Life After Bariatric Surgery -
Table of Contents
Obesity is a condition characterized by abnormal or excessive fat accumulation. It is a disease that needs a scientific treatment. It is the mother of other diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, hypertension, sleep apnea, infertility etc.
Bariatric surgery involves making changes to your digestive system to help you lose weight. It is done when diet and exercise haven’t worked or when you have serious health problems because of your weight. Anyone above BMI 40 qualifies for this surgery.
Life post surgery-
Post-surgery patients lead a normal life, however, one should expect to have a new lifestyle that combines healthy eating and exercise for a better quality of life. This approach will offer the best chance for success to prevent weight regain and the return of medical problems.
Diet-
After surgery, a specific liquid diet is given where patients are given dal water, plain water etc.
Next comes the pureed diet where everything and anything you eat is blenderized, like dal khichadi, kadhi rice, curd rice etc.
Once your new organ i.e. your now stomach starts to accept food we shift you to a soft diet where you can eat porridge, thick dal, buttermilk, etc.
A high protein diet is recommended to gain muscle mass and prevent weakness.
Make sure that you are well hydrated.
Exercise-
Post Bariatric surgery a person feels 10 times more energetic
Exercise is one of the tools that will help you reach and maintain your best health after surgery.
Exercise helps to-
- Preserve lean muscle mass and muscle strength
- Promote the stability of your joints and enhance the strength of your bones
- Improve the elasticity of your skin after bariatric surgery
- Continue your weight loss after surgery
The best exercises after bariatric surgery include-
- Aerobic exercise, such as walking or biking, to get our heart rate up
Strength training, such as lifting weights or doing push-ups, to help us build and maintain muscle and strong bones.
Other exercise options after bariatric surgery include:
- Brisk walking or fast walking
- Modified push ups
- Light weight training
- Water aerobics
- Swimming
- Resistance band workouts
Brightside of Bariatric surgery-
In addition to weight loss, Bariatric surgery improves conditions often related to being overweight, including:
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Type 2 diabetes
- Gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Osteoarthritis (joint pain)
FAQs -
The answer is not really as long as you follow a well balanced diet along without proper workout regimen you can expect long-term results.
Well, post surgery you become 10 times more energetic and can start walking 2-3 hours post surgery and can start climbing stairs the next day. Within a week you can resume work.
This varies from person to person, however 3 months is the maximum time for you to follow the Bariatric diet. Once your stomach starts accepting food you are back to normalcy.
Post surgery follow ups are very important because the recovery rate of every individual is different. Holistic approach is required to achieve the goal of the surgery. Body needs time to heal and come back to normal physiological state.
Patients are generally expected to visit every 2-3 weeks to understand the transition diet in the initial 2 months.
Once the patient is moved to regular eating habits, it is recommended to come for regular follow ups for a period of 1 year to ensure regular check on body composition as well as dietary intake till they reach ideal body weight and learn to maintain their weight by themselves.
This eases the patient’s journey to adapt to a proper lifestyle.
We at Aastha Healthcare, Mumbai design the diet and workout plan in such a way that patients get all the nutrients from their diet and at the same time they gain muscles. Our team of Nutritionists makes sure that regular follow ups are done.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Manish Motwani, Bariatric & Metabolic Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgeon — Written by Ruchika Bachwani
