Weight loss is so consistent and rapid after gastric bypass surgery many patients begin to fear they may become emaciated. They ask, “Will my body know when it’s time to stop losing weight?” Patients fresh out of weight loss surgery usually find this question absurd - Impossible! Lifelong dieters don’t become emaciated. However, patients nearing their goal weight become concerned as their body continues shedding weight rapidly showing no sign of stopping.

When patients are following the rules of weight loss surgery the body will stabilize at an appropriate weight, even as the patient continues with low-caloric food intake. The diet industry calls this weight the “set point.” Body-weight set point is Nature’s idea of what amount of fat a body needs.

Weight loss occurs when stored energy is used. By eating protein and exercising, the only available stored energy for the body to burn is fat. This reasoning concludes the body will maintain its weight when it has burned all of its stored fat, when muscles are used through living and daily exercise, and when nutritional needs through a careful diet and supplementation are met. Patients are advised to continue to exercise, take vitamin supplements, eat nutritionally with a focus on high protein, low volume meals while avoiding snacking. Failure to exercise and a decrease in protein intake will cause the body to consume muscle and possibly regain weight.

If a patient’s weight continues to drop below a reasonable Body Mass Index (BMI) they must consult with their bariatric center to identify the cause.

Copyright © 2005 Kaye Bailey - All Rights Reserved.

Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.livingafterwls.com and http://www.livingafterwls.blogspot.com Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often.

What is it that pains you so much, you wonder? Not that you know much and have a solution. Your partner seems to be nagged with the same complaint every night. Are you getting old; might be as it’s already time for menopause. If you suffer from a chronic pain all over your body and feel drained out always, then you might be suffering from fibromyalgia. Before you go ahead with any menopause treatment to cure this, you need to be sure that you have this menopausal symptom. Fibromyalgia aggravates due to a lot of menopause symptom like anxiety, depression etc.

The more you have tension and depression, the more you might have pain near the joints. The only ray of hope in case of this disease is that it is not threatening enough to take a toll on your life. But it definitely hampers normal living. Would you love to socialize with chronic and nagging pain all over your body? Although there are set menopause treatments to treat this disease, however self-treatment can cure a significant share of it. Try some home remedies to see if they cause any difference. If not and you find yourself groaning with pain for months together then its surely time to visit your doctor and find out a way.

The most common menopause treatments that help improve fibromyalgiac pain include medication along with other treatments. Analgesics, antidepressants, and muscle relaxants are prescribed to help relieve the pain. If nothing works then the doctor might prescribe hormone therapy to fill the hormonal deficiency. Another alternative therapy that has come up to treat fibromyalgia is cognitive behavior therapy. This is a counseling session that helps you gather strength to fight not just pain but all other difficult situations in life and emerge as a stronger personality.

Yes, you read it right…no diets! The first step in this weight
management program is to gather all of your old fad diets, quick
weight loss remedies, and “magic cures”. Once you have them all
together in a nice, neat pile- throw them into the trash! One
thing we have learned in the last 20-30 years is diets don’t
work and actually can make things worse. Fad diets may provide
short term weight loss but they are generally too difficult to
stick with for a lifetime. The majority of people who lose
weight on fad diets regain that weight within 3 to 5 years. Over
time this yo-yo dieting effect can slow your metabolism, the way
our bodies burn the calories from the food that we eat. Most fad
diets require you to significantly restrict your caloric intake
by limiting or even eliminating specific foods from your diet.
They lead you to believe that it is these specific foods that
are causing you to gain weight. The fact is; a cookie or a slice
of French bread is not responsible for weight gain. It is the
total number of calories that you consume in a day compared to
the amount of calories you use as energy. The calories you don’t
use as energy turn into stored fat and over time this translates
into more body weight.

Yes, its true consuming excess carbohydrates can result in large
insulin spikes and cause you to store fat more readily and
stimulate your appetite. However, does this mean that everyone
in America is eating too many carbohydrates? Not necessarily.
Does this mean we need to completely eliminate all carbohydrates
from our diet? Absolutely not. It means we need to learn how to
eat the right kind of carbohydrates and the right amount.

It’s also true that eating excess fat can make us gain weight
because fat carries more calories than protein and
carbohydrates, but does this mean that everyone’s issue is too
much fat? Once again, no. Therefore, we must approach weight
management on an individual basis because not everyone is eating
too many calories from bread. Just the same, not everyone is
consuming too many calories from cookies. We are all individuals
and our eating habits are all unique which is why the one size
fits all diet plans don’t work. The ultimate key to success is
BALANCE.

