Showing posts with label bariatric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bariatric. Show all posts

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Losing Weight Through an Effective Exercise Program

Exercise has several benefits to the body especially to cardiovascular endurance. It helps to lower down blood pressure and cholesterol level benefiting the whole cardiovascular system. Choosing the right exercise regimen can also be helpful in losing weight. A good weight loss program will include healthy diet and plenty of exercise. A good combination of the two will be indispensable in the whole course of the weight loss program.

Exercise can be more effective if its intensity is done on a progressive way. Beginning an exercise program with few simple steps can take it to a more comprehensive and more effective way. One of the major problems encountered in taking an exercise program is the inconsistency. Many people have lots of enthusiasm in the beginning of an exercise program but they usually lose it in the middle of the course. A successful exercise program consists of strong foundation of reasonable goals, solid planning strategies, and healthy objectives. Weight loss Mary Florida provides great recommendations on exercise planning and other regimens on losing weight.
Initially, you should set up your weight loss exercise program. Make sure that you are healthy enough to begin an exercise. Visit your physician for his recommendations on the matter of providing you the appropriate exercise regimen for your age. You also have to secure exercise equipment that you will use during the activity. You don’t have to spend a lot you just have to buy the essential ones for your routine. Knowing your specific goals, both short term and long term, will help in the success of your program.

Starting with easy exercise will be effective when you decide to do it on a long term basis. It may be simple steps in the beginning but this will help you as you progress with your routine. You can complete one easy workout for a period of 5-7 days. Together with exercise, you should be able watch your diet as this will greatly help in your weight loss plan. In this way, you can effectively avoid medical weight loss which is quite more expensive than attending a regular exercise program.


Planning a comprehensive schedule would be essential to complete your routine every week. You have to be faithful for your schedule to develop discipline on your part. You can take one day each week in creating your weekly exercise plan. This will save a lot of time in the long run.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Protein Intake: An Adjunct To Effective Weight Loss

Weight loss is considered as one of the most aimed health goals nowadays. With the prevalence of poor lifestyle habits and the influence of the media, obesity is one of the leading health problems in the country. With this condition, many serious comorbidities can occur that can greatly hamper one’s health. Several weight loss regimens including bariatric surgery are utilized to reduce weight and help in the overall maintenance of healthy and ideal weight for age. Reducing weight can serve great benefits to your health as well as increasing your self-esteem and overall wellness.


According to a research, protein intake may help in weight loss as it helps build lean muscle thereby reducing the fat content on the tissues. Initially, you should know how much protein you should eat on a daily basis. This would help you to adjust your diet and other components of your meal. It would also dictate what lean proteins recipes you can add to your daily diet. Scientists suggest that increasing protein intake can effectively help by improving body composition and boosting metabolism. A result from a study concludes that people who eat 25-30% of their calories from lean protein lost more body fat and that it helps them burn more calories at rest. This would, to some extent, help in the effort to reduce weight thereby preventing any other affordable weightloss surgery.

Some people may ask about the possibility of protein intake to achieve the goal of losing body fat. But this is not the usual way as most of protein required by the body is already included in the daily diet. Adding protein to your diet through supplement is not necessary. Usually, foods with protein are also high in vitamins and other minerals that are greatly essential to your daily body requirement. This would make protein supplementation to be excluded as it will only provide you protein without other vitamins and minerals. Protein-rich foods like lentils considerable amount of vitamins and minerals as well as fiber. You should be able to choose the foods that have high content of protein and other nutrients.

To achieve great on your protein diet try to incorporate the important nutrients on every meal. Lean dairy products, lean ground turkey, lentils and green leafy vegetables are a good source of dietary protein. Utilizing healthy cooking techniques can help you to reduce the amount of added calories.


Several weight loss regimens can effectively help you to achieve your goal. You may make it through alteration of your diet or through different weight loss procedures. Improving your ideal weight can take the way on focusing on your protein intake which may not only help but will also supply your daily body needs of other nutrients and minerals.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Improving Your Health Through Losing Weight

For some people, losing weight can be a chance to look good and to have the kind of confidence they want. However, losing weight for health reasons can be a better goal to achieve. Being overweight or obese can lead to several serious medical conditions that serve as threats to health. There are several ways on how to effectively lose weight. You can attend a regular exercise program or alter your diet to pattern it to a healthy one. Weight loss can be a more challenging one if you have a current medical condition that needs to be addressed.

