Weight Loss Surgery Program
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Tools for lifelong success
Eating habits and nutrition
- Restrict portions to the size recommended. Stop eating as soon as you feel full or as soon as you have eaten the recommended portion size.
- Eat slowly, chew thoroughly. Slow your eating to only one bite per minute and chew small bites of food. Sip liquids between meals.
- If you dine in others' homes, simply explain your situation. Don't overeat out of kindness to others — do what's right for you.
- Always eat off of a small plate. This will help to keep your portions small.
- Developed exclusively for bariatric surgery patients, view the Lifelong Vitamin and Mineral Recommendations.
Exercise
- Be active. Begin gradually to incorporate exercise into your day. We recommend you begin with walking, gradually building up to three mile walks.
- Make exercise fun. Participate in new activities like swimming or an exercise class. Exercise is the key to getting an optimum result from your gastric bypass surgery.
- Consider joining MeritCare's Lifelong Fitness Program.
Attitude
- Focus on your strengths and emphasize them. What do you do well? What do you enjoy?
- Set realistic goals — and reasonable plans for reaching them.
- Engage in meaningful work, activities and connections with people. Spend your time doing what brings you joy. When possible, weed out those negative activities and obligations.
- Focus on positive thoughts.
- Attend the Bariatric Surgery Support Group
Stress management
- Pay attention to your stress level. When you notice symptoms of stress such as headache, tense muscles, fidgety sleep or snapping at loved ones, step back and take a deep breath.
- Set limits. Learn to balance the needs of others with your own. Learn to say "no" to those things that interfere with your goals.
- Know ahead of time what you will do when a food urge strikes, whether it's an urge for a specific "problem food" or a desire to binge. Come up with workable plans of action so you can successfully deal with these moments.
- Get adequate sleep. When you feel refreshed and alert, you're better able to tackle problems.
Caring for your spirit
Peace of mind is something we all desire, but how do you get it? Religious practices, meditation, prayer, journal-writing — these are just a few of the ways you can care for your spirit.