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It’s time to go over 2 MUST HAVE habits after weight loss surgery! No matter which surgery you choose, Duodenal Switch, VSG, Bypass etc, there are two actions you must always follow. They may seem minute. Not everyone does this permanently. You should though! These are two practices that back up the basis of weight loss surgery and help you stay successful and healthy for a lifetime.
There’s always the dreaded regain you hear stories of (I share my #1 tool to combat it below). I promise! If you are thinking of weight loss surgery or already had it, you will have the plethora of people who are going to be sure to tell you about stories of regain from people they know (and how you probably will lol). In fact, regain is very possible if you only make short term changes. Weight loss surgery is a tool only. In the first year after surgery, it is important to build lifelong healthy habits.
I personally had VSG 3/25/19. Have I experienced regain? Yes, I have. I know a lot of WLS patients that do. Regaining and re-losing is part of the experience. We are all human, and all have things that come up. I have a whole routine I get into when I need to get myself back on track. I rely heavily on the support of my fellow weight loss surgery communities (join my Facebook support group here). I dig back into my favorite book for inspiration! And then I dig back into meal plans with recipes from this book.
The 2 Habits After Weight Loss Surgery To Follow:
- Chew your food 30 times before swallowing
- Wait to drink 30 minutes after you eat.
Here’s why:
1.CHEWING at least (or as close to) 30 times for each bite serves two HUGE purposes. First, this slows down your eating. Doing this reduces the amount of food you will eat. Next, after surgery, you need to prepare your food for your stomach. You do this by chewing many times. You have a much smaller pouch after surgery and that pouch needs all the help it can get digesting.
2. Waiting 30 minutes to drink after each meal is also crucial in staying full longer. The longer you stay full, the less you eat. When you drink with food in your stomach, the fluid washes the food through the stomach faster than intended. We want the food to stay in the stomach as long as possible, to keep us full as long as possible. I have a youtube video you can click here to watch that shows a demonstration of this.
How these habits can help with Regain
Regain is something a lot people can deal with after bariatric surgery. This surgery is a tool, not a magic trick so think about it realistically. You are aiming for long term success and with that in your life comes ebs and flows. If you gain some weight, you can still recover. I am two years plus out from VSG now and have had time where I’ve gain some and lost some. This will be my life from here on out. My main concern is never getting back to my presurgery weight!
How I Combat Regain!
This is not just a method I use to lose weight, I also use this to get my body back in check. When I have eaten a little too much or my body feels sluggish and heavy I often reset it with Intermittent Fasting. There’s TONS of info out there on Intermittent fasting but if you want to see a whole compilation of information squeezed into one quick and easy packet I’ve put it together for you here.
SIDE NOTE:
There is one expense I have kept for myself continually since 2 weeks before surgery. I don’t normally do this kind of thing or even brag about these things to others but this one i just have to. If you are on this post because you are about to embark on weight loss surgery (or you already have), you deserve the best advice. I am 16 months out from surgery and 100 lbs down! Yes, you read that right.
I preach a lot on self care since weight loss surgery. Mostly because I lost myself for so long and gained it again since my surgery. My surgery was a wake up call to never forget little things for myself again. Maybe 1 small thing a day, a week, or a month adds up to big changes in the end! Never forget that!
So here’s my secret: I am a budget mom through and through. I don’t have tons of extra money to spend on myself but I have found different ways to put aside $10-$20 a week for myself to add up to this expense. About once a month, I order about $60 worth of products from Thrive Market.
Yes, there are some products at Thrive that you can find at grocery stores, BUT there are a lot that you will not for various reasons (whether not local or just sold online). Thrive lets you shop by Diet, shop for clean wines, shop for bath and beauty products, or snacks. And allllll of them are as clean as clean can get! That’s what I love about them. You don’t have to do the research for good, clean products, they are all in one affordable place for you!
Click below and check them out now, for a short time you can get a phenomenal deal of a $20 shopping credit! I originally started out buying collagen peptides and my soups from them.
Go Forth And Prosper
Now that you know these two must-have habits, don’t underestimate them. I fall off the wagon and put myself back on over and over because I’ve seen the difference for myself. Building these lifelong habits can be two HUGE tools to help you achieve lifelong success after weight loss surgery! Be the difference for yourself!
Related Posts:
10 Best Pureed Recipes After WLS
Top Items Needed For Pre Op Diet
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