Lifestyle Considerations | Upper GI Surgery | Bariatric Surgery

Set Point Theory Explained & Bariatric Surgery

Upper GI Surgery — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 04:00:07 +0000

We’ve all been there; stuck in a rut with our weight and despite our best efforts, we still seem to end up back where we started when we check the scales. It can become incredibly disheartening, especially when you are making substantial changes and efforts to be healthier with your approach to diet and exercise. Today we are going to look a little closer at ‘set point’ theory and how this could be affecting your weight loss goals.

What is the ‘set point’ theory?

We all have a unique set point. Our set point is affected by genetic, developmental and environmental factors. Just as your body regulates functions such as blood glucose or blood pressure, your levels of fat are also regulated and controlled by biological signals. These signals control appetite, digestion, metabolism and energy balance, determining your body’s weight ‘set point’. Studies have shown that body weight is maintained at a stable range (set point) despite variations in energy intake/expenditure.

What’s happening is that your body is fighting to maintain the weight that it believes it needs to be to function optimally. For example, if you lower your energy intake you naturally become hungrier and your metabolism will slow down. If you overeat, your appetite will decrease and your metabolism will speed up. This is our natural biological weight management system.

If the body manages weight regulation, what is the cause of obesity?

The body is much better at gaining weight than it is at losing weight. This is a built-in survival mechanism. Our bodies very readily convert excess calories into fat and then try very hard to hold onto it, regardless of the reduction in intake. It is also a lot more difficult to ignore hunger, but very easy to overlook satiety and overeat.

As you gain weight your set point is increased, meaning your body is then working harder to defend a higher set point than before. Our bodies are amazing at adapting to changes in our environment or lives, but this isn’t always for the better.

Can I change or lower my ‘set point’ level?

All isn’t lost and this is entirely possible, but it does take time and a lot of dedication. It would require a slow but persistent weight loss, allowing your body to readjust at each increment of loss. But this isn’t always possible, as you will be constantly fighting against your body’s setpoint while attempting to lower it. Studies have shown that people who lose weight and maintain weight loss maintain persisting increased hunger years after weight loss, so, in order to keep the weight off, they need to have hunger management strategies.

Bariatric surgery and set point theory

Bariatric surgery (using the examples of gastric bypass and gastric sleeve surgery) creates physiological changes, which affect the levels of numerous hormones involved in appetite regulation. Bariatric surgery increases satiety (as the stomach is smaller or bypassed so less food can be consumed before feeling ‘full’) and decreases hunger, physiologically encouraging your body to want to lose weight.

Bariatric surgery can help you to lower your weight ‘set point’ as a result of the physical changes to your digestive system, including hormones and nerve signalling. By lowering your body’s set point, you can achieve a sustainable healthier weight.

If you’re considering bariatric surgery and would like to know more, please contact our practice to book an appointment with one of our bariatric specialists by calling (02) 9553 1120 or book online using Hotdoc.

What is the post-bariatric surgery diet?

Upper GI Surgery — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 03:49:11 +0000

If you have been researching bariatric surgery as a tool to help you return to a healthy weight and lifestyle, you will understand that your eating habits and diet following surgery will need to change significantly. Not only as a result of structural changes to the digestive system because of the surgery, but a healthy diet and lifestyle are always required to ensure a life-long change and to avoid weight regain.

You may have read that you need to follow a diet before your surgery (you can check out our blog about the pre-bariatric surgery diet here), but although this is required to make surgery safer, the post-bariatric surgery diet is a bit more complicated and more important.

Post-op diet

Once you have had bariatric surgery your recovery diet will last six weeks.

First 2 weeks – fluid diet

During your first two weeks following surgery, you will still be in recovery. You should aim to consume a diet of thin blended soups or smoothies, that are high in protein; some patients may choose to continue with the use of meal replacement shakes for convenience (for example Formulite as pictured below). Patients are all encouraged to ensure they are consuming adequate fluids during this time to reduce their risk of dehydration. During this time, you will also start your chewable multivitamins.

As you are still in recovery, ensuring you follow strict guidelines during this period is essential.

