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Food will not rule your life Once obesity sets in, life is about food, first and foremost. But after bariatric surgery, you’ll see that food isn’t really your ‘best friend’ anymore; it just keeps you alive, nothing more. Get ready to say goodbye to the constant worry about your next snack, next meal or which drive-through you’re going to visit. Going forward, you will learn that food gives your mind and body fuel to perform at its highest level possible. Food is not a crutch or a protector from the challenges of daily life. You’re going to feel so much better Preparation is the number one key to weight loss success. Before surgery, you’ll work with our Bariatric Navigator to start the process of changing what you eat. Go ahead and dump the junk food, the sugar products and empty carbs now. Your body doesn’t need artificially processed foods (nor does your family). After about a week or two of excluding these foods from your diet, you’re going to feel the difference. Read articles, blogs, magazines and books about healthy living. Prepare your body and your mind to make changes toward living a healthier lifestyle. By utilizing all of the resources from our comprehensive bariatric weight loss program, you will have many levels of support and education available to you. You are not alone in this journey Through your surgeon or hospital's bariatric program, you are going to meet people at all stages of the bariatric process. You will garner the tools to live a healthier life and learn how to meet and overcome obstacles. There is strength in numbers so seek out both live and online support groups. Sign up for a few and build relationships with people. You will be as big a help to them as they will be for yo u! Only you can change your mindset about food, exercise and weight The struggle against obesity is not just physical. It’s also mental and emotional. Having the courage and dedication to have weight loss surgery is a strong statement about your regard for your value and self-worth. The battle against obesity is complicated; if you feel you need psychological counseling services, we’ll be happy to provide you with recommendations based upon our patients’ feedback. You will be amazed that you actually like to exercise Once you are eating solid foods again, you can incorporate exercise into your routine, in most cases. Many patients enthusiastically report that weight loss surgery gave them a new chance to reap the benefits from working out. After weight loss surgery, you call the shots about what happens next. How will you reclaim your body, redeem your health, and start a journey toward a healthier quality of life? Discover or re-discover activities that you enjoy—start with walking around the neighborhood; jog/walk on a treadmill while you watch your favorite TV show or play ball with your kids (they will be elated, I assure you). Have you always wanted to hike? Take a water aerobics class? Try Yoga or Zumba? Embrace the new life you are creating for yourself. Dive in, try everything! The battle against the disease of obesity is often in the mind. When you see the physical changes happening, your mental outlook will improve as well. Seize that momentum and go after your goals with everything you’ve got. It’s well worth the effort.

If asked what your long-term weight loss goals are, you would probably give positive, upbeat responses. It would be a shock to hear that your intention is to gain back every pound you lost over the course of the next 5 years. But it happens. Unfortunately, any bariatric surgery fails in the long-term when not followed-up with a weight loss maintenance plan. Persons who fail to make the necessary dietary changes after bariatric surgery frequently regain much of the weight they have lost, particularly around the 5-year mark. Read, “Bariatric Surgery is Just the First Step.” Bariatric Eating Made Simple When we change our anatomy through bariatric surgery, many of those old dietary rules and plans can do more harm than good. For our bariatric tool to work best, we need to be very aware of what we eat to get proper nutrition. There are three simple points that you need for smart bariatric eating. Read, “Bariatric Eating: Getting Back on Track.” Drinking and Eating after Bariatric Surgery How long we should wait before and after eating to drink again? There’s a lot of confusion around drinking and eating after bariatric surgery. It’s important to separate fact from fiction when it comes to drinking and eating after bariatric surgery. Get the Top 5 Tips in “Eating and Drinking Do’s and Don’ts.” Push Back Against Emotional Eating Emotional eating is an attempt to erase discomfort with food. Many people use food to relieve stress only to find that it is not much of a solution. Emotional eating will not provide the long-term remedy we want. We need to shake off failed habits and try something new. Read, “Steer Clear of Emotional Eating.” Bariatric Eating: The Bottom Line Knowing what we need to do can quickly overturn the impulse to do what we want to do. We can reprogram our conditioned responses to food, which likely led to us being morbidly obese, with new positive bariatric eating habits. Living larger than ever, My Bariatric Life http://www.mybariatriclife.org