Latest Weight Loss Surgery News

Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet

posted by The Dr. Graber Surgery Team at 2013-06-18 09:49:00

study of low-carb diets (PDF) from The New England Journal of Medicine, July 17, 2008:

Background:
Trials comparing the effectiveness and safety of weight-loss diets are frequently limited by short follow-up times and high dropout rates.

Methods:
In this 2-year trial, we randomly assigned 322 moderately obese subjects (mean age, 52 years; mean body-mass index [the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters], 31; male sex, 86%) to one of three diets: low-fat, restricted-calorie; Mediterranean, restricted-calorie; or low-carbohydrate, non-restricted-calorie.

Results:
The rate of adherence to a study diet was 95.4% at 1 year and 84.6% at 2 years. The Mediterranean-diet group consumed the largest amounts of dietary fiber and had the highest ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fat (P<0.05 for all comparisons among treatment groups). The low-carbohydrate group consumed the smallest amount of carbohydrates and the largest amounts of fat, protein, and cholestrerol and had the highest percentage of participants with detectable urinary ketones (P<0.05 for all comparisons among treatment groups). The mean weight loss was 2.9 kg for the low-fat group, 4.4 kg for the Mediterranean-diet group, and 4.7 kg for the low-carbohydrate group (P<0.001 for the interaction between diet group and time); among the 272 participants who completed the intervention, the mean weight losses were 3.3 kg, 4.6 kg, and 5.5 kg, respectively. The relative reduction in the ration of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was 20% in the low-carbohydrate group and 12% in the low-fat group (P=0.01). Among the 36 subjects with diabetes, changes in fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels were more favorable among those assigned to the Mediterranean diet than among those assigned to the low-fat diet (P<0.001 for the interaction among diabetes and Mediterranean diet and time with respect to fasting glucose levels).

Conclusions:
Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets may be effective alternatives to low-fat diets. The more favorable effects on lipids (with the low-carbohydrate diet) and on glycemic control (with the Mediterranean diet) suggest that personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions.

You can read the entire study

here (PDF).

Success After Weight Loss Surgery - Paying It Forward

Download as PDF

posted by The Dr. Graber Surgery Team at 2013-06-15 08:15:00

By Sandi Henderson, Bariatric Support Centers International:

This past weekend was the annual WLSFA (Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America) Meet & Greet in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over 500 weight loss surgery patients came together for a weekend full of education, support, information and celebration of their transformed lives. Not only was I fortunate to be one of them, but I am also honored to be a member of an organization with a mission of granting surgeries to those with the medical need who do not have the financial ability to cover the costs. We save lives, one grant a time. For more information on participating go to www.wlsfa.org and check us out.

I was introduced to Carnie Wilson shortly after her BOB (Band Over Bypass) surgery. I try to provide support for her by being an accountability partner and giving her a little shove (as we ALL require) every now and again. Being Carnie she let me know from day one that she tells it just like it is. It started with the report of the first trip to the bathroom after surgery. Remember that? Remember feeling like it was NEVER going to happen? Well, when you add Carnie’s charming way of recounting even the most graphic experience I burst out in laughter when I read her email. This continued on with her tales of walking on the treadmill to near exhaustion, to little bites of her daughters’ cookies and her distress over her first fill. I think, just like many of us, the fear of not knowing was what created the apprehension. She sailed right through it. That’s the day we just sat and talked for about an hour in the sunshine. It was like chatting with someone I had known forever. This woman has the innate ability to immediately make anyone feel comfortable and wrapped in a blanket of love and warmth. We all have met folks like this in our lives.

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