No eating and drinking at the same time once you move to solids to avoid unwanted gut symptoms.
No fizzy fluids are allowed.
Meal portions should be ¼ to ½ cup to avoid overeating.
Very lumpy food could get stuck, leading to vomiting and putting unwanted pressure on staple-lines and surgical join. Very lumpy foods could contribute to leaks in some circumstances.
Protein is vital and requirements need to be discussed with your dietitian but typically you are aiming for between 60-80g of protein per day. Most patients only achieve 30-40 grams per day in the first few weeks, however.
Discuss supplements such as whey isolate powders or protein water and how to incorporate them into your diet in order to keep your protein levels up.

Weeks 3 and 4 – Puree diet

Once you have made it through the first couple of weeks you are most certainly over the hardest part. Introduction of thicker food makes things a lot more interesting however most people still have some fluid meals for convenience. The eating guidelines around small portions and aiming for protein still apply.

Weeks 5 and 6

Weeks five and six see the much-anticipated introduction of actual food as opposed to just shakes or purees. During this time, you can begin to consume a diet of soft foods, although solid foods can cause problems, and you should still be following the same eating guidelines as specified during the first two weeks.

Week 6 onwards

Congratulations, you have made it to week six! Those first weeks following bariatric surgery are certainly challenging as they require significant dietary and lifestyle changes, so congratulations for making it through.

During this period of recovery and adaptation, you will also have started to lose a significant amount of weight each week, which will continue as you follow your new diet and lifestyle.

From week six onwards you can start to slowly introduce solid foods to your diet. It is important during this time to ensure that you are using the new limited amount of space that you have to consume the right foods that are of high nutritional value.

Healthy eating after bariatric surgery on a budget

Upper GI Surgery — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 02:30:22 +0000

Have you noticed that your weekly shopping costs seem to be slowly increasing once you reach the checkout? According to Forbes, the federal government and Reserve Bank have forecast that inflation in Australia will peak at 7.75% in the December quarter of 2022. As a patient who has undergone bariatric surgery, it’s important that you continue to eat a healthy diet by avoiding processed foods which will stimulate hunger and make you gain weight.

Today we’re going to give you a few tips on how you can continue to eat healthily every day and maintain your post-bariatric surgery diet, even on a limited budget.

Meal planning

The first point of call is to plan your meals for the week. Not only will this help to keep you on track, but it will also mean that you don’t end up buying unnecessary foods that will go to waste. Only buy what you are going to use. Every morning when you wake up and get ready for the day, spare a thought for when you plan to eat. This will allow you to have the meals that you need and want rather than running the risk of eating what’s available. The food that “pops up” onto your radar during the day is likely to be what you are trying to avoid i.e processed foods and snacks.

Using foods in different ways…

By meal planning, you can cleverly plan different foods that can be used across several meals. For example, a bag of carrots can be used in a variety of different ways, as can a cooked chicken. One day the chicken may be used with vegetables or a salad and another day can be used in a stir fry. Bulking out meals with expensive meats such as chicken with cheaper, seasonal vegetables is not only a great way of keeping the calories low but also the cost. Use different seasonings or flavourings to keep it interesting.

Making larger portions…

After bariatric surgery, one of the main focuses of meals is portion size. You may find now that you are eating much smaller portions than you were before. But you can still make these larger portions, just make use of them in different ways. It’s often cheaper to buy things in bulk and cook meals in bulk.

Freezer-friendly meals – freeze meal sizes portions. This will also help during times when you may have no healthy food in the house; rather than ordering a takeaway, simply defrost a healthy meal from your freezer.
Lunches – you can always use a smaller portion of your meal for lunch the next day.
Re-purposing – be smart with your leftovers, and use them in creative ways. Such as leftover chicken being used in a stir fry or salad the next day.

Buying in season

When fruits or vegetables aren’t in season they are still available in the supermarket but become very expensive due to the costs involved in getting them to the store in the first place. One way to reduce your healthy eating costs is to take advantage of cheaper options by buying fruits and vegetables that are in season.

If you need a particular fruit or vegetable for your meals, then consider buying the frozen or tinned option instead. Frozen options are still as nutritious as fresh produce, and allow you to only use what you need, and leave the rest in the freezer for another time. If you’re buying tinned goods, make sure to buy ones that are stored in water, and check the salt and sugar content are low.

Another quick tip is to make your own salads; buying ready-made salads can come at a premium price for convenience. If you put together your own salads using what you have already in your fridge or cupboard you can easily keep the costs down while maintaining a healthy approach.