Traditional methods like changing your diet or attending a regular exercise can help. However, if you are overweight this can be a hindrance for simple steps to take. If you have a hypertension managing your weight can be a good health strategy to take. This is often recommended for patients to control their blood pressure. In this case, the physician may prescribe a healthy diet, a medication, or an exercise regimen. In some instances, bariatric surgery is done when exercise and diet are not sufficient enough in addressing the situation.
Older adult can still benefit from the wonders of losing weight. Adults should consider less of an appetite as they age. This is because people become more sedentary and it’s harder for them to stimulate hunger. A small frequent meal that is nutritionally balanced and has plenty of proteins is the ideal diet for this age group. Rich protein sources include eggs, fish, chicken, turkey, and cuts of meat. These are specifically tailored for older adult who needs protein-rich diet.

Men also have great benefits from losing weight. Maintaining those lean muscles and great physique can be achieved through effective weight loss strategies. Exercising appropriately by choosing the right kind of exercise for you and being faithful to it overtime is the key a successful weight loss plan. Men are also advised to take protein-rich foods and carbohydrate which is mainly from vegetables, fats, and grains.

For overweight people, starting an exercise plan can be a challenge. People are faced with great deal of exercise to lose a great deal of weight. Walking can be a simple initial step to start an exercise program for overweight people. This is to tune up the body that will undergo a progressive series of exercise. Group exercise classes can also be recommended to provide a more comprehensive and more effective way of losing weight for this people. If exercise plans are not adequate then bariatric surgery tampa can be prescribed to manage the condition.


Deciding to lose weight requires a great deal of discipline and patience. Several methods are available to help you lose your extra weight. Medical weight loss Lakeland FL can help you decide on what specific steps to take in losing weight. It can be a challenging one but it’s worth the patience that you invest to it.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Weight Loss Surgery: An Effective Alternative in Reducing Your Weight

Weight loss surgery or bariatric surgery can be the last resort for people who are having difficulty losing weight with exercise, medicine, and diet. This medical procedure has become the leading treatment for obesity in the United States. When this surgery is effectively combined with faithful adherence to healthy diet and exercise, the individual can maintain a healthful weight that has lots of benefits.


Undergoing this procedure can cost you thousands of dollars so you should better start saving if you wish to lose weight through surgery. Basically, the cost of undergoing the surgery can range from $15,000-$40,000. However, you can save much if you have a health insurance to present to your surgeon. The amount that you will pay will be for your physician, the procedure itself, and other laboratory studies that you will undergo before your surgery. Laboratory studies may include blood tests and X-rays. You will also have to pay for the anesthesia, nursing care, and medications.

There are several types of bariatric surgery and they are as follows:

Restrictive Weight Loss Surgery

This procedure involves banding the stomach to avoid greater than recommended amount of food to be consumed by a bariatric patient. This will make you feel full with far less food. Weight loss occurs when you feel full more quickly so your daily total calorie intake is decreased. Surgeries under this category include Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, Adjustable Gastric Banding, and Vertical Banded Gastroplasty.

Malabsorptive Weight Loss Surgeries

This is also called gastric bypass surgery or metabolic surgery. This procedure involves bypassing the small intestine to limit the body from absorbing nutrients. This involves Biliopancreatic Diversion Weight Loss Surgery.

Mixed Weight Loss Surgeries

These procedures combine both restrictive and malabsorptive procedures to make you feel full quickly and that your body will have a reduced number of calories to be absorbed. These procedures include Roux-en-Y Surgery and Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch.


Weight loss surgery is a helpful procedure for those people who are having hard time losing weight on alternative methods. Though this procedure can be costly for some it may also serve great benefits to health that your body needs. When you are to undergo such kind of procedure assess yourself for your readiness both physically and emotionally. This may give a great sense of achievement on your health especially if you will be able to maintain your weight after the procedure. Christian Birkedal, a renowned physician in the field of weight loss can offer great options to reduce your weight healthily. Alternatives include taking medications and undergoing procedures.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Men’s Health Through Weight Loss


Men tend to lose weight more easily than women due to differences in size and hormones. Men lose weight to maintain their physique and to be healthy enough when it comes to controlling their calorie intake with respect to the calorie that they burn. Women have same goals too when it comes to losing their weight. Weight loss serves great health benefits to the body by controlling the blood pressure and the cholesterol level in the blood. Weight loss not only serves the purpose of having a great shape but also a great action for good health.


