Weight loss surgery is a quicker and effective way of bringing about a massive weight loss. When all traditional methods of weight loss fail, these surgeries come into the picture. Gastric bypass surgery is the most time tested one of all the surgeries available for weight loss. However, these surgeries are not for everyone.

Factors which determine who are eligible for weight loss surgery (Gastric Bypass):

There are some laid down guidelines as to who can be considered for the procedure. The guidelines are as follows:

• Someone who has failed to reverse weight gain through the traditional methods of diet and exercise.
• Someone who has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or higher (super morbid obesity).
• Someone with a BMI between 35 and 39.9 but with serious co-morbidities like Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, steatohepatitis etc.

Comprehensive evaluation of the candidate:

A team of heath care providers (doctor, dietitian, surgeon and psychologist) will examine a candidate before deciding whether he/she is ready for the procedure. These professionals decide whether the health objectives from the surgery when achieved will outweigh the risks associated with the procedure. The following factors will be taken into consideration as a part of the comprehensive evaluation.

Age

The guidelines have been laid down for patients between the age of 18 and 65. Before or beyond this age interval the decision has to be taken based on case specific parameters.

Nutrition, Demographics and weight graph over the years

The weight loss graph, eating patterns, profession, stress level, family background, etc are considered in determining one’s eligibility.

Medical condition

The current medical status needs to be assessed. If the individual is predisposed to post surgery complications having conditions such as a blood clotting disorder, liver disease, kidney stones to begin with, then he/she may not be the right candidate for it. Smoking and alcohol may increase complications later on.

Emotional status

Emotional stability is assessed to determine whether an individual is ready for the surgery. Having a history of trauma and abuse makes one vulnerable to weight gain. An emotional eater turns to food for comfort and solace. Substance abuse, binge eating, addictions, depression and other such psychological disorders can negate the advantages of the surgery. So the surgery may be delayed until the patient is mentally and psychologically ready to face and take up the challenge.

Motivation

Finally the motivation to reverse the weight gain and maintain it is very essential. The surgery is complicated and comes with a lot of follow up suggestions. The ideal candidate would stick to the recommendations of the physicians and be patient through the recovery process.

If the weight loss surgery is approved then the patient is put on a preparation drill for a period of time prior to the surgery. The patient may be asked to go on a restricted diet which does not include smoking or alcohol. The patient will be educated and informed to make the right diet choices and engage in a physical activity program. If the person is seen to falter on the given recommendations or gain weight in the mean time, the surgery will be postponed.

One fact needs to be realized that weight loss surgery comes with substantial risks. They are not magic wands which can just make the pounds vanish into thin air. Perseverance, patience and precaution are needed to go through one and evolve healthy and safe at the other end.

What are the causes of Double chin?

Obesity: The first and foremost reason for it is obesity or abnormal accumulation of fat in different areas in the body. Not watching calories and inadequate exercise are the primary reasons of excess fat being stored in the body.

Heredity: As much one could be predisposed to obesity because of faulty genes, one could also be susceptible when it comes to getting an additional chin. A lot of times, your genetic makeup decides whether or not you will be gifted with a sound metabolism. Some may acquire poor food habits right from the beginning because of lack of information or culture and be predisposed to the said condition.

Age: Well, in majority of the cases the problems start in the late thirties or early forties. Age is inversely proportional to skin elasticity and tightening. The metabolism slows down, skin around the neck starts drooping and sagging and muscle mass is lost. Age is definitely one of the biggest reasons of unwanted fat accumulation in the body.

Posture: Sedentary lifestyle affects the overall posture of the body. Sitting at one place and especially working on the computer causes the body to slump and slouch forward. The back is not kept straight and the shoulders are droopy causing the muscles to weaken in the area. The muscles in the region of the neck become weak and can cause the appearance of a double chin.
The above are some of the causes of the said problem.

Obesity has a lot of health repercussions and can bring in a lot of co-morbid diseases like Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, hormonal problems etc. About 350,000 people die due to obesity related diseases in the United States every year. 58 million people are overweight in the United States. It is of utmost importance that any situation that leads to weight gain be effectively warded off. In this case we will look into why women have a tendency to gain weight after marriage and what can be done to ward off the excess pounds.

What causes post marriage weight gain?

• It is possible that one is in her best shape on the wedding day. Thanks to the killer exercise regimen and diet followed in the month prior to the wedding. Post wedding, with the celebrations in full gear and days of abstinence weighing on, the strict diet is far from followed. Eating big meals is back and the weight gain just comes back.
• Being married for some is equivalent to being complacent and starting to take things for granted. A less cautious approach towards weight gain brings back the additional pounds.
• Being with a partner influences each others eating habits. Guys have a better metabolism than girls. Once one starts eating like the husband does, she ends up consuming a lot more calories.
• Pregnancy is one of the biggest reasons of weight gain in ladies post marriage.
• Cooking meals for the family makes one more susceptible to eat more. A lot of women intake a lot of calories tasting dishes and eating while cooking.
• Putting the family’s nutritional needs above one’s own also makes one eat unhealthy.
• Not wasting food and eating leftovers from the plates of children increase the pounds unknowingly.
• Being emotionally vulnerable due to problems in marriage could make one an emotional eater who turns to food for solace.

