Weight Loss Surgery Workbook

A. Samelson Doreen

Description

Clinical psychologist and eating disorder specialist Doreen Samelson presents The Weight Loss Surgery Workbook, a comprehensive workbook that guides readers through a clinically proven program for deciding on and preparing for weight loss surgery.

Informations

• Publié par: New Harbinger Publications
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 0001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781608824113
• Langue: English

Extrait

Deciding on Bariatric Surgery, Preparing for the Procedure, and Changing Habits for Post-Surgery Success
Doreen A. Samelson
New Harbinger Publications, Inc. -->
Publisher’s Note
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright © 2011 by Doreen A. Samelson New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com
Cover design by Amy Shoup
Acquired by Melissa Kirk
Edited by Nelda Street

All Rights Reserved






Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Samelson, Doreen A.
The weight loss surgery workbook : deciding on bariatric surgery, preparing for the procedure, and changing habits for post-surgery success / Doreen A. Samelson ; foreword by Arnold D. Salzberg.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
Epub ISBN: 978-1-60882-411-3
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as:
ISBN 978-1-57224-899-1 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-57224-900-4 (pdf ebook) 1. Obesity--Surgery--Popular works. 2. Gastrointestinal system--Surgery--Popular works. 3. Weight loss--Popular works. I. Title.
RD540.S278 2011
617.4’3--dc22
2011005852




