Supplements
Eating healthy and maintaining stable blood sugar are important steps in your weight loss plan — but reaching optimal health while losing weight can sometimes be challenging. That’s where supplements can help. At Healthy Steps Weight Loss Center in Santa Rosa, California, your care providers include a medical doctor and dietitians who customize a supplements plan based on your blood work results. Call the office to get started today.
When you’re losing weight, it can be extremely difficult to get all the nutrients you need from food alone. This may be especially true following bariatric surgery because you’re limiting your food intake so significantly.
The bariatric surgeon and trained dietitians at Healthy Steps Weight Loss Center fully understand how important it is to maintain optimal nutrition as you move through your weight loss journey. For this reason, they offer a wide range of medical grade supplements that you can take as needed.
How do I know which supplements I need?
Your blood work reveals deficiencies that proper supplementation can correct, so your Healthy Steps Weight Loss Center care providers create a personalized supplementation plan for you. You may need vitamins D, C or B12, iron, a multivitamin, or other supplements to stay healthy as you lose weight.
Do I still need supplements if I drink meal replacement products?
It depends on your specific situation. Sometimes after bariatric surgery, you may have difficulty eating at first. Meal replacement products like those from Metagenics® or other medical grade supplement companies can give you all the nutrition you need at once. But, it’s very important to use meal replacement products as directed by your medical care providers.
Depending on your blood work and what type of deficiencies that you have, you have use meal replacement products occasionally but also take supplements. As you recover from your bariatric surgery or go through the weight loss program, your Healthy Steps Weight Loss Center care providers monitor your health and make supplement changes as needed.
How long will I need to take supplements?
It depends on your specific nutrient deficiencies and individual body composition. Most men and women, including post-bariatric surgery patients, benefit from supplementation while in the active phase of weight loss. You may also need to continue supplementation when you’re in the maintenance phase of your weight loss, depending on what your blood work reveals.
To learn more about how medical grade supplements can help you maintain great health while you lose weight, call Healthy Steps Weight Loss Center today.
Behavioral Health
What kind of behavioral health issues do obese patients suffer?
While it varies considerably from one patient to another, some issues tend to be fairly common among obese patients. Some common problems include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
There’s no doubt that obesity can impact mental health, and the Healthy Steps Weight Loss Center team understands this connection. To enjoy optimal mental health, and better whole-body health by extension, Healthy Steps Weight Loss Center offers behavioral health support for all patients who need it.
Mental health is a very important component of overall health and wellness, and that's one reason that a behavioral health evaluation before your bariatric surgery is so important. Generally, achieving significant weight loss is overwhelmingly positive. However, in some studies, bariatric surgery patients have been shown to be at risk for addiction transfer, worsening depression and suicide, and stressful changes in family and other close relationships. Some surgeries cause poor absorption of anti-depressant medications. The pre-surgery evaluation is designed to help the patient and the team address potential concerns before they are a problem. The evaluation will also confirm that you understand the planned surgery.
What happens during my pre-surgery evaluation?
The therapist and you will discuss your relationship with food, your history with dieting, and past weight loss results. They will review your social support network and any relevant mental health history. This is information you and the bariatric team can use after surgery to help you achieve optimal success.