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Understanding Food Cues

Understanding Food Cues

March 3, 2022
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An important part of losing weight includes reexamining your relationship with food, as well as your eating habits. For many people, food cues play a role in developing unhealthy eating behaviors, like stress eating, so a thorough analysis of your personal food cues may help curb these habits. 

A food cue is trigger that causes the urge to eat. They can be triggered in a variety of ways, whether it’s specific smells, feeling certain emotions, or food advertisements. As opposed to hunger cues, which are physical signs of hunger, food cues may cause you the urge to eat, even if you’re not hungry. Understanding the difference between hunger cues and food cues is important for everyone, especially those looking to lose weight. 

Unmanaged Food Cues 

Food cues can cause the urge to eat even when you aren’t hungry. Unmanaged, this can easily turn into boredom-based or mindless eating, which can sabotage your ability to lose weight. Food cues are, quite literally, everywhere in the world, from fast food commercials to the smell of your coworker’s food. Learning how to manage them is key to your weight-loss success.

Overcoming Food Cues

Food cues are entirely external, so turning to your internal hunger cues is a great way to combat that urge to eat. If you’re not sure if you’re actually hungry or have just been triggered by a food cue, look for these signs:

  • Rumbling, empty-feeling stomach
  • Irritability or “hanger” 
  • Light-headedness 
  • Low energy
  • Headache
  • Difficulty focusing 

Once you identify the difference between food cues and hunger cues, it becomes easier to ignore the food cues. Being aware of your personal food cues is the first step to avoiding, ignoring, or eliminating them. Keeping a food diary that notes what, when, and why you ate may help you identify your personal food cues. 

Avoiding Overeating

In today’s society, food cues are unavoidable. There’s no way to prevent yourself from seeing, smelling, or even hearing about food, and this has made overeating an unfortunately common occurrence. 

Dealing with food cues can be difficult and frustrating at first, but awareness is key to preventing mindless overeating. When you encounter a food cue, use hunger cues to tell whether you’re really hungry. If you’re still not sure, have a glass of water and go for a short walk. Thirst can feel remarkably similar to hunger, and taking a walk gives you some mental space from the food cue, allowing you to determine if you’re hungry or not.  

Looking for more assistance losing weight? The bariatric program at Wellstar Georgia offers personalized support designed to help you overcome your food cues, as well other setbacks you might encounter during your weight-loss journey. Learn more.

Diabesity: The Connection Between Diabetes and Obesity

Diabesity: The Connection Between Diabetes and Obesity

February 11, 2022
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Obesity raises your likelihood for several serious health conditions, including hypertension, heart disease, osteoarthritis, and several types of cancer. Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common obesity comorbidities—so common that the occurrence of diabetes in obese individuals has been unofficially dubbed “diabesity.”

How Diabetes is Linked to Obesity 

Besides obesity, there are multiple other factors that affect an individual’s chances of developing type 2 diabetes, including their family history, age, race, and medical history. However, being overweight or obese is the largest risk factor for type 2 diabetes. 90% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight, and those who are overweight are six times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Why? Especially in those with a high amount of abdominal fat, research suggests excess lipids accumulate in the liver, leading to a lower sensitivity to insulin. This insulin resistance, in turn, leads to type 2 diabetes.

Diabesity and Weight Loss

Between the multiple risks of both obesity and diabetes, it’s safe to say that treating diabesity is essential to improving your overall health. While there is no cure for type 2 diabetes, weight loss is the best way to manage the condition, and some patients even enter remission. If you don’t currently have diabetes but are overweight, reducing your body weight by just 5% can lower your odds of developing type 2 diabetes by over 50%.

A healthy, balanced diet and regular exercise are the best ways to lose weight. Your doctor or surgical team can help you develop a diet plan tailored to your needs, but a diabetes-friendly diet looks very similar to a healthy diet for those without diabetes. Focus on eating balanced meals that are fiber-rich and include healthy sources of carbohydrates, like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. 

Portion size also plays a role in losing weight. If you struggle with portion control, meal prepping and pre-portioning may help.