Men lose weight more easily because they have larger body size than women. In this way, they burn more calories than women do. However, men may not lose weight easily in some ways. Men may lack societal motivators when it comes to losing weight unlike for women. This is due to the conflicting ideas that the society has for men that they should get bigger and stronger and then at some point they have to lose weight and get smaller for long term health.

Men and women have different strategies in losing weight. Men are more on attending a gym and altering their diet. On the other hand, women tend to stay on having a healthy diet that is low in carbohydrates. Medical weight loss is also a usual resort for most women as they tend to have fewer times in going to gym for physical exercise. These differences put men to be in an easier way in making strategies for losing weight.

There are several weight loss solutions for men if they are serious enough in losing weight.
1. Learn about food. Men usually don’t do meal planning or grocery shopping but being knowledgeable on the food and nutrients that they are taking can have great effect on their weight. If you have the adequate knowledge on meal planning and the diet that you should be focusing on you can have a healthy wait that you can easily maintain.
2. Don’t Overdo Physical Exercise. Men should have a consistent attitude when it comes to going to the gym. They should also have the correct sets of routine that they can progressively increase the intensity over time.
3. Get Your Support. Men should also have the support on the matters of losing weight. It may involve getting the right kind of information and accountability when you are to lose weight. Emotional support, especially for obese men, is greatly helpful to boost their confidence while doing weight loss for their health. 

Thursday, September 19, 2013

What is Cholecystectomy and Who Needs It?

How have you been feeling lately? Have you been experiencing pain that starts in the center of your upper tummy or the epigastric area that spreads to the right upper back of your shoulder blade area? Do you have trouble moving around and the pain does not go away no matter what position you take or do? Does you condition prevent you from taking normal or deep breaths. Did the pain start with the duration of 15 minutes then to 24 hours? Doe the pain keep you up at night or enough to wake you up from deep sleep? Does the pain occur after meals? Do you experience frequent vomiting? Do you have nausea, loss of appetite, fever, dark urine, yellowing of the skin, light-colored stools and chills? Better get yourself to the emergency room, these pains will not go away until the proper treatment/ procedure is done. This is a very painful condition that one should not tolerate nor dismiss as normal. These are the symptoms of gall stones in the gall bladder.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a procedure endorsed by the National Institutes of Health for the past 2 decades, as an effective and safe surgical treatment for the removal of the gallbladder or gallbladder surgery. The review endorsed the numerous benefits of laparoscopic cholecystectomy and its effectiveness compared to open cholecystectomy. This type of surgery is done requiring small incisions in the abdomen that allows the insertion of operating ports, small cylinder tubes about 5 to 10 mm in diameter, through which surgical instruments with a video camera are placed into the abdominal cavity. The camera transmission is seen via video on a screen where the doctors monitor the course of their surgery. 

The camera shows the surgical field and sends magnified image from inside the body to a video monitor feed. This gives the surgeon a close-up view of the tissues and organs. The National Institute of Health panel noted that this type of procedure, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, should be performed by certified surgeons, experienced in this form of surgery only on patients with confirmed gallstones. This form of laparoscopic surgery has now replaced traditional open cholecystectomy as the first-choice of treatment because open surgery leaves the patient prone to infections.

Why is gallbladder removal necessary? In America alone, half a million have their gallbladder removed every year. Cholecystectomy is defined as the surgical removal of the gallbladder. It is treatment commonly done on patients with gallbladder conditions or manifesting symptoms of gall stones. Mostly considered an out-patient surgery, meaning patients can be discharged the same day as the surgery or the following day. This type of surgery is done requiring small incisions in the abdomen that allows the insertion of operating ports, small cylinder tubes about 5 to 10 mm in diameter, through which surgical instruments with a video camera are placed into the abdominal cavity. The camera transmission is seen via video on a screen where the doctors monitor the course of their surgery. 

The camera shows the surgical field and sends magnified image from inside the body to a video monitor feed. This gives the surgeon a close-up view of the tissues and organs. It is one of the most common operations performed in surgery today. Cholecystectomy can be performed through a single incision through the navel using the spider vein surgical system to remove the gall bladder. This is a recommended method compared to the traditional method for it leaves only a small almost invincible scar. The gall bladder is a pear-shaped pouch found in the upper right part of your abdomen. It stores the bile, which is a digestive fluid produced by the liver, that aide the digestive system in breaking down fatty food. Gall stones are formed in the gall bladder when these substances are of balance. The sad thing is, in many cases gall stone problem may remain undetected, gall stones cause no symptoms until it is too late. Get checked by a doctor today.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

What Happens After Having a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy?

