – they slip through the weight loss surgery tool and leave you hungry and craving more.Better balance your blood sugars by eliminating these types of drink from your daily intake.
There are more food items to discuss but this is a good starting point – bagels and their refined counterparts (english muffins and breads/ tortillas) / salad dressings /crackers and chips/ and smoothies.
I think that we need to own up to obesity and not just shrug our shoulders and wonder why it happened?Those old habits that we had are just that – habits.We can create new habits.The bariatric surgery is a tool to help lose the weight but we need to know how we got to the place where we needed surgery in the first place and learn how to use the tool to get us to where we want to be.I like to ask clients prior to surgery “why” they need surgery and when they are able to honestly answer “why”, then we can move forward, owning up to mistakes made and learning new tools to never go back to that point.
There is a honeymoon stage which is the place where the weight will come off no matter what but what about you taking control of your tool and telling it what to do.It’s making the decision between a bagel with cream cheese and a chicken breast with some stir-fried veggies.What would really make you more happy and more satisfied.I will leave you with that to think about.
I support you on your journey to a healthier you.
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
It is challenge time for all of you reading this !
For bariatric clients it sometimes feels like we need to have the “all or nothing” mentality.I am here to tell you that making small changes and tweaks to your daily nutrition and lifestyle can make a huge difference on the scale.Instead of overhauling everything you eat and drink, take baby steps and make one change at a time to get the scale moving again.You will be surprised how a small change can lead to big losses on the scale.
Let’s talk a bit about some of those tweaks and how we can add them (or take them out) of our daily routine.After reading this, you can email me to begin your personal challenge.
My first suggestion is pretty obvious – eliminate sugar, soda, candy and alcohol from your diet.If you are wanting to see the numbers on the scale move, this is the very first place to start. Try this for two weeks and email me to tell me how your results were. I can guarantee you that you will see a difference in the numbers on the scale !
Instead of visiting Starbucks for the tall, cafe mocha, make it at home or eliminate it.There is a ton of sugar in the Starbucks version.You can find sugar free recipes to make it at home using almond milk or coconut milk instead of regular dairy.This can make a big difference in your daily caloric intake.Cutting the mocha means cutting a lot of calories and sugar.
Make your breakfast high in protein and low in refined carbohydrates. Typical breakfast foods such as bagels, toast, english muffins and breakfast cereals are notoriously high in refined, processed carbohydrates.Instead of eating these food items, reach for eggs.They will keep you feeling full and satisfied and if you eat them with a serving of high fiber vegetables, even better!
Get rid of the diet soft drinks.I know that they don’t have “calories” but they do create an insulin response which means that you will feel hungry after drinking them.Our goal is to balance our blood sugars and if we drink these diet soft drinks, we will crave sugary treats.Swap the diet coke for plain water or soda water please.It is the easiest tweak and it can get you the biggest bang for your buck when wanting the scale to move in the right direction.
Go for a walk.I believe that weight loss occurs in the kitchen and that we all need to exercise to stay healthy.It’s even more than that – I think we all need to exercise to stay happy.When we walk outdoors, we breathe fresh air and we have the sun shining on us.It lifts our mood and makes us feel good.Open the front door, walk for 20 minutes and then turn around and walk back.It’s a free activity and it means taking time out of our day to care for ourselves.Love yourself and go outside for a walk.
Get serious about your sleep schedule.Sleeping is the best free medicine there is.Weight loss will always be hindered by a lack of sleep.Lack of sleep is stressful for the body and it raises cortisol levels.High cortisol levels makes it much more difficult to lose weight.Choose a bedtime and turn off the light and get some good quality sleep.It will show on the scale.
If you want to email me and tell me what you are going to do this week to help the scale move, I would be more than happy to help you stay accountable.Just choose one thing and reply to this email telling me what small change you are going to make. I am your biggest cheerleader !
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
Ideas for eating out and how to make good decisions.