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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my daughter, who chose active duty over an easier path; your commitment to military medicine inspires me every day.
To the men in my life; your support and love mean everything.
Acknowledgments
All the patients who came to my office over the years, ready to improve their lives, inspired this book. I’m grateful for each one who chose to share with me her struggles with obesity. These people’s bravery and willingness to change have taught me so much. I’m also grateful to Genevieve Fadden, who supports the psychological testing I do with each patient. Without her, my job would be much more difficult.
I’m also grateful to my family, who have supported my work as a medical psychologist and believed in me. And finally, thanks to my fellow California Psychological Association (CPA) members, whose fellowship and support always encourage me.
Foreword
The social, economic, and health costs of morbid obesity have ballooned to epidemic proportions. According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (2005), a quarter of the population is obese, and 97 million Americans are overweight. The prevalence of obesity has increased by more than 60 percent in the last ten years. Obesity contributes to three hundred thousand deaths annually, making it second only to smoking as a cause of preventable death. It’s a major risk factor for hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cardiac disease, stroke, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, and many types of cancer. The annual cost of obesity is estimated at $238 billion, of which $33 billion each year is spent on weight loss products. Those suffering from morbid obesity encounter challenges in every facet of life. And to many, it’s quite literally a matter of life and death.
Until recently, medical dogma dictated that obesity be managed with medical weight loss programs, appetite suppressants, hypnosis, or hormonal therapy. Surgery was viewed as an extreme measure, to be undertaken only in the direst of circumstances. But most attempts at nonsurgical weight loss are characterized by yo-yo dieting and only short-term weight loss, ultimately leading to an even greater weight gain. In fact, a successful medical weight-loss program is defined as a loss of 10 percent of a patient’s excess body weight, or approximately ten pounds in a patient with one hundred excess pounds (Mason et al. 2003). Fewer than 3 percent of people who are morbidly obese can sustain weight loss for one year (ibid.).
As a surgeon performing weight loss surgery, I’ve seen firsthand how diets fail to produce sustained weight loss, putting patients at additional risk of life-threatening obesity-related medical conditions. Current studies (Robinson 2009) show that the only way sufferers of morbid obesity can lose weight and maintain the weight loss necessary to reverse risk factors is through surgery combined with behavioral changes and nutritional counseling. Further, the current surgical practices to achieve weight loss are safe and effective (ibid.).
But the treatment of morbid obesity and the resolution of obesity-related medical conditions don’t begin and end solely in the operating room. While weight loss surgery is a necessary component, significant weight loss requires a multidisciplinary team approach, at the center of which is the patient. The path to success begins preoperatively, with education and behavioral change. Rigorous dietary changes are critical before surgery. After surgery, this commitment must remain the focal point, because the dietary, exercise, and behavioral changes must be maintained for life. With the proper follow-through, loss of upwards of 65 percent of excess body weight can be maintained over ten or more years (Robinson 2009).
Patients suffering from morbid obesity are under unique stressors, requiring empathy, compassion, and support in addition to medical care. Obesity makes every hour of every day more difficult and, quite simply put, removes years from lives. I tell this to the patients coming to be evaluated for surgery so that they may not only understand the gravity of their situation but also come to see the important role each individual must take on his path to recovery, and to instill hope for what is to come. Diabetes will improve and go away, hypertension will resolve, sleep will be more restful, and joints will no longer be painful. Years will be added, lives prolonged (Fontaine et al. 2003).
Drawing on her years of experience as a clinical psychologist, Doreen Samelson provides an excellent guide for what to expect before, during, and after weight loss surgery. Dr. Samelson’s book drives home the concept that the long-term success of weight loss surgery is dictated by the collaboration between the patient and her medical team to develop behavioral modifications and lifelong habits that help them reach their goals.
—Arnold D. Salzberg, MD
Contents
Introduction 1
Part 1
Making the Decision
1. Weight Loss Surgery Costs and Benefits
2. Not All Weight Loss Surgeries Are Created Equal
3. Weight Loss Surgery for Special Groups
4. Is Weight Loss Surgery the Right Tool for You?
Part 2
Preparing for Success by Taking Action
5. Developing an Exercise Program
6. Evaluating Problem Eating Behaviors
7. Normalizing Your Eating Habits
8. Developing Cognitive Restraint of Eating
9. Controlling Emotional Eating
10. Mobilizing Your Social Support
11. Meeting with Your Weight Loss Surgery Team
12. Undergoing Surgery
Part 3
Life After Weight Loss Surgery
13. Willingness: Caring for Your Postsurgery Digestive System
14. Life Without Bread: Mindful Eating for the Rest of Your Life
15. Improving Your Body Image with ACCEPT
16. Solutions for Inadequate Weight Loss and Weight Regain
17. What Next? Building a New Life
Resources
References
Introduction
With obvious difficulty, Josie walks into my office and sits down in the oversized chair next to my desk. “I was worried I might have to squeeze into one of those small chairs most doctors have in their offices,” she says, shifting her weight in the chair and pulling down her flowered shirt. At age thirty-eight, Josie’s obesity is threatening her health and making it increasingly difficult for her to get around. Like many patients I see, Josie is considering weight loss surgery (WLS) and has come to see me for the required presurgery psychological evaluation.
I soon learn that Josie’s struggle with weight and weight loss began early. Starting with her first diet at age seven, which was prompted by a trip to her family doctor, Josie recites the long list of diets she has tried. “Losing weight isn’t the problem,” she explains. “I’m an expert dieter, but each time I lose weight, I gain even more back. The last few years I haven’t even bothered to diet.” Her discouragement is obvious. However, weight loss surgery isn’t for everyone, and I’m not sure Josie is prepared for surgery or ready to accept the consequences of surgically assisted weight loss.
From many years of experience with patients seeking WLS, I know that surgery is never a cure for obesity. Weight regain after surgery, while less common than with conventional dieting, is a real possibility. The excitement people feel the first year after surgery, when pounds come off at an impressive rate, can be replaced by disgust two years after surgery, when the pounds come back and postsurgical food choices feel increasingly constraining.
Josie, a certified public accountant, spends most of her work time at a computer. She explains that she usually skips breakfast and lunch, preferring to snack throughout the afternoon at her desk. A can of diet soda is her constant companion. Josie impresses me with her busy social life, but reveals that most of her friends also struggle with obesity. Their Friday night get-togethers usually consist of trying out a new restaurant. “When I go out to a good restaurant, I sometimes overeat,” she admits. Like many of my patients, Josie finds exercise difficult, and she recently received a “handicapped” placard for parking. “I feel a little bad about using it,” she says, glancing down at her lap. “I think people are probably looking at me and wondering why I don’t just lose weight and leave the handicapped parking spaces to real disabled people.”
Despite her comment about “real disabled people,” the fact is that Josie’s obesity is disabling, and it isn’t just difficulty walking that interferes with