Tag Archive for: weight control

Avoiding Nutritional Deficiencies After Your Bariatric Surgery

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At Weight Zen, we understand that bariatric surgery is a huge step toward a healthier future. While the journey you embark on is lifelong, we help you by ensuring that you’re moving in the right direction toward a better path. To ensure success, we always go over the side effects and challenges New York patients will experience after their bariatric surgery. After your surgery, as you adjust to your new diet, there may be specific dietary needs that you aren’t meeting for one reason or another. With that in mind, we’re going to discuss nutritional deficiencies after bariatric surgery and how you can avoid them.

Why Do Nutritional Deficiencies Occur After Bariatric Surgery?

In some weight loss surgeries, such as the Duodenal Switch or Gastric Bypass, patients lose weight through a combination of malabsorptive weight loss (limiting your caloric absorption during the digestive process) and restrictive weight loss (limiting your caloric consumption). In the case of malabsorptive weight loss, the food you eat may not be fully digested, leaving you unable to receive of the vitamins and minerals from your meal. This, coupled with changes in your diet, can result in some severe nutritional deficiencies that can lead to diminished or poor health.

Be Mindful Of These Deficiencies

There are a few nutritional deficiencies of which you should be mindful after your bariatric surgery. The most serious ones include:

  • Calcium: Comprising 2 percent of the entire human body, calcium is essential for healthy bones, teeth, proper muscle contractions, nerve function, and blood clotting.
  • Vitamin D: Not only does Vitamin D help with the absorption of important minerals such as zinc, calcium, and magnesium, it also helps with the regulation of insulin and proper immune function.
  • Iron: Your body needs iron to produce myloglobin (in muscle tissue) and hemoglobin (in red blood cells), which helps carry oxygen in your blood.
  • Copper: Not only is copper essential for proper growth and development, it’s also vital for the maintenance of several organs, including your heart, brain, connective tissue, and bones.
  • Zinc: Essential for ensuring that your immune system works properly, zinc is also imperative for cellular growth and cellular division.
  • Vitamin B12: This vitamin is essential for the production of both DNA and RNA, red blood cells, and improving how iron functions in the body.
  • Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid/Folate): This vitamin helps vitamin b12 produce red blood cells, is important to brain health, and can contribute to an overall improved emotional wellness and mental health.

Working Around Deficiencies

We recommend taking dietary supplements on a regular basis to avoid serious nutritional deficiencies. You’ll be able to directly address shortcomings in your diet by taking vitamin supplements, allowing you to lead a healthier lifestyle. Dr. Rosen and nutritionist Megan Wolf will work with you to tailor a supplement program specifically to your needs. This will be assessed during your consultation and planning phases of your bariatric surgery.

Are you ready to take control of your life? Call Weight Zen today and schedule a consultation with our bariatric surgeon and nutritionist . We’ll address your needs and discuss the best option for you.

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Gastric Sleeve VS Duodenal Switch Surgery

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Here at Weight Zen, Dr. Rosen works with hundreds of patients looking to get their lives back. Are you exhausted by fad diets and exercise routines that simply don’t work? Dr. Rosen helps individuals who suffer from obesity and similar issues through bariatric surgery in New York. We offer such bariatric surgery options as Gastric Bypass, Gastric Sleeve, the Lap-Band, Duodenal Switch, and the Orbera Gastric Balloon.

Today, we’re going to take a specific look at the difference between the Gastric Sleeve and Duodenal Switch surgical procedures for weight loss.

What Is The Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

Simply put, Gastric Sleeve surgery is a type of bariatric surgery intended to help those with their weight loss efforts. During the procedure, the size of the stomach is dramatically reduced, meaning that the patient becomes full sooner when eating and thus eats fewer calories overall.

What Is The Duodenal Switch Surgery?

The Duodenal Switch surgery, also known as a biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD-DS), reduces the size of your stomach by up to 70 percent. Additionally, this weight loss surgery reroutes part of your small intestine to create two different pathways from your stomach: one brings in food from your stomach to a common channel of your small intestine, and the other helps carry bile to the same common channel from your liver. This helps to prevent your body from absorbing calories from the food you eat (part of the digestive process).

Two Different Mechanisms For Weight Loss

As you may have noticed, these weight loss surgeries offer two different types of weight loss mechanisms: malabsorptive and restrictive.

Malabsorptive bariatric surgery limits the amount of calories your body absorbs during the digestive process, whereas restrictive bariatric surgery limits the amount of calories you can consume while reducing the sensation of hunger.

Gastric Sleeve surgery is a clear, restrictive weight loss procedure, while the Duodenal Switch combines restrictive and malabsorptive mechanisms within the surgery.

Advantages Of The Gastric Sleeve Surgery

This is a far less complicated surgery compared to the Duodenal Switch weight loss surgery as it only requires a change in the overall size of your stomach rather than a total rerouting part of your small intestine. Not only does the Gastric Sleeve surgery help with weight loss efforts, but it is also low-risk with regard to post-surgical complications.

Advantages Of The Duodenal Switch

The Duodenal Switch is much more complicated than the Gastric Sleeve surgery and has increased risks. However, the Duodenal Switch has been proven to be successful at helping patients lose more excess body mass and weight. This is due to the fact that this procedure incorporates both malabsorptive and restrictive weight loss.

The Duodenal Switch Can Be Used After A Gastric Sleeve

If you aren’t seeing the results you and your doctor want from the Gastric Sleeve surgery, the sleeve is able to be transformed into a duodenal switch to help with weight loss efforts.

Contact Weight Zen Today To Discuss Bariatric Surgery Options

It’s okay if you’re not sure which bariatric surgery is right for you. Contact Weight Zen today to schedule a consultation with us. We will be able to assess your situation and make recommendations based on our years of experience and expertise.

