Nutrition and Aftercare Program

Surgery is just the beginning of your journey towards a healthy weight, new look and improved self confidence. Patients that attend the aftercare follow up appointments and fully utilize the support provided including the in office bariatric support groups do better and achieve greater long term weight loss. As part of our commitment to long term success of our patients, Nuself bariatrics is committed to Lifetime Aftercare Program. Our support staff includes dietician/fitness consultant, program coordinator, insurance specialists, financing manager, the clinical psychologist.

Nutrition

Research has shown that weight loss surgery produces excellent long-term weight loss results. However in order to achieve and maintain desired weight loss, patients need to be committed to the bariatric diet, exercise and lifestyle guidelines. Nuself Bariatrics has an experienced Bariatric dietitian on staff to help you!

After a weight loss operation, you will be eating smaller portions. Your body still needs its full daily requirement of protein, vitamins and minerals. Our approach is simple and easy to follow. Only eat what your body needs now, which is a diet rich in protein, vegetables and fruits and limited in carbohydrates and unhealthy fats. Weight loss is achieved by keeping calories you eat less than calories you burn. You can do this by eating whole foods and taking complementary protein and vitamin supplements that will help you meet your nutrition goals.

All patients will receive a detailed nutritional evaluation before the surgery with an experienced Registered Dietitian. At the initial nutritional evaluation, a specific pre-operative diet and post op diet is reviewed. Following the surgery our dietician is available to patients via phone and email for ongoing issues, questions and counseling. Nutritional counseling is also recommended after surgery at regular intervals in order to help patients reach their weight loss goals while getting adequate nutrition and on-going support.

Physical Activity

Bariatric surgery has given you an enormous advantage in reducing your weight once and for all. The surgery is only a “tool” to help you eat less food. Achieving maximum health benefits from weight reduction requires an increase in physical activity for the rest of your life.

An exercise education and assessment will be part of your evaluation. Together, we will plan an exercise program designed to make the post-operative recovery period as easy as possible and also help you lose weight consistently in a healthy fashion. The exercise program will incorporate activity regimens that include:

  • Aerobic activity – exercise that increases your heart rate and breathing to supply oxygen to all of your organs.
  • Strength training – exercise that builds calorie-burning muscle tissue and tones muscle.
  • Stretching – exercises that improve flexibility.

Vitamins and Supplements

Each surgical procedure requires different vitamin supplements. And each and every patient’s nutritional requirements are different. Because certain nutrients (like calcium, iron or B12) may not be well-absorbed after gastric sleeve, gastric bypass or duodenal switch, it is necessary to take additional supplements. Your surgeon and nutritionist will work closely with you to create regimens that address your specific needs. Some products may be purchased from our office with no shipping costs.

Body Composition Testing

As part of your nutrition consultation, you will receive a comprehensive evaluation of your body composition and metabolism. At Nuself Bariatrics, we use innovative technology to assess patients in ways beyond their weight. Experience a cutting-edge bioelectrical impedance analysis with the SECA mBCA machine. This is a non-invasive assessment that provides an in-depth analysis measuring fat mass, fat-free mass, total body water, intracellular water, extracellular water and skeletal muscle mass in a rapid 17 seconds. It can also identify early indicators of various diseases. Additionally, you will take a calorimeter test to measure your individual metabolism and provide estimated calorie needs and calorie intake needs to produce weight loss. This can help you and your nutritionist target effective dietary changes that can produce better results. After surgery, on-going retesting of your body composition can provide a marker to measure progress even if your weight stays the same. After all, our goal is to decrease body fat while maintaining and increasing muscle.