If you’re considering weight loss surgery as the next step in your health journey, you may have already tried common weight loss methods such as calorie counting, restrictive diet plans, and exercising. You may have started these plans with the best intentions, only to gain the weight back. For individuals struggling with obesity, diet and exercise is often not enough and leads to dangerous yo-yo dieting.
Weight loss surgery, such as the gastric sleeve, gastric band or Lap-Band™, and mini gastric bypass surgery are proven to promote healthy and sustainable weight loss. While the process of losing weight from bariatric surgery requires several steps, you can expect significant weight loss over time, along with renewed confidence and feeling healthier.
The First Month Immediately After Your Weight Loss Surgery
As with all procedures, results don’t happen overnight. It’s important to allow your body time to recover from surgery, which means following the advice of your AfterCare Success Team. For the first four weeks, you need to rest and avoid strenuous physical activity to ensure your stitches have time to heal. However, light activity, such as walking, is generally fine. You will also need to follow a special diet during this time, which will include a period of liquid meals, and then transitioning to soft, pureed foods.
One to Three Months After Your Weight Loss Surgery
During this time period, you will have transitioned back to a diet of solid foods. Everyone’s transition back to solid foods will be a little bit different, and your dietitian team will be available to help you every step of the way. Generally, introducing solid foods back into your diet shouldn’t take too long, but there may be some foods you tolerate well right away, and some foods you need to re-introduce more slowly. During this time period, it’s also important to work with your dietitian team to understand proper portion sizes. Remember: after bariatric surgery, your stomach will feel full after consuming a smaller amount of food. This means that you shouldn’t eat the same portion sizes that you consumed before surgery, otherwise you will halt your weight loss. This is also a good time period to introduce regular exercise into your routine to enhance your weight loss and healthy lifestyle, such as regularly walking outdoors or on a treadmill, stretching, yoga, and lifting light weights.
Six Months to One Year After Your Weight Loss Surgery
By this time, you will have lost a significant amount of weight, especially after the one-year mark. You will feel more comfortable with your new knowledge of portion sizes and what a healthy bariatric lifestyle looks like. You’ll also have a renewed sense of confidence in the way you look, and some of your weight-related health conditions may have dramatically improved or gone into remission.
How quickly you lose weight will depend on the weight loss surgery procedure you choose and your weight pre-surgery. Other factors that will affect your weight loss include closely following your meal plan and exercising regularly. You may want to boost your exercise routine at this time to include more challenging activities, if your physical strength and endurance have increased. Your Aftercare Success Team of dietitians and post-op nurses will help you monitor your health and weight loss progress, and advise you on the next steps if you feel your weight loss has slowed. It’s normal to experience bumps in the road as you recover and adapt to your new lifestyle, which is why the aftercare team is available to you after your weight loss surgery. We’ll walk you through all the steps after your bariatric surgery and help you overcome challenges that pop-up along your road to wellness.
SmartShape: Mini Gastric Bypass, Gastric Sleeve & Lap-Band in Ontario, Canada
At SmartShape, we understand that losing weight and transforming your health can feel like an overwhelming process. That’s why our AfterCare Success Team of registered dietitians, nurses, and expert bariatric surgeons will be with you every step of the way. You’ll have access to the team for after your surgery. They’ll provide the advice, support, and cheerleading you need to feel confident in your recovery and reach your health goals.
If you’ve struggled with yo-yo dieting or failed diets for years, weight loss surgery such as the gastric sleeve, gastric band or Lap-Band™, and mini gastric bypass surgery might be the right choice for you. You can achieve sustainable and long-lasting weight loss with SmartShape in Toronto, Canada. We’ve worked with thousands of Canadians across the country to help them lose excess weight and reach their health goals.
Are you ready to learn more about weight loss surgery options, like the gastric sleeve, gastric band or Lap-Band™, and mini gastric bypass surgery? Explore our weight loss surgery procedures and read about our patient success stories to see how weight loss surgery can transform your life. SmartShape offers weight loss surgery in Ontario for patients across Canada, including Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and surrounding areas.
Book a free virtual consultation with one of our weight loss surgeons to learn more about which procedure is right for your unique needs.