Self-Care After Bariatric Surgery, Learning to Treat Yourself Better!

PHYSICALLY

Taking care of yourself physically means more than going to the gym, being active and getting in those steps. Taking better care of yourself physically means from head to toe.  Taking care of your hygiene is imperative to better self-care. Take time to primp and pamper yourself.  Take care of your skin, your teeth, your hair and everything in between.

EMOTIONALLY

Your emotions are going to feel like you’re playing an intense pinball game that you are trying to reach the highest score.  We get so used to suppressing our emotions with food that when the food is no longer a coping mechanism, we aren’t prepared to deal with our emotions in a constructive way.

Start early in your journey finding coping mechanisms for emotions that you aren’t used to feeling.  Anxiety, stress, sadness, and excitement are all emotions that would send us right for the yummies.  Don’t run from your emotional self-care, tackle it head-on and arm yourself with alternative activities or positive sayings that will help you work your way through different emotions.

Keep a journal as well.  Writing out how you feel, what triggers those emotions and how you were able to cope with them will be a good tool to have to refer back to in the future.

MENTALLY

This new lifestyle is going to be really tough at times.  You are going to stumble, you are going to be discouraged and you are going to be frustrated at some point in your journey.  Your mindset is just as important to your success and self-care as everything else you are working on.  Excuses are no longer an option and justifying bad behavior can’t be your initial reaction.  You are going to be part of a community that requires a tough mental outlook and you need to make this a priority in order to be successful.

Where do you find you have the toughest time when it comes to working hard?  What excuses have you made for yourself in the past when a diet did work out?  Find your inner coach and remind yourself that you can do anything that you set your mind to…now set your mind to it and do it.

PERSONALLY

Your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship you will ever have.  After weight-loss surgery, you need to take time for yourself to re-learn who you are.  You spent years building the person you are and much of that is entrenched in your weight.  Once the weight isn’t the focus of your own world anymore, you deserve to take the time to re-learn yourself, who you are and what you want out of life.  You have a whole new life to live and you are the most important person in that life.  Like any new relationship, it is going to take time and dedication to grow into something beautiful.

Taking care of yourself after weight loss surgery is more than just doing what you think you need to.  Your success after weight loss surgery also requires you to take care of yourself from head to toe, inside and out.