The History of the Lap Band Weight Loss Procedure

Posted By Amy Nutt
Categoirzed Under: Weight loss
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by Amy Nutt

The Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding Procedure (also know as lap band surgery) is performed under anesthesia in a hospital operating room. During surgery, three to five one-half inch to two inch incisions are made in the upper abdomen. Barring any complications, the procedure usually takes about 50 minutes to one hour to perform.

All patients undergoing this procedure need to be aware of the possibility of complications such as adhesions from previous surgeries which may make a laparoscopic procedure impossible. In this case, the surgeon will convert to an open procedure with a five inch incision and longer recovery period.

Many surgeons allow patients to return home the same day; however, other surgeons require patients to stay overnight before they are released from the hospital. If this occurs they are usually released about 24 hours after surgery. Although most lap band patients feel quite well after two or three weeks, full recovery usually takes approximately six to eight weeks. When you are ready to leave the hospital, you may receive a visit from the hospital dietitian who will go over the required diet for Lap-Band patients.

During the lap band surgery a smaller stomach pouch is created in the upper portion of the stomach. Normally, this pouch will only hold approximately ? to 1 ounce of food. This pouch connects to the rest of your stomach through an outlet called a stoma. You will feel full when your upper stomach is full and as a result you will be able to control your eating habits and over time, with the right eating habits, you will start to lose lots of weight. And it?s natural weight loss so once you lose the pounds they won?t just fly back on.

In essence, the lap band surgery is a procedure aimed to promote weight loss for people who are severely struggling to cope with obesity. Here?s how it works in greater detail:

A ?gastric band? with a small balloon inside is attached around the top portion of your stomach, forming a smaller ?gastric pouch?. The placement of the band creates a small pouch at the top of the stomach that holds up to approximately 30 ml, which works out to about 1/8 cup. You are inclined to eat less because the pouch holds less food than the whole stomach. As the upper part of the stomach registers itself as being full, it sends a message to the brain saying that the entire stomach is full. This is the main principle behind the lap band procedure; this tightening of the stomach feeling or sensation helps the person to:

1. be hungry less often 2. to eat smaller portions 3. and lose weight over time.

This pouch is filled with a saline solution which is injected into the band via a port. Via the port, the surgeon has control over the amount of saline solution that is inserted into the band. When adjusting the lap band (same as gastric band) a specialized needle must be used as to avoid causing any damage to the port or the port membrane. When fluid is injected, the lap band expands and places pressure around the outside of the stomach. This causes a decrease in the size of the passage between the pouch and the lower stomach; restricting the movement of food.

After the procedure, the next stage is the post lap band surgery follow-up adjustments. During this stage, the patient will need to visit their doctor every few weeks in order to receive their saline injections. Over time, the band is filled to the point where the patient feels they?ve hit a ?sweet spot? where optimal restriction has been achieved. The key to living post-lap band surgery is to follow the lap band diet, which is described on our lap band diet page.

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17 Fat Burning Foods - Eat Lots And Lose Faster !

Posted By Harold Barrack
Categoirzed Under: Weight loss
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by Karen Brown

The more fat burning foods that you consume, the more weight you will lose. It is a very simple process, find foods that taste great with little extra fat and you have found the secret to successful dieting.

You have a lot of options when it comes to serving these fat burning foods. Make an attractive plate setting or just one or two at a time.

These types of food are better at the start of a meal as they are more filling and with less fat and calories than most main item offerings.

Fruits and vegetables make up the primary source of these low fat foods. They are able to supply a lot of the vitamins. minerals and bulk which you body systems require.

First off is the carrot. Tasty, lots of bulk and a great source of necessary vitamins and minerals. Small precut, washed baby carrots are on display in different sized packages at most grocery stores.

From the green section is celery. Celery has lots of advantages to offer. It is relatively cheap to purchase, easy to store and serve, and is very low source of calories which most people like,

Cabbage and lettuce both have lots of good bulk for your digestive tract and very little or no fat. As an added advantage, they also help to give you that full feeling, which you get when it is time to leave the table.