Consider different protein options

Protein is one of the most important parts of the post-bariatric surgery diet, as it is low in calories whilst increasing satiety (feeling full and satisfied for longer). But protein such as fish or beef and lamb can be expensive, especially premium cuts. Try substituting more premium proteins with cheaper alternatives such as legumes, eggs, chicken or tinned fish. Some of these also have a long shelf life so are less likely to spoil quickly and be wasted.

Stay away from discretionary foods…

Another very easy way to keep the costs down is to think very carefully about buying discretionary foods that you really shouldn’t be eating anyway (think chips, snacks etc). If you don’t have these sorts of foods in the house then you won’t be tempted by them. They are generally more expensive than buying healthier foods anyway so should be avoided.

Another quick tip is to avoid going food shopping on an empty stomach! This is not a myth; you are much more likely to succumb to picking up food products that don’t align with your diet if you are shopping when hungry.

And finally, your liquid diet…

Really, the only drink that you need to consume when following a post-bariatric surgery diet is water. If you are only consuming water as your drink, you are avoiding spending unnecessary money on juices, coffee, and soft drinks (even if they are sugar-free versions), which can help to lower the total at the checkout.

Heart Bypass vs Gastric Bypass – an eyeopener

Upper GI Surgery — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 02:30:44 +0000

As well as creating our own content around the topic of obesity and life-changing treatment, we are constantly exploring others’ ideas and opinions. We discovered an article, A Sad Tale of 2 Bypass Surgeries, that has an interesting way of demonstrating the inequalities of healthcare systems and treatment options for those living with obesity. Treatment that would provide not only a longer life, but better quality of life.

Here’s a quick summary of the article:

Operation C – More than 200,000 people have these surgeries done every year. Between one and three percent of patients die before they leave the hospital. Typically, they’ll spend a week in the hospital. Recovery usually takes between six weeks and three months.

Operation G – A fraction of those who could benefit – about 41,000 – have this procedure each year. It extends life and reduces the risk of heart attacks, diabetes, and certain cancers. It improves quality of life dramatically. Most patients stay in the hospital for only two or three days. Recovery typically takes three to five weeks. Deaths occur in less than 0.5 percent of patients in the first 30 days after the operation.

You’re asked to guess which procedure is which; “In case you haven’t guessed, Operation C is heart bypass…

The tale of these two bypass surgeries is sad indeed. Blame and shame get in the way of preventive care for obesity that could reduce the need for heart procedures down the road. Fear and a dysfunctional healthcare system lead people to wait until they feel their life is on the line. Then they have a costly and risky heart procedure that offers little or no benefit.”

Obesity stigma

We’ve written quite a few blogs in the past about the stigma that people living with obesity deal with on a daily basis.

The Sad Tale of 2 Bypass Surgeries summarises with a statement from Professor Caroline Apovian – “I think that the stigma of obesity rings clear here. Patients go in for procedures on their heart that are useless before they would have a procedure that would put their obesity into remission and help them live longer.”

Weight loss surgery & type 2 diabetes treatment

Upper GI Surgery — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 04:00:19 +0000

Nearly a million Australians (aged 18 and over) had type 2 diabetes in 2017 – 2018 (ABS). This information is only based on self-reported data, so is likely to underestimate the real prevalence of this disease. Type 2 diabetes is a complex condition in which the body becomes resistant to the normal effects of insulin, and the pancreas gradually loses the capacity to produce it.

Type 2 diabetes develops over a long period of time (many years). As the body’s insulin becomes increasingly ineffective at managing glucose levels in the blood, the pancreas responds by producing more insulin to manage blood glucose levels. Overproduction over a long period of time essentially causes the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin to ‘wear themselves out’. Type 2 diabetes presents itself as a combination of both ineffective insulin and insufficient amounts of insulin.

Is obesity a cause of type 2 diabetes?

Obesity is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes as it plays a role in its development: fat deposits around major organs contribute to elevated levels of fatty acids and cytokines, that mediate insulin resistance and inflammation. Put simply, an obese body is more at risk of developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The current medical approach (in addition to suitable medication where necessary) is advising patients to lose weight through lifestyle changes such as diet and increased exercise.