Does immediate relief from pain come after the removal of a person’s gall bladder? The answer is yes. The pain is caused by the gall stones found in the ill gall bladder organ.

Cholecystectomy is defined as the surgery in which the gallbladder is removed.It is treatment commonly done on patients with gallbladder conditions or manifesting symptoms of gall stones. Symptoms include extreme pain in the upper belly or the epigastric area that spreads to the right upper back of your shoulder blade area nausea, loss of appetite, fever, and dark-colored urine, yellowing of the skin, light-colored stool, chills and fever. Mostly considered an out-patient surgery, meaning patients can be discharged the same day as the surgery or the following day. It is one of the most common operations performed in surgery today. In the illustration above, you will see the following body parts:

1. Liver
2. Gallbladder 
3. Bile duct
4. Bile duct enters duodenum
5. Stomach

Cholecystectomy can be performed through a single incision or what people call now as “key-hole” surgery. This barely leaves a scar after the procedure. The great news is, the pain is gone plus it does not take long to recover from laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This is mostly considered an out-patient surgery, wherein the patient can leave the hospital on the same day or the following day.

According to medical practitioners, both laparoscopic and open cholecystectomies are generally safe procedures with a low risk of complications. The most common complication is infection at the incision site in some cases. So do you really need a gall bladder? The organ is said to be useful but not essential. A person can live normally after the gall bladder removal operation. Now what happens after?

After the removal of the gallbladder, a pathological examination should immediately be performed on the organ to confirm diagnoses and check for cancer. A follow-up procedure should be done if cancer is confirmed, to remove parts of the liver and lymph nodes as required. There is however what they call “post cholecystectomy syndrome” or PCS, this minority of the patient population statistically from 5% to 40% develop symptoms like persistent pain and gastrointestinal distress in the upper right abdomen.

Minor symptoms after surgery are gas problems and a bit of soreness. Some people though who have had their gall bladder removed experience diarrhea or bloating. You will need to consult your doctor regularly if these symptoms persist. Also it is important to note that a special kind of diet will need to be enforced. Mostly people are back to work in two week time with medical wounds perfectly healed, leaving an almost invincible scar. A survey done on laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients mentioned the enormous relief they felt after the surgery and extreme recommendation to everyone who has been diagnosed with gall stones in their system. They noted how their lives are so much better after the procedure. See your doctor today.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Bariatric Surgery is the Weight Loss Solution

Is your weight a problem? Have you exhausted yourself trying all the kids of diet, buying all those expensive fitness machines, going through extensive gym training for long periods, only to double your weight after a month or so? Have you experienced extreme weight issues since your teenage years and the situation is still recurring even after decades of determination to lose weight. Do not lose hope for there are procedures available to treat obesity. Do some research and consult a doctor to know which one is best suited for you.
Bariatric surgery is a procedure recommended to be performed on people who are obese. Extreme obesity is a serious health problem which cannot be resolved through exercise and diet. Types of weight loss surgery vary and often have a lot of risks and complications attributed to it like hernia, infections and blood clots. Losing weight is achieved by removing a portion of the stomach, biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch or sleeve gastrectomy, or by reducing the size of the stomach with an implanted medical device, also called gastric banding. Another procedure done to induce weight loss is the resecting and re-routing of the small intestine to a small stomach pouch or gastric bypass surgery. Having performed this type of surgery helped a lot of people get the weight they dreamed of. On the other hand, it is important to do your own research, find a specialized weight loss clinic near your house and get in touch with an experienced medical surgeon if this procedure is for you.

Medical studies explain that bariatric surgery, not only reduces obesity, also it manipulates the metabolism of patients which causes a condition commonly known as “metabolic syndrome”. 

Undergoing weight loss surgery does not guarantee that a person will no longer gain weight. The surgery allows a person to lose weight due to the extreme alterations done to a person’s system. However, it is up to the person, who went through the surgery, to keep the weight off. It is important to keep a strict diet, undergo a fixed exercise regimen and maintain lifelong extensive medical follow-up if one wants to keep the benefits of bariatric surgery and avoid future complications.

Dr. Christian L. Birkedal MD, Board certified General Surgeon, at 42 years old is a distinguished medical presenter, speaker and writer of medical textbook chapters for Surgery. Dr. Birkedal is a Clinical Associate Professor and teaches at Daytona Beach Community College’s branch of the Florida State University School of Medicine.

