1Sep

Prepping for your Surgery Success.

• Success after bariatric surgery doesn’t just ” happen” by accident. It is the result of careful planning and work on your behalf. Of course it will also depend on an extremely skilled surgeon but your post-op success all will depend mostly on you.

•  You can begin to organize yourself for weight loss and prevent regain long before your surgery date. Here are some ideas for building a super solid foundation that will make your bariatric surgery journey smoother and more satisfying.


Choose the right surgeon 
If weight loss surgery is the tool, your bariatric surgeon is the one who makes the tool and gives it to you. You want a tool that is made precisely, ready to do the job, and built to last. Your surgeon needs to make the right cuts and place the band properly or make a tight, solid sleeve or pouch. So, look for a surgeon who is experienced and has a good track record of successful patients and low complication rates – don’t be afraid to ask!

•There’s more to choosing a surgeon than technical skills. Also, consider what else the surgeon will do for you. The right surgeon for you is willing to discuss your options and the procedure with you in a way that you can understand. You’re setting yourself up for extra challenges if you’re afraid to talk to your surgeon or your surgeon is unavailable.


Let’s talk about your post op diet. 
Your diet is the mainstay to every part of the bariatric surgery journey. You will be given pre. op surgery guidelines before your bariatric surgery as an exam to make sure that you will follow the rules post-op. That’s also the pre-op liquid diet to shrink your liver for a safer surgery. Also for quicker healing and fewer side effects, you are going to have to follow the post surgery guidelines from liquids to pureed foods to solid foods. Last but not least, there’s the nutrition-dense, low-calorie, low fat diet to help you hit your weight loss goal and stay there.

Taking responsibility post op. 
It’s great to depend on an excellent surgeon and complete healthcare team to walk you through surgery step by step. In a perfect world, your trusted surgeon would explain the options to you and recommend the best surgery for you, whether it’s the sleeve, band, bypass, or another choice. You’d go back for follow-up appointments and ongoing nutritional and psychological counseling.

•  That doesn’t always happen in the real world, but that’s no excuse to give up. You can take responsibility for finding out the information you need to know about what to expect, how to prepare, and what comes next. With your own research you’re more likely to succeed.

Face the facts and be open minded.
Bariatric surgery isn’t all fun and games. You don’t leave the operating room thin. Weight loss can sometimes plateau. It may take you longer to get to goal weight than you thought it would.

•  If you want to get to your goal weight and get healthy, you’ve got to make real changes. Your eating habits up until now are not going to get you to goal.

•  It’s time to take a hard look at your current habits. Can you sneak some veggies into your diet? Can you retrain your brain to love them? Can you force down those protein shakes for a few weeks in exchange for a lifetime’s worth of better health?

You and only you have control over your own bariatric surgery destiny. Success with bariatric surgery depends on planning and hard work. The more you are involved and the more responsibility you take throughout the process, the better you can do.

Bariatric Options:                                                       Medical Form

• Gastric Balloon                                                        
• Lap Band
• Mini Gastric Bypass
• Full Gastric Bypass
• Gastric Sleeve
• Gastric Plication Surgery
• Conversion or Revision Surgery
• Duodenal Switch Surgery

dr. sergio verboonen
              Dr. Sergio Verboonen

Much success in your journey.

Respectfully,
International Patient Facilitators – Cancun and Tijuana, Mexico
On behalf of Dr. Sergio Verboonen
info@ipf-mail.com

1 800 210 5124 

1Aug

Burn More Calories.

• As complicated as we make it out to be, it all breaks down into a rather simple formula. If you want to lose weight, then you have to burn more calories than you take in. From here, there are a million options as to what your snacking habits should be, what foods are best to eat, and what kind of exercise is best for you. These are the questions that your bariatric coordinator will help you answer.

•In the first days and weeks after bariatric surgery you will be limited to how much movement you can engage in. However, once the time comes, you want to make sure you are ready to jump into an exercise routine. Research shows that starting a workout program prior to your bariatric procedure actually prepares your body for a faster recovery and an easier transition into an active lifestyle after bariatric surgery.