When it comes to exercise, aim for 30 minutes a day—it’s okay if you’re not there yet, but it’s a good goal to work toward. Exercise lowers your blood sugar levels by triggering glucose uptake, combatting insulin resistance. It also has multiple other health benefits that work to prevent diabesity comorbidities, including lowering your blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels.

Read More: Planting a Garden with Your Dietary Needs in Mind

Treating Diabetes with Bariatric Weight-Loss Surgery

For some individuals suffering from diabesity, diet and exercise alone may not be enough to reach their weight-loss goals. In these cases, your doctor may recommend bariatric surgery, which has been shown to be effective in combatting type 2 diabetes. 

When considering bariatric surgery, it’s important to find a surgical team and facility that has your best interests in mind. At Wellstar Comprehensive Bariatric Services, our bariatric surgery team understands the importance of pre-surgery education and post-surgery aftercare. We are dedicated to supporting our patients through every step of their weight-loss journey, serving Marietta, Cobb County, West Georgia, East Cobb, and beyond. If you’re seeking a trusted weight loss surgeon in East Cobb, we are here to provide expert care and personalized support. Contact us today to know more.

Sleeping After Bariatric Surgery

Sleeping After Bariatric Surgery

February 10, 2022
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There are few aspects of our lives that play as large of a role in determining our health as sleep. Not getting enough sleep or not getting quality sleep can make you more susceptible to diseases, affect your ability to focus, and even raise your risks for health problems like high blood pressure and diabetes. For those trying to lose weight and those who are post-bariatric surgery, sleep is especially important for successful, lasting weight loss.

The Importance of Sleep for Weight Loss

While scientists are still trying to fully understand the link between sleep and weight loss, studies have shown that not getting enough sleep can compromise a healthy weight-loss plan. Getting insufficient sleep is linked to decreased impulse control and poor decision-making. This means you might be more likely to succumb to tempting comfort foods or listen to the voice telling you to skip a workout. 

Obviously, poor sleep decreases your energy levels, leaving you too tired to tackle your workout for the day. In addition, it can make activities that require coordination and balance, like weightlifting, extremely unsafe. 

Running on low sleep also has been shown to increase the body’s production of ghrelin, the “hunger hormone,” and decrease the production of leptin, which helps regulate hunger and energy. This hormonal imbalance makes you more likely to overeat and turn to unhealthy options when hungry.

Sleeping Post-Bariatric Surgery 

Long term, bariatric surgery will improve sleep quality, especially for those suffering from sleep disorders, like obstructive sleep apnea. While it is performed via minimally invasive laparoscopy, bariatric surgery is still a procedure. Any procedure may have a small chance to affect your ability to sleep in the days and weeks following. To increase the odds of adequate sleep after bariatric surgery, there are several things you should keep in mind.

Avoid Sleeping on Your Stomach 

To allow your surgery wound to heal, try to avoid sleeping on your stomach immediately after your procedure. If you’re a dedicated stomach sleeper, only do it once you can rest comfortably without pain and support your spine with surgery pillows. Some patients also find that sleeping in a semi-sitting position can help them avoid discomfort.

Don’t Take Sleeping Pills

Because of your smaller stomach size, your body’s reaction to sleeping pills will likely be different, and they may interact with other post-surgery medications. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, talk to your doctor before taking additional medication. 

Limit Your Naps

You might be tired after surgery, but taking too many mid-day naps can negatively affect the quality of your nighttime sleep. Keep your naps limited to the ideal 10–20 minutes.

Avoid Drinking Before Sleeping

Sleeping on a stomach full of water is uncomfortable and increases the chance of sleep disruptions from having to use the bathroom. In addition, when your stomach is full of fluid, it can put pressure on your upper abdomen and lungs in certain sleeping positions.

Good sleep is conducive to healthy, lasting weight loss. A good surgical team can provide the resources you need to be successful after surgery and help you tackle any sleep issues that may arise. At Wellstar, our team provides the highest level of care before, during, and after surgery to help you achieve your weight-loss goals. Learn more about our bariatric program on our website.

