Hello Marathon Team,

As our training is becoming more and more intense it’s important to remember to train while avoiding injury. Training errors are the greatest single cause of injuries that prevent people from participating in the half marathon. Undergoing a training injury would be detrimental at this point in your marathon schedule. So let’s take the time to review some overall errors you can prevent.

First, is the ‘more is better’ philosophy in which you are building too much mileage too rapidly to the schedule. The second is inconsistency in your training schedule. Most of you have overcome the ‘more is better’ philosophy since our first group meeting.  However, inconsistency during your crossing training and rest days can be just as damaging.

Inconsistency: It’s important to not miss several days of training in a row and then jump back into your training schedule. If you have to miss days for work or other personal reasons, be sure to build up your mileage and hopefully you can catch back up. However, we don’t recommend missing any scheduled training sessions.

Not Following the Training Schedule: It’s important to not complete two hard workouts back to back. Follow the training schedule provided with included rest days to be sure your body is functioning at a proper pace.

Not Listening to your Body: Be sure to take the time to listen to your body and adjust your training accordingly. Although, we want to be rigid with training we also want you to be aware of your body’s needs.

Be aware of the warning signs: If you suspect you may have an injury, be sure to take the time to get it checked out. Training through injury will only worsen the potential problem.

Lack of Hydration: Staying hydrated is key, be sure to read our post about hydration.

These are just a few tips to help you avoid injury as our training increase and decreases closer to race day. It’s important to listen to your body and pay attention to the natural signals it provides. If you have any sense of injury, stop and consult your doctor immediately before continuing to train.

Safe, Healthy and Happy Training,
GBI Team

Photo from www.watoday.com

A new study found that patients who have lost weight after bariatric surgery breathe easier and take 50 percent fewer prescription breathing medications. The study was published in the April issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

Researchers reviewed the medical records of 320 patients for one year before and after they had bariatric surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The patients filled a total of 324 prescriptions for breathing medications in the year before surgery, and 154 prescriptions in the year after surgery.

We have seen many Gastric Band Institute patients struggle with asthma and other breathing problems prior to weight loss surgery. A great deal of these patients experience a reduction or total elimination of breathing issues after successfully losing and keeping off weight. This not only improves their quality of life, but also cuts down on prescription costs. This is just one of several ailments that we see patients cured of after they undergo gastric band surgery.

– Dr. Darren Soong

In the past few months, more insurance companies have begun adding the Sleeve Gastrectomy as a primary surgical weight loss procedure in addition to the gastric band and gastric bypass.  Sleeve Gastrectomy, also known as the Gastric Sleeve, was specifically designed for weight loss and is a purely restrictive procedure.  The restriction is created by surgically decreasing the size of the stomach by about 80-85%.  United Healthcare, Aetna, and Health Plan of Nevada now allow their covered members to choose Sleeve Gastrectomy, making the procedure more available to patients.  I expect that other insurance companies will soon follow suit. 

In our practice, we see patients who previously would have chosen gastric bypass now opting for the sleeve because of the lower metabolic and surgical complications.  Patients with needle phobia, for whom band adjustments would be very stressful, have also successfully undergone Sleeve Gastrectomy and a few band patients who had chronic problems with their bands have been successfully converted to the sleeve procedure.  The gastric band will likely remain the most popular surgical weight loss procedure because it remains the least invasive and most easily reversible, but now that insurance companies are approving the Sleeve Gastrectomy as well, our patients have even more options and flexibility with their decisions. 

To learn more, sign up to attend one of our free informational seminars.  You can also learn more about the Gastric Sleeve by reading a previous blog I posted on the procedure.

– Dr. Darren Soong