The Holiday Season

Thanksgiving has come and gone and we have now entered the holiday season. It's a wonderful time of year where we all get to celebrate and spend time with our family and loved ones. It's also a time to reflect on the past year and see how far we've come in terms of achieving any personal goals.

At Dr. Feiz & Associates, we understand that when it comes to our weight loss goals, keeping track of our progress throughout the year can be a challenge. Moreover, we know that it is especially challenging during the holiday season when we are tempted to stray from our healthy eating habits with holiday treats.

While this may be a time to celebrate and let loose a little, keeping our healthy eating habits in line should remain a priority. Taking some extra time to reflect on our habits can really help us with our weight loss goals in the long run.

Luckily, we not only offer our patients with cutting-edge bariatric surgery procedures, such as a sleeve gastrectomy, to help them achieve their weight loss goals, our friendly and understanding team of medical professionals are available to answer any questions or address any concerns our patients may have. We know that with the right support, our patients can maintain their healthy eating habits and enjoy the many benefits following a weight loss surgery procedure.

So this holiday season, keep your health and healthy eating habits in mind. Take some time to reflect and surround yourself with supporting people to help and motivate you during your weight loss journey.

Getting the Whole Story

One of the biggest problems we face in every endeavor of any kind is making sure we have all the information need. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," goes the old saying, because it can be only too easy to think we know more than we do about a given situation and get ourselves into trouble. At Dr. Feiz & Associates, we are big believers in providing our patients with all the information they need to make a truly informed decision about their weight loss options. The usual result is an outstanding outcome.

The fact of the matter is that we humans have a tendency to believe what we want to believe. This is why so many dubious weight loss supplements have, unfortunately, made a lot of people wealthy. Bariatric surgery, on the other hand, is a highly effective intervention that definitely works, which is the good news. The less good news is that it's a very serious step and really not for everyone, but for the right patient it can truly be a lifesaver.

Whether patients end up getting a sleeve gastrectomy or some other procedure, our goal is to make sure patients have the complete story and understand fully what to expect before, during, and after their procedure. Weight loss surgeries are extremely safe and very effective, but they are still surgeries. Patients should know all the important details, and we work hard to make sure they do.

A Lifelong Effort

While the road to a healthy weight may seem daunting at first, the significant health and lifestyle benefits make it all worth while. We at Dr. Feiz & Associates remind our patients of the powerful and positive outcomes that await them following their weight loss journey.

Research has revealed that bariatric surgery has improved or even resolved a variety of life-threatening diseases and health complications. Ranging from type-2 diabetes to heart disease, a significant weight loss positively impacts individuals suffering from these complications or who are seriously at risk of developing them. In addition, patients can also experience a reduced risk of developing other related complications, such as eye and nerve damage for diabetes patients.

Moreover, it's also important to remember the lifestyle benefits that are related to a significant weight loss. Obesity is often related to bone and joint pain that can make it extremely difficult and uncomfortable for patients to complete simple daily tasks. A significant weight loss following a bariatric procedure, such as a sleeve gastrectomy, can relieve the constant pressure on a patient's bones and joints and enables patients to have a more active lifestyle that, in effect, allows them to maintain their healthy weight in the long run. 

All in all, the health and wellness benefits following a significant weight loss can really make a difference in the overall quality of our lives. While we may be successful in achieving our goal weight, we must also remember to continue to put some effort in maintaining our health and well-being throughout our lives. 

Setting a Good Example

We know this won't exactly come as a big shock to you, but one thing we've noticed at Dr. Feiz & Associates is that parents are only human. Shocking, yes, we know.

The thing is most parents who are severely obese are extremely concerned, and for good reason, about the possibility that their children might also run into weight issues as they get older. Without going too deep into the whole nature vs. nurture questions, it's clear that weight issues really do run in families for reasons that are probably both genetic and environmental. It's also very likely that a parent's good example can rub off on a child, as a recent Washington University study found when it looked at parent's weight loss and some corresponding weight loss in their adolescent offspring.

Which brings us back to that whole matter of parents being only human. We're learning more and more that the reason bariatric surgery is necessary for some many people boils down to one fact. It's not that traditional diet and exercise solutions don't work -- they do. It's just that, largely because of hormonal and also some metabolic factors, it's just so incredibly difficult to sustain a large weight loss over time that very, very few people are able to do it. It's as if the body is doing everything it can to make losing large amounts of weight into a full time job that most people simply find impossible.

