Category: Uncategorized

Why You Should Use Google Fit After Gastric Sleeve Surgery!

Why You Should Use Google Fit After Gastric Sleeve Surgery!

Around 106,000 Americans had gastric sleeve surgery in 2015 — significantly more than the previous year. Experts recommend exercise after a major weight-loss procedure in order to strengthen the heart and bones, build muscle, reduce stress, improve mood and burn calories. Walking is a great idea after gastric sleeve surgery, and the latest technology makes it easy to track this type of exercise. If you have recently undergone a gastric sleeve operation, Google Fit lets you monitor your walking goals and weight loss progress directly from your smartphone.

What is Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

A gastric sleeve operation is a procedure where surgeons reduce the size of your stomach by around 15 percent of its original size. This surgery limits the amount of food you can consume, so you should feel fuller after eating small meals.

Why is Walking Important After Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

Walking improves your blood flow and expedites wound healing after surgery. Lack of exercise after a major operation could put you at a higher risk of developing a blood clot and conditions like pneumonia. Walking also helps you burn calories. A 180-pound person burns, on average, 100 calories for every mile they walk, while a 120-pound person burns 65 calories per mile.

The Benefits of Google Fit

Google Fit is a mobile app that uses the built-in sensors on your smartphone to detect walking steps. This platform tracks more than 120 activities, from slow walking to brisk jogging.

How to Use Google Fit

Download Google Fit from the Google Play Store on your Android device. You can then customize your exercise goals from the Daily Goals tab in the Settings menu. Google Fit will track the number of steps you take every time you hold your phone.

Want to track your progress over time? Head over to the See Graph Details tab for an overview of your walking steps from the previous days, weeks and months. You can also connect third-party exercise apps — RunKeeper, Strava, Runtastic, etc. — with Google Fit.

Google Fit monitors your fitness goals after gastric sleeve surgery. The result? You can improve recovery times and boost your overall health.

Avoid These Common Mistakes After Bariatric Surgery

Avoid these common mistakes after bariatric surgery

If your focus is long-term weight loss, bariatric surgery is a proven way to accomplish this goal. But just as with anything worth having, you have work hard and follow the guidelines provided by your physician in order to lose the weight and keep it off. Avoiding these common mistakes is a great way to ensure you finally reach your goal weight and stay there.

1. Neglecting Important Vitamins

Your physician will recommend vitamins to help your body recover from the surgery and maintain the best health possible. Don’t try to save money by purchasing over-the-counter vitamins. Take the ones recommended by your doctor to ensure your body is getting all the vitamins and minerals it needs.

2. Not Getting Proper Nutrition

Surgery is serious business, and it is important that your body heals properly. Now that your caloric content is constricted, it’s vital that you pack your diet with healthy nutrients. Your body won’t function well if you use your calorie rations to only eat potato chips or other foods that have no nutritional value. If you don’t eat the foods your physician recommends, you are at risk of developing medical problems, such as heart disease, memory loss, fatigue, etc. Stomach and gastrointestinal problems are also a concern.

3. Forgetting to Stay Hydrated

Drinking plenty of water or healthy liquids is one of the most important things anyone can do to enjoy maximum health. Water helps every part of your body function well. Staying hydrated is particularly important for surgical patients since it helps the body heal, provides energy and hastens weight loss.. If you don’t like tap water, buy flavored water, add lemon to your water or drink another healthy beverage, such as unsweetened ice tea.

4. Not Watching Your Calories

You may think that a tiny handful of nuts, chips, crackers or candy won’t affect your diet, but these foods pack a lot of calories in small portions. If you don’t count the calories of every morsel, you may wind up consuming hundreds more calories each day. This common mistake is one of the ways bariatric patients fail to reach their long-term weight goals.

5. Indulging in Alcohol

Almost everyone enjoys an alcoholic beverage at times, especially if there is a special occasion. Be cognizant of the fact that alcoholic beverages are full of calories and can quickly cause you to go over your calorie limit.

6. Drinking Carbonated Beverages

Carbonated beverages are quite refreshing but shouldn’t be your beverage of choice when you’re thirsty. They are full of sugar, which substantially increases your calorie intake. Carbonated drinks can also cause gas pain. At times, more serious issues can be mistaken for gas pains, and this can cause you to neglect medical care when you really need it.

Having bariatric surgery is your chance for a new life filled with the quality living you crave. Following the guidelines the doctor gave you ensures you stay focused on this long-term goal and eventually reap the rewards!

 

How Does CoolSculpting Work?

 

Do you struggle with weight loss? You’re not alone. Losing weight is a challenging process that stumps millions of people around the world. Some of the most promising diets oftentimes fail because the weight comes back as soon as you stop dieting. CoolSculpting is one of the newest FDA approved procedures that can be an effective, long-term solution for stubborn fat. Here’s how it works:

What Is CoolSculpting?

CoolSculpting is based on a proven scientific process called cryolipolysis. In cryolipolysis, fat cells located underneath the skin are targeted by doctors to be eliminated. These cells are then frozen in place. The frozen cells eventually die and are cleared away by the body’s natural processes.

This enables the body to get rid of fat cells in a much more natural manner as compared to invasive procedures like liposuction.

What Are The Advantages?

Here are a few of the advantages you can expect from CoolSculpting.

