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.
Let’s chat a bit about what happens after we lose 100 lbs. The goal in the beginning may be to lose weight and get healthy again and many bariatric clients achieve this goal and they are extremely happy with their appearance and then there are others who feel that their skin elasticity has changed a bit and things could be improved with cosmetic surgery.
Sometimes we have loose skin and sometimes we do not.This is going to depend a lot on our skin, and our age and our genetics.For those who have terrific skin and youth on their side, a lot of the times there is not any hanging skin and things take on a new shape very easily.
There are patients who have undergone gastric sleeve, or similar procedures, and are left with loose skin around the stomach, buttocks, back, arms, or thighs. Rashes and sores can develop on loose skin that folds onto itself. In addition, the hanging skin creates an awkward shape that makes it hard for these patients to find clothes that fit properly. And then there’s the dangling arm skin. For all these reasons, bariatric patients often go on to have further, corrective surgeries.
For those who feel that they have the need or desire to have excess skin removed after major weight loss, we have a program that is set up just for them.
Allow us to provide you with all the information you require. We are dedicated to helping you feel confident in your skin.We understand your goals and vision.We are here for you every step of the way.Reach outto us to request a complete price-list and detailed information for your cosmetic surgery journey.
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.
You may call it something else but the bottom line is that it is a bunch of symptoms that make you feel awful after a big holiday meal.Some call it bloating, nausea, stomach upset, and a feeling of Meh.It comes from overindulging on food that is too salty, sugary, fatty, spicy and too much of it.
What do we do when we overindulge and just want to feel better quickly? Overeating during the holidays is almost inevitable so here are a few things we can do after we spend a night of feasting!
Stay hydrated – drink water.It may be hard when you are feeling so full but wait an hour after eating and start to hydrate before bedtime.This will help your body cycle through toxins and rid itself of waste.You will also be happy to wake up not being a complete bloated disaster.
Get some exercise – go for a walk, outside or on a treadmill.Get your heart rate up to start burning up those high caloric foods.The workout will also release feel good endorphins and you will feel happier about all the junk you ate last night.
Eat clean today.A big part of the thanksgiving cure is to eat clean the next few days.Eat protein and healthy fats and low carb vegetables.Stay away from sugar and refined carbs for a few days to get back on track again.
No starving yourself please.A lot of people think that starving themselves after a feast will make up for it but doing this will increase your desire to do it all over again.Eat small, healthy meals.Drink plenty of water, and go for a nice walk.
Accept it and move on.It’s not the end of the world !It’s Thanksgiving and having one big meal will not make or break you.Accept it and just move on by taking healthy steps the next few days.Try to focus on the good time that you had and the memories that you made with loved ones.
Get rid of the leftovers and give them away.Don’t let them sit in your fridge speaking to you in the middle of the night.
Let’s be accountable and reach out when we need a bit of help.We all go overboard sometimes but let’s not allow one meal to turn into two, three, or four meals.
You’ve got this~!what’s your best recommendations for moving past a holiday binge?
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.
What’s the deal with the low carb/ high fat rage going on today and is it for bariatric clients?Let’s explore this topic and I will give you my thoughts on this super popular keto diet.I get asked about the ketogenic diet all the time from our bariatric clients so let’s dive into it.
I think that a proper ketogenic diet fits so well into a bariatric lifestyle and that is why I often encourage it but we need to learn and understand the fundamentals of a good ketogenic diet before we jump on the keto bandwagon.This is just my personal testimony of what works for me and what I have seen work for other bariatric clients over the years.I am an RHN nutritionist and surgery coordinator – and not a doctor so I encourage you to have an open discussion with your doctor before trying Keto.
Remember that feeling right after you had your bariatric surgery and how fast you were losing the weight.It was falling off!One of the reasons why your scale moved so quickly was because you were in ketosis.Did you know that there are many post bariatric surgery patients who are using a ketogenic lifestyle to get to their goal weight and maintain afterwards?
Just regular keto isn’t what bariatric clients need due to different caloric, fat and nutritional requirements due to decreased gastric capacity.The anatomy is now different so the ketogenic goals need to be a bit different also.
So can I eat the Ketogenic diet post bariatric surgery?No matter which procedure I have had?vertical sleeve, gastric bypass, mini bypass, revision surgery?What are the rules?
Lucky for you, I am an RHN nutritionist and I specialize in bariatrics so I can help you take the best of keto and help you reach your goals and leave all that other stuff behind.
Hundreds of thousands of people have undergone bariatric procedures to lose weight. If you or somebody you know has had Bariatric surgery and has gained weight back, please share this blog with them.Let’s understand that all bariatric patients can also benefit from the ketogenic way of eating.So many people who have had bariatric surgery have been told “you can’t do keto”.You will be happy to know that you can.
Yes, Yes you can eat Keto!
