March 2021
Jacqui Lewis - BHSc Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine
Energy and Fatigue After Surgery
After a weight loss surgery, it is natural to experience fatigue and weakness because your body now absorbs nutrients differently. But with a holistic approach to your health, you can easily get back to your energetic self.
Do you wish you had a better SPRING IN YOUR STEP after WLS? Here are some tips to follow.
5 Things to Do so You Feel Younger, and Beat Fatigue
There are a range of things that might be at work when you’re feeling tired and flat after WLS It's always recommended you bring this up with your professional team to work through any underlying causes, and outside of that, here’s 5 things that might also be sucking the life out of your day.
1. Lack of Protein / Carbohydrate
After WLS your needs for protein are upward of 70-80g daily. So falling short will have quite a few repercussions - Lack of energy, loss of strength, and impact on the production of hormones and neurotransmitters that will regulate metabolism, energy production, and hormone balance.
Be sure to include at least 25g of protein in every main meal and snacks should be 10-15g protein as well to reach your target.
Carbohydrates create a good fuel source in the body, and removing carbs from your diet can lead to a feeling of fatigue and irritability because your brain prefers to run on glucose.
Make sure each meal has some kind of slow-burning carbohydrates like brown rice or pasta, sweet potatoes, or rye sourdough bread.
Quick hits like white pasta and bread are a recipe for elevated hunger later in the day, as well as a “mid-afternoon slump” and should be avoided.
2. Malnutrition / Malabsorption
After Gastric sleeve and bypass surgery, there is a range of nutrients that are poorly absorbed, so daily supplementation is key - this is why Bariatric Specific multis are the only ones that fit the bill for you now you are consuming a lower volume of food, as well as malabsorptive effects of the surgery.
B12, Iron, Magnesium, B6 Folate, and a range of other nutrients contribute to the chemical reactions needed to create a good supply of energy each day, so eating “the Rainbow” lots of different coloured foods and taking your multi are key to maintaining your “Nutritional Fitness” will be a good place to start with creating a ready supply of energy.
3. Lack of Exercise
When we feel flat, sometimes exercise is one of the first things we cross of the “to do” list. Too tired to get to the gym or go for a walk, when this could actually be the key to better energy production and feelings of vitality.
Start with a 20 min walk each day and work up from there.
The research shows, that the goal of reaching 10,000 steps daily not only improves your mental health but has far-reaching effects on your sympathetic nervous system, making “rest and digest” or relaxation and digestion and elimination much more efficient.
Reducing stress and being more active is always going to lift your spirits and your energy levels.
Start with a 20 min walk each day and work up from there
The research shows, that the goal of reaching 10,000 steps daily not only improves your mental health but has far-reaching effects on your sympathetic nervous system, making “rest and digest” or relaxation and digestion and elimination much more efficient.
Reducing stress and being more active is always going to lift your spirits and your energy levels
4. Stress
The number one contributor to overwhelm and fatigue is poor stress management.
If you are continually feeling like a deer in the headlights for whatever reason, this is a good indicator you are being drained of vitality. High-stress states do come and go, and our body is made to manage these.
Long term low-grade stress is more insidious and can become the seat of many health issues such as depression, muscle wasting, anxiety and burnout. If you find you are stressed more than you are in control, it's a good time to seek some support - Psychological intervention is a key to gaining insight into the way we deal with stress, and provides some fantastic tools to support you on the way to a happier and much healthier way of life.
5. Poor Sleep
Poor sleep quality interrupted sleep, and once again, nutrition can affect how we rest.
When you are under-rested, we start the day behind the 8 balls!
Lack of sleep is classed as an “inflammatory state” and means we are stretching most systems in the body as a result.
Foods That Beat Fatigue
You are what you eat - so don't be cheap, easy, or fake! Remove packaged foods, processed meats and pastries, and simple carbs like white bread and pasta.
Make sure your day is full of the following foods when you are focussing on boosting energy and fighting fatigue!
Unprocessed foods, Fruit and Vegetables, Grass-Fed Meats and Chicken, NON-caffeinated beverages, Whole Grains, and Complex Carbohydrates Nuts and seeds, Bananas, Oats, Iron-rich foods
Jacqui Lewis
BHSc Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine
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