How Gastric Bypass Surgery Can Help Diabetics Manage Their Weight Loss

One of the most important things for many Diabetics to pay attention to when they manage their Diabetes is their overall weight and body mass index (BMI). In fact, one of the most common first orders of treatment for patients with Diabetes involves weight loss.

Individuals are generally considered to have a healthy BMI as long as the BMI is less than 25% of their entire body weight; that means that individuals are healthy as long as their bodies are less than 25% fat. Anyone with a BMI above 30% is considered to be clinically obese, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. (source: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Obesity is often accompanied by a wide variety of health risks and complications, including the development of Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, glaucoma, and so many more. By reducing weight, individuals can often prevent these conditions from occurring or can reduce the impact that these conditions have on their overall health.

Gastric bypass, or lap band or bariatric, surgery has become an increasingly popular medical procedure that may help people to effectively lose large portions of weight. While any surgical weight loss procedure is risky, gastric bypass surgery may have benefits that outweigh the risks for some patients. Often, gastric bypass surgery is a last effort to help save a patient's life or restore them to better health by helping them to lose weight when other weight loss methods do not work.

How bariatric surgery works

When an individual gets bariatric surgery, surgeons will open up their abdominal cavity and decrease the size of their stomachs using surgical staples or bands. With a decreased stomach size, lap band surgery patients will become satiated (or full) on very little food, which means that they are less likely to overeat. Without overeating, many gastric bypass surgery patients consume fewer calories. Fewer calories result in less body fat over time (because unused calories are stored as body fat). (source: http://mayoclinic.com/health/gastric-bypass/HQ01465)

After having gastric bypass surgery, the stomach generally only holds about 12 ounces of food - or roughly the amount of food that can be held in a soda can. However, it is important to remember that having gastric bypass surgery does not change the type of food that individuals consume. Therefore, a piece of cake will still have the same amount of calories after the gastric bypass surgery as it had before. However, a patient may be full after just one piece and, therefore, not reach for a second slice.

Alternatives to bariatric surgery

Again, bariatric surgery is, for most people, a last effort at weight loss. Because of the extreme nature of the surgery and the risks involved, many people try a wide variety of different weight loss methods before selecting to have bariatric surgery.

One such method is learn more about proper portion control and to use portion control dishes. Portion control dishes help to remedy the common problem of overeating by educating and reminding people of what proper portion control is for certain foods. By using portion control plates and strategies, individuals can decrease the amount of food they consume in much the same way as a gastric bypass surgery patient would decrease his or her food consumption through surgery - without the surgery and the expense!

Resources:

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

http://mayoclinic.com/health/gastric-bypass/HQ01465

http://shop.imtypefree.com/Portion-Control-Dishes-s/97.htm