So you’ve had weight loss surgery and you’re satisfied with the results. Now it’s time to think about your lifestyle and how to achieve “energy balance”. Energy balance is key to building realistic lifestyle habits that will keep weight off for life. Because, let’s face it: Losing weight after bariatric surgery is easy but keeping weight off is hard. And weight regain is the very worst thing for someone who’s overcome morbid obesity.
First, the most important step is your commitment to maintain a healthy weight for life. Learn how to do this along with the vital habits you must integrate into your lifestyle if you are to keep weight off for life:
How to Keep Weight Off for Life!
1. Focused exercise
You must maintain some discipline following weight loss surgery. Not only with what you eat and drink but also with your general health and wellbeing. Focused exercise is one way of doing this. It keeps your physical body active and reduces cravings.
Focused exercise doesn’t have to mean running a marathon or sculpting your body. It means a dedication to an active lifestyle that suits your priorities and health goals. Your focused exercise can be at home or in the gym.
2. Everyday exercise
Everyday exercise is a little different. With focused exercise you have a dedicated time and place for working out. You might also have a personal trainer or an app you follow to stay motivated and committed. Everyday exercise is less formal.
Rather than jumping in the car to go shopping why not bike there instead? If biking isn’t possible then at least park at the rear of the lot. That way you get in more steps walking to the store entrance!
Rather than surf the net why not take a walk? Get your family into the habit, or take along your dog or a walking buddy to make it more fun!
Take the stairs at the office instead of the elevator. Walk the long route to your next meeting rather than a shortcut. Step lively and pick up your pace!
Everyday labor like washing clothes is good exercise, too – BTW if your washer isn’t working get parts here.
3. High protein diet
Once you’ve hit goal after bariatric surgery you no longer need to lose weight. So what you’re aiming for with a post-surgery diet is energy balance. What that means is you want your calorie intake to exactly match the calories you burn. And a high protein diet can help.
This is because protein makes you feel fuller. And protein reduces cravings for snacks and high-fat foods. It also increases hormones in your body responsible for weight regulation.
4. Weigh yourself often
Weight management is like any other form of economy. Your finances, for instance, are concerned with money in and money out. And your household energy is all about how much you consume versus what you need to consume – this can be monitored with a smart meter.
A smart meter for the body is a scale for weighing yourself. When you weigh yourself regularly you can make informed choices about diet and exercise habits to maintain “energy balance.”
5. Prepare for setbacks
People are prone to catastrophizing. When we have precious goals and aims that go awry for some reason there is a tendency to think of the worst possible outcomes. The trick is to prepare for them before they happen.
Setbacks are inevitable. There will be times when you could have made better choices and will feel bad about that. It might be an unhealthy craving or a skipped workout. Try to minimize the setback and follow up with more positive actions. Stay the course and don’t let the setback derail you for more than a single day. Otherwise you’ll begin building unhealthy habits that won’t keep weight off for life.
Living larger than ever,
My Bariatric Life