How to ward off post marriage weight gain?

• Eat what you need to eat and not what your partner likes eating. Cook for yourself and your partner, if required, separate food.
• Plan some exercise together. Go for a jog, a hike or a swim together. The daily gym routine could also be planned together.
• Eat breakfast together. Eating a breakfast kick starts your metabolism and helps to be on track throughout the day.
• Put your pre marriage pictures around which can give you a pointer as to what you looked like.
• In case of a pregnancy, take expert advice on exercise and diet so that you don’t end up putting on weight during and after it.
• Avoid big meals and eat 3 small meals and two snacks throughout the day and drink lots of water.
• Make your outdoor plans with your diet in mind. Even while dining out in restaurants opt for healthy food.

Let your marriage be about being together and not about food.

What is HCG Diet for Weight Loss?

HCG or the Human Chrionic Gonadotropin diet is based on the hormone which goes by the same name. It is essentially a glycoprotein hormone that is released during pregnancy. It is produced by the embryo after conception. However, it is also produced by the pituitary gland in people of all ages. It was first devised by the British physician A.T.W Simeons. He found that giving small doses of the hormone to obese patients helped them lose stubborn fat.

Mechanism of the HCG Diet for Weight Loss

The mechanism through which this diet works is that it causes the body to think that it is pregnant. During pregnancy the metabolism of the body is fired up. Along with the said hormone, the patients are required to be on a very low calorie diet which could be as low as 500 calories. The remaining calorie requirement of the body is met by unleashing the stored fat reserves in the body. The hypothalamus part of the brain is programmed to protect the body while using up the excess adipose deposits in the body. The lean muscle of the body is unaffected, which is unusual, during a random very low calorie diet. On a specialized diet like the one discussed, a potent combination of the low calorie diet coupled with the hormone dose can bring about a weight loss of about 2 pounds a week.

However, Dr. Simeons emphasized the importance of including protein in the diet. It is important to drink lots of water while on the diet so that ketones and other wastes can be eliminated.

It is administered as an injection or in the form of drops.

What are the side effects of the HCG Diet for weight loss?

The Food And Drug Administration had approved the use of the synthetic hormone to treat infertility. Its use for weight loss is not approved. Experts opine that being on a very low calorie diet of 500 calories is not practical. The initial weight loss cannot be sustained over a longer period .

Many individuals on the diet have reported having symptoms of headaches, dizziness, mood swings because of the inconsistencies of the blood sugar levels.

It is always advisable to ask your physician before you attempt losing weight using the HCG hormone supplements.

Should i Do Cardio Before or After Weights?

Cardio is essentially an aerobic exercise which increases the supply of oxygen to the different parts of the body at the cellular level. It is done for longer duration and uses up the glycogen reserves in the body. Compared to it, weight lifting involves short bursts of activity which are anaerobic in nature. It does not indicate that one stops breathing during weight lifting. Rather lifting weights involves such great exertion on part of the body that the muscle’s requirement for oxygen is more than met with.

The answer to the question Should I do cardio before or after weights?” lies in understanding the physiological impact of exercising on our body. Energy for exercising is derived from glycogen stores in the body. Whether it is short duration intense weight lifting or moderately intense endurance building longer duration cardio workouts, energy is obtained from glycogen stores in the body.

If you do weights first, chances are that the glycogen reserves in the body are depleted and you do not have any energy left for the ensuing cardio workout. Any exercise done with you not feeling up to it, will be rendered ineffective and you will increase your chances of injury.

However, a warm up session or a moderately intense cardio workout may not deplete your energy reserves to that extent. After the initial cardio workout the body is in a fat burning mode and the most can be made out of the weightlifting session.

The crux of the matter remains that if both cardio and weights have to be included in the same session then they should be of a moderate intensity. Engaging in cardio before or after weights is definitely an individual choice depending on what benefits one derives out of it . Another option would be to schedule them on different days to get the optimum benefits of both.

Low Birth Weight Infants and Obesity – The Research Study

A study published in the journal Brain Research found that low birth weight of infants could be linked to obesity later on in life. It was found that a nutritionally deprived new born is genetically predisposed to eat more. This is because they are born with less neurons in the region of the brain that is responsible for food intake.

The study was conducted at the Los Angeles BioMedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center(LA BioMed). The objective of the study was to establish that the tendency to overeat is programmed at the stem cell level when the baby is in the womb of a malnourished mother.

The study emphasized the importance of maternal nutrition and maternal health in reducing obesity later on. Dr. Mina Desai, the chief investigator of the conducted study opined that obesity is the greatest menace in our society today. Numerous deaths could be linked to it. The finding of the study linking low birth weight infants and obesity is because of poor maternal nutrition and this could be the biggest breakthrough in obesity prevention strategies.

