Your WLS Journey Continues Beyond Weight Loss: 8 Tips To Stay Successful

STAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR SURGERY TEAM

Most WLS programs have you make a commitment to return at a minimum annually for labs and check ups. Your team should be the FIRST place you go for guidance or help. Don't be afraid to call them. When you come home from the hospital, you might have questions or uncomfortable feelings as you heal. They are the specialists. They know what you're going through and they can help. As you go along with recovery, you may have nutritional questions that can be answered with a visit or call to your surgeon’s nutritionist. Or you may begin to uncover some emotional issues that you need to talk through. Again, call your surgeon’s office! They will always be your long-term support system.

TAKE YOUR VITAMINS

Begin your daily affirmations with vitamins! They are nothing to take lightly. Your surgeon will give you their recommendations for daily vitamin intake. Early on you may have to take chewables or ones that dissolve in water. A few months post op and you can swallow pills more easily. Everyone's different, choose vitamins that work for you and you will take religiously! I suggest you contact Bariatric vitamin companies and sample their products for flavor, texture, and ease of use. I went through 3 different brands before I found my favorites!

PROTEIN FIRST

For those of us post-ops, we all know the struggle right after surgery to get in our daily protein requirements. We all began with protein shakes. As you begin to heal from surgery, your doctor allows more food choices into your day. But your focus will always be “protein first”. Protein is vital to help you maintain muscle mass. It also helps you feel full longer by managing blood sugar levels. Follow your surgeon’s recommendations for daily protein intake.

DRINK YOUR WATER

Immediately after WLS, my surgeon said I needed to drink 64 ounces per day. I could barely get down 20 ounces…it's a real struggle right out of surgery, but you will eventually reach that goal and even more depending on your activity levels. I drink about 100 ounces daily in addition to any protein shakes or other liquids. Change it up a bit, add lemon or other fruits to flavor your water.  Once you make water a habit, you'll realize when you are missing your mark. If you are a Gastric Bypass post op, you will struggle with constipation if you don't stay hydrated. So make water a top priority.

EXERCISE

I can't express how important exercise is to your long-term maintenance program. I'm not saying go out and become a body builder. Start slow and just move. Maybe you are not very mobile and need to use a chair to lift your legs and arms to the beat of the music. Maybe you're already an active person and hit the gym on a regular basis. Either way, get moving! For those who don't have access to a gym, no worries! There are many exercises that use your own body weight in the process. Additionally, adding weight resistance (dumbbells, kettlebells, weight machines) will help you add lean muscle that burns more fat!! Find a workout buddy to help you stay accountable. Join a yoga or Pilates class. Buy some roller skates! Recently I bought a hoopla hoop. And guess what, at 55, I can still rock that hoop!!

CELEBRATE YOUR “NON-SCALE” VICTORIES

If there's one thing I want each of my readers to remember, happiness does not come from the scale. Yes, you will see that number get smaller, BUT, the best of moments are those that come from putting on smaller sizes, enjoying activities you could not do before, sitting more comfortably in a chair, walking by your thinner self-reflection in a store window, your aches & pains are disappearing, you've stopped snoring (thank goodness!!), you're off all medications, friends, and family are exclaiming how you look amazing…and the list goes on! These are the moments that last.  The scale losses will eventually cease and that's when you need to remember it's just a number. So much more matters!!

BE AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHERS

When I was an early post op, I sought out other long-term WLS patients and learned about their successes and setbacks during their journey. From them, I've learned to modify old recipes and have learned tons of new ones. I've received inspiration and praise from them too.  I have an

On-line accountability partner and we connect regularly via email or text. We help one another and lift each other up when we need some encouragement. Find someone that you can laugh, celebrate and even cry with. These WLS sisters & brothers are a true lifeline!

As a direct result of my successful weight loss surgery, I have gone back to school to become a Certified Personal Trainer. I plan to specialize in working with pre & post WLS patients. I know the struggles and I can relate!

ATTEND PERSONAL GROWTH EVENTS

Last year I attended my very first ObesityHelp 2-day conference. What an amazing, empowering event!! I met people from all over the country, talked with lots of WLS related suppliers, brought home a ton of samples and best of all, I felt like I belonged here. There were so many discussion groups and seminars, it was like they designed the event just for me! So if you have an opportunity to attend these types of events, DO IT!