Q: What is the recommendation for the use of drinking straws? 

A: The use of drinking straws can be highly debated. Some say: Avoid them. Why? It is easy to inhale too much air when using a straw for consuming water, and can consequentially cause gas. Others say: Use them. Why? Patients have said they can drink a significantly greater amount during the day with the use of a straw.
 
A hot topic on our online forums has been about Camelbak water bottles. The apparatus utilizes a pressurized straw system, eliminating air from being inhaled while drinking.  Many patients rave about the Camelbak, claiming that despite past problems of drinking enough water, when using a Camelbak they now exceed 64 ounces a day.

From the Orem Support Group, BYU football player Parker Mangum focused on finding your motivation for exercise, deemed as your “why” for being physically active.

We so often view exercise as something painful, difficult, sweaty, and energy-depleting, when, in fact, it can be quite the opposite. When you find your “why,” exercise can become meaningful, enjoyable, and energy-building. Here are some of the following “why’s” of fellow RMAP patients: 

• Be healthy enough to play with my kids
• Live a healthy life to see my children grow up
• Lower my blood pressure, pulse, and cholesterol
• Lose more weight
• Increase muscle and muscle tone
• Be a good example to my children
• Help clear my mind and focus on eating healthy 

Despite common stigmas, exercise does not have to be an arduous ordeal: We feel we must always dress in the appropriate gear, drive to the gym, run myself ragged on the treadmill, and drive back home. Exercise can be simple, quick, and just as beneficial.

Try this: Finish your dinner, stay in the same clothes, grab your children or your dog, and walk for 30 minutes in your neighborhood. When you come back home, the last thing on your mind is food, and it will promote a better night’s sleep.

If walking is not your Modus Operandi, find an activity that works for you: swimming, or even walking in a pool, running, water aerobics, join a city league softball team, rollerblading, riding a bike, or using an arm “bike” machine. After you have exercised, do you ever regret it?

Brian Sabey, a Physical Therapist, from the Salt Lake Orthopedic Clinic at Support Group in Salt Lake City, mentioned that if you do even 20% of the ideal amount of exercise, you still achieve 80% of the benefits. That is a pretty good rate of return!

Parallel to weight loss surgery, exercise is a lifestyle change. It is not a crash diet, or a temporary fix. Find a routine that is enjoyable and can be maintained for life. Strive to find your motivation, your “why” for exercise. If you struggle with that task, fake it ‘til you make it.

Enjoy this journey.

Thank you for visiting Rocky Mountain Associated Physicians’ Blog! Here you can find answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and to hear recaps of monthly support group meetings. Our hope is to make the blog another opportunity for you to gain more education, find motivation to continue on with your weight loss journey, and to connect with our office.

Check back often for updates!