Alex Brecher

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.

Having a smaller stomach pouch after surgery makes it a challenge to get in more veggies. Veggies you can sip instead of chewing to applesauce will make it easier to get in your vegetables. Think about blending veggies with protein powder to help increase your protein intake. Focus on non-starchy veggies. There are several ways you can sip your veggies.
One way is to experiment with blended smoothies. A blended smoothie has 3 main parts: fresh or frozen produce, ice cubes, and a base. The base can be water, milk or yogurt. For bariatric patients, a base can also be protein powder or ready to drink protein shakes. You’ll need a good blending machine like NutriBullet, Ninja or Vitamix. Look for a blender with at least 1000 Watts for best results. Next time you make a protein smoothie, throw in a handful of raw spinach or kale, cucumbers, shredded purple cabbage, frozen veggie blend, fresh herbs or something from your garden. Fruits are often a part of a smoothie, but you will need to calculate the carbs to stay in your carbohydrate goal.
Another idea is to make a non-alcoholic Bloody Mary. Stir a tablespoon of unflavored protein powder into 6 ounces low sodium V8 vegetable juice. This V8 is a blend of several vegetable juices. Throw in dashes of lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, stir again and the pour over ice. Unflavored protein powder can be added to vegetable soups. Sprout’s has unflavored whey protein powder in the bulk bins, which is a way you can test taste this protein without buying a large canister. One tablespoon provides 10 grams of protein. If you use whey protein isolate, remember to keep it under 140o F. to prevent the protein from curdling. Healthy sipping!

It takes a lot of work for you prepare for and recover from weight loss surgery, and to continue to lose weight and get healthy. With all that focus on yourself, it sounds strange that you could be neglecting yourself, but it often happens. If you do not work on strengthening your self-respect, self-confidence, and self-love, you may not be as successful in your weight loss surgery journey. Here are some easy tips for building a little rapport with the most important person in your life: you.
Recognize Your Greatness
You would do everything you could to recognize the good things about someone else if you were building a relationship with them, and you can do the same for yourself to build your relationship with yourself. It can take some practice to get into the habit of recognizing your good qualities and your good choices, so get started! Don’t forget to appreciate:
Every milestone, whether a weight loss milestone or a non-scale victory. Each good decision you make, such as packing a lunch instead of leaving it to chance. How energized and proud you feel after eating right and exercising. Your new inner strength for recognizing what’s important – your health – and setting aside what’s not – a few moments of short-lived gratification when you visit the drive-through. Your efforts and resolution – because what you are doing is not easy! Reward yourself when you deserve it
Little gifts can make your appreciation seem sincerer, and motivate you to keep up the good work. Give yourself treats regularly to reward yourself for any progress you made, or “just because.” A night curled up with a box of pizza is no longer an option, but there are plenty of far better ways to show yourself “I love me!”
A massage or spa treatment. New workout clothes or other new clothes. A new app or fitness monitor to motivate you and show your progress. A morning sleeping in. Getting your house cleaned. A makeover or parts of one, such as a new haircut or different color nail polish. Be Your Biggest Supporter
Consider what a supporter does, and figure out how you can be your own biggest one. It can take some effort, such as planning ahead to pave the way for healthier choices, such as packing breakfast the night before so you do not go through the drive-through, keeping a pair of walking shoes in the car so you can grab a walk anywhere whenever you have time, and putting each of your surgeon appointments and support group meetings on your calendar so you cannot forget.
A supporter is also your biggest advocate. Speak up for yourself when needed, whether it is to tell the server at the restaurant that you need smaller portions and you would like the sauce on the side, or whether it is to tell your mother that you are doing this surgery for yourself because you need to. Your advocacy may include being firm with the surgeon about your preference for the surgery type you want.
Don’t Deprive Yourself
Telling yourself “no” constantly is no way to build a loving relationship! Grow the love by giving yourself treats. Just make sure they are on your diet. You might end the day with some Protein Cocoa or Chocolate Caramel Crispy Bites, sneak in some BBQ Zippers for an afternoon crunch, or greet the weekend with Protein Pancakes and a Protein Omelet. There are plenty of recipes online for healthy alternatives to favorite comfort foods from pizza and fried chicken to ice cream and brownies.
Balance Tough Love with Forgiveness
Honesty is the foundation for any strong relationship, including this one. Call yourself out when you make a decision you’re not proud of or you find yourself slipping into a slump where the scale starts creeping up or sweets start sneaking their way into your diet.
At the same time, realize that you will not be perfect, and accept that fact. Develop a plan for when you catch yourself off track. Your plan will probably include recognizing your mistakes, forgiving yourself forb them, considering what led you to make them, and resolving to fix them.
Build a stronger relationship with yourself, and you are setting yourself up for better success in the short and long terms. It takes some practice, but the results are well worth it.