Safe Procedure

CoolSculpting is a safe procedure that uses minimally invasive techniques to freeze fat tissue in localized areas. This allows doctors to deliver the results that will make you look sculpted without the use of more invasive procedures.

Effective Treatment

CoolSculpting is rapidly becoming a more preferred option among patients, and with good reason. One study found that targeted fat removal of enlarged male breasts using cryolipolysis was extremely effective with producing visual improvement in their condition.

Cost Effective

Normal fat removal procedures require anesthesia, surgical equipment and can cost thousands of dollars. This can be devastating to some people who desperately need the treatment.

By doing away with costly anesthesia and hospital beds, fat removal can be much more affordable than many people realize.

Controlled Procedure

When compared to more invasive procedures like liposuction, CoolSculpting is a much more controlled method of fat removal with fewer side effects. Traditional methods can lead to changes in the skin or change lipid pools. CoolSculpting reduces the risk of both while significantly reducing fat and providing a contour to the body.

If you think CoolSculpting could work for your stubborn body fat, schedule an appointment with BMI today. With our experienced specialists, we can provide you with the treatment you have been waiting for.

Lose Weight Fast with Gastric Sleeve Surgery

Lose Weight Fast With Gastric Sleeve Surgery

Around 45 million Americans diet every year, according to research from the Boston Medical Center. Still, some people struggle to shed the pounds. As a result, more drastic weight loss procedures, such as gastric sleeve surgery, have become attractive. This surgery reduces part of your stomach, so you feel fuller after consuming food. The result? You eat less and lose more weight.

What Is Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

Gastric sleeve surgery removes around 80 percent of your stomach and leaves behind a vertical tube — called a “sleeve” — that is around the size of a banana. After this operation, you will notice that you feel much fuller than you normally would after consuming food. Therefore, you will need to select small portion sizes at meal times.

Gastric sleeve surgery produces rapid weight loss, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. One study suggests that people can lose more than 50 percent of their total body weight in a three- to five-year period. Moreover, weight loss is comparable to that of a gastric bypass — another bariatric surgical procedure.

Here’s the science behind gastric sleeve surgery: this procedure causes positive changes in your body’s gut hormones. Consequently, it reduces appetite, increases satiety and suppresses hunger. The surgery itself is relatively simple — it takes between 60 and 90 minutes.

What Are the Other Benefits of Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

Research shows that gastric sleeve surgery is beneficial for specific health conditions, including type 2 diabetes. Diabetes remission rates post-surgery are more than 60 percent and, as shown in some studies, are similar to the results experienced after gastric bypass procedures. Other research suggests that gastric sleeve surgery reduces the risk of certain types of cancer, overcomes depression and improves sleep apnea.

Gastric sleeve surgery is an option for adults who struggle to lose weight using conventional methods. This procedure might also benefit people who have type 2 diabetes and other health conditions.

Birmingham Minimally Invasive Surgery (BMI) specializes in gastric sleeve surgery. Do you qualify for this procedure? Contact us here to find out more.

What to Expect From BMI Coolsculpting

What to Expect from BMI Coolsculpting

Do you struggle with stubborn body fat that won’t go away no matter how committed you are to diet and exercise? If so, Coolsculpting may be the solution you’ve been looking for. Coolsculpting isn’t for everyone, however. Here’s a look at what you can expect from BMI Coolsculpting to help you determine if it’s the right solution for you.

What Is Coolsculpting?

Coolsculpting is a non-invasive fat reduction procedure that eliminates stubborn fat cells that are resistant to diet and exercise. This FDA-cleared treatment is meant only for fat reduction purposes and not for weight loss. It uses a controlled cooling procedure that freezes fat cells and causes them to die and to be eliminated safely from the body. Coolsculpting can be used in various parts of the body, such as thighs, underneath buttocks, abdomen, back and chin.

What to Expect From Coolsculpting Treatment

Here’s a look at the steps you can expect when undergoing Coolsculpting treatment.

One-on-One Consultation

The first step is to schedule a one-on-one consultation with an approved Coolsculpting provider, such as BMI. During this consultation, your medical professional will complete a physical evaluation, discuss your fat reduction goals and determine your treatment options.

Customized Treatment Plan

If your physician determines that you are a prime candidate for Coolsculpting, they will create a customized treatment plan to meet your specific needs and goals. Your physician will let you know if you will need one or more treatments in order to obtain the results you want.

What to Expect on Treatment Day

Most treatments take between 30 and 60 minutes, so feel free to bring a book or mobile device to occupy your time. Your medical provider will apply a gel pad and applicator to the treatment area(s). As you physician applies the controlled cooling, the area may feel cold. You also may feel a slight tug or pull as the attached vacuum applicator pulls out fat tissues.

Possible Side Effects

Coolsculpting side effects are minimal but could include swelling, bruising, tingling, redness, skin sensitivity, itching, aching, cramping, tenderness and firmness. Typically, any side effects diminish within a just a few days or weeks.

No Downtime

Since Coolsculpting is a non-surgical process, the downtime after treatment is minimal. In fact, many patients return to their normal activities immediately after treatment.

When to Expect Results

Initial results of Coolsculpting can appear in as little of three weeks, but full results may take up to three months.

If you think Coolsculpting may be the solution to your stubborn body fat, schedule your one-on-one consultation with BMI today. As an approved Coolsculpting provider, BMI offers the safe and effective fat reduction treatment to help you get the body you’ve always wanted.