Keys to Success

Success with a post-bariatric surgery diet and lifestyle is ultimately in your hands. In choosing surgery to achieve significant and permanent weight loss your success will directly correspond to your commitment to embrace a new lifestyle change.  You’ve likely already heard a great deal of bariatric surgery information about “lifestyle change”, but let’s break it down and take it a step further.  Here are the fundamentals of what we mean by lifestyle change, and the winning tips and strategies you need to succeed.

Top 5 Keys to a Successful Post-Bariatric Surgery Diet & Lifestyle

1. Eat no more than three meals a day. The body doesn’t need more than three meals a day. Learn to listen to your hunger cues and not the clock. Learn to read the food triggers that govern your impulses and once you understand that, your awareness will be 50% of the battle with your post-bariatric surgery diet. The rest is your motivation and commitment to living a healthier life.

2. Eat protein first every meal – Protein best meets the nutritional requirements of the body, but perhaps even more important to remember is that the solid consistence of most protein will stay in the pouch longer resulting in less food consumed.  It is important to remember that you must stop eating before you feel full as you manage your post-bariatric surgery diet. If you don’t, then 9 times out of 10 you will fill uncomfortable and we do  not want to get used to the feeling nor do you want to resort to patterns of behavior that will relieve your discomfort but also leave you feeling hungry.

3. Drink water –  64 oz. or more is the goal. When we say water we don’t mean soda, coffee, tea or juice.  Avoid drinking liquids with calories. Flavorful liquids increase your appetite and lead to snacking, a bad pattern for your post-bariatric surgery diet. The exception to this is the BariatricSmart® Protein Shakes. Avoid drinking 30 minutes before a meal and 60 minutes after a meal.

4. Exercise Regularly – You may have read other bariatric surgery information or guides which say you don’t have to exercise to lose weight with a post-bariatric surgery diet and lifestyle. That may be true on the surface, but you still want to exercise. First , exercise releases hormones into the body that not only make you feel good, but also help to curb hunger. Secondly, exercise with help your mobility and have residual benefit to just about every major organ in the body. As you progress with your post-bariatric surgery diet, consistent exercise is what will help you lose more weight and keep it off, and live a healthier life.

5. No Snacking, No Snacking, No Snacking. Our brain lives off glucose and oxygen and it remembers how good sugar makes it feel. We can alter your digestive track, but not your eating habits. Snacking is one of the biggest enemies of your post-bariatric surgery diet.

You have five fingers. Use one finger to help you remember each one of these keys to successful weight loss.

If you’re ready to become one of those motivational gastric bypass success stories you’ve seen so much of, then take the next step and contact the New York Bariatric Group at 800-633-8446 today. We’ll provide you with all of the bariatric surgery information you need and help get you started with the process.