As you enter another year, you’re resolved to make some definitive changes when it comes to your health and weight. If you’ve been struggling to lose weight, with little success, and you want to explore weight loss surgery, you’re in the right place.
In this month's blog post, our team of experienced bariatric surgeons here at Advanced Surgeons wants to highlight four factors that we commonly see in patients before we perform bariatric surgery. Let’s take a look.
By the numbers
In the United States, nearly 1 in 3 adults is overweight, 2 in 5 have obesity, and 1 in 11 adults has severe obesity. Considering these statistics, the number on your scale, and your body mass index (BMI), your weight may seem like a numbers game. And it is, to some extent.
In general, the recommendations for weight loss surgery include people with a BMI of:
- 40 or higher
- 35 or higher who have an obesity-related condition like diabetes or heart disease
- 30 or higher who have a weight-related medical condition that's not responding to treatment
We want to stress that these numbers are important, but they’re not everything. We take each person’s specific circumstances and health into consideration when deciding the best weight loss path.
You’ve exhausted your options
Another common characteristic among our patients is that they've tried, time and again, to lose weight, to no avail.
Whether through diet and exercise, weight loss medications, or whatever other tools you’ve tried, if you’ve been on a weight loss merry-go-round with nothing to show for your efforts, it may be time to try something different.
You’re committed
After your weight loss surgery, your life changes, and this goes far beyond what you eat. Yes, you have to limit what you take in, but you also need to commit to a healthier lifestyle and nutritional changes that support your health.
In other words, we don’t want you eating less of what you used to eat. We want you to completely overhaul your diet to a healthier one that favors fruits, vegetables, and grains.
We also want you to make exercise a part of your life so you can reap the full benefits of losing weight and better maintain your weight loss.
So you need to commit to big changes in your life after your weight loss surgery, and these changes can be tough at first. We promise, though, that you will be rewarded for this commitment.
You have support
Lastly, it’s important that you have a good support network that can help you after your weight loss surgery. For example, you need to make sure your family is on board, as you’ll need to change the contents of the kitchen.
And when you navigate celebrations that take place around a feast, you need the people in your life to recognize that things are different for you, and they must give you the space to reframe these events.
Whether it’s special events or just daily living, you want to be surrounded by people who make your weight loss journey easier and not harder.
If you want to explore further whether weight loss surgery is a good option for your goals and your lifestyle, please contact one of our offices in Valhalla, Carmel, or Poughkeepsie, New York, to schedule an appointment.
