When you’re severely overweight, everything seems to be harder on you — walking, working, and exercising are just a few of the things that are difficult. Sometimes, it’s difficult for you to lose weight with just diet and exercise alone. But weight loss surgery can help you not only shed the pounds, but get healthier at the same time.
At Snow Bariatric Center, our team is ready to help you start your weight loss journey as soon as you’re ready. Dr. Robert Snow is our board-certified bariatric surgeon, who assesses your weight and BMI, and helps you get the surgery that’s best for you and your body.
In the past, the only way for you to lose weight was restrictive dieting, massive amounts of exercise, or fad diets. Many people try a mix of all three options, many times without any significant results. Fast forward to the present, and there are now many different types of surgeries offered if you’re obese, to help you get your life back.
Weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, helps you lose weight by restricting the amount of food you eat. However, there are a few different types of weight loss surgery — restrictive and restrictive/malabsorptive.
Restrictive weight loss surgeries limit the amount of food that your stomach can hold at one time. This means the size of your stomach is much smaller, so you can’t eat as much food in a sitting. After this type of surgery, you’ll be able to eat about one to three ounces of food at a time. Because this is much less than the normal amount, you should lose weight quickly.
Malabsorptive surgery is sometimes paired with restrictive surgery to not only decrease the amount of food you can eat, but also alters your digestive tract to make it more difficult for your body to take in calories. This helps you lose weight not only due to less food, but also less caloric intake in general.
With the current advances in technology, gone are the days where you’d need to spend weeks in the hospital after surgery. In fact, most bariatric surgeries can be performed laparoscopically, meaning there are a few tiny incisions instead of one large incision. This significantly cuts down on the amount of time you’ll spend in the hospital.
After your procedure, you’ll spend at least a day or two in the hospital to monitor for complications from surgery. Dr. Snow also wants to make sure you get a good start on your weight loss with proper nutrition. You’ll be on a liquid diet while your stomach heals so you don’t strain anything.
After a few days, you’ll go home and the real work starts. Because your stomach is smaller, you’ll only be able to eat a few ounces at a time. This, of course, means you’ll see the pounds fall off relatively quickly. However, you might have trouble absorbing nutrients such as:
If you’re concerned about your nutritional health, ask Dr. Snow if a vitamin supplement would be something that you should take regularly.
After surgery, you should be able to get back to your normal activities within about a month or so. Once you’re able to, try to make exercise an important part of your journey, as it helps you to keep the weight off.
A year after surgery, you should have lost a significant amount of your weight, and any medical problems related to obesity should be either resolved or under control. Everyone is different, but this is a guideline for your recovery.
Weight loss surgery is relatively safe, however, like any other surgery it can have complications. Although some of these complications are just a nuisance, others can be dangerous. Some of the things you might experience after weight loss surgery include:
A very serious complication of any type of surgery are blood clots in your legs or lungs, so if you’re having calf pain or trouble breathing after surgery, make sure to get emergency treatment right away.
Serious complications are rare, but they do happen. It’s good to discuss these possibilities with Dr. Snow before your surgery. As long as you follow your aftercare instructions, you’ll be on your way to a whole new you sooner than you think.
If you’re ready to take the next step in your weight loss journey, schedule a consultation with Dr. Snow today by calling one of our convenient offices in Texas. You can also request an appointment online using our booking tool.