Obesity promotes type 2 diabetes; weight loss counteracts it

Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease as it continues to deteriorate beta-cell function over time, and many doctors favour aggressive weight loss approaches as early as possible. Research has shown that it is possible for some people with type 2 diabetes to achieve remission. Remission does not mean that it is ‘cured’ or ‘reversed’, but that those people now have normal blood glucose levels (below type 2 diabetes level). If you are living with obesity and type 2 diabetes and have been for some time, it is not easy to lose weight. Eating behaviours have been established for many years, meaning the body has established a much higher weight set point, making it incredibly difficult for an obese person to lose weight and maintain that weight loss long-term with just diet and exercise alone.

Bariatric surgery & type 2 diabetes remission

Type 2 diabetes is considered a key morbidity that justifies the risk of weight loss surgery. Those living with obesity and diabetes are strong candidates for bariatric surgery, and if it is considered early it may help preserve beta-cell function and slow the progression of other diabetes related complications.

Bariatric surgery options, such as the gastric bypass procedure or sleeve gastrectomy, increase satiety and decrease hunger, physiologically encouraging your body to lose weight. The significant weight loss achieved by bariatric surgery can lead to remission of type 2 diabetes in around three out of four cases (NIH). How? Bariatric surgery helps to restore glycemic control by a combination of calorie restriction, enhanced insulin sensitivity and increased insulin production. Patients who have had weight loss surgery, with the appropriate follow-up, are more likely to maintain their new healthy weight long-term.

If you have type 2 diabetes, are living with obesity and would like to know more about weight loss surgery, and if you are a suitable candidate, then please contact our practice on (02) 9553 1120 to arrange an appointment with one of our specialists.

Non-surgical obesity treatment options

Upper GI Surgery — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 05:00:55 +0000

Obesity treatment

Obesity for most people seems to be irreversible. A person wanting to lose weight (permanently) will need to significantly reduce their food intake, below that of their friends and family, in an environment where food is readily available and others around them are enjoying it. Despite obesity being associated with a number of medical and lifestyle complications, it’s just not possible for a person living with obesity to reduce their calorie intake enough to be able to make lifelong changes on their own.

The aim of medical and surgical treatments for obesity is to help people to consume fewer calories than they are burning, resulting in them using up their fat stores and losing weight. Most people can’t exercise enough to ever compensate for overeating, so the reduction in calories must be ongoing. This isn’t a quick fix, but a lifestyle change.

Selecting the right obesity treatment for you

The key to selecting a treatment for your weight problem depends on your goals. If you are overweight but not obese, there is no doubt that dieting and exercise will enable you to lose enough weight to help. But if you are significantly overweight, this may not be the case and you may be a candidate for surgery. Your doctor will guide you toward the best form of obesity treatment appropriate for your individual circumstance.

Non-surgical obesity treatment options

Anyone who is thinking about weight loss surgery will have tried a number of diets in the past. While there are many types of diet, they all work by reducing food intake sometimes combined with increasing exercise.

Reduced Energy Diet – supervised by a dietitian, requires a significant energy deficit (around 1,500 calories per day for women, 1,800 for men)

Very Low Energy Diet (VLED) – replaces meals with commercially available drinks (shakes) or bars (used alone providing approximately 600 – 800 calories per day, or in combination with a normal meal 1,200 calories per day)

Drug Therapy – see Weight Loss Medication

Exercise Therapy – this will never replace a poor diet; significant amounts of exercise are required to create a deficit. For example, walking for 30 minutes 3 – 4 times a week will likely only cause a 1,000 – 1,500 weekly calorie deficit (but the health benefits outweigh the minimal weight loss).

Following a diet and losing weight indicates compliance, which most people can do for a few weeks or months. Most patients cannot adhere to a diet long term, i.e. still continuing a year later. One of the problems is that most diets are complex and difficult to stick to, so adhering permanently becomes impossible.

Bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery)

Drastically reduces a patient’s capacity to eat and their hunger, but it does not cure obesity. A patient is required to adhere to a new healthy lifestyle, where they are ‘eating to live’ not ‘living to eat’. Bariatric surgery has been shown to provide effective long-term weight control in the majority of morbidly obese patient treatments (95 per cent in the short term, 75 – 85 per cent long-term for patients who continue to follow-up).

