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Tag Archives: preparing for weight loss surgery

Mentally Preparing for Weight Loss Surgery

Posted on March 02, 2020 by

Getting your mind in the right place before undertaking any weight loss plan is a good idea but it is especially important when considering a surgical weight loss procedure.  Awhile ago, I interviewed Dr. Dawn Reese for one of my podcasts.  We’ve transcribed the recording to post for you today.

Dr. Clark:  “Dr. Reese, tell us a little bit about your background and how you got involved with me.”

Dr. Reese:  “Thanks for having me back. I love being here. I love talking with you. We’ve been together now about 10 years. I met you in the hospital and we talked about doing this. I have a PhD in clinical psychology. My specialty is behavioral health (health psychology). I try to help people live healthier lives and do more with their lives then what they want. When you and I first met we talked about what you wanted to do with these surgeries and medical weight loss program. That was right up my alley. We can help people live healthier and take better care of themselves. This is what we need to talk about today when getting ready for surgery or a medical program.”

Dr. Clark: “We have to change our mindset. What do we need to work most on when we start contemplating a weight loss plan or having surgery?”

Dr. Reese: “People have to take care of themselves first. That’s the biggest thing with all of this. That’s the umbrella that we’re going to put everything else under. You have to start taking care of yourself first and start thinking about yourself first. One of your goals for weight loss is to change your mindset. How are you going to view yourself differently? How are you going to view yourself as a priority?”

Dr. Clark: “That priority and that mindset are very important. Eighty five percent of my surgical clients are women. They’re often worried about taking care of everyone else first.  They put themselves on the backburner. We need to start planning for shifting that mindset before surgery. Make yourself a priority.”

Dr. Reese: “We start people having a mind shift (fake it til you make it).  For example, you start using the smaller plate. Join the gym. I had a patient come in to my office and tell me he was going to join the gym after surgery. I told him we were going to start tomorrow. You start doing these things now and behaving as if you’ve started your medical or surgical weight loss. Think about how you’re going to plan and cook differently. Get mentally and behaviorally prepared.”

Dr. Clark: “A huge part of this is planning. You alluded to this when talking about the person going to the gym. You need to start implementing that plan even if you’re not able to do much at the gym. Get comfortable with walking in the gym and walking by the class you would like to do. Watch it for a couple minutes. Setting that time aside makes it much more likely that it’s going to happen afterwards. We want to develop skillsets before and after surgery. It could be eating skills or activity skills.”

Dr. Reese:  “Planning is going to be key. How are you going to live your life differently? What are you going to change every day in your life so that you make yourself a priority? Make a list of what your goals are for that day. Preparing people around you is important. If you’re the cook of the family, how is that going to change? Mentally prepare on how this is going to impact other people and how that will make you feel. We have a joke in psychology:  it doesn’t take 20 days to create a habit. It takes a little longer than that. Getting mentally prepared and behaviorally implementing it is so very important. For anything, planning is the key.”

Dr. Clark: “If my norm is getting together with my best friend on Friday nights and going to a movie, that might also include getting a big bucket of popcorn or other snacks. That’s a great part of life. We want to keep doing it, but we have to change some of the aspects. It isn’t that simple to make that change.”

Dr. Reese: “What you’re talking about is really important in terms of mentally rehearsing.  You can imagine yourself at the movies but not having that popcorn.  How is that going to look? How is that going to feel? When we are preparing athletes for an event, we have them imagine themselves in their role.  If you’re an offensive lineman in football we have you imagine doing what you’ll be doing on the field before you even go on the field. That’s a great thing we can do here. How is it going to be Friday night at the movies? What is that going to look like? Mentally rehearsing is wonderful.”

Dr. Clark: “You have to mentally walk yourself through daily situations. Most of us have a routine we go through. I have a routine. I get up in the morning and shower and shave. I can literally write it out. What I find is that if my routine gets thrown off, my whole day starts to fall apart. I might have just told a patient who just had surgery to change their routine. You then have to think about how that will change everything else in your day. A lot of times people don’t think about a disruption or change in schedule. Then, when their routine changes (which causes stress) they revert back to old comfort levels. What does a person do?”

Dr. Reese: “You’re absolutely right. It’s stressful when we don’t have a normal routine. When people get stressed, we’re going to fall back into old patterns. We go back to things that are comfortable to us. We have to start planning. We need to think about what it is that we’re going to do even if we get stressed. How can I not fall back into that pattern and admit to ourselves that it happens? It’s not bad. It’s not good. It’s not anything. It’s just what happens. It’s not a failure. If you plan for it, you’re less likely to fall back into old patterns. You’re more likely to be able to get a new routine going.”

Dr. Clark: “You want to practice these things ahead of time so you’re ready for surgery. It sounds good and you have your plan in place. However, sometimes things don’t work out quite like we want them to. What you do is discuss how to handle things at this point. A major part of what you do is help people figure some of this out. What do we do? How do we change? It really still goes back to the mindset. This is a lot of what you do, right?”

Dr. Reese: “Absolutely! We want you to be successful. If you’re going to start a behavior change, especially weight loss, we don’t want you to be a failure.”

Dr. Clark: “The big message here is changing that mindset. We want to plan for it and practice it ahead of time. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about having surgery or starting on your weight loss plan. Things have to change. Change will never occur if you don’t actually change. You can’t wait for change to happen to you. You’ve got to be an active part of all this. Typically the change that happens to us is usually not a good change. We would like to be an active participant. We really want you to think about that message.”

How do I prepare for weight loss surgery?

