Tips for people who’ve had this surgery and want to maintain a healthy weight
- Avoid purchasing unhealthy foods so you won't be tempted to eat them.
- Shop the edges of the grocery store and you will never have to worry about anything bad — potato chips and cookie — ending up in your cart.
- Stop using your kids as an excuse to purchase unhealthy foods. It's the responsibility of parents to teach kids how to eat healthy.
Source: Chef Dave
You might be a good candidate for surgery if:
- You have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more or a BMI of 35-39.9 with health-related problems that are known to improve with weight loss, and you are able to undergo majorsurgery.
- Have failed to lose weight through other methods.
- Do not have active drug or alcohol problems.
- Are a non-smoker.
- Do not have uncontrolled psychological conditions.
- Do not have an untreated endocrine cause of obesity such as thyroid disorder.
- Have been struggling with morbid obesity for more than two years.
- Have a consensus opinion from our multi-disciplinary team.
- Understand the risks associated with surgery.
Source: Center for Surgical Weight Management
This year, Ron and Letitia Rickett’s Thanksgiving Day menu will look decidedly different.
There will be the usual fare – turkey, dressing and a smorgasbord of vegetables and desserts. But none of it will contain as much of the sugar and salt that’s commonly found in southern recipes.
Preparing healthy meals and eating from smaller plate are some of the lifestyle changes the Lilburn couple has made since undergoing gastric bypass surgery a year ago.
As obesity rates have soared over the last decade, so too have the number of Americans who are turning to surgery to lose weight. Although today’s bariatric surgery is safer and more effective than earlier versions, doctors warn the procedure is not an instant cure and should be reserved for those considered obese and suffering from severe illness.
In fact, some 28 percent of Georgians are considered obese, according to a recent report by Trust for America’s Health, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
At their heaviest, Ron Ricketts weighed 376, and Letitia weighed 284.
So, as they have been doing since their surgery, they will limit their calorie intake on Thanksgiving.
“We’ll have pecan pie, but it will be the 100-calorie version,” Ron Ricketts said.
They’ll also have smoked turkey but forego the skin. And they will roast vegetables with fresh herbs and olive oil, tweaks they’ve learn to make to their diet, thanks to Chef Dave Fouts a fellow bariatric patient and partner at the Gwinnett Medical Center’s Center for Surgical Weight Management.
For his part, Fouts has gone from a hefty 420 pounds to a healthy 165 over the last 12 years.
“As soon as patients realize I’ve had surgery, they see they can do it, too,” Fouts said.
“Obviously, he practices what he preaches,” Ron Ricketts said. “In the South, we want it fried and salty. He has taught us how to cook healthy, to cook 300-calorie meals and still be satisfied.”
Gastric bypass, which involves making the stomach smaller and shortening the length of the small intestine, is one of three procedures doctors can perform to reduce the absorption of calories and make it impossible for patients to eat large meals.
But it’s only the first step in a weight-loss journey, said Dr. Robert Richard, the center’s medical director and lead surgeon.
“The remainder of the journey involves a lifestyle change related to diet, exercise and a healthy mental perspective,” he said.
Since the center opened in 2010, Richard has performed more than 250 weight loss procedures, including gastric banding and gastric sleeve resection.
By adding Fouts to the mix, doctors hope to increase the number of patients who commit to changing their lifestyles for the long haul. In addition to cooking demonstrations, patients have access to healthy meal plans and nutrition information from the chef, his blog and “Ask the Chef” links.
At 58 years old, the Ricketts each suffered from diabetes and hypertension. Their knees hurt.
But it wasn’t until a doctor told Letitia she was morbidly obese that she realized the severity of her condition.
“Hearing those words made me realize I had to get myself together,” she said. “I wanted to be around if we ever had grandkids.”
Ron said he felt he’d “pushed the envelope enough.”
After one failed diet after the other, they talked about surgically removing the fat but couldn’t afford the $40,000 price tag.
In January, the software company Letitia Ricketts worked for was bought by another company and her insurance policy changed. Bariatric surgery was covered.
“We shopped for the best program and settled on Gwinnett’s weight management center,” she said.
The couple had gastric bypass surgery two weeks apart, Letitia on July 28, 2011, and Ron on Aug. 11.
Today, Letitia weighs 151 pounds and has dropped from a size 30 to size 12.
“I’ve got nine more pounds to drop to get to my goal,” she said.
Ron will have to drop 13 more pounds to reach his goal of 200.
The Ricketts attribute their success to the comprehensive approach the medical center offers and the recipes and other tips they get from Fouts.
But they also say their own determination has helped. The day after the surgery, they joined a gym and work out with a trainer three times a week.
The benefits, they said, have been huge. They no longer have diabetes or high blood pressure. Their drug store bill dropped from $300 to $70 a month. On Oct. 20, they walked their first 5K. And when they hug their son, his arms can get around their bodies.
“It’s just a whole new different way of life,” Ron Ricketts said.
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