Bariatric Surgery – Support, Image and Motivation

After weight loss surgery, the number one goal for patients is to stay on the path to losing weight. There will be many distractions trying to make your motivation plummet, such as financial stress. Even if some of their bariatric surgery expenses are covered by their insurance, they will still have to pay for their dietary supplements and future cosmetic surgeries. They will also have to pay a price in the psychological effects before and after the surgery. Before surgery, a morbidly obese patient may have a hard time convincing herself that she can follow and stick to her doctors’ guidelines. After surgery there is no going back, and patients may feel more pressure than ever to not fail.

Staying motivated to get the proper exercise and proper nutrition needed to lose weight can be challenging. For some it is a mountain of responsibility and sometimes requires support online or joining support groups. These support groups can make a world of difference, and doctors will often require patients to join these groups before surgery. Support groups help patients deal with the bodily change they will experience or are experiencing.

Makeovers can be great things, but they come with a flurry of effects on the psyche. Support groups will encourage and motivate, helping shape a once fragile and susceptible mind into one rich in self-confidence. As bariatric patients go through the period known as the “rapid weight loss” period, they must accept the changes in their bodies by making additional external changes to their lives. First, they must recognize the importance of the changes they are making. Often the years before the operation and the years after the operation are considered “two separate lives.” While friends and family may stay the same, the successful post-op years should really be about a different lifestyle. There must be a behavior modification. This modification will help address the years of emotional damage that being overweight can cause.

For example, let’s say that depression is a side effect of a specific obese person. After bariatric surgery, obesity disappears by a miracle of science, however, there is no such miracle to quickly heal depression and emotional damage that still persists. This is the purpose of being surrounded by well-wishers who share each other’s circumstances, so that you can encourage each other through positive reinforcement.