We all try our best not to eat out all the time but there are times when we find ourselves at a social gathering or on a date night or with a group of friends and the meeting is at a restaurant.It is important to have a food plan in place before arriving to the restaurant so that you are not caught off guard and make poor food decisions.You want to be able to enjoy yourself but stick with your new eating plan at the same time.
If you’ve had bariatric surgery, you know that you have restriction and that how you ordered your food at a restaurant in the past is no longer an option because of a few reasons.The first thing you need to ask yourself is if you are open to telling everybody that you have had bariatric surgery.If you are keeping this to yourself, then it will be kind of difficult to explain your way out of why you only ate two bites off of your plate and that you are now full. Your friends will wonder what is going on with you.
In this situation you can always order your way around the menu so that you get a more soft option such as a soup.It is also a great idea to eat very slowly so not to fill up quite as quickly.Take small bites and chew a lot to avoid getting too full too quickly.
If you are open to telling others about your bariatric surgery, then it gets a bit easier because you can automatically ask the wait-staff if they have half portions or if they are okay with you ordering only an appetizer and not a full course meal.If you choose to have a full course meal, choose something that you can take with you and that will be good for reheating.A big chicken caesar salad is great “in the moment” but when you get it home and the lettuce is wilted, it just won’t taste the same.
Today all restaurants have their menus online.It is always a good idea to take a look at the menu prior to arriving in order to make a food decision before you get there.It’s never a good idea to leave it up to temptation when you are hungry or nervous.Place your order in your head before you arrive and that will be one less thing to worry about.
I salute you on your journey to excellent health.
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
I am always talking about getting “back on track” and what I mean by that is getting “back to the bariatric basics”.How do we go about that ?Well, let’s have a little talk about what we need to do to get mentally and physically back on track if our eating habits haven’t been something to brag about.
Instead of grazing all day long, I want you to eat 3 meals a day and if you are hungry, opt for some small snacks that are properly macronutrient balanced with a portion of protein and a portion of healthy fat.We are aiming for meals and snacks that do not contain sugar.Soft proteins are terrific, such as cottage cheese and greek yogurt and plant based protein shakes but try to also eat textures the are not soft as the foods that are more dense will keep you full for a longer period of time.You won’t get as hungry as quickly if you eat dense protein.
Prepare your meals so that they contain protein, vegetables and a portion of healthy fat.Kick the refined,processed carbohydrates to the curb !Eliminate rice, pasta, bread, tortillas, chips etc.
Remember not to combine your food and drink at the same time.Drink 30 minutes prior to your meal or snack and then wait another 30 minutes before drinking again.
Make sure to eat a variety of foods so that you don’t get bored.Try new recipes and try new foods. Get creative in the kitchen and use your imagination to put together healthy bariatric friendly meals and snacks.
Make sure that you are taking your bariatric vitamins and supplements.It’s important for continued good health and nobody eats perfect every day.We need to 1/ eat properly and 2/ supplement.
You cannot supplement your way out of a bad diet.
Don’t graze and stay away from the slider foods – you know the ones I am talking about … the ones that slip right through your bariatric pouch and leave you craving more of them shortly afterwards.These types of foods are the ones that are mostly responsible for regains.
Exercise a bit.Exercise for your health, and not for weight loss.I believe that weight loss occurs in the kitchen and we exercise to stay healthy.Find some sort of exercise that makes you happy.Don’t do something just because it’s what you think you need to do.Go for a walk or ride your bike or take up zumba, or salsa !Just get out there and move for good health.Just get out there and move for a healthy head as well.Exercise helps lift dark, gloomy clouds and makes us feel happier.
Make it a plan to always plan your meals.Don’t leave it up to hunger and temptation.Pack a lunch and prepare your breakfast – know what you will be making for dinner.Don’t leave it up to the last minute when you and your family are hungry.
If you have experienced a regain, you can get back up and take charge again.Face the regain, and move forward with a plan.Get back to basics, clean out your cupboard and fridge of the “bad stuff”, make a plan, and get shopping, chopping, cooking and prepping for success again.
If you need some help with menu ideas or menu plans – I have those plans for you below.
I am your biggest cheerleader !You’ve got this !
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