The study used animal models to prove its hypothesis. It was found that there was far less cell division and differentiation in the neurons of the stem cells in an infant with low birth weight especially when compared to someone with normal weight. It is a normal finding that small sized infants generally have an accelerated rate of growth as far as weight is concerned. This is often associated with childhood obesity and the co-morbidities associated with obesity like cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus etc.

Hence, it is imperative to focus on maternal nutrition during pregnancy so that the risks of low birth weight infants and obesity knocking the door could be lowered.

Different Steroids

Cortisone – Mostly used to treat inflammation occurring in the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, these drugs bring immediate relief. They can be directly injected in the muscles to bring immediate relief from pain.

Hydrocortisone – It is used to provide relief from conditions like arthritis, colitis, asthma, bronchitis etc. It is widely used in allergic skin conditions which are normally present with swelling, redness, itching and burning. Conditions of atopical dermatitis, insect bites, poison ivy etc are treated with hydrocortisone.

Prednisone – It is used to treat allergic skin conditions like allergic dermatitis, eczema etc and skin conditions like psoriasis. It is used to treat other conditions like ulcerative colitis, Inflammatory Bowel disease, lupus, asthma etc.

The above medications in-spite of being effective in treating the underlying condition often comes with side effects.

Steroids and Weight Gain

• Steroids and weight gain go hand in hand. This is because they affect fat metabolism. They also result in redistribution of fat. Fat deposits are noticeably higher on the abdomen, neck, face etc. The amount of weight gain varies from individual to individual.
• Individuals on the steroid often report an increased appetite. This is also a reason why weight gain is experienced on steroids.
• Weight gain experienced on steroids is thought to be because of the increased water retention in the body .
• The good news is that the condition is reversible and generally the fat deposits disappear after the treatment is discontinued.

Steroids and Weight Gain – What can be done to minimize the weight gain on steroids?

• Stay away from fats and sugars. Eat food rich in fiber which fills you up without piling on the calories.
• It is important to eat 5 small meals throughout the day. Include some healthy snacks in between.
• Exercising is extremely important to avoid the additional weight gain.
• Stay away from salt or excess sodium as it will make the water retention problem worse.

It normally takes about 6 months to get back to your original weight after the treatment with steroids is completed. Steroids and weight gain, both can be well managed if one is well informed.

Obesity Related Diseases

High Blood Pressure – High BP is the major cause of sudden deaths among Americans of age above 25. According to the World Health Organization, about 75 million people suffer from hypertension or high blood pressure, a major trigger for heart attacks. Blood pressure increases with increasing weight and increasing age. Though there is no proper theory behind it, research shows that over weight patients showed an increase in blood volume and arterial resistance.

Diabetes – Obesity is one of the significant factors in the development of insulin resistance, and this can therefore lead to type 2 diabetes. According to the WHO statistics, nearly 90% of diabetics have type 2 diabetes. Being obese improves the diabetes risks by making the cells more resistant to insulin effects.

Heart Disease – Obesity is primary risk factor of developing coronary heart disorder, which therefore leads to heart stroke or heart attack. According to the American Heart Association, obese people even before an age of 45 are at a higher risk of suffering heart stroke. Obese adolescents are at much more higher risk of suffering heart stroke before the age 35 than non-obese adolescents.

High Cholesterol Levels – Increasing cholesterol levels is also one of the major cause of heart attacks. Cholesterol is carried through the blood in two different ways: high density lipoprotein (HDL), a healthy cholesterol that reduces the risk of heart attacks and low density lipoprotein (LDL), which carries to cells that require it. High LDL levels increases the risk of heart disorders by nearly 20%.

Cancer – According to the American Heart Association, being obese increases the chance of cancer development by nearly 50%. Women are at a greater risk of developing cancer if they are overweight by 20 pounds.

Infertility – Obesity also causes changes in hormonal levels both in men and women. Overweight men are at greater risks in developing motility and lower sperm count. The fluctuating hormonal levels in obese women can result in ovarian failure. Women are a greater risk of suffering from infertility and ovarian cancer if they are 15 – 25 pounds overweight.

Back Pain – Obesity also causes joint and back pains. Overweight increases stress on the most vulnerable parts of the spine that carries entire weight of the body. This therefore leads to spinal injuries and structural spinal damages. Being obese also increases the risk of lower back pain, arthritis, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

Skin Infections – The skin of the obese may at times fold over on itself. These folded areas can develop irritation from sweating and rubbing, leading to skin infections.

Ulcers – Obesity is also a contributing factor to gastric ulcer development. According to a research by the national Institutes of Health (NIH), overweight men are at a greater risk of developing ulcers than overweight women. Gastric ulcers develop when there is any imbalance between the hydrochloric acid secretion and pepsin enzyme.

Gallstones – Being obese contributes to the risk of gallstone development, mostly in women. Gallstones develop when the liver secretes excess amount of bile juices which remain in gallbladder.

These are the major obesity related diseases. Some others include gout, Pickwickian syndrome, cellulitis, lymph edema and many more. Therefore, it is advisable to seek a doctor’s help for obesity treatment and implement an exercise routine and a healthy diet. It is more important to shed weight down to stay away from such dangerous life threatening disease conditions.