The good news is that, like most illnesses, obesity is a lot easier to prevent that it is to cure. It's possible that parents really can help to prevent severe obesity in their children by setting an example, eating a great deal less and losing weight permanently as as result. However, since it's too late for prevention for the parents, they're likely to need the help of a procedure such as a sleeve gastrectomy  to really be able to do things right.

Parents should also realize that they are sending a pretty positive message by getting a procedure. Their kids will learn it's by no means "the easy way out" -- it's more like the only way out -- and they'll admire their ability to do what needs to be done to make a positive change. Then, they'll see the change in the parents actions that result from the procedure...and we know that all the good advice in the world is nothing compared to the power of a good example.

Trick or Treat?

With the upcoming Halloween festivities underway, we know how tempting it is to indulge on our favorite candy and sweets. Although the idea of biting down on a delicious caramel apple may not seem so bad, especially since an apple is often considered a healthy food choice, these treats are not the best way to stick to our healthy diets.

We at Dr. Feiz & Associates are well aware of the many snack and food temptations that are especially popular around October and spill on to the holiday season. During this time, it's especially essential to reflect on our food choices and make sure that we stay on track. 

While we may sometimes feel at fault for having these cravings and diverging a bit from our regular healthy diets, extensive research points to our hormones and brain as large factors that influence our food preferences. These factors, however, shouldn't dissuade us from thinking that we are unable to combat our obesity. There are a number of cutting-edge bariatric surgery procedures that can really make all the difference in helping us reach our weight loss goals. 

It's also important to remember that even after a a weight loss procedure, such as a gastric sleeve, we have to continue to make efforts to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. Luckily, these procedures can make our weight loss goals alot easier to achieve and maintain throughout our lives. 

We hope that you have a happy and safe Halloween and remember not to let those seemingly healthy treats trick you!

The True Cost of Obesity

A recent review which looked at improvements in illness and sick leave by employees who have had bariatric surgery got us thinking about the true cost of obesity. Of course, many of the impacts of being severely obese especially are impossible to put into dollars and cents. Still, there's no getting around the fact that, on top of the non-financial cost of being obese in terms of the length and quality of life, it's also very expensive.

The most obvious part of the equation, as we're keenly sware of of here at Dr. Feiz & Associates, are increased health care costs. Even with a decent insurance plan, prescriptions, frequent office visits, tests, outpatient procedures, and hospitalizations can really add up over the course of a lifetime.

That's just  one aspect of the cost side of the equation. Being severely obese can also really cut into income in a number of different ways. There's the increased number of sick days that may or may not be covered by employers but, more seriously for the individual, there's an increased chance of being out of work entirely. Sometimes there are health reasons for this and, sadly, workplace discrimination is a genuine issue for very obese obese individuals.

Fortunately, modern medical science is here with techniques that really do work, including procedures like a gastric sleeve with it's very many well documented benefits. It's a solution that really does add up.

Combating Obesity and Its Health Risks

As more research and studies are conducted to better understand the causes and risks of obesity, the results all tend to have a similar message; obesity leads to a number of life-threatening health problems. We at Dr. Feiz & Associates stay up to date on the latest discoveries so that we can continue to help patients significantly improve the overall quality of their lives through the latest and best bariatric surgery procedures.

Recently, new research has revealed that obese individuals with type 2 diabetes are at a much greater risk of developing liver cancer. Obesity has also been linked to a number of other health conditions such as osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and heart disease. That's why, now more than ever, it's important to address obesity so that patients can improve their health as well as their quality of life.

Many of our patients have experienced significant health improvements after losing their excess weight following a bariatric surgery, such as a sleeve gastrectomy. Apart from higher levels of energy and increased mobility, patients have also noticed that a variety of their health conditions have improved or have even been completely resolved.

Losing weight isn't just about looking better, it's also about reducing our risks of developing life-threatening health conditions and living happier and healthier lives. There are a number of bariatric surgery procedures that can provide patients with significant health improvements and long-term results. It's up to us to continue to make solid efforts to maintain our weight and keep our health in check so that we can experience the best that life has to offer.