5 Weight Loss Surgery Rules that Apply to Everyone – Even You

1. Drink fluids. Drink the fluids your surgeon told you to drink. Drink the entire amount your surgeon told you to have. Have that amount – or more – every single day. Anything low-calorie, non-carbonated, and without caffeine counts, including water, water with flavor enhancers, sipping broth, and decaffeinated low-acid coffee or tea.

Many WLS patients believe that at least 64 fluid ounces means that you’re doing well if you’re getting almost 64 ounces on some days and a lot less on other days. If you are one of them, you are risking poorer weight loss, and, possibly more common than you might think, a trip to the ER for dehydration.

2. Measure your food. Food scale, measuring cups and spoons, or counting from a package, the only way to know for sure how much you are eating is to measure it. Start guessing instead of weighing, and you will quickly increase your portion sizes without realizing it. It is one of the laws of nature.

3. Get help. There is no doubt that you are a strong person; it takes courage and tenacity to commit to bariatric surgery and beyond. Regardless of how well you can do on your own, you can do better with help. Be self-sufficient and determined, but be wise enough to reach out for help to be your very best.

If you cannot even imagine how others might be able to help you, here are some ideas:

• Your medical team for food rules, post-op recovery help, and emotional stress strategies.
• Weight loss pals for accountability, and exercise pals to keep you on track.
• WLS peers for recipe tips, new product sightings reviews, and menu ideas for each stage of the post-op diet.

4. Log your food. You cannot argue with science, and science says that logging your food works better than not logging your food. Logging keeps you honest and keeps you from “forgetting” about the taste here and bite there that add real calories and carbs. Logging takes very little time, especially if you use an app that gets to know your regular foods. If an app is not your cup of tea, a spiral notebook works fine, too.

5. Plan ahead. What do these mistakes have in common?

• You are starving on your way home and know you’ll be sitting in traffic, so you drive
• During your snack attack, you grab the first thing you see: a handful of potato chips.
• You order a veggie burger, thinking it is healthy, and then realize you could have saved 9 grams of sugar and 170 by getting a hamburger instead.
• You order a chicken salad, then realize later you would have done better with a cheeseburger and fries.

Answer: they could have been avoided with better planning. Pack your own meals so you are not stuck going to restaurants. Stash healthy snacks in the car so you can nosh on them instead of whatever the nearest drive-through has. Check the menu nutritionals before ordering or, better yet, before going to the restaurant. Always think ahead so you are not caught off guard.