Disclaimer: We at Bariatricvitamins4life.com and our sponsor site, Vita4life.net, are not medical professionals.  Nothing in this blog should be taken as medical advice.  Consult your doctor before you begin any exercise program.

The First Exercise You Should Do: Walking after Bariatric Surgery 

Some of us were in no danger of overexerting ourselves after our weight loss surgery.  It was hard enough just to get around our living spaces, much less get some exercise! 

Others have an easier recovery, and want to get to the exercise portion of their new life ASAP.  This isn’t always the best idea, though. 

It’s not just about your scar and stitches, either—the heart can have a difficult time after any major surgery.  Many doctors recommend five minutes of cardiovascular exercise (simple walking is usually good enough), five or six times a day, for the first two months after bariatric surgery.

What about Bariatric Yoga? 

While we don’t know of any yoga programs specifically for weight loss surgery patients (although it looks like there is an excellent bariatric exercise program in Austin), there is a small but devoted segment of the bariatric community that chooses yoga as a favorite form of exercise. 

Yoga practitioners report a number of benefits from the exercise; energy level and lowered stress are chief among these.  Yoga’s claims to fame also include muscle toning, improved flexibility, and a calm sense of well-being.

Cardiovascular Exercise after Weight Loss Surgery 

Cardio is the heavy hitter in any weight loss program.  While muscle training can certainly help speed up your metabolism, most trainers will tell you that it’s cardiovascular training that really takes the pounds off. 

As mentioned above, you should consult your physician before beginning any exercise routine.  This is especially true for gastric bypass patients who feel they are ready to get that heart pumping!  

While cardio will give you the most noticeable effects most quickly, it also puts a certain amount of strain on your system.  Ask your doctor if he or she thinks you are ready for heavy cardiovascular exercise, and how much you should start off with.  Your body’s adjusted caloric intake means that your routine may need to start off differently than the average Joe’s or Jane’s.

Lactose intolerance after bariatric surgery

Why Gastric Bypass Patients Get Lactose Intolerance

Your body uses digestive enzymes called lactase to digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products.  In most stomachs, milk waits around to be slowly released into the intestine.  The body processes a little bit of lactose at one time instead of all at once.  It only needs a little bit of lactase at any given time.

After gastric bypass surgery, however, milk goes through the stomach much more quickly.  Even if your body was perfectly okay with dairy products before your weight loss surgery, your intestine might be getting more dairy than it’s used to.  This effectively overwhelms the lactase and gifts you with those unpleasant symptoms like acid reflux, bloating, and worse.

What You Can Do After Gastric Bypass Surgery

If your lactose intolerance appeared after bariatric surgery instead of before, you can still have dairy if you do it right.  Eat smaller quantities, more slowly.  Have just a bit of milk with your meal—better yet, try some rice milk or soy milk.  Yogurt may digest slowly enough to treat your body right, but only if you acquired lactose intolerance after bariatric surgery.

Don’t Forget Your Calcium!

Just because you can’t have large quantities of dairy all at once doesn’t mean that you should slack on your calcium intake.  Calcium does more than just give you strong bones.  It helps you absorb important nutrients like Vitamin C, helps regulate nerve, muscle, and blood vessel function, and even helps regulate your blood pressure.

 If you can’t take much milk in your system, a calcium supplement is one of the best ways to go.  We prefer a calcium supplement made for gastric bypass patients.

Don’t worry we’re not going straight to hardy soups and stews – it’s still summer! Today we’re going to have some lemon chicken. Its lemony flavor makes a light summer dish.

So break out the grill, fire up some coals, and enjoy this great chicken recipe. You will love it, your family will love it, and its fit for a great meal for company.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• ½ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel – lemon zest
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon chopped dill weed
• Fresh ground pepper
• 2 lemons

Directions

1. Mix together in a small bowl the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice garlic, pepper, and dill weed.
2. Place the chicken in a resealable plastic bag.
3. Pour the marinade over the chicken in the bag. Seal the bag.
4. Marinate in the refrigerator for one to two hours. Turn the bag a few times to keep the chicken thoroughly coated.
5. Grill chicken in a rack over medium coals for 12 to 15 minutes or until no longer pink.
6. After ten minutes of grilling the chicken grill the lemon halves too.
7. Serve chicken with the grilled lemons. Yum!

This chicken is great served with a fresh side salad. Any leftover chicken can be used for a chicken salad – but that’s for a whole other recipe. Think out of the box for some great bariatric recipes. It’s amazing what you can do with what you already have in the house. Enjoy your meal and the rest of the summer.

Recovery Strategies after Weight Loss Surgery 

In order to support your weight loss surgery, you need to make different, healthier choices. Instead of eating fast food and snacking on sugary junk food, you will have to nourish your body in other ways. 

You will have to think about what you eat and plan your meals carefully. It helps to try and cut out the non-essentials that are damaging to your health, like caffeine and nicotine. 

It’s Not Easy for Anybody 

Change is difficult for us all–especially major dietary change. It’s not uncommon to struggle and backslide. If you want to hold onto the benefits of gastric bypass, you need to have a plan. 

The first step is shopping smart. You need to have healthy and nourishing foods in your home so that you can create the right kind of meals. Your meals should be made with whole food ingredients with little to no processed food. Avoid additives and processed preservatives. Make your food as nourishing as possible 

Bariatric Vitamins after Weight Loss Surgery 

The second step is to give your body the right nourishment through vitamins. Vitamins are an essential part to recovery after weight loss surgery. Your body needs specific nutrients to repair itself. For this reason, you should seek out bariatric vitamins. 

Bariatric vitamins are designed to assist gastric bypass patients with the nutrition necessary to maintain results and rebuild a healthy immune system. Bariatric vitamins should easily dissolve and contain no additives and preservatives. These support you body and assist with healing. 

If you find yourself having a moment of weakness there are support groups available after weight loss surgery. Just search on the Internet to find a group in your area. Your doctor may also be able to suggest resources that will help support you in your new life. 

Although the changes are many, the rewards are worth it. Slow and steady progress are the keystones to long lasting success.