If you’ve tried diets and exercise on your own but aren’t seeing results, weight loss through gastric bypass surgery may be a great way for you to improve your health. While it’s not a minor procedure, there are things you can do to help recover faster.
Here at Southern Nevada Bariatrics in Las Vegas, Dr. Mustafa Ahmed and our highly trained team want to help you achieve your goals of weight loss and personal wellness. Depending on your situation, we can create a customized weight-loss plan, advise you on your lifestyle habits, and perform bariatric surgery including gastric bypass to help you look and feel your best.
Gastric bypass surgery
Gastric bypass surgery causes weight loss in several ways. First, it decreases the size of your stomach so that you eat less food. Second, you don’t absorb the full calories from the food you consume, because the food is routed away from your stomach and small intestine.
Three tips for recovery
Recovery from gastric bypass surgery can take time, but there are things you can do to help decrease your recovery time, including:
- Eat and drink properly
Following your doctor’s orders on what to eat and drink during recovering is key. Typically, you will be prescribed a staged diet beginning with liquids. You’ll then progress from pureed foods to soft foods, and finally, solid foods. How long you consume each type will depend on your body’s recovery rate.
During recovery, it’s important to eat slowly, completely chew your food, and make sure it’s moist for proper digestion. Not eating too much is also crucial.
Be sure to stay hydrated and sip water throughout the day. Avoid caffeinated beverages and drinking with a straw.
- Stay active
Becoming more active during certain stages of your recovery can encourage good circulation and healing while discouraging blood clots from forming. Prescribed activity during the healing process may include leg exercises, breathing exercises, and coughing from the abdomen. Walking is typically recommended starting the day after surgery with the distance increasing each day.
- Seek support
You’ll need assistance taking care of yourself when you go home from surgery. Someone needs to help with the chores of everyday living, including running errands, cleaning, and cooking so you can focus on recovering.
Besides, a support group can play an important role in healing physically and emotionally. It can help you remember you’re not alone and encourage both your recovery and weight loss.
If you’re tired of eating healthy but not seeing the numbers on the scale budge, call us at 702-637-1975 or click our “request consultation” button to make an appointment today. We’ll sit with you to find out if gastric bypass surgery is right for you.