During your consultation, your doctor will discuss various obesity treatment options to help you make an informed decision about what is right for you and your journey, whether that be surgical or non-surgical. If you would like to know more or to make an appointment with one of our doctors, you can contact the practice online or call us today on (02) 9553 1120.

Bariatric Surgery Information Webinar – what you need to know

Upper GI Surgery — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 04:30:39 +0000

If you’ve visited the weight loss surgery section of our website or followed us on social media, you have probably encountered the promotion of our Bariatric Surgery Information Webinar. If you or a loved one are living with obesity and considering bariatric surgery as an option to help lose weight, this informative webinar is a great place to start.

The live webinar is split into two main sections; the first is a short presentation (around 30 minutes) given by one of our bariatric surgeons, who will then answer any of your questions during the second part of the webinar (usually another 15 minutes depending on the number of audience questions).

Here’s a quick insight into what you can expect to learn during our free Bariatric Surgery Information Webinar.

Our Team

We start with a quick overview of our medical team, as we believe the best outcomes from bariatric surgery come from a team approach. Our team facilitates treatment and surgery from different locations in New South Wales, as well as offering different appointment types (for example telemedicine).

Why do people develop severe weight problems?

Understanding why people develop severe weight problems in the first place. Obesity is not a choice, nobody wants to be overweight and deal daily with the stigma that can surround it. Being overweight can drastically impact your day to day activities, health and self-image. We explore the reasons behind this (genetics vs the environment), to provide the foundation for why bariatric surgery is a long-term treatment for people who have long-term weight issues that can only be resolved with change.

How does weight loss surgery work?

Next, we explain how bariatric surgery works. Weight loss surgery can’t change your genes, but it can help you to change your appetite and eating habits. Over time all procedures become less powerful, which is why it is important that we work with our patients to learn new skills, centred around portion size, reducing meal frequency and reducing calorie density.

How do we choose the right operation for you?

During this part of the presentation, we will explain how deciding the right treatment for obesity, whether that be diet, medication or surgery, mostly depends on your own individual circumstances. We evaluate the risk vs benefit profile of the different options and your own personal health profile (health conditions, stage in life, your health goals). Including an overview of expected weight loss from different treatment options, and their long term success.

Purpose & importance of follow up

Typically a bariatric surgery patient will experience rapid weight loss, often half of their overall weight loss in the first 3 – 4 months after surgery. Over the next 12 – 18 months they will lose the remaining weight, but how much depends on the effort of the patient, their age, and what procedure they have had. We expect people having sleeve gastrectomy to lose about 30% of their starting weight, with Bypass patients to lose up to 40% of their starting weight. While it is rare for patients to achieve or maintain a weight below BMI 25 (the so-called “normal weight”), most will be far healthier, be able to carry out activities of daily living and fit into regular clothes. We explain how after a period of 6 – 12 months of ‘easy’ weight maintenance, approximately 18 months – 3 years later the majority of patients will experience some weight gain. Coming back for conversations around weight management is incredibly important to ensure lifelong weight maintenance and commitment to a healthier lifestyle.

Bariatric Surgery Options

The final section of the presentation explains in more detail the different bariatric surgery types; from the most popular sleeve gastrectomy, to the different forms of gastric bypass and the less common gastric band procedure. This helps you to gain a better understanding of each of the procedures, how they work, and potential side effects and risks.

Q&A Section

After absorbing so much information, you’re sure to have some questions by the end of the presentation. Or maybe you already had some questions in mind and have come prepared beforehand. This is your opportunity to ask one of our bariatric surgeons your own specific questions and get answers straight away. Don’t worry you don’t have to speak up in front of everyone attending, you can simply send a message over the Zoom chat function.

We run our Bariatric Surgery Information Webinar sessions once a month, at 7.30pm via Zoom on the first Tuesday of the month. If you think that you would benefit from joining our next webinar, you can click here to register and you will be sent the Zoom invite details as well as a copy of A/Prof Talbot presenting the webinar after you attend.

Eating healthy when eating out after bariatric surgery

Upper GI Surgery — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 00:00:08 +0000

Following bariatric surgery, the changes to diet can be quite challenging for a lot of people. Weight loss surgery is designed to change the way you consume food and some procedures even permanently alter the way your body processes food. So what you choose to eat following surgery is just as important as the actual procedure itself.