Balance is providing the appropriate amount of calories,
nutrients, and (don’t forget) enjoyment from our meals. In a
balanced diet, there are no perfect days, no foods are omitted,
and you don’t have to starve yourself. It may simply be that
you’ve been eating too many starchy foods and too little fat.
This may have stimulated your appetite and caused you to consume
more than your body needs. Or vice versa, it may be that you are
consuming too many fats and too little fruits and vegetables
which can cause you to have a high calorie level with a fairly
small intake of food. Perhaps you’ve been eating the right
balance but with too large of portion sizes. These are the kinds
of things that throw us off balance and cause us to consume more
calories than we utilize for energy.

Let’s take an example

Unbalanced Day Breakfast: skip (too busy) Large latte Snack:
chips from vending machine Lunch: (restaurant) hamburger and
large French fries Dinner: 8 oz steak and 2 cups mashed potatoes
Dessert: large bowl of ice-cream (1-2 cups)

Meal Makeover Breakfast: bowl of oatmeal with blueberries, 1 cup
low fat milk Snack: apple, 1 oz peanuts Lunch: (restaurant)
turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with a bowl vegetable soup
Dinner: 3 oz steak (size of a deck of cards), 1 cup mashed
potatoes, and a large salad w/1 TB vinaigrette dressing Dessert:
small bowl of frozen yogurt or sorbet (1/2- 1 cup)

The original meals were heavy in high fat foods, large in
portion sizes, (beef, French fries, chips, and ice-cream) and
low in fiber. The balance was off. By making these changes we
saved approximately 800 calories while still enjoying steak,
mashed potatoes, and dessert! Not to mention you get to eat more
when you incorporate more plant based foods since they are much
lower in calories. We also improved the nutrient content by
adding more fiber/vitamins/minerals/and antioxidants with
increased fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

So, stop fad diets and start balancing your meals for lifelong
weight loss!

© Meri Raffetto, 2004

As energetic beings, our electromagnetic energy field (aura)
vibrates at specific frequencies. When there is an energy
distortion, clutter, blockage, etc, the vibration of the energy
field gets clogged, bogged down and heavy. What does this mean to
you?

When your energy is clogged or bogged down with ‘heavy’ (slow
moving) energy, physically you experience greater levels of
fatigue, leg/joint aches, headaches, digestive trouble, and more.
From an emotional level it can mean experiencing a ‘heavy’
feeling, slight depression, anger and frustration, or just
generally feeling blocked. Mentally, lack of clarity, confusion,
unable to make decisions, mental fatigue and lethargy are all
symptoms of stuck energy.

Sound Therapy is a form of vibrational energy work. Unlike Reiki
and Polarity Therapy or crystal work, sound therapy uses sound
vibration to clear, open and cleanse the energy field. Sound
therapists work in many formats, some using toning, meditation,
color therapy, etc. Many practitioners utilize several ancient
musical instruments for healing including Tibetan bells, tingshas
and rattles.

A sound therapy session lasts approximately one hour with a
brief consultation before and after. The session is very soothing
and many people fall asleep during that hour. Several experience
energy in the form of seeing colors, having memories surface,
feeling tingling sensations, or pulses of energy moving through
their chakras. The person lies fully dressed on the massage table
while sound is applied in their energy field above the body.

During each session, clearing of the energy field, including any
particular trouble areas takes place, then an opening of each
chakra with a gentle realignment is performed. The person may
share experiences and sensations as a greater understanding
of their personal energy field is introduced.

It is recommend to drink large quantities of water for
three days following the sound therapy session. Toxins and heavy
energy that has been released must flush out of the person system
and needs water to facilitate that cleansing process. After three
days of flushing, most people experience new energy sensations,
greater clarity and sense of purpose, an increased energy level
for their physical body and a new feeling of wellbeing.

Sound therapy is a wonderfully gentle and soothing process that
is very similar to taking a warm bath, only you are being bathed
in sound. It brings a wonderful relaxing feeling into your
physical body while it soothes the emotional, mental and
spiritual levels.

© 2004 Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster is an Intuitive Counselor who assists clients to create extraordinary transformations in their everyday lives. Her work is uplifting, empowering and success-oriented. You can visit Jodie’s website at http://www.illuminationsnetwork.com for further information and to schedule a private intuitive session. You can also look for weekly updates to her blog at: http://intuitiveinnovations.blogspot.com.

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