•  You need to make sure that you choose an exercise that is ideal for your current body type and activity level. Here are a few suggestions that are often ideal for easing into a strong workout routine:


Low-Impact Cardio Exercise 
such as walking or bike riding. Try starting out by just walking around your neighborhood in short intervals, or going for a brief bike ride. You can also use gym equipment to take your workout indoors.


Weight-Resistance Training 
use resistance bands or light hand weights. These activities are easy to do in your own living room. You can follow a video or written instructions online to learn the best movements for building muscle and strength.

Water Aerobics or Swimming 
low-impact cardio exercise in the water is a great resource if you have access to a pool, either at your home, community center, or even the local gym.

Get Started, Just Do It.
The goal of any fitness program should guide you through the lifestyle changes you need to make so you can adapt to a healthier way of living. When you are going to have bariatric surgery, these lifestyle changes will add up to a lot of dietary changes, of course, but it also means incorporating activity into your daily life.

This is a new concept for many people. If exercise wasn’t something you enjoyed doing in the past, it is important to recognize why.  Getting started with an exercise program before undergoing bariatric surgery can help you reach your ultimate goals.

 

Bariatric Options:                                                       Medical Form

• Gastric Balloon                                                        
• Lap Band
 • Mini Gastric Bypass
• Full Gastric Bypass
• Gastric Sleeve
• Gastric Plication Surgery
• Conversion or Revision Surgery
• Duodenal Switch Surgery

dr. sergio verboonen
              Dr. Sergio Verboonen

Much success in your journey.

Respectfully,
International Patient Facilitators – Cancun and Tijuana, Mexico
On behalf of Dr. Sergio Verboonen
info@ipf-mail.com

1 800 210 5124 

1Jul

Rise Up and Take Control

This isn’t necessarily about regain, its about restarting. In those first seven months after surgery, nothing can stop the weight from falling off, but then it all stops and its then up to us. If old habits have not been redirected, this is how you start losing again.

Going on a diet is different from the old pre op days. Back then, it was a slow painful process that took months for results because we had to lose a good forty pounds before anyone even noticed because of proportions. Face it, ten pounds is not a big dent when you weight 300 pounds. But post op dieting actually produces results fairly quickly and feels successful. Plus the pouch gives us an edge.

1. Grab a Friend !
Talk your girlfriend, spouse, sister, neighbor into losing five pounds with you. Friendly Competition is good and Peer Pressure makes you exercise harder.

2. Stop Buying Bread.
Sound too simple? It is! It’s a no brainer in fact. If there isn’t any bread you can’t eat it. When there aren’t any crackers, you can’t eat them.

3. Blab & Obligate Yourself.
Tell all close to you that you are recommitting to losing pounds. Say what you do – do what you say.

4. Stop eating White Foods.
No potatoes, bread, pasta, crackers, chips, rice, sugar, & tortillas. These foods are full of carbs and calories with few nutrients.

5. Get out the Small Plates Even with a four ounce stomach we can overeat soft or slider foods. On your small plate should be 4 or 5 ounces of protein and as much salad & vegetables that will fit.

Bariatric surgery is not easy nor is it the easy way out. It takes time to get used to these changes and it take strength and dedication.

Learn more about our Bariatric Program in Mexico here.

Much success in your journey.

Respectfully,
International Patient Facilitators – Cancun and Tijuana, Mexico
On behalf of Dr. Sergio Verboonen 

info@ipf-mail.com
1 800 210 5124 

1Jun

Smart essential bariatric tips

Take Control

Things are different when you have a four ounce stomach. We used to save best for last, but now we’d better eat it first! Now we have to chew food and think about the texture. No more big bites! Here is our short list of smart and essential bariatric tips.

Share with a bariatric friend who can use the help or your Facebook Group!

1. Sit at a table ! Before surgery, many of us inhaled our meal in front of the television or while standing over the sink. It’s very important to put your portion on a small plate, sit down at a table and pay attention to what you are eating.  Really enjoy it.