But you need to come at it a little differently than the average person.More than likely you are able to eat only small portions of food.If you eat too much fat or too much food at one time, you are going to have “bathroom issues” pretty quickly.This prevents a lot of bariatric patients thinking that they are able to follow a ketogenic lifestyle.Here are the steps that you are going to take if you have had bariatric surgery and want to follow a ketogenic lifestyle.You are going to slowly reduce your carbohydrate load and slowly increase your healthy fats.Don’t jump into it over a day – ease into it over a two week period if you find you have trouble consuming healthy fats.
What does Keto look like compared to a regular diet.
Bariatric Keto in a nutshell looks like this, the standard american diet (or SAD for short), flipped on its head.Nuts and seeds are at the top of the pyramid, dairy is below that, veggies come below that, meat and fish and eggs under that and then healthy fats and oils are directly beside the meat section.
As a bariatric client, you don’t want to be eating these foods in excess:
Heavy Cream
Unlimited Bacon
Huge amounts of cheese
Huge amounts of butter
I need to really push this fact because most of you feel like you need to be eating a diet that consists of 75% fat to be real keto – not true.You can still get all the benefits of a keto diet by just omitting the unhealthy types of carbs and by getting your carbs through vegetables and low sugar berries.
Now for some more good news – you don’t need to be eating GOBS of fat to follow a ketogenic lifestyle but you need to restrict your refined carbohydrates.If you are able to eat fat moderately, then keto may be perfect for you.Ketosis is triggered by carb restriction so if you are able to add a bit of healthy fat and drop the unhealthy types of carbs then you are able to follow a ketogenic diet.
Now for even more good news …
We are going to eat some of the really good stuff that the keto community thrives on such as:
Seafood, Meats and Poultry
Lots of low carb veggies
Avocados
Eggs
Plain Greek Yogurt
Cottage Cheese and Ricotta
Nuts and Seeds
Berries
Olives
Coffee and Tea
Dark Chocolate
This diet works well for bariatric clients because:
1/ we stop eating refined and processed foods
2/ it is not hard to maintain and sugar free is easier for us
3/ bariatric clients want to maximize weight loss
4/ keto makes you feel better and more satiated for a longer period of time.
So you can be a bariatric client and still follow a healthy ketogenic diet and I created the “Bariatric Keto Program” to help you along the way and to teach you about macronutrients and what you should be aiming for.I think it’s an easy plan and can work very well with a bariatric lifestyle.
Reach out with any questions you have and if you want the bariatric keto plan, you can grab it HERE.
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 really like this topic as I think it’s important to discuss the difference between “what is a snack” and “what is grazing”.
When talking about the first year post weight loss surgery, all of the bariatric protocols and post op guidelines have some things in common – there is a time for drinking liquids, a time for eating, a time to take supplements and a time to eat snacks.Clients are easily satisfied with small meals and snacks and with this in mind, we want to have them adapt to a an organized meal plan and away from any disorganized habits.
Snacking is something we do with a purpose, to provide ourselves with healthy nutrition to keep us satisfied between meals.Grazing is very similar to mindless eating.A lot of the time grazing choices lack any real nutritious value.If you nibble, this can be equated with erratic eating habits.
When comparing snacking and grazing, we can say that a snack is something that we plan as a part of a nutritious dietary plan.Snacking is a positive thing and we need to eat smaller, frequent meals to keep up energy levels and not allow long periods of time between meals.Grazing lacks any real structure and is constant eating without any plans in place.Grazing is what we do when we choose things that are only convenient.We also have a hard time counting calories and nutrients when we graze because they are unplanned and not counted in our daily food plans.
Processed snack foods are so readily available today and this could be a big factor when discussing the obesity problems we are faced with today.Labels are full of slogans such as gluten free, sugar free, fat free, high in protein, low in carbs, etc. etc.These types of snack foods are mostly empty in nutrition and fill us with unsatisfying, and empty calories.When we eat these foods, we are seldom satiated and we tend to reach for the next snack to help fill the void.This is when snacking can turn into grazing.We plan a snack but the snack is lacking nutrients and it just ends up making us feel more hungry than we were prior to that snack.
A habit that many bariatric clients have is the action of taking a few bites of something and feeling like it is fine to go back to that meal over and over again until it is finished.This is exactly what sets the stage for grazing. It is better to set a time where you sit down and eat your meal very slowly.Give yourself 20 to 30 minutes and concentrate on the action of chewing and enjoying your food.If you do not finish the meal and you decide to eat it later on, put it away and eat in again but at your next meal time.Do not leave it out and just continue to pick and pick and pick at it as the day continues.
Grazing can result in weight gain and it can affect goals in the long run. If we focus on filling the pouch with nutritious food we set ourselves up for success.Stay away from grazing.If we do not fill the pouch with good choices and sufficient food, we will feel very hungry again after a very short amount of time.When we graze we never fill the pouch and it begins a bad cycle of eating constantly.Try to have structure when it comes to eating and designate time and energy into planning your meals and taking the correct amount of time to eat them.
If you are concerned about your grazing, reach out to me. I can offer more suggestions and solutions to break the habit and also to create new healthier habits.
I salute you on your journey to wellness!
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.
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.
