6 Steps To Maximize Your Success After Weight Loss Surgery

If you’ve decided to pursue bariatric surgery, congrats! That’s a huge step towards a healthier future. However, your work toward achieving a healthier weight has just begun. Sandra Wischmeyer, DO, bariatric surgeon at Franciscan Health Michigan City, shares six tips to help you maximize success after weight loss surgery.

Step 1. Follow Your Post-Op Care Instructions

Depending on the type of weight loss surgery you undergo, you can expect to spend one or two nights in the hospital. After surgery, patients often experience pain and nausea. Your care team can use medications to help control these symptoms.

“Within four hours after your surgery, you can expect to be up and walking,” explained Dr. Wischmeyer. “Moving around can help eliminate gas pains that often come with surgery.”

If you are uncomfortable and don’t feel like getting up while in the hospital, do your best to take little steps and continue to work with your care team to follow their recommendations. Remember that they’re on your side and everything they ask you to do is for your benefit and to help speed up recovery. When you are discharged from the hospital, you will receive detailed instructions on the next steps, including when to return to daily activities.

Step 2. Follow Your New Bariatric Diet

While in the hospital, you will drink non-carbonated, decaffeinated clear liquids. These include water, decaf tea or broth. Once you can drink 40 ounces, you can go home. After you’re home, you’ll continue a clear liquid diet for a week. Afterward, you’ll go on a completely liquid diet and gradually progress to soft foods. You’ll work with your bariatric team to develop a meal plan that meets your needs.

Step 3. Keep Your Post-Op Appointments

You will have regularly scheduled follow-up appointments with your bariatric team in the months and years after undergoing surgery. During these visits, you’ll undergo blood draws and have essential lab work. Bariatric patients commonly experience vitamin deficiencies, so your care team will keep a close eye on these levels so they can correct them if needed.

Most patients are seen at the following post-op appointments:

• 10 days
• Three weeks
• Six weeks
• Three months
• Six months
• 12 months
• 18 months
• 2 years

Beyond two years post-op, you’ll see your bariatric team once yearly. If you need additional support or start to regain weight, Franciscan’s bariatric team is always available for more frequent support.

Step 4. Celebrate The Non-Scale Victories

Dr. Wischmeyer said one way to maximize success after surgery is to pay more attention to the “non-scale victories” rather than just the number on the scale.

“Pay attention to how you feel, how much energy you have and what you can do now,” she said.

It’s important for patients not to put all of their worth and sense of accomplishment into how much the scale goes down.

Step 5. Join A Bariatric Support Group

Another great way to stay accountable after bariatric surgery is to join a bariatric support group. Whether in-person or online, being accountable to others and sharing your victories and struggles with others facing similar challenges can help with long-term success. It’s often easier to be successful and stick to those healthy habits if you share the experience with a group of people going through similar things, said Dr. Wischmeyer.

Step 6. Talk To Your Provider If You Need Support

“Most people hit their low weight 18 months after surgery,” explained Dr. Wischmeyer.

If you do not see the expected weight loss by then or are dissatisfied with your progress, the bariatric team is open to considering weight loss medicine to supplement your efforts.

If someone begins to regain weight, the team can closely examine your daily dietary and exercise habits.

“It’s not uncommon for previous habits to resurface,” said Dr. Wischmeyer. “The team’s goal is to help you realign with your weight loss goals and maintain accountability for your actions.”

Dr. Wischmeyer also said having a support system, including family, support groups or the bariatric team, is important to help navigate post-surgery challenges.

“It can be exceptionally difficult when people attempt to go through this process alone,” she said.

Franciscan Health offers a monthly bariatric support group that provides a platform for shared experiences and encouragement.

Take The Steps Needed Towards Better Health

If you’ve undergone bariatric surgery, you know it’s a significant step in your weight loss journey. If you’re seeking additional support to maintain your progress or overcome new challenges, Franciscan Health’s comprehensive bariatric services are here to support you. Discover the resources and support available to you as you continue towards a healthier future. Find more information on bariatric services at Franciscan Health.