Getting Back Up – Bariatric Edition

Newbies don’t want to hear about it and those that are 9 months out of their bariatric surgery don’t believe it will ever happen to them….what am I talking about ???  falling off the wagon or getting out of healthy habits or allowing bad habits to creep back into our lives….  

It happens to everybody so let’s not believe that everybody else (except for us) is having a perfect post op diet and eating a serving of protein and a serving of veg and a serving of heathy fat at each and every meal or snack.  This is just not how post surgery life looks.  Sometimes we are cruising along and losing weight or maintaining our goal weight and then it happens …. chocolate cake, or the drive thru, or the chips or whatever it may be.  

It starts with a “treat” and then that treat turns into two treats and before you know it, you are a bit “out of control” with your disorganized eating.  Let’s be realistic – this is just how we are programmed.  The difference between a “little slip” and a full blown “regain” is how fast we can get things back under control.  A slip or a regain doesn’t mean that you cannot take the reins and get under control again !  You can and let’s talk about a few things that we can do to step off the carbohydrate merry-go-round and start to lose weight again.

Failure is not falling down – it is staying down.  

Carbs Carbs Carbs !  How many of you think that regain happens because we eat too many eggs ? or too many chicken breasts or too much avocado ? or broccoli ?  TRUTH-BOMB now … Regain happens because of carb-creep.  It starts slowly with one cracker or one slice of toast with peanut butter and honey or just that one french fry.  You add 1/2 a bun back on your hamburger – how much damage can a small soft pretzel do ? Pass the chocolate cake please. 

This is how it happens.  You eat the refined/ processed carbs and sugar and then it spirals out of control.  It’s not your fault.  It is our biology and our physiology and if we eat sugar and carbs, we will crave sugar and carbs.  We need to get our blood sugar under control if we are to get our cravings under control. 

Step away from the REFINED CARB – drop the bagel and pick up a scrambled egg with half an avocado.  I promise you that you will feel better after only a few meals.  That’s how to get off the “carb”age and get back to the bariatric lifestyle.  

Don’t beat yourself up.  Just make the next meal bariatric friendly.  Sugar and refined carbs are not your friend.  They are the “bad friends in the playground” and they lead you to bad places.  We need to focus all of our energy on positive stuff and don’t waste that on “should have, could have, would have”.  Your greatest glory is not going to be “100 lbs gone forever” … it is going to be rising up and taking control once again if a regain occurs.  

Surround yourself with positive people.  You’ve got this.  Your surgical tool is still intact. Don’t throw in the towel.  Dust yourself off and get back on the horse.  

I am your biggest cheerleader.  Be strong.

About the Author: Sheri Burke is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.  In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.

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