Achieving Long-term Success Following Bariatric Surgery

Success on the Long-Term (After Bariatric Surgery)

Bariatric surgery is only the first step in your weight loss journey. Achieving long-term success after bariatric surgery takes much work in various areas to ensure that severely obese patients lose a sufficient amount of excess weight and ultimately do not regain weight to avoid health issues.

The Tijuana Bariatric Center staff is dedicated to giving patients the tools they need to achieve long-term success following bariatric surgery. Our doctors and support staff in Tijuana, Mexico, help guide weight loss patients through the entire process, including what to expect following the procedure and during recovery, along with how to maintain a healthy weight after all types of metabolic and bariatric surgery. Undergoing one of our bariatric procedures puts you on the way to better health, but patience, proper dieting, exercise, and various forms of support, are all important elements you must maintain to achieve long-term success.

Maintaining a Healthy Diet

Following your weight loss procedure, you must have a solid plan to maintain a healthy diet of the right foods. At Tijuana Bariatric Center, we provide dietary guidelines before surgery to help you lose weight and reduce your body mass index (BMI) to make the procedure safer and prepare you for significant weight loss afterward. Long-term success depends on your ability to follow bariatric dietary guidelines. While patients must understand the different types of food they should eat and what nutrients can help achieve a healthy weight, meal preparation and planning are equally important. Some techniques and practices that can help you to stay consistent with your diet include the following tips.

Measuring Portions:

To maintain sufficient calorie intake and avoid nutritional deficiencies, use a scale to measure portions and ensure you are not overindulging. Those who have undergone bariatric surgery have stomachs that are about 75% to 80% smaller, so they must be mindful of portion size. Not paying attention to portion size will lead to weight loss failure. Many patients lose weight quickly in the weeks after they undergo bariatric surgery, but as time passes, they can begin to slip up as they return to a more normal diet.

Surrounding yourself with positive influences that offer motivation and emotional support can help guide you throughout your weight loss journey.

Keeping a Journal:

Keeping a journal to record planned meals and the meals you have eaten can help you maintain your routine and have a reference when meeting with your nutritionist and support group. Food journals can help those with severe obesity avoid bad eating habits while also using them as a tool to determine if portion sizes have become too large when a weight loss plateau occurs. They are vital for severely obese patients who have suffered in the past from a binge eating disorder.

Eating Slower:

Chewing food thoroughly will help bariatric surgery patients minimize the chances of digestive issues and allow your stomach to break down the meal properly. Slow eating will allow your brain to realize when your stomach is full and reduce caloric intake so you can lose excess body weight.

Maintaining an Exercise Routine

Following weight loss surgery and once cleared by a doctor, bariatric surgery patients must begin and maintain a regular exercise routine. Most patients with morbid obesity must start slowly by walking daily and increasing activity as the pounds diminish. Incorporating daily exercise will not only help you reach your goal weight but will also help you stay motivated once you have reached it. Regular exercise is essential to help avoid obesity-related comorbidities like sleep apnea, heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. If you feel you are beginning to lose motivation, the routine is becoming dull, or if you have hit a plateau where excess weight loss has slowed or stopped altogether, try adding more variety and intensity to your exercises.

A Healthy Lifestyle Includes More Activity

Formal exercise is not the only way to increase your activity levels to lose weight. Try the following to increase your caloric expenditure:

• Standing instead of sitting whenever possible in waiting rooms, stores or at work will help you burn calories.
• Wear a pedometer and challenge yourself to reach a certain number of steps each day and gradually increase the level over time.
• Active hobbies like gardening, hiking, or bicycling are enjoyable ways to increase activity.

These strategies can help patients develop a healthy lifestyle more suited to weight loss after undergoing bariatric surgery. Remember that significant changes often start with small steps. Seemingly small changes like these can help you a great deal as you strive to overcome severe obesity after weight loss surgery.

What Is the Success Rate of Bariatric Surgery?

Research shows that most patients undergoing bariatric surgeries manage to keep off most of their excess body weight ten years after their surgical procedure. Small amounts of weight regain after roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery or gastric sleeve are normal and expected. However, some patients experience unsuccessful weight loss after purely restrictive procedures like laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. If you have done everything right and have not experienced sufficient weight loss, consider exploring other types of weight loss surgeries that may help you reach your goal.

A Strong Support System

Dramatic weight loss and reduction of body mass index is something that takes consistency, patience, and dedication, as well as a healthy lifestyle. However, it can take an emotional toll on some obese patients, making the experience difficult. During this time, a network of family, friends, support groups, personal trainers, and professional nutritionists can help most patients during this time. Surrounding yourself with positive influences offering motivation and emotional support can help you remain dedicated to your weight loss journey. Your chances of maintaining a healthy weight also increase when you have the proper support.

Maintaining Long-Term Success

At Tijuana Bariatric Center, a qualified team member will guide you through your surgical procedure and provide you with the tools and information you need to achieve weight loss success. Whether you need more details on a proper post-bariatric surgery diet, tips on healthy habits, or what you can do to prevent weight gain following your bariatric surgery, our team of specialists is available to help. To learn more about the long-term success of excess weight loss, contact us today at 1-800-970-0577.