Whether from first hand experience or from what I have seen.
None of these should in ANY way be considered medical advice or taken as gospel. YMMV!!!
That being said, I do think most of these points are important to know and/or at least think about before your weight loss surgery (WLS).
You can see me mentioning most of them in my regular blogs.
Things to do before
- Exercise Before
- Having a solid base of at least limited exercise will help in recovery.
- Walking, lifting, and stretching are good for you.
- Help develop the habit before makes it easier to keep the habit after WLS.
- Take Photos Before
- Get a distinct background (I used a crafting board that had 1" squares) and hang it behind you and take all pics with that.
- Go down to underwear/swimwear and always wear the same style so pics are easy to compare.
- Mark the spot for the camera and try to keep all of them consistent for distance and location.
- Continue taking pictures at regular intervals in the same poses (front/back/left/right/face) for comparison.
- Get a Good Body Impedence Scale Before
- This scale will measure not just weight but body fat, muscle, water, and body composition.
- This will help in keeping track of what exactly you are losing, fat, muscle, or just water.
- Take Measurements Before
- Measurements all down the body, chest, around chest/arms, nect, sternum, waist, hips, thighs, bicep, etc.
- Put them in a spreadsheet to compare.
- Continue taking measurements at regular intervals in each location.
- Talk to Your Family Before
- Let them know you need to prioritize yourself during recovery and in the future.
- Try to work out ways they can be part of your new lifestyle.
- Know that you need to take care of yourself in order to take care of them.
- Sometimes you might need to eat a different meal than they do or at different times.
- Talk to Your Work Before
- Let them know you need time for recovery and plan out what you can or can't do during your recovery.
- Let them know once recovery is complete that you should be healthier and a better worker.
- Let them know that you won't need any special care after your recovery.
Things to know about after your surgery
- Exercise is CRITICAL to weight loss
- You CAN walk and exercise within days after surgery. (work with your doctor to be safe but you can)
- You are going to lose as much muscle as fat and exercise can limit muscle loss.
- Muscle will help your body work with your system to increase fat loss.
- You will be COLD all the time
- Hands will feel cold and sometimes ache.
- Summer will be easier to deal with but you have to be careful in keeping hydrated.
- Winter can be painfully cold for you and you might even wear jackets/hats inside even if others are ok.
- Your taste in food will probably change
- Some things you enjoyed before might taste bad now.
- Some things you didn't like might actually be good now.
- Some items might not be edible anymore
- Some people can't eat beef or other meats anymore.
- Breads, while potentially edible, are very filling and will limit nutrient dense foods you NEED to survive and thrive.
- Some foods will have consequenses
- High sugar items WILL cause you GI issues.
- High fat items might cause issues.
- Drinking too close to meals will HURT and can cause you to get sick.
- You WILL need new clothes
- Plan on using those clothes you had in your closet for years that you hoped you could get back into.
- Unless you can afford it, plan on just buying some stuff at used stores since you can lose size out of them before wearing them a second time.
- Clothes will look funny on you at times due to loss.
- Use your comparison pictures on those days when you feel fat in your clothes.
- Using a nice outfit is a good reward and can make you feel very good when you can finally wear it.
- Protein is your friend
- Not getting enough protein will have multiple bad consequenses.
- You are going to lose more muscle than you should.
- You will have a harder time with energy and motivation.
- You will have a harder time not eating as much or snacking due to your body craving food.
- Protein has multiple benefits
- You will keep more muscle in your rapid weight loss period.
- You will feel better and have more energy.
- You will be able to do more exercise which will help your body shape, confidence, and overall fitness.
- You will have plateaus and pauses in your journey
- You will have some weeks that you won't lose anything and other weeks you will lose a lot, expect it.
- Weighing yourself daily can become a source of mental stress if you don't lose daily or gain on any given day.
- Use your weekly weigh ins as a trend analysis versus an absolute value.
- Your body analysis and measurements are more important in the long run than just your actual scale number.
As I think of more things, I will update this post.
If you can think of something I should note here, let me know.
Again, this is my personal views and should NOT be considered medical advice.
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