Weight Loss & Metabolism – Part 1

Vertical Gastric Sleeve Surgery is just the beginning of the journey to a healthy life style. Many times our patients have come to us after years of repeated diets, having their gone up and down, and never having accomplished their goal. But the surgery in and of itself is not the ultimate solution, it is just the beginning. Vertical Gastric Sleeve Surgery surgery will give you a jump start, a short cut if you will, for weight loss. The pounds will almost automatically come off after the surgery, but to continue the weight loss, as well as to keep the weight off, the patient still needs to learn to eat right and to change some life style habits.

This is how Vertical Gastric Sleeve Surgery surgery works. First, the volume of the stomach is drastically reduced, resulting is the patient only being able to consume very small portions of food. Second, because a large portion of the stomach pouch is removed, the stomach produces much less of the Ghrelin hormone, which is what stimulates appetite, resulting in a reduction of feelings of hunger, making it easier to eat less. Thirdly, because the levels of ghrelin are lower, the body’s metabolism doesn’t slow down causing it to burn more calories, although the body is taking in less calories. Right after the Vertical Gastric Sleeve Surgery surgery, one will lose weight almost automatically, because the stomach doesn’t have room for much food, and the metabolism changes. However, after the stomach heals from surgery, it can eventually stretch out again, so it is important to learn to eat right, or weight gain will start to happen again.

We all know someone who seems to eat all the time, and yet stays thin, no matter what. We all wonder why is that? It is simple, they have a high rate of metabolism, and naturally burn a lot of calories. That is why keeping the metabolism at a high level is actually the most important component to weight loss, above all other factors. If we can understand this, we can focus on keeping the metabolism high, so that weight loss will continue, and once we reach our goal, that we keep the weight off.