It may surprise you to consider the behaviors you need to change in order to ensure successful post-surgery weight loss. Seemingly inconsequential daily activities and mind-sets can actually hurt your ability to lose weight and lessen the success of your weight loss surgery.
- Keep it clean: Remove all foods from your home that you should no longer be eating and that present strong temptations for you. Then, stock up on healthy snacks that are appropriate for after your surgery.
- Put it in writing: Keep a journal of every single piece of food you eat. You can also track the times you eat and your emotions before, during, and after eating. Then, look through the journal and try to identify any dangerous habits you should break.
- Give yourself an alternative: For some of us, stress, boredom, loneliness, and sadness result in overindulgence. Write a list of all the activities you can do by yourself and with others when you have these feelings that will help you avoid eating when you shouldn’t. Be sure to keep the list on your refrigerator for inspiration.
- Control your shopping: Prepare your meal plans and grocery list in advance, and when you go grocery shopping, buy only those items that are on your list. Try to shop after a meal so that you’re not hungry when you go in—this will help you avoid tempting foods and impulse buys. If your grocery store has regular sample days or times, try to avoid them.
- Set goals: Set goals for both your short-term and long-term weight loss. Write them down so that you’re firmly committed to them. Always make sure your goals are reasonable.
- Break bad sedentary habits: While we’ll deal more with activity changes on the next page, they still bear mentioning on the behavior modification list. If you tend to be a sedentary person, you need to begin being more active. Limit the amount of television and computer time you allow yourself each day and start to take part in more active endeavors. You will not only increase your weight loss, but you’ll also lower your blood pressure, reduce your risk of blood clots, and reduce your stress level.
- Learn how to handle slips: If you fall off the wagon and cheat, stop before you have finished. Taking a few bites of something bad doesn’t commit you to complete follow-through and consumption of the entire portion. Also, don’t just chalk it up to a bad day that’s already ruined. Instead, set a game plan for making up for the slip with your eating and exercise that day.