	Bariatric Surgery Programs and Products Special Offers

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11 Commandments of Bariatric Surgery Success

Before undergoing weight-loss surgery, you need to be aware of the factors that will affect your chances of having a long-term success. Just losing weight doesn’t guarantee happiness. Make sure that you thoroughly understand these rules, because they are the most critical.

Become mentally prepared
Have a realistic view of “success”
Eat a limited number of well-planned meals
Make physical fitness an integral part of your lifestyle
Take advantage of the “honeymoon period”
Manage your fluid intake
Pump up the protein
Take sufficient vitamins and minerals
Keep track of your progress
Know when you are ‘full’
Swallow your food as ‘mush’

Become mentally prepared – Your dramatic weight loss will cause a significant number of changes in your life. Even though most will be positive, having so many occur so fast can create an emotional overload. Think about the effects on relationships with loved ones, colleagues and friends. Many people having bariatric surgery become more outgoing and socially active. This can cause resentment in those who feel “left behind”. A large percentage of people experience marital problems. It is essential that you arrange for psychological and emotional support on these issues well before your operation. Trying to cope while recovering from surgery can be overwhelming.

Have a realistic view of “success” – The accepted medical standard for “success” in bariatric surgery is to lose and keep off more than 50% of your excess weight. This means that if you weigh 400 pounds and the ideal weight for your height is 150 pounds, you have 250 pounds of excess weight. Medically, you will be a classified as a success if you drop down to 275 pounds. Will you be happy at that weight? Some people will. Many will not. They will either become depressed at not getting down to 150 pounds, or become determined to work harder to approach that lower weight. What is reasonable for you?

Eat a limited number of well-planned meals – Your goal will be to eat three complete meals daily. These meals should be high in protein, low in calories, contain very little simple sugars, and provide sufficient volume to fill your ‘stomach’. For the first month after surgery, Step Up To The Plate® supplies virtually all the foods you need in convenient portion-controlled units. This nutritionally balanced menu adds new foods and textures at the appropriate times. Use it as a model as you transition to regular foods.

Make physical fitness an integral part of your lifestyle – Most surgeons recommend an active program prior to surgery. The more fit your body, the lower the risks of complications from the surgery. We don’t mean that you should be preparing for the Boston Marathon (that may come later!). Just a sensible start, using the Step Up To The Plate® Physical Activity program. It combines a healthy blend of cardiovascular enhancing activities with strength training. These are designed with you in mind. No “feel the burn” here. Not only will you increase your stamina and build needed muscle mass, you will enjoy a noticeable increase in energy. Plus, you will experience a new sense of calmness and lowered stress as a result of the added production of endorphins (“nature’s tranquillizers”). All the equipment and instructions you need are included:
1. For the cardiovascular segment, we provide a simple, progressive walking plan and a talking pedometer, which tells you the number of steps and distance traveled.
2. For strength training you’ll find a complete set of resistance training equipment, with well illustrated steps. Even if you haven’t “exercised” in years you’ll look forward to these twice-a-week workouts.

Take advantage of the “honeymoon period” – Immediately after surgery you will have very little appetite and be losing weight at a rapid rate. This is known as the “honeymoon period” of bariatric surgery. You may begin to think that this will go on indefinitely, and that you are finally in control of your body. It will be very tempting to slack off on your diet and physical activities.

Don’t skip a meal, especially breakfast. The Step Up To The Plate® menu is designed to provide you with sufficient nutrients to maintain essential body functions. Skipping a meal puts your body at risk. Plus, it will react by craving more total calories later which will slow down your weight loss.
Increase your physical activities. Remember, your new stomach has a very small capacity (about 1-3 ounces), so the number of calories it can hold is limited. By ramping up your physical activities as fast as possible after surgery, you will lose pounds at a faster rate. In addition, your basal metabolic rate will increase. Not only will you burn more calories during the one hour that you exercise, you’ll also burn more during the other 23 hours a day. Since about two-thirds of your weight loss will occur in the first six months, this increased loss can put you farther down the road to success. At about that time your stomach will begin to enlarge, and your appetite will begin to return. Your honeymoon period will have ended. From that point on, you will need to do more exercise just to maintain your weight loss. So don’t let this one-time opportunity pass you by.