Posted on April 16, 2018 by

sands of timeHow to best prepare for weight loss surgery is one of those questions that might not be on the top of your list, but will contribute to your overall level of success.  As you know, weight loss surgery is an important decision.  If you are adequately prepared, your level of anxiety will decrease and you will be better able to manage the changes required of you after surgery.  In addition, with preparation comes confidence.  This is a great trait to have as you embark upon this remarkable journey.

So how do you prepare for weight loss surgery?  You will want to ask questions.  You will want to make sure that your bariatric surgeon/center has a very thorough educational process in place prior to and after surgery that addresses nutrition, behavior modification and fitness.  These three components are critical to long term success.

You may only be thinking short term.  Let’s face it, you are really busy and have many obligations at home, at work, with school and with friends that take precedence over your needs.  It’s easy to tell yourself “I will figure this out” but it is a lot easier if you have a support system in place at home and with your bariatric surgeon/center prior to surgery so that you can better manage any surprises that may come along the way.

If you have already decided to have weight loss surgery, you will want to think about the positive changes you want to accomplish.  Often people view surgery from a number perspective (i.e. how many pounds they would like to lose).  Weight loss surgery is about so much more than that.  It is about enabling yourself to accomplish things that might not have been possible in the past.  It is about having an exciting life.  Life you can experience to the fullest extent.  It is very important to think about (and document) life goals related to your weight loss.  Then you can celebrate the positive changes transforming your life.  Some of the “dreams” that people have shared include:

  • Walking up the stairs or to the corner of their street without getting short of breath
  • Playing with their children or grandchildren
  • Crossing their legs
  • Painting their toenails
  • Stop worrying about being able to fit into a chair at a public place or worrying that it will break when they sit on it
  • Fitting in a bathtub and having water on both sides
  • Shopping in a store for regular sized people
  • Riding a bicycle
  • Returning to a productive lifestyle
  • Stop worrying about going to a restaurant that might only have booths or chairs with arms on them
  • Going to a movie and fitting into the seat

Take some time to identify your “wish list” and document it.  Then spend some time getting your mind and body ready.  In the weeks or days before surgery, you need to consider yourself in training.  Just as athletes prepare for a race, you can prepare yourself to be in top form for surgery.  When you actively get your body and mind ready you likely will:

  • Have fewer complications from anesthesia and surgery
  • Be able to cooperate with necessary treatments
  • Heal faster and feel better quicker
  • Have better control of your pain

There are some very specific things you need to do to be in the best shape possible.  You need to begin these things as soon as possible.  We know that the very worst time to try to learn things is right after surgery when you may feel foggy from anesthesia and uncomfortable from your operation.  Learn and practice these things now so that you will be able to help yourself after surgery.

  • Focus on healthy eating. The better nourished you are, the more quickly your tissues will heal.  Healing is WORK for your body.  Good nutrition helps you tolerate the stresses on your body and to offset limits on food and fluids right after surgery.  Weight loss prior to your surgery can decrease your risk and improve recovery time after surgery.  This is why you should incorporate your new eating plan and individualized weight loss counseling prior to surgery as a part of your overall plan.  Consult your bariatric surgeon for specific options for weight loss prior to surgery.
  • If you are a smoker – QUIT! Even a few weeks of not smoking increases the safety of anesthesia.  You will not be allowed to smoke while hospitalized.  You will need all your oxygen for healing.
  • Build your exercise tolerance. Toning your muscles and building your strength will help you bounce back quicker.  Walking is a perfect exercise for you prior to surgery.  It is normal to feel a little weak after surgery, but you can reduce this by toning up with daily exercise.
  • Exercise your lungs! Practice your deep breathing.  After surgery you will be encouraged to do this.  Expanding your lungs helps your system get rid of anesthesia drugs quickly, helps prevent pneumonia, and speeds oxygen to your tissues to help you heal quickly.  You will also FEEL better.
  • Move your legs to prevent blood clots!!!! After an operation, the best exercise to help your circulation and reduce your chance of blood clots will be walking!  The nurses in the hospital will get you up after a brief recovery period following surgery.  Once you go home, follow the specific discharge instructions set forth  by your surgeon.  In general, you should rest as needed but also get up and walk around as much as tolerated.  You can do these exercises in bed or sitting in a chair during any rest periods.
    • Lying on your back in bed, “walk” your feet toward your body until your knees are fully bent. Tighten your abdominal muscles while you do this.  Now let your legs slide gently back to the flat position and repeat this four more times.
    • Lying in bed or sitting up, point your toes as if you were trying to bend your foot backwards. Hold for the count of five and relax.  You should feel a “pull” on the muscles in the front of your legs.  Next point your heels away from your body, tightening your leg muscles.  Hold for the count of five and relax.  You should feel this pull in the back of your legs.  Repeat the pointing exercises 5-10 times.

If you have decided to have surgery, you also need to focus your mind on a good outcome.  You are the most important player in this team effort, and much will depend on your ability to fully participate.  Your feelings and thoughts will play a very big part in your recovery.  Reassure yourself that the best people, equipment and techniques are supporting you during surgery.

Finally, if you have decided to have surgery, a good way to prepare is to use the power of your relationships to gather a support group.  Enlist family and friends to help you keep your spirits up.  Let friends and neighbors help with chores and meals.  We all do better when we know we are supported by people who care about us and are cheering us on. Don’t underestimate the power of your emotions.  Positive thinking is the biggest help you can give yourself.  Think hopeful, optimistic thoughts about the experience ahead, and start NOW!

If you do all of these things, you will be best prepared for a positive experience and outcome.

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Mentally Preparing for Weight Loss Surgery

Posted on January 15, 2014 by