More fat burning foods from the common garden are examples like asparagus, brussel sprouts, beets, cucumber, onions, radishes and tomatoes.

The fruit family of produce consists of the common apples and oranges, and the many different types of berries, melons and grapes. Once again all of these are very healthy choices and will supply your system with many valuable nutritional components.

Low fat, high protein means fish and fowl. Salmon and boneless, skinless chicken breasts should be your main foods form this area. Both are very healthy and great sources of protein without all the fat content.

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Constipation - A Symptom NOT A Disease!

Posted By Richard H Ealom
Categoirzed Under: Fitness
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by Richard H Ealom

INTRODUCTION: Constipation is defined as having a bowel movement less than three times a week and is one of the most common gastrointestinal complaints in the United States. It is a symptom, not a disease and happens when the colon absorbs too much water or if the colons muscle contractions are slow or sluggish, causing the stool to move through the colon too slowly. It happens to almost everyone at one time or another.

FIBER: The most common causes of constipation are a diet low in fiber or a diet high in fats, such as cheese, eggs, and meats. People who eat a high-fiber diet are less likely to become constipated. Fiber can′t be digested, so it helps clean out the intestines by moving the bowels along, while a diet full of fatty, sugary, or starchy foods can slow the bowels down.

LAXATIVES: Self-treatment with over-the-counter (OTC) drugs is by far the most common aid. Even though people may get relief when they use laxatives, typically they must increase the dose over time because the body grows dependent on laxatives in order to have a bowel movement. As a result,laxatives may become habit-forming. The majority of people who are mildly constipated do not need them. For children, short-term treatment with laxatives, along with re-training to establish regular bowel habits, aids in preventing constipation.

However, for people who have made diet and lifestyle changes and are still constipated, an MD may recommend laxatives or enemas for a short period of time. For most people, ceasing laxatives restores the colons natural ability to contract.

SYMPTOMS: Depending on your diet, age and daily activities, regular bowel movements can mean anything from three bowel movements per day to one every three days. The symptoms are key to helping the physician determine a diagnosis and treatment. Extensive testing usually is reserved for people with severe symptoms, for those with sudden changes in the number and consistency of bowel movements or blood in the stool, and older adults.

TREATMENTS: Even though treatment depends on the cause, severity, and duration of the constipation, in the majority of cases dietary and lifestyle changes will aid in relieving symptoms and help prevent them from happening again. If an underlying disorder is the cause, treatment will be directed toward the specific cause. Above all, it is necessary to understand that a successful treatment program requires persistent effort and time.

CONCLUSION: Constipation is the infrequent and difficult passing of stool and can lead to complications, such as hemorrhoids created by extreme straining or fissures produced by the hard stool stretching the sphincters. It is a common symptom, but it often stays unrecognized until the patient develops sequelae, such as anorectal disorders or diverticular disease. It is the end result of several factors: bad diet, lack of exercise, motility abnormalities, and anatomic defects, along with the person’s expectations and psychological factors.

In children it is usually diet-related, particularly toddlers who are being switched from formula feeds to milk. It is a sign rather than a disease and is the most common digestive complaint in the USA. It does not come about overnight, and it is not reasonable to expect that it can be stopped overnight.

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Visiting Parks Abroad But Staying Healthy

Posted By Guy Morris
Categoirzed Under: Fitness
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by Guy Morris

Visualize scheduling a vacation for weeks or perhaps for months in advance then the moment arrives that you actually get to travel, now for some unexpected cause, one falls sick during the trip and he/she has nothing to do but only lie in the hotel room; whereas he/she should be out having fun and enjoying the vacation. Definitely, that is such a thing nobody wants to go through. Hence, here follows few guidelines you can bear in mind to keep away from such unpleasant incident.

