Controlling Obesity With A Bariatric Diet
by Flor Serquina
You're mall-hopping and was really surprised to meet a long-ago classmate who used to be the class "giant" with her bulges. Used-to-be because now she's in those fashionable slim jeans and figure-hugging tank tops. Being a little overweight yourself, you could not help but ask how she did it. The answer: bariatric surgery. Should you need go under the knife? What about bariatric diet?
For some, surgery is the quickest, most convenient (at least in terms of sacrifice and curbing your urges) way to reduce weight and achieve that perfect figure. Bariatric surgery, under that branch of bariatrics medicine which deals with obesity, is available for those who have reached a level wherein it is no longer possible to treat their obesity with simple diets.
Bariatric surgery comes in several options, together with the attendant pros and cons and side effects. There are malabsorptive procedures, banded gastroplasty or stapling, gastric band, gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy. For those who undergo the surgical procedure, a bariatric diet is recommended because the procedures require adhering to strict standards in food intake.
There are several studies on the use of gastric-bariatric surgery for worst-case obesity. The National Institutes of Health have several publications on this, and you can check them out to find out for yourself if you have to undergo bariatric surgery. You need to understand the operation first, and the changes demanded of your lifestyle should you opt for surgery.
But before you go ahead with the bypass, you ought to know that complications arise, such as reflux, diarrhea, vomiting, surgical leaks (at the re-connections of gastric organs), hernia of the abdomen and infections. These are documented in studies made by the Agency for Healthcare Research and the National Institutes of Health. And they say that complications still come and tend to increase over time, partly resulting from the patient's inability to adhere to strict conditions set for post-surgical dieting and lifestyle change.
Diet Instead of Surgery
For the not-so-extreme obesity cases, a bariatric diet can still be helpful to ensure a successful weight loss program so that surgery is not resorted to. Bariatric diets are high-protein diet plans that involve not only the food intake diet, but also an exercise regimen. Sometimes, behavior therapy is included in the program together with vitamin and medication supplements to ensure weight-loss success.
Initially, you can consult your physician before you embark on a bariatric diet. Thereafter, you can consult other experts, even online ones, on bariatric diets that cover not only basic meals but also complementary meals from protein-rich fruit and vegetable shakes and drinks, protein bars, soups, cakes and pastries sans the fat and cholesterol, low-cal and low-carb desserts, soya-based or whey-protein-based snacks, and other in-between-meals items.
Some websites provide free sample diet and meal plans for pre-bariatric and post-bariatric-surgery cases. You can see for yourself a variety of main meal diets, supplementary protein rich drinks, multi-vitamin supplements, fruit purees and a lot of other bariatric diet recipes. The Med Diet site offers diet tips, surgery tips, new products, tailor-fitted products from bariatric health professionals.
If you would want ready-made bariatric diet plans and kits, you can visit e-shopping sites like the Bariatric Choice, which provides starter diet plans and sustained plans. They also offer bariatric food preparations that you can order online and have shipped to you directly. They also have vitamins that are meant to supplement the kind of bariatric diet you subscribe to.
Your Diet, Your Call
Whichever option you take, surgery or strict diet, remember that it is not a one-time deal. Bariatric diet or diets, for pre or post-surgery, are combinations of continuing food plans, supplementary medication, exercise therapy and ultimately lifestyle-changing activities. It is your call which ones you choose to go through.