One of the challenges that our patients face is trying to eat healthily when they are eating out. Eating out is a big part of our culture here in Australia, whether it be family gatherings, date nights or catching up with friends, sometimes it’s unavoidable (or can’t be avoided forever!). Today our Dietitian Tania Chaanine is going to give some advice on how to eat nutritiously and mindfully when eating out.

Getting prepared…

Thanks to a quick Google search, most restaurants have a version of their menu available to view online. Take advantage of this and have a look at the menu ahead of time, gain a better idea of what types of food are available and make a plan. You can usually find a meal that will help meet your goals with most types of cuisines.

Tania’s Top Tips

Now you have your plan in place, be the first one to order your meal choice, to avoid temptation from others.
Choose the right balance of lean protein, healthy fats and fibre from vegetables, salads or whole grains. This approach to eating will help you feel more satiated and more satisfied with your meal.
Remember, you don’t have to order a main meal if there are healthy options on the entrees. Instead, you could opt to choose one or two entree options to make your own small, healthy meal.
If you are ordering a main meal, be open to sharing with others, or taking leftovers home with you, as the portions in a restaurant will always be larger than a bariatric portion.
Although you should be carefully considering the portion size, avoid the children’s menu. Although the portions may be appropriate, the choices are rarely appropriate with the meals being more carbohydrate-dense or fried.
And finally, don’t drink your calories. Avoid juices, regular soft drinks, milkshakes or alcohol.

Suggestions for healthy options when eating out

Here are some popular cuisine types and some ideas to help you avoid the food that is high in calories but low in nutritional value, and focus instead on ideas that will work for your post-bariatric surgery diet.

Chinese cuisine

Like Thai, avoid battered and deep-fried options. Some healthier alternatives to opt for would be chicken and corn soup, beef and broccoli, San Choy bow or steamed dumplings.

Thai cuisine

Avoid deep-fried entrees, for example, chicken skewers rather than fried chicken wings. Try to avoid large portions of rice or noodles that are often fried and high in carbohydrates. A better option would be a Thai beef salad or a stir fry with protein such as chicken, pork or prawns.

Japanese cuisine

Avoid sushi rolls and Udon soups as these are very dense in carbohydrates (rice or noodles), with minimal or no vegetables with only a small amount of protein. A better choice would be a salad with avocado and salmon, sashimi with seaweed salad or edamame beans, seared tuna and miso soup.

Mexican cuisine

Avoid any added sour cream and go light on the cheese (try adding guacamole instead) and skip the tortilla chips. Choose a salad with the dressing on the side, and add a lean protein like fish, chicken or beans. Choose beans over rice if you can, or if you dislike beans, choose brown rice over white as this has more fibre and soft tortillas over crunchy (as they’ve been fried to achieve that crunchy texture!).

Hopefully being able to follow some of these steps should help you to make healthier choices next time you are eating out. It’s still important to enjoy these social occasions that include food, but be conscious that you can still stick to your new healthier lifestyle while you’re doing it.

Saying no to soft drinks after bariatric surgery

Upper GI Surgery — Fri, 27 May 2022 04:00:46 +0000

It’s very easy to consume more calories than you may expect throughout the day. Whether you’re picking at your children’s food while you’re preparing their lunches, having a sneaky teaspoon of sugar in your morning coffee or having a nice cool refreshing can of soft drink on a summer’s day. Today we will be exploring the latter; soft drinks. Did you know that a 2-litre bottle of Coca Cola contains around 800 calories and a whopping 220g of sugar? That only takes around 6 – 8 glasses of coke a day…

Drinking your calories in a day aside (let’s not forget other culprits like creamy or iced coffees, milkshakes or alcohol), there is another reason why you should be avoiding soft drinks when you have had bariatric surgery.

Soft drinks and bariatric surgery

After your bariatric surgery, no matter what procedure you had, the volume of your stomach has been significantly reduced. The aim of this is to prevent you from being as hungry as usual, to make you eat and drink slowly, and ultimately to consume fewer (calories) than usual.

The carbonation of soft drinks releases carbon dioxide in your stomach, which takes up stomach volume. Following bariatric surgery, this can create several problems, from bloating putting pressure on the incisions to seriously upsetting your stomach.