The finest remedy prior to begin any vacation is to be in a good physical form. One can shape up the muscles for the long journey by doing some aerobics, biking or going for long walks. To make the planning of the travel itinerary less taxing carry out some research about the location you are traveling to and study about the port of call, their way of life and the sites you want to holiday.

For example you can obtain information about the weather/ climate so as to pack clothes accordingly for the holiday and do collect info about the situation of the drinking water. By buying water decontamination tablets or liquid prior to traveling to a place with suspicious water condition, you can actually avoid falling prey to any water borne disease.

As all of us have nutritional preferences it is recommended that inform the travel agent the kind of food, such as sangria you can be served in-flight, as this can certainly evade any digestive disorders during the travel. If you are under some medication, it is wise to take adequate supply for the journey and to prevent any troubles with customs you should make sure the medicine you are carrying is permitted in the location where you are traveling.

As you are all set to start off for the trip it is sensible to eat a fine meal then set off for the long journey. Reporting and immigration in airports is a long process and some time the airline serves food to its passengers after some reasonable period of time. On a lengthy journey that can stretch hours by any form of transport, it is most prudent to spread out or walk about from time to time to enable proper blood circulation in your system. Suppose anyone is ill with motion sickness in a long journey, it is highly recommended to take the appropriate drug as a minimum an hour prior to the journey, because the medication takes time to show its effects.

Water is an imperative requirement and it is sensible to buy packaged drinking water from the shop if one is hesitant to use the tap water. Individuals ought to be certain that the container is still unopened before using it this is done to ensure that the bottled water is harmless to drink.

If you take all the above mentioned safeguards, there is practically no suspicion that the journey will be an unforgettable event.

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Get Beautiful Long Hair with Hair Extensions

Posted By Sofia Piccirillo
Categoirzed Under: Hairs
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by Jessie Ekstrom

Hair extensions come in two different styles. There is the strand and there is the weft. The strands are supposed to look the most natural, but they are much more time consuming and if you are having it done at a salon, they will be more expensive, too. Wefts are wider strips of hair and as such, are easier to attach. Hair extensions come in all the colors of natural hair, though some colors are more plentiful than others. The handmade type of weft is best.

The wefts you choose should be made of the best quality of hair you can afford. If you want to look your best, do not use synthetic hair. The “European” hair is good quality but virgin or “raw” hair is even better because it has never been subjected to chemical processing. Virgin hair is also the most expensive as it is harder to find.

Wefts are put in the hair by first making cornrows that run in lines around the head horizontally. These are done in the middle of the scalp and under a layer of your hair so they are not visible.

How many cornrows there are depends on how many wefts you are going to use. The sizes of both the cornrows and the wefts should vary as does the natural way in which your hair grows. Depending on how long your hair is and how long you would like it to appear, the number of wefts and cornrows will differ. Wefts may also be used to “fill out” your hair rather than lengthen it.

Wefts are “sewn” into the cornrows and your natural hair is brushed and styled over them to hide where the wefts and cornrows connect. They should not be thought of as “extensions” anymore so much as part of your own head of hair.

Taking Care of Your Hair Extensions

Wash your hair as you normally do but be extra vigilant about moisturizing the extensions. These do not have the benefit of receiving natural oils from your scalp so they will dry out easily. There are leave-in conditioners that are great for hair extensions. When washing your hair, make sure to thoroughly wash in and around the cornrows to keep bacteria from building up. A bacterial infection is not something you want along with your new style!

Because hair extensions do not grow back when yanked and damaged, you must be careful with them. This means you cannot color them, subject them to intense heat, or yank a comb through them as you might (but should not) do to your own hair. Brush out your hair carefully before showering or sleeping. As with your own hair, do not yank a comb through tangles. Rather, you should start brushing from the ends of your hair and work your way up to the roots to get rid of the tangles.

Hair extensions must be maintenanced every 6 to 8 weeks. This means the hairdresser needs to remove the wefts from your hair, take out the cornrows, inspect for damage, and then re-braid your hair and sew the wefts back in place.

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