Are You Still Dieting After WLS? Nix Dieting By Eating Healthy!
May 21, 2018When meeting patients for their initial consultation for bariatric surgery one of the first things I tell them is: This is a lifestyle change, not a diet. The word “diet” is often associated with a temporary and often restrictive way of eating.
No Need for Dieting After WLS!
There are so many different diets out there that often restrict whole food groups and promise quick results. The most common reason traditional diets fail long term is because they are not sustainable. Overly restricting calories or cutting out entire food groups can lead to binge eating and develop an unhealthy relationship with food.
The term “yo-yo dieting” refers to the unhealthy cycle of restrictive dieting, quickly losing weight, binge eating, and quickly regaining weight. This cyclic way of eating is discouraging, stressful, unhealthy, and difficult to break out of. Adopting a healthy lifestyle: eating a balanced diet and staying active helps break the cycle of yo-yo dieting and promotes reaching or maintain a healthy weight.
Possibly more important, a balanced diet helps us feel better and have more energy, two things that can’t be measured by a scale.
There is No Reason for Dieting After WLS, Eat Healthy!
What constitutes as healthy eating for one person may look completely different than healthy eating for another person; however, there are several common themes that help people adopt a sustainable, healthy way of eating and nix restrictive dieting all together!
1. Understand Your Hunger
Eating a healthy, balanced diet – whether you are looking to lose or maintain your weight – does not mean you should feel hungry.
Highly processed foods (junk foods) that are filled with added sugars and salt, empty of quality nutrients, and often high in calories provide us with a temporary sensation of fullness, but several hours later it is completely normal to feel an intense return of hunger.
Additionally, research has shown that extremely sweet or fatty foods may affect the body’s hormones, causing us to feel hungrier and crave more sugar, fat, and salt. Don’t let your food choices trick your body into eating more. Aim to eat a plate made of up 80% whole (one-ingredient) foods and reduce highly processed foods.
Pay attention to how your hunger translates throughout the day: how hungry are you before breakfast vs. dinner? Is your stomach growling before each meal or snack or do you have times during the day that you are reaching for food out of habit? Learning how to determine the difference between physical and false hunger (head hunger) is extremely important.
Physical hunger comes on gradually, false hunger comes on immediately; physical hunger is satisfied by food in general, false hunger pinpoints one type of food (sweets, chips); physical hunger is diminished after eating, false hunger is not impacted after eating. Choose whole, unprocessed foods to satisfy physical hunger throughout the day; avoid highly processed foods and understand triggers or situations that may entice false hunger.
2. Consistency is KEY
My best recommendation for patients when they’re struggling to lose weight or break out of the yo-yo cycle of diet/binge is to bring structure and consistency to their eating habits.
Start with picking a time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If the time between your meals stretch further than 4-6 hours apart, plan for a small snack. Plan ahead to take the variability out of food choices or meal times: meal prepping, scanning restaurant menu items, or having healthy convenience foods on hand reduces the chance of making impulsive (and often unhealthy) decisions about what to eat.
Building a habit of healthy, consistent eating helps bring about healthy, consistent weight loss; although it may occur at a slower pace, this type of weight loss is much easier to maintain in the long run.
3. Healthfully Incorporate Indulgences
For most people saying they’ll “never eat dessert again” or dramatically restricting carbohydrates is neither realistic nor sustainable. Depriving ourselves of indulgences, whole food groups, or calories in general typically backfires.
Labeling certain foods as forbidden makes these types of foods all the more enticing and makes it that much harder to say no or stop at a reasonable portion size. It’s important to find a balance between making healthy choices and indulging.
Don’t view indulging as a “cheat” food, rather think of it as a “treat”. Look for ways to choose healthy alternatives of your favorite indulgent foods, or include indulgent foods in small portions a few times a month. Try the 3-bite rule: eat three bites of a dessert then pause, some people have found the first three bites of a dessert are the most enjoyable and often after three bites we are fully satisfied.
If there is a specific food that you struggle to incorporate healthfully, maybe you eat the whole bag rather than one serving, or if it is available you have it multiple times a day, look to find a substitution for that food rather than relying purely on self-control.
4. Set Realistic Expectations, But Don’t Set Deadlines
Setting specific health goals for yourself is a great way to monitor your progress; however, make sure to set realistic expectations with a flexible timeline.
If you want to lose 25 pounds and lose 4 pounds in the first month, that is great progress. Setting unrealistic deadlines can be discouraging, making it that much harder to stay motivated to make healthy choices. Additionally, everybody is different, which means one person’s timeline may not be consistent with another’s. The only person you should be comparing and competing with is yourself. Whatever your health goals are, aim to be healthier this year than you were last year.
5. Do What Is Best For You
What works for one person may not work for you.
There are so many different ways of eating: paleo, low carb, vegan, ketogenic – to name a few. Rather than jumping right into a strict diet plan, start by making small changes towards developing a healthy way of eating that works for you. Think broadly about ways to make your food choices healthier – increase fruit and vegetable intake, cut back on processed and packaged foods, aim to include a lean protein at every meal. Continue adding or improving healthy habits to create a healthy eating plan that works best for you!
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anna Johnson RD, is a registered and licensed dietitian who specializes in bariatric surgery, Orbera weight loss program, and weight management Bariatric Innovations of Atlanta. Anna received her bachelor’s degree in Dietetics and Nutrition from the University of Kentucky, and completed her accredited dietetic internship through University of Kentucky’s Coordinate Program. Anna has over 3 years of experience as a nutrition expert, both in clinical and outpatient nutrition. |
