On a recent “Question of the Day” social media post we asked “What’s the one thing you quit doing after having sleeve surgery?” and the responses were amazing. The number one answer probably won’t surprise you, after all, it’s the first thing I tell most “sleevers” to give up right away.
So what are these Top 10 things?
Well, I’ll get to that in a minute, but first I want to share with you why my patients feel so strongly about giving up certain negative habits. It comes down to their health and wellbeing. That’s right! They understand that in order to be healthy, thinner and do all the great things they want to achieve in life…giving up on a few things ensures their success.
For some of my close to 11,000 weight loss patients the things they choose to give up were the very things that caused them to gain the weight in the first place. So to them it was not only beneficial but also a great motivator to keep them accountable to living a heathier lifestyle.
Dieting after the sleeve?
Well not so much dieting, just being aware of what you used to consume and think about prior to sleeve surgery. The carbs add up! So, why not just cut them out altogether and give your body and mind a do-over.
If it was easy everyone would be thin and giving up stuff wouldn’t even matter. It takes mental toughness and dedication to self and a desire to live a long and prosperous life.
The Top 10 Things “Sleevers” Give Up…
- Soda – regular and diet
- Drive Up Fast Food
- Bread & Pasta
- Rice & Potatoes
- Caffeinated Drinks
- Processed Cheese
- Alcohol
- Drinking While Eating
- Talking Negative About Yourself
- Overeating
Yup, soda is at the top of the list.
All soda…sugared and diet are equally bad for you. Stick to drinking non-carbonated beverages…preferably more water. Avoid the fast food trap. Sure it’s quick, but most fast food is filled with sodium and preservatives that are not healthy for you. The breads, pastas, rice and potatoes although tasty convert to carbohydrates and turn to fat. The caffeinated drinks (coffees, teas and lattes) prevent you from getting adequate sleep, which is essential to a healthy body. Processed cheese is typically a concoction of milk proteins, fats, oils and artificial ingredients and colors that might taste good, but isn’t good for you. As to alcohol…it increases the total calories consumed, decreases your motivation for exercise and can negatively affect your sleep.
Now to the last 3 on the list… drinking while eating, talking negatively about yourself and over eating. Slow down when you eat. Don’t mix your drinking and eating. Space them apart. Be encouraging to yourself, you have to want it, being healthy is not an overnight thing…it takes time, energy and courage. You can do it. And if and when you get down or depressed don’t turn to food as your comfort…that’s what got you in trouble to begin with. No more overeating.
To learn more about our weight loss service, how bariatric gastric sleeve surgery works, what makes the Endobariatric team so unique and how you can start to benefit right now from all our educational information, I invite you to visit our website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest pages. If you use Snapchat you can connect directly with me (Dr Alvarez) and ask questions, watch behind the scenes video straight from the OR or just see how we snap through the day. My username is: gmoalverez.
