When to Use Probiotics With Weight Loss Surgery

Everyone’s gastrointestinal tract has a natural balance of “good” and “bad” bacteria. This mixture of bacteria contributes to the system by aiding in digestion and immune support, among other things. During some weight loss surgery procedures, the digestive tract undergoes a large change, but no matter what procedure you choose, it is likely your gut health will shift. From research we know that the gut flora of obese individuals tends to be different from those with a healthy body mass index, or BMI. Research studies have also been exploring the weight loss effects of altering the gut bacteria using methods like introducing probiotics to the system with some encouraging results, both in studies of patients who have had bariatric surgery and those who have not. So, should you be taking a probiotic supplement?

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Jillian Michaels Doesn’t Advocate for Keto…Is She Right?

Last April, fitness expert Jillian Michaels authored a blog post called “The Truth About Keto.” In it, she makes several points that I would like to address. She does note that she will infuriate the “Keto community,” is willing to incur their wrath and outrage. I am neither infuriated or a part of the “Keto community,” but I do find it necessary to counter some medical inaccuracies.

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Will I Regain Weight If I Stop the Keto Diet?

Weight regain after a diet is a valid concern. Most studies demonstrate weight recidivism (returning to near or at your previous weight) following a diet. This can lead to a yo-yo type effect with your weight.

The key to defeating weight recidivism after dieting is the same for all diets – adopting a new lifestyle. It is normal to gain back some weight after stopping a particular diet – sometimes as much as 5-10 pounds, immediately. You should not worry too much about this, as it is not fat that you are regaining that quickly. In the case of the Keto diet, this will be primarily due to water weight. When you re-introduce carbohydrates at more than 50 grams per day into your daily intake, you will start to restore glucose reservoirs – in the form of glycogen – into your muscles and liver. Every gram of glycogen carries with it 3 grams of water. This is where the immediate weight comes from.

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How Long Should I Stay On The Keto Diet and Can I Eat Carbs Again?

In this series, we defined the Keto diet as a low-carbohydrate, high fat, and adequate protein diet. We discussed how this method of eating puts you into a persistent state of ketolysis, using breakdown products of your consumed and stored fat as energy.

So how long can you stay on such a diet, and can you ever eat carbohydrates on this diet?

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Risks and Side-Effects of the Keto Diet

In the last two weeks, we discussed the definition of a ketosis, or Keto, diet. In short, it is a low-carbohydrate, adequate protein diet that relies on both consumed fats, and stored fats, for energy use.

As with any diet, it is important to discuss it with your physician prior to commencing. Every person is unique in their states of health, and certain conditions may adversely be affected by a significant change in your diet.

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What to Eat and What To Avoid on The Ketosis (Keto) Diet

Last week we discussed what a ketogenic, or Keto, diet was, and how it related to other low-carbohydrate diets. The key difference is that in a keto diet, there is more reliance on lipids, or fats, for providing energy rather than carbohydrates or protein.

A natural question regarding this approach is: are not fats bad for our hearts, our vessels, and for retaining fat on our bodies? While it is true that fatty deposits can cause atherosclerosis and heart disease, as well as be deposited as fat stores, the state of ketogenesis is designed to break down these fats through a process called lipolysis (lipo = fat, lysis = break down) and use the breakdown products (called ketone bodies, or ketones), for energy! Therefore, less fat is available to deposit in your vessels, your heart, and your love handles. That being said, no one should go overboard with either fat intake, since any excess over your energy needs will be stored in your body, or protein, which in excess can damage your kidneys.

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The Ketosis (Keto) Diet

A “Diet” is the sum of the food you consume. We often name our diets according to the goals they seek to achieve, whether it’s weight loss, fitness, or improvement of health problems like diabetes. Oftentimes, diets may be marketed in such a way that they come across as fads.

In recent years, a common type of weight-loss diet is the low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. There are three basic macronutrients we consume – sugars (or carbohydrates), proteins, and fat. These types of diets adjust the ratio of macronutrients to rely more on protein relative to sugar and fat. In some, but not all, cases, these types of diets may put your body into a state called ketosis.

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The Role of Muscle in Preventing Diabetes

We all know that a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of obesity in conditions such as type II diabetes. We’ve been told that spending a certain number of minutes or hours getting our heart rate up is beneficial and prevents cardiovascular disease. However, there’s always been some debate as to what form of exercise is best.

A recent study¹ of over 4000 adults without diabetes, published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, sought to find out if building muscle through strength training reduces the risk of type II diabetes. The answer was a very clear yes, by 32%. People who maintained moderate muscle strength and participated consistently in resistance exercises showed a lower risk of type II diabetes regardless of their cardio fitness. Interestingly, moderate muscle mass was sufficient and increasing muscle mass did not have a significant benefit. The results were adjusted for variables including age, sex, and weight.

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Latest Research on Sugary Drinks and Early Death

Sugary drinks are everywhere, and the number and variety of these drinks have only increased. In fact, the highest source of added sugar consumed by Americans comes in the form of sweetened beverages.

We all know that sugary drinks such as juices, sodas, energy drinks, and sugar-sweetened teas and coffees are not great for your health. In fact, most, if not all, are discouraged after bariatric surgery, and for good reason. Due to a number of factors, the overall consumption of sugary beverages has decreased in the United States in recent years, however, this is not the case for adults – those at highest risk for type II diabetes

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Time to Bail on the Scale: Other Ways to Track Progress

If you ever search online for photos of weight loss, dieting, or body image, you might be quite shocked (or not) to see a flood of images of the scale — or worse, the scale chained to a person’s ankle. This imagery, as cartoonish and “silly” as some may think, is very telling when we take into account that the scale has become our proverbial anchor in our quest for better health and weight loss. When we think of marking our progress along our weight loss journey, the number on the scale reigns supreme. In fairness, our doctors check our weight, our BMI is calculated, and even those clothing size charts require us to boil our bodies down to numbers.

There is no argument against weight being significant. The number is a great start- and endpoint for most healthy weight loss regimens. When taking into account your height, activity level, and body composition, weight is a good marker of general health. But along the way, the fluctuations on the scale should be used less to note progress, and more to give you a general idea of the direction you’re moving.

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