Unfortunately, it is often not possible for patients at the border of obesity to get rid of overweight and co-morbidities brought about by being overweight, with behavioral changes. Surgical intervention is one of the biggest and most productive steps that patients take for themselves in order to get rid of excess weight and metabolic syndrome.
While trying to solve all these problems and not actually finding a way out; The thought of having surgery settles in our minds. However, we carry this thought on our back with excess weight sometimes for years because although we are physically ready, we also need to feel ready psychologically.
Here are four important things you need to do to feel psychologically ready before weight loss operations such as sleeve gastrectomy;
1. Let’s Start With Realistic Goals
One of the first and most important items is to be aware of the post-operative process as well as the operation and to start with realistic goals. It is important to remember that this is a process and the operation is the most important and first name you take for your own health.
As your stomach volume shrinks, the amount of food you take will decrease and weight loss will occur. We should know that this weight loss may vary according to the metabolism and initial weight of each patient, and we should base our expectations on realistic goals in line with the weight loss goals that the surgeon has set for you.
2. There Must Be Someone To Support You Throughout The Process, You Are Not Alone
Having someone to support you in the post-operative process makes things easier here as well as everywhere else. You can start the process with someone who will support you in order to stay motivated, assuming that this is a process while losing weight, and that we may have ups and downs. It is very important that this is a journey that you will progress with a team work, not alone. You can stay motivated throughout the process and apply the rules correctly and completely, in contact with your doctor and his team.
3. Changing Eating Habits And İmproving Our Relationship With Food
Although our shrinking stomach and decreasing appetite hormone may help, improving our emotional bond with food and changing our eating behaviors are necessary in order to achieve your weight loss goals successfully. The main cause of obesity in most patients is the eating habits that deteriorate under stress. I will talk about this subject in detail in my next articles, but one of the important things to do before the operation is to be aware of our emotions while eating.
4. To Understand The İmportance Of Physical Activity
Physical activity is an important detail that every individual cannot (!) find time for between their daily routine work. In today’s conditions, especially after the pandemic, home-office working options, which have become well established in our lives, increase inactivity even more. In order to lose weight in a healthy way during the weight loss period, it is necessary to adapt the movement, which is an essential need, to the daily routine.
The common sentence that almost every operated patient says at the end of the process is “Why did I think and wait so long? I wish I had had the operation before.’ You too, can put an end to your struggle with obesity, which has become a cycle, by paying attention to the items I have mentioned in. Don’t wait to say “I wish I had an operation” instead of saying “I wish I didn’t waste time”…