Manage your fluid intake – Dehydration is a serious risk. You will need to drink just as much fluid as before surgery, usually 48 to 64 fl oz per day. To avoid over-filling your small ‘stomach’ do not ‘gulp’ fluids. Take them in small, frequent sips. Initially, plan on drinking 3-4 oz. per hour using the Step Up To The Plate® Lil' Sip cup. Because it only allows one teaspoonful per tip it is a great tool for managing your fluid consumption. After a short period, you will no longer be able to drink during meals. Doing so will wash out the stomach’s solid contents and you will feel hungry well before your next meal. In addition, ‘Dumping syndrome’ can be a real annoyance. Dumping syndrome occurs when simple sugars, like sucrose, create a high osmolarity (too many food molecules) in your intestine. This causes your system to rush water in to restore the proper balance. The result is cramps, diarrhea, heart palpitations and nausea. To avoid it drink only sugar-free beverages and eat low sugar foods.

Pump up the protein – Protein is essential for wound healing, muscle replenishment, hair-loss prevention, and appetite suppression. Unlike fat, protein is not stored by the body, so you must consume an adequate supply every day. Most nutritionists recommend at least 50 grams per day. Make sure you get enough by eating it first at the meal. Focus on animal-source protein like meat, dairy, fish and fowl, because these are better absorbed and utilized by the body than plant-source protein. The Step Up To The Plate® Program provides at least 60 grams of high biological value protein daily in convenient and tasty foods. It features the QualityPro™ line of high quality protein supplements, and uses whey protein isolate, which has the highest biological value of all pure proteins. You’ll appreciate the wide variety of items that are designed specifically to meet your unique needs. We even included easy-to-follow recipes, a beverage shaker, and a mini-whisk to simplify food and beverage preparation.

Take sufficient vitamins and minerals – Because of the significant changes in your digestive system, you will need to take daily doses of vitamins and minerals as recommended by your physician. Step Up To The Plate® offers a superb selection of high potency vitamins and minerals. We feature ADEKs brand because it is high in the vitamins you will need most. We include powdered UpCal-D Calcium Citrate because it mixes easily into foods and beverages and is more highly absorbed than calcium carbonate. We also include two pill boxes (AM and PM) to help you manage your intake.

Keep track of your progress – the Step Up To The Plate® Bariatric System provides you with a Daily Food Journal and Physical Activities Log. Used daily, the Journal will help you to keep track of your eating and drinking events: while the Log will monitor your physical actions. These will also aid your medical team in evaluating your progress and determining how quickly you can advance.

Know when you are ‘full’ – Your new ‘stomach’ will initially only be the size of a small chicken egg. Over-filling it will lead to nausea and vomiting. So eating slowly and in very small quantities will be a necessity. The Step Up To The Plate® program provides one-ounce cups to aid you in portion control and in ‘visualizing’ the proper serving quantities. Sample-size spoons are also included to help you to stretch out the eating process. These simple tools will teach you how to prepare the proper food quantities and how to recognize the feeling of fullness, thus avoiding the unpleasant distress of over-filling.

Swallow your food as ‘mush’ – Because of the opening into your new ‘stomach’ is just one-fourth of an inch in diameter, only foods the consistency of ‘mush’ or applesauce can pass through. Larger food bits can clog the opening causing pain and vomiting. To help avoid this unpleasant experience, the Step Up To The Plate® Program provides foods of the proper consistency to flow easily through your restructured digestive system. As you progress to a wider assortment of foods, you will need to learn to chew all foods to the appropriate texture. This means chewing each tiny morsel at least 20 times. Remember, you will not be able to drink liquid with your meals after the first month, so must use your own saliva for moistness.

That's it! If you strictly follow these 11 critical Steps to Success, your journey to looking and feeling better will be much easier. Make them part of your new lifestyle!

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