Dr. Birkedal treats preform procures such as gastric sleeve, gastrectomy, bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) and abdominal surgery among others. Dr. Christian L. Birkedal’s office is located at 305 Memorial Medical Parkway Suite 205, Daytona beach, Florida 32117. According to a recent survey, Dr. Birkedal’s clinic was given feedback with their experience and scored 4.2 out of 5 for likelihood of recommending to family and friends. Visit his clinic today to ask about the best weight loss surgery (bariatric surgery) for you.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Reflecting a Different New You

“Don’t judge a book by its cover”; “First impression lasts”, both are well known sayings, but as you can see, it’s very contradicting. But how could anyone not judge according to ‘looks’ when the first impression would begin upon laying one’s eyes on a thing? Humans are by nature that way.  We usually judge people by the outside and not by the inside appearance. That’s the very reason why physical appearance is a matter of utmost importance for many.  Some become too much vain just to look their best.  Sad to say, that those people who were not gifted with physical beauty and those who were once attractive physically suffer from depression which often leads to eating disorder or binge-eating.  Result?  Obesity!

Before they notice, they have already acquired the illness.  In fact, studies show that last 2009, 23% of UK population are obese; while in USA, 34% has been recorded.  Even countries tagged as the “3rd World” have high possibilities to develop obesity.  Some obese persons have decided to lose weight to gain self confidence. But due to the illness itself, loosing weight has become a problem for them. According to some researches made to find cure for obesity, patients who were treated for Gastric Ulcer or Gastric Cancer had reduced weight drastically when they underwent surgery. They applied the same medical surgery to other obese patients for verification purposes and found good results too.  After years of practice and observation, they came up with a solution.  The top procedures that were performed as well as the percentage of weight loss are the following:

v  Gastric Bypass Surgery  --  72%
v  Gastric Sleeve Surgery   --  68%
v  Gastric Band Surgery     --   56%

These procedures are related to bariatric surgery.  A person eligible for this surgery should discuss the matter together with a bariatric surgeon.  A patient must be fully aware about the pros and cons of the various procedures before undergoing, during and after the surgery.  These procedures are not only an option to cure obesity, but it can also help resolve weight related problems such as:

v  Type II Diabetes
v  Hypertension
v  Asthma
v  Sleep Apnea


After considering all the important issues you have to know from your Doctor, you will definitely be sure of the decision you are about to make.  Reflect yourself as a different new ‘you’!  Regain the self confidence you have been dreaming of!  Make changes for the better and start a new, healthy and beautiful life!

Visualizing a New You!

How do you view yourself?  Some view themselves as how others view them.  Are you one of them?  I once became a victim of that mind set.  I had tried to become what they wanted to see in me.  But it never brought me true happiness!  Instead it brought me anxieties and deep emotional depression on keeping up with their expectations all the time. As time passed by, I learned that to be truly happy, it must start deep within ‘you’.  If you’re happy from inside, you can glow and shine!

But what if you’re still unhappy about yourself according to your perspective?  Then it is time to change.  Look at yourself in the mirror.  Be true to yourself and ask:

“Is this really what I wanted to be?”
“Is there something wrong with the way I look?”
“Have I done everything within my reach to improve myself?”
“If I change for the better, what would my motives be?”

If being overweight is your problem, try every option available.  Indulge yourself in traditional weight loss programs such as dieting and exercising.  Live an active and healthy lifestyle.  But if traditional methods fail after months of trying, maybe it’s time for you to consider the last option – surgery.  One of the most associated procedures to weight loss is bariatric surgery.  It limits the food and nutrition intake of the body.  Among these procedures, gastric bypass is most recommended by doctors.   Generally, it has fewer complications and risks than other weight-loss surgeries.   You may expect an average loss of 61% of excess weight.  After surgery, you will notice some improvements in your health. Also, other related illnesses due to obesity including diabetes, severe arthritis, obstructive sleep apnea and high blood pressure, will gradually be controlled until healed.  According to the researches made, obese people who undergo this weight loss surgery have improved the quality of their life and have lived much longer than equally obese people who did not undergo the surgery.


Good motivation is another factor to make this procedure successful. The best motivation should come from ‘yourself’. Choosing to undergo this kind of surgery requires a deep understanding and knowledge of the procedure.  Visualize a new ‘you’.  Accept the fact that you need to have a change.  Some centers are available which offer behavioral counseling before and after surgery to make the full transition possible: from the old and poor lifestyle into a new, active and healthy lifestyle - to make a new ‘you’!