Weight loss is so consistent and rapid after gastric bypass surgery many patients begin to fear they may become emaciated. They ask, Will my body know when its time to stop losing weight? Patients fresh out of weight loss surgery usually find this question absurd Impossible! Lifelong dieters dont become emaciated. However, patients nearing their goal weight become concerned as their body continues shedding weight rapidly showing no sign of stopping.

When patients are following the rules of weight loss surgery the body will stabilize at an appropriate weight, even as the patient continues with low-caloric food intake. The diet industry calls this weight the set point. Body-weight set point is Nature's idea of what amount of fat a body needs.

Weight loss occurs when stored energy is used. By eating protein and exercising, the only available stored energy for the body to burn is fat. This reasoning concludes the body will maintain its weight when it has burned all of its stored fat, when muscles are used through living and daily exercise, and when nutritional needs through a careful diet and supplementation are met. Patients are advised to continue to exercise, take vitamin supplements, eat nutritionally with a focus on high protein, low volume meals while avoiding snacking. Failure to exercise and a decrease in protein intake will cause the body to consume muscle and possibly regain weight.

If a patients weight continues to drop below a reasonable Body Mass Index (BMI) they must consult with their bariatric center to identify the cause.

Copyright 2005 Kaye Bailey - All Rights Reserved.

Kaye Bailey

An award winning journalist and former newspaper editor Kaye Bailey brings expertise in writing and personal experience with gastric bypass surgery to EzineArticles.com. Ms. Bailey developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a teenager she found writing her feelings about obesity helped her cope in a world that is often cruel to overweight children and adults alike.

Ms. Bailey says she found out she was fat in kindergarten when another child told her she was fat. ?I didn?t even know what fat was but I could tell it was bad and I didn?t want to be fat. Until that day I had been unaware I was different. But there I was, a five-year-old girl sitting cross-legged on the floor learning a new word that would define me.?

At age 33 she underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. For the first time in her life after multiple failed diet attempts she lost weight. She said the decision to have surgery took courage, nerve, and a little bit of plain old faith. But she learned surgery was the easy part. Dealing with newfound emotions, struggling with food choices and fighting to keep from regaining weight were unexpected bumps in the road following massive weight loss with surgery.

Having spent most of her life overweight Ms. Bailey is strongly empathetic toward the obese, particularly overweight children. This compassion compelled her to found the website LivingAfterWLS.com, a fast-growing resource of information, understanding and support for the weight loss surgery community. While weight loss surgery is publicly perceived as an easy fix to obesity Ms. Bailey maintains the struggles after surgery challenge the vigor of even the most dedicated individual. As WLS becomes more readily available patients are finding there is a lack of long-term aftercare and support from bariatric centers.

The LivingAfterWLS.com site is complimented with daily blog. The blog, livingafterwls.blogspot.com offers readers the chance to comment or leave feedback about fresh content added daily. This site contains success stories and recipes as well as general information and WLS inspired topics. Complementing the site is a monthly newsletter titled ?You Have Arrived? available exclusively to people who subscribe through the website or the blog. The path forward includes community forums, nutrition and fitness tracking tools.

Ms. Bailey makes her home on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains with her husband of eight years who has been her consort in life after WLS.