Bariatric surgery will impact your daily life – for the rest of your life. You will always need to pursue a healthy lifestyle.
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My weight-loss journey for the long term
Bariatric surgery will affect your daily life throughout the rest of your life. It is important that you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
- “Honeymoon phase”
During the first months after your surgery, it may seem easy to follow the recommendations of your health team. You will not stay too much hungry, and you will eat in very small amounts. It may be challenging to meet your daily food intake requirements. You will be in close contact with your health team. During this period, your weight may seem to decrease rapidly and spontaneously. Many patients define the first year after surgery as the “honeymoon phase”.
Unfortunately, “honeymoon” does not last forever…
It may change toward the end of the first year. Usually, after the first year, the feeling of hunger returns to some degree, the volume of consumed food increases and you may find it difficult to stick to your program. Your diet is essential throughout your journey. However, some patients believe that completing the first year is more important. Following the diet recommended by your dietitian for the long term is very important for maintaining your weight loss for the rest of your life.
Here are a few tips to continue your journey while you are approaching the end of the first year:
Eat solid foods: Patients should eat softer foods after surgery, but you will experience a substantial change in the food amount you eat and your hunger intensity if you do not switch to solid foods. Juicy and crunchy foods transit more rapidly through your stomach and your hunger quickly returns back which leads you to eat more.
Limit carbohydrates: With time you can start adding carbohydrates in reasonable amounts to your diet. However, you should be very careful. Some patients add cereal for breakfast, whole grain pasta for lunch or brown rice for dinner. All are acceptable, but it is better to limit your carbohydrate intake to one meal per day.
Protein, protein, protein: Protein is the center of your diet and will always be. You should meet most of your protein needs (60-80 g per day for most individuals) by eating three protein-based meals every day. Eating solid protein is an effective way to meet your protein needs and be full for a long time.
Limit snacks: If you prefer snacks, make smart choices. Keep protein-based snacks (cheese sticks, a bowl of yoghurt or nuts) and do not keep unhealthy snacks at home. This will satisfy you and prevent you from overeating until the next meal.
Keep an eating diary: When you take notes about what you eat, you will become more aware of what you are eating. It is very easy to eat a few bites of snacks at the workplace, take a bite from your child’s dinner plate, and eat cookies at a social event. You will never remember these if you do not take notes about them. If you feel challenged, start keeping a diary. You will see that you can rapidly identify what you need to improve.
Plan your meals: Planning your weekly meals may help you to control what you are eating and the ingredients you are using to prepare your meals. In busy times, keeping a diary may help you to avoid high-calorie foods that slow your weight loss process.
Drink your fluids: You should always drink 2 liters of fluid every day. Water is the best.
While reading these tips, please do not forget that you do not need to be perfect. Nobody is perfect. It is sufficient that you do not deviate much from the rules. If you drifted a little, put yourself back on the right path again. The more you follow the rules, the more you will be successful!
- Follow-up program for bariatric patients:
Under normal conditions, after the first 6 months, you will have follow-up control visits in the 9th and 12th months. In the second year after surgery, there will be two planned follow-up visits at 6-month intervals. Then, you will have one follow-up visit per year.