Okay... I've Gone Through Weight Loss Surgery, Now What Do I Do?!

Book Summary You have undergone the Lap Band, Roux-en-Y, or Biliopancreatic Diversion with/without Duodenal Switch (BPD). What happens next is up to you. You've been provided with a very powerful tool to help you with your weight loss goals. But how will you make sure you use your tool fully? How can you make sure you are doing what you need to do to maintain your new lifestyle? To help keep you on track early after surgery as well as years on down the road, it is important to find support in others who have gone through the same thing. That's what this book is all about – offering you support. Some of the information in this book is taken from medical books, journals and various websites. But some of the suggestions are from other patients – patients who have undergone weight loss surgery and know what you are going through. You have an opportunity to read other patients' suggestions and words of advice. Before your surgery, you were probably told that life afterwards would be different, especially with regards to eating and drinking. You were given lots of handouts with information. You went through classes on diet, nutrition and exercise. After your surgery, you may start to panic. You have to actually DO what you were taught to do. Suddenly it's not so easy to sip fluids all day long or eat your food slowly. Take a deep breath and relax. Use your handouts and tips from your classes to help you. Use this "support book" to teach you and guide you in your new lifestyle, too. You CAN do this. Are you wondering if it even matters if you follow all those crazy new ways of eating and drinking? Sure it does. Think of your body as a car. Remember when you got your first car? There was a lot to learn about how to take care of it and keep it working properly. If you didn't take care of your car the way the manufacturer recommended, your car would not run properly and you wouldn't get 200,000 miles out of it. It's the same with your surgery. You need to follow your surgeon's recommendations to "overhaul" your body and improve your "mileage." As you read this "support book," you will find that each chapter tackles a specific problem: drinking enough liquids, eating enough protein, taking the proper vitamins, getting exercise, dealing with depression, finding different meal ideas, dealing with problems and complications, and moving forward after your surgery. You are reminded of the lifestyle changes you need to make. But more than that, the reasons behind the lifestyle changes are explained. And you are given specific examples of how to make those changes real in your life. Your surgery is the powerful tool you chose to get you started on the road to better health. But like the engine of your car, your tool can only take you so far. It is up to you to keep all the parts of your "car" working properly. This is your new life and your new lifestyle. Your journey toward better health has begun. Let this "support book" help you continue along the journey, from the first day after your surgery and every day thereafter.