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Can The Gastric Sleeve Help Your Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome?

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When you visit Dr. Rosen at Weight Zen, you can count on getting premium, safe and caring care. We offer a variety of bariatric surgery procedures, including the Gastric Sleeve surgery, in New York. Our bariatric procedures are aimed at providing a way for individuals to beat obesity and become healthier. While bariatric surgery is a great treatment for obesity, many people don’t know that it’s also really helpful in combatting other health issues, specifically diabetes, high blood pressure and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

What Is PCOS?

PCOS is a condition that affects women of reproductive age when their hormones are imbalanced. In most cases, women experience small cysts on their ovaries. Approximately 10 percent of women experience PCOS. Not only can PCOS affect fertility, wellness, and overall appearance if left untreated, but it can also result in diabetes and other co-morbidities. Obesity is a potential risk factor for PCOS.

Signs Of PCOS

Common signs include:

  • Irregular or infrequent periods
  • High levels of androgen (male hormone)
  • Enlarged ovaries

The hormone imbalances associated with PCOS can result in the following:

  • Severe acne
  • Thinning hair on the scalp
  • Excess body hair
  • Excess facial hair

How Can Gastric Sleeve Surgery Address PCOS?

Gastric Sleeve surgery and other types of bariatric surgeries can help address problems with weight that might have been caused or be simply related to PCOS. Moreover, by reducing your weight and moving towards a healthier body mass index (BMI), you may experience fewer symptoms related to PCOS. This can include a significant drop in weight and reduced blood pressure and risk of heart disease.

Basically, Gastric Sleeve and other bariatric surgeries for weight loss help by promoting total wellness. In turn, this addresses many symptoms that may be associated with a myriad of health problems and systemic conditions.

Will My PCOS Affect The Gastric Sleeve Surgery Results?

It’s not likely that your PCOS will affect your Gastric Sleeve surgical recovery. During the consultation process with Dr. Rosen and Nutritionist Megan Wolf at Weight Zen, we will look at all risks, including but not limited to any heightened possibility of serious side effects or complications resulting from various wellness issues.

Gastric Sleeve Surgery & Other Bariatric Surgeries Promote Total Wellness

Are you experiencing any type of systemic condition that may be due to obesity or related to obesity? If so, the Gastric Sleeve surgery may be the answer you’ve been searching for. Patients who undergo Gastric Sleeve surgery at Weight Zen in New York routinely report seeing excellent results and feeling better overall in the years following the surgery.

Learn More About Bariatric Surgery & If It’s Right For You

If you’re interested in improving your health and overall quality of life and want to know more about how Gastric Sleeve or another type of bariatric surgery can help you lose weight, make sure to contact Weight Zen. Dr. Rosen, Nutritionist Megan Wolf and the entire team at Weight Zen are looking forward to connecting with you and discussing all of your options with you. It’s time to take control of your life. Start today.

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Separating Fact From Fiction With More Bariatric Surgery Myths

In our last blog, we began tackling some of the biggest misconceptions concerning bariatric surgery in New York. Unfortunately, these misconceptions stop people from pursuing viable obesity treatment options and surgeries, such as gastric bypass, the Orbera gastric balloon, and many more.

More Common Misconceptions Surrounding Bariatric Surgery

We’re back today to separate fact from fiction with some more bariatric surgery misconceptions.

Misconception: Bariatric surgery is a waste because you’ll just gain all the weight back.

Fact: Actually, there have been numerous research studies to prove that not only do bariatric surgery patients lose more weight than those who simply diet and exercise, but they tend to keep it off, too.

Misconception: Bariatric surgery won’t be covered by your insurance because it’s considered cosmetic.

Fact: While extreme weight loss will absolutely transform your appearance for the better, the most crucial and important benefits are not cosmetic. You will look better, but our goal is to help you live longer, feel better, and lead a more healthy, active lifestyle. In fact, most insurance companies follow the guidelines set by the National Institute of Health (NIH) for bariatric surgery to determine coverage. When you have other health conditions aggravated by obesity, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, your chances of having your bariatric surgery covered by insurance increase.

Here at Weight Zen, we look at bariatric surgery as a tool, not a magic bullet; it’s a part of your weight loss journey. Contact us today to schedule a consultation, and let us help you get your life back.

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Your Bariatric Surgeon Separates Fact From Fiction

Obesity is a rising epidemic in American society. It is a serious disease, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above, and is linked to health issues such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and premature death.

Bariatric surgery is one way to combat obesity. Unfortunately, myths and misconceptions about effective bariatric surgeries in New York such as Lap-Band, gastric bypass, and sleeve gastrectomy prevent many people from pursuing these options. Today, we’re here to clear up some of these misconceptions surrounding bariatric surgery.

Common Misconceptions About Bariatric Surgery

Misconception: All bariatric surgeries are the same.

Fact: Just like there are no two people exactly alike, every operation we perform at Weight Zen is different and tailored to the specific needs of the patient. 

Misconception: Surgery is taking the easy way out. You only need willpower and a good diet and exercise regimen.

Fact: Most patients who come to see our bariatric surgeon in New York have already tried diets, exercise, medications, and just about everything else they could think of for years without any success. Diet and exercise can work for someone who is 20 to 30 pounds overweight, but once you reach the threshold of being 50 or 60 or more pounds overweight, failure rates for weight control through diet and exercise reach nearly 90 percent. Why? Losing 50 pounds and keeping it off requires an intense commitment to diet and exercise that very few people are able to maintain. Bariatric surgery makes extreme weight loss more realistic and achievable by stopping food cravings in their tracks.

Are you struggling to control your weight? Are you tired of fad diets that don’t work? Contact Weight Zen today and set up a consultation to see how we can help you.

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