2. Eat at Home. Chain restaurants achieve consistency of flavors with the use of processed sauces and packaged components that have hidden ingredients like high fructose corn syrup food starches and fat. At home, when you roast a chicken thigh and pair it with a simple salad you know what is on the plate. 

3. Cook .  There are generations of people who do not know how to feed themselves. Begin to cook meals for yourself, your family and friends. It’s healthier for everyone in the house. Make better choices for yourself and for your family.

4. Eat within 1 hour of Feet on Floor.  We all know this so let’s just DO IT. Studies show that people who don’t eat breakfast weigh more than those who do. Skipping breakfast keeps the body in starvation mode. Break the fast and stoke the body with enough energy to burn some of that stored fat.

5. Have Plan of Attack for the Restaurant. Almost all restaurants have websites and full menus online. Look at the menu in advance to get an idea of what appetizers or entrees will work for your surgery. It’s a lot easier knowing before you arrive.

Bariatric surgery is not easy nor is it the easy way out. It takes time to get used to these changes and it take strength and dedication.

Learn more about our Bariatric Program in Mexico here.

Respectfully,
International Patient Facilitators – Cancun and Tijuana, Mexico
On behalf of Dr. Sergio Verboonen 

info@ipf-mail.com
1 800 210 5124 

1May

Making a baby is generally fun – except if you need the help of some fertility drugs, whose side effects can range from generally mild to downright miserable.

Side effects vary depending on the type of medicine you’re taking. Chlomiphene citrate, for example (best known by the drug names Clomid or serophene), is one of the most common medicines for stimulating ovulation, but its side effects can include hot flashes, nausea, breast tenderness, headaches, depression, mood swings and ovarian cysts.

Other medicine, like Lupron, can send you into a temporary state of menopause, complete with hot flashes, vaginal dryness, insomnia and headaches. Talk to your doctor about using the lowest dose possible of the medicine to minimize these side effects.

There are also some medications that can reduce the symptoms, from antidepressants to acetaminophen (aka Tylenol). Unfortunately, there’s little evidence to support taking herbs like black cohosh or Siberian ginseng, although you’ll find them touted on some websites as a cure-all for certain side effects.

Some women find acupuncture is helpful in managing some of the stress and anxiety surrounding fertility treatments.

Taking a walk or doing some other moderate exercise can also help.

The good news is that most side effects go away pretty soon after you’ve stopped taking the drugs, so you can hopefully focus on a healthy pregnancy and not the treatments that got you there.

Know someone else that would be interested in our organization? SHARE THIS EMAIL

Much success in your journey.

Respectfully,
International Patient Facilitators – IVF TReatments, Mexico

info@ipf-mail.com
1 800 210 5124 

1Apr

Embryo Freezing.  What is it and when should I consider it ?

It’s been more than 20 years since embryo cryopreservation, as it’s sometimes known, became a buzzword in the world of reproductive medicine. Today embryo freezing is one of the most common components of IVF. As long as you’re undergoing the treatment, which involves having a number of eggs harvested after taking fertility drugs, some doctors feel you might as well take the extra eggs, fertilize them and preserve them through cryo (very cold) storage. Embryos can be frozen anywhere from a single-cell stage to blastocyst stage (5 to 7 days after fertilization).

The choice of freezing your eggs or embryos depends on a few different factors, from your age to your health. If you’re in your early 30s, don’t have a partner, and are looking to preserve your fertility, it may make more sense to simply freeze your eggs before they’re fertilized, until you’re more ready to decide on a potential sperm source (baby daddy). If you’re already undergoing IVF and have extra embryos that have not been transferred, and you’re potentially looking to add a sibling down the road, it may make sense to put some embryos on ice for future family planning. Or you may be years away from starting a family but facing a treatment like chemotherapy that might limit your ability to conceive naturally in the future.

Ultimately, the choice comes down to you (and your partner, if you have one) and your current and future needs and wants.

Know someone else that would be interested in our organization? SHARE THIS EMAIL

Much success in your journey.

Respectfully,
International Patient Facilitators – IVF Treatment in Mexico

 info@ipf-mail.com
1 800 210 5124