Early after surgery, soft drinks (or other fizzy drinks like seltzer, beer, and fizzy water) will make it more difficult to consume foods and other liquids (such as water, which is incredibly important for keeping hydrated). Although the aim of bariatric surgery is to reduce the volumes of food, it is important to ensure that you are gaining sufficient nutrition through the smaller volumes of food that you are able to consume, so avoiding fizzy drinks during this time is crucial. If you use fizzy drinks as a way of “pushing” food through your stomach you may cheat yourself out of weight loss.

If you are eating and drinking at the same time, you may fill up to fast and not finish your meal, which can lead to people wanting to graze and snack. Drinking after you eat can push food through and sometimes make it easy to eat more than what you need! If you find yourself both thirsty and hungry at the same time, have a drink (low calorie) first, as drinking with a full stomach may be difficult.

Regular consumption of carbonated drinks also bathes your teeth in acid which will vastly speed up tooth decay, regardless of what else is in the drink.

Caffeine content

Not everybody is aware, but most soft drinks also contain caffeine at varying levels. Caffeine is a stimulant which can lead to worsening sleep habits. People who are awake hours after their evening meals, especially if they are overstimulated will almost always end up mindlessly consuming high-calorie foods.

Alternatives to soft drinks

Everybody knows how important it is to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. When your body is dehydrated fat cells become rubbery and cannot easily metabolise, meaning it is harder to lose weight if you don’t drink enough water. But water isn’t for everybody. Some find it plain or boring, and as a result, struggle to consume as much as their body needs in a day.

There are many flavoured water alternatives on the market, although you do need to be careful as a lot of these contain high levels of sugar which is worse than fizzy low calorie drinks. Try adding a natural flavour to water such as slices of lemon or lime, or any type of fruit, herbal/fruit teas are a zero calorie and zero sugar alternative as well.

Try to avoid…

Energy drinks – these are often fizzy drinks and are usually high in sugar. Even if they are ‘sugar-free’ versions they are typically high in caffeine, and the high levels of sweetener will keep you “hooked” on excessively sweet foods.

Soft drinks – you should avoid soft drinks with sugar altogether as it is an easy way to consume a higher number of calories than you should post-bariatric surgery. Even sugar-free soft drinks should be avoided, as they are often over-carbonated and over sweetened. If you have a craving for fizz, either let the drink go flat or pick up a sodastream ™ machine which can create a non-explosive, and slightly more interesting version of plain or flavoured water.

Alcohol – check out our blog about Alcohol & Weight Loss for more information. Alcohol is a “triple threat” to weight loss surgery, it’s high in calories, it’s a potent appetite stimulant and it promotes poor (high energy) food choices.

We hope that you have found our blog about soft drinks useful today. If you are interested in bariatric surgery and would like more information please contact our practice to make an appointment by calling (02) 9553 1120.

World Obesity Day 2022 | Everybody Needs to Act

Upper GI Surgery — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 03:00:04 +0000

Today is World Obesity Day, an annual worldwide event held on the 4th of March each year to raise awareness of obesity and challenge change in society to address this growing problem. 800 million people are living with obesity around the world, and together we can be a powerful voice calling for more respect, better care, bold policies and real action.

Each year World Obesity Day has a theme and this year the theme is ‘Everybody Needs to Act’.

Everybody Needs to Act

The key message for World Obesity Day this year is that obesity is a global problem. That the roots of obesity run deep, and the only way to make progress is by working together to tackle the rising rates of obesity (not just in adults, but children too), reduce the stigma faced by those living with obesity and improve the systems that contribute to obesity around the world. Giving everybody the best chance to live longer, happier, healthier lives.

At Upper GI Surgery our team of bariatric surgeons and practitioners, strongly support World Obesity Day and other initiatives such as WIN (Weight Issues Network), also continuously campaigning for people affected by obesity.

Take Action Today

People living with obesity – call for change

Healthcare professionals – show you care

Employers – end stigma

Policymakers – lead the way

Award-Winning Cause

This year’s World Obesity Day campaign has won the Purpose Award for Best Health Cause Campaign, which is fantastic recognition of the hard work that goes into the campaign each year and the awareness that it is bringing to this increasing issue around people’s health.