Healthy Habits Following Bariatric Surgery

So, you have made the decision to have bariatric surgery, had your operation, followed the very low-calorie diet provided by your dietitian and have had great success in losing weight – fantastic! However, for this new weight to be sustainable you will need to ensure that you are following a healthy diet and lifestyle for the rest of your life.  

Today we have put together some healthy habit tips that are consistently followed by people who keep weight off long-term after bariatric surgery:  

1. Meal routine – people who succeed in long-term weight loss have regular meal times that they follow most days. Having a regular meal pattern helps you manage the food that you consume throughout the day/week/month and can contribute towards long term weight loss. The best meal pattern to take on is that of 3 meals a day without snacks in-between. Aim for five serves of vegetables per day across your meals.  
2. Walking – although walking may not be an aerobic exercise, aiming for 10,000 steps a day can go a long way towards weight maintenance. Try taking the stairs instead of the lift or elevator, jump off the bus or train a stop or two earlier to help you get those steps up and your heart rate going. Simple changes like that can make a big difference.  
3. Breaking up sitting down time – leading on from the last point, if you find yourself sitting down a lot then making an effort to move around and break this time up can help boost your activity levels and work towards maintaining weight loss.  
4. Avoiding snacking – snacking following bariatric surgery is the commonest reason for significant weight regain, as calories consumed by snacking throughout the day can quickly add up. Many items consumed between meals such as fruit juice and milky coffees need to be viewed as snacks as they are higher in empty calories than what people think. If you are hungry and need to eat between meals make sure that you are having something high in nutrition. Many snack foods can be swapped for fruit, nuts or just a glass of water. Be careful not to eat or drink something because you are bored, stressed, or because it’s there. Those sorts of habits may have contributed to the creation of your weight problem originally, and unless you develop a strategy to help limit calories between meals you may likely go down the path of weight gain. 
5. Always check the labels – make sure you are frequently checking the calories, sugar and fat content of food. This will help you to become more aware of what foods are higher in calories and therefore should be avoided or consumed less frequently or in smaller portions.  
6. Smaller portions – just because your meal is healthy doesn’t mean that you can consume large portions or that a large portion is necessary. Try using a smaller plate when you’re eating and waiting for ten minutes before deciding you’re ready for seconds. You will often find that you are easily satisfied with smaller portions and this helps long term weight loss.  
7. Think before you drink – unfortunately so many drinks in our daily lives carry a lot of hidden calories; for example, ‘healthy smoothies’ can be packed with calories, as can soft drinks and coffee. Try to stick to water, limit fruit juice and soft drinks and avoid alcohol where possible.  
8. Mindful eating – finally one of the habits of healthy people who maintain their weight loss is mindful eating. Slow down when you are eating your meal and enjoy it, consider how you feel and when you feel that you are full and satisfied. Make sure you sit down to eat and don’t ‘eat on the go’. If you are distracted, you can easily find yourself overeating or eating the wrong things.

If you are considering bariatric surgery and would like to discuss it further then please contact our team on 02 9553 1120. Or if you have already had bariatric surgery and are struggling with managing your new lifestyle then please get in touch and we can see how we can help to get you back on track.