Getting bariatric surgery is a lifesaver for many people. It can dramatically improve the quality of life of those that are having problems because of their obesity. It reduces and even eliminates diabetes in many people and seriously reduces the risk of heart disease.
The weight loss can be dramatic as well. Starting almost immediately after the surgery, the pounds fall away with ease. This rapid weight loss needs to be accompanied by some discipline, however. Although the results of the surgery are generally positive, there will be changes to the lifestyle needed to make sure that the surgery has a chance to work.
In this article, we will go over several of the changes so you know what to expect when you have weight loss surgery.
Exercise
Getting regular exercise after the surgery is going to give you a lot of important benefits. Weight loss is good to help reduce the effects of diabetes and other diseases, but exercise is essential in building back your immune system and improving your health across the board.
What kind of exercise you do will depend on how soon after the surgery you do it, how much you weigh, and what your doctor recommends. For instance, weight training is very good at building muscle that will allow you to keep losing weight and get your blood pressure under control. However, when you’ve had a gastric sleeve bodybuilding can be a challenge so you’ll need to make sure that you are not trying to do so too soon after surgery.
Make sure to start out slowly so you don’t end up with problems with the surgery itself. It’s recommended to not over-exert yourself for at least a few weeks after the surgery. You can begin by taking some walks as soon as you feel up to it. This will get the blood flowing in a gentle way and also aid in burning calories which will speed up the weight loss.
Getting exercise is an important part of the process as it encourages long term weight loss that is permanent. Often, when people get surgery the effects are short lived when they don’t add exercise into the treatment.
Nutrition
Unfortunately, getting bariatric surgery doesn’t mean that you can now eat everything you want, only that it will be in smaller portions. You have to be very careful about the types of foods that you eat as some will not only cause you to gain weight but will also cause health problems due to the surgery.
Sugary foods and lots of carbs are going to have to be avoided as they are empty calories. It is advised to eat more lean protein but there still needs to be some distinction about which ones.
For example, meat will need to be easily chewable and digestible. This is why steaks are going to be problematic. Beef is much better eaten when it is ground up like in a burger patty. Otherwise, things like chicken breast and eggs are the ideal protein to eat.