The Different Types of Bariatric Surgery

The Different Types of Bariatric Surgery

January 20, 2022
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If you’re considering bariatric surgery, you know there’s no shortage of decisions you need to make before going through with the procedure. One of the most important choices you’ll make is deciding which type of bariatric weight-loss procedure to undergo.

The procedure that’s right for you will depend on your unique situation, goals, and health, and your surgeon and weight loss team will help you carefully consider the options. That said, the first step toward making a well-informed decision is understanding what each of the common types of bariatric surgery entail. 

Gastric Sleeve

During gastric sleeve surgery, also called a sleeve gastrectomy, the majority of the stomach is removed. The remaining portion is about 1/10 of the original size and shaped like a banana—hence, the “sleeve.” 

The smaller stomach can hold much less food than it originally could, leading to a caloric decrease that helps patients rapidly lose weight. In addition, the removal of most of the stomach decreases hunger-causing hormones like ghrelin and leptin, causing patients to feel less hungry less often.

Sleeve gastrostomies are the most commonly performed bariatric procedure in the United States. To qualify for surgery, patients need a BMI of 40 or higher. They can also qualify with a BMI of 35 if they have one or more obesity-related conditions that could be relieved with weight-loss, like:

  • High blood pressure
  • Obstructive sleep apnea
  • Diabetes
  • Joint pain

Gastric sleeve surgery takes about an hour and is minimally invasive, performed through several small incisions with the use of a tiny camera called a laparoscope. Patients can expect to stay in the hospital 1–3 days following the procedure. With proper diet and exercise, gastric sleeve patients typically lose about 50–60% of their excess body weight. 

Gastric Bypass

Gastric bypass surgery is sometimes called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. During the surgery, the surgeon sections off a small portion of the upper stomach, leaving behind a small pouch. This pouch is then connected to a middle portion of the small intestine, allowing food to bypass the upper section, as well as most of the stomach.

Again, with a smaller stomach, patients feel hungry less often and can hold less food when they do eat. In addition, because the food bypasses parts of the digestive tract, the patient absorbs fewer calories. While this facilitates rapid weight-loss, it also means the patient won’t get all the nutrients they need from their food, meaning they’ll need to take supplements on a lifelong basis after surgery. 

The requirements to qualify for gastric bypass are the same as those to qualify for the gastric sleeve. The surgery takes about 1½ hours, and the hospital stay lasts 1–3 days. Like gastric sleeve surgery, gastric bypasses are performed laparoscopically. Patients usually lose about 70% of their excess weight. 

Duodenal Switch with Gastric Sleeve

As the name implies, this weight-loss surgery includes a sleeve gastrectomy. However, during surgery, the lower intestine is also divided, allowing food to bypass 2/3 of the intestines. This significantly decreases the calories that can be absorbed from food, and like other malabsorptive surgeries, patients will need to supplement their food with vitamins and minerals.  

The full surgery is performed laparoscopically and takes about 2–3 hours, but on extremely overweight patients, the procedure is sometimes done in two parts spaced 9–12 months apart. If you have struggled to reach your desired weight with gastric sleeve alone, your surgeon may also recommend the duodenal switch to help further encourage weight-loss.

Patients can typically expect to lose 60–80% of their excess weight with this procedure.

If you’re seriously considering bariatric surgery, it’s essential to go into the procedure confident in your choice. It’s also important to choose a facility that offers long-term follow-up care, which lowers the risk of complications and ultimately ensures greater weight-loss success.

The Wellstar team can help you determine which weight-loss surgery is right for you, and we’re committed to providing the long-term care you need to feel supported during your weight-loss journey. Schedule a consultation with our experts today, and learn how we can help you take the first steps toward a healthier life.

Wellstar Comprehensive Bariatric Services

Wellstar is a family-oriented type of practice. We enjoy seeing our patients at their routine checkups to see how they are doing. Wellstar understands that aftercare is just as important.

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