8 Common WLS Pitfalls

If you do some research, weight loss surgery (WLS) is one of the most successful treatments for morbid obesity. But even with all WLS has going for it, there are still a lot of folks who struggle with it, either not maintaining a desirable weight loss, or even gaining enough weight back to be considered a “failure” by the medical definitions.aIf you do some research, weight loss surgery (WLS) is one of the most successful treatments for morbid obesity. But even with all WLS has going for it, there are still a lot of folks who struggle with it, either not maintaining a desirable weight loss, or even gaining enough weight back to be considered a “failure” by the medical definitions.

There are lots of lists out there to give you some information about how to succeed/not fail at this… here’s ten things I see that a WLS patient needs to keep focused on to maximize their chances of not just reaching their goal, but maintaining for the long haul.

There’s nothing here I haven’t seen talked about again and again, and if you’ve done any sort of research so far yourself, this won’t be new to you either. BUT, they are all well worth repeating.

1 – Lead Your Horse To Water And Make Him Drink!
Everyone talks about getting enough water. If you haven’t gotten this through your head… move your keyboard and smack it on your desk a few times until you do. C’mon! Is there any excuse for not getting enough water?

Ok, fine. Some days are going to be better than others. And conventional wisdom does tell us to get at least 8 cups a day. I think it’s just as important to listen… well… watch your body so you know how much you need on any given day. And maybe the most important thing to check is your pee.

Pay attention!

Are you even going on a regular basis? If not, you’re not drinking enough.

When you go, what color is it? If it’s clear or just slightly yellow… you’re drinking enough. If it’s as dark (or darker) than your average American beer… you’re way behind.

I know it’s tough, especially when you can’t drink during/after meals. That’s a good three-plus hours a day where you’re not supposed to be drinking, just do what you can to keep that glass of water handy and sip from it every chance you get.

2 – Put Down That Glass Of Water And Back Away!
Ok, yea. I just snarked about how important it is to drink, but go back to the previous paragraph, what did I just say? Yea, you aren’t supposed to drink when you eat or for awhile after.

Why not? Cause… well, here’s the best explanation I’ve heard. If you pour apple sauce in a funnel, it just sorta dribbles through nice and slow. Now mix that apple sauce with some water and it flows on through much, much faster.

Imagine that funnel is your pouch. The apple sauce is whatever you just ate (you are chewing your food to the consistency of apple sauce, right????). Your pouch fills up fairly quickly, and if you eat properly, it sends those signals to your brain telling you your full and you stop eating.

Now if you dilute that apple sauce to the point it just flows right through the pouch, you’ll get hungry much sooner after, and you’ll want to eat again, and more eating means more calories. More calories means less weight lost at the best, and gaining weight back at the worst. Don’t believe me, watch the video.

3 – Drinking
So I have a theme going here. But in this case I’m not talking about water, I’m talking about alcohol and to some degree pop. Alcohol and pop are just empty calories, and do nothing to help you keep hydrated. Even drinking diet pop has been associated with weight gain in some studies. For some folks, even just the artificial sweeteners in diet pop and some flavored diet drinks can lead to carb cravings.

When it comes to diet drinks, you need to reallllly pay attention to what your doing and what your body is telling you. I don’t do any pop myself, but I do use various drink packets to add flavor to my water, and I’ve been lucky enough to be one of those that doesn’t seem to get any cravings.

As far as alcohol, most surgeons are going to tell you to wait at least a year before drinking again. If you’re RNY you need to know that no matter what your tolerance used to be, you’re going to be a damn cheap date post-op. I admit, I’m starting to look forward to a point where I may enjoy a beer while hanging out with friends, and just like a lot of other things it’s not about giving it up forever, it’s about being aware of what you are doing and making sure you’re keeping it in moderation. ESPECIALLY for RNY types. Even just one beer is going to dump a lot of alcohol right in to your blood stream. So think before you drink, we went through a lot to get rid of those kegs around our guts in the first place, no?

And while we’re talking about alcohol, I have to mention transfer-addictions. If part of your weight problem was tied to a food addiction, or you otherwise have an addictive personality it can be way too easy for that addiction to transfer over to other things…like drinking. So if you do start drinking at some point post-op, and you start thinking you have a problem, get some help! Now!

4 – Take Your Damn Vitamins!
I admit, I’m not the best at this yet myself. I’m still working on ways to remind me to get them in. Calcium is one of the bigger ones for me, just cause you have to take it so many times during the day. But even if you forget once in awhile… keep at it. The plain fact is, you can’t eat enough food to get what you need, so at the bare minimum you should be doing those multi-vitamins and calcium.

On top of that there’s a good chance you should be getting some b12 and iron. I’d love to give you some easy to remember formula for what to take and when, but there isn’t one. You really need to work with your primary care doc, surgeon, and nutritionist to figure out what your needs are and how to best meet them.

And just cause you feel fine, doesn’t mean you aren’t racking up some sort of deficiencies. You do not want this to happen, cause some of them could lead to irreversible damage.

Oh, and while were at it… throw those Flintstone chewables away! They’re not doing you any good, and with all great companies out there now making stuff that cater to the needs of WLS types, there’s just no excuse for it.

5 – Move It!
Exercise. The dreaded E-word.

You gotta do it. You know it. You know why. Exercise burns calories, it develops muscle, muscle burns fat, muscle keeps your metabolism up.

I know it too, and I still am working on getting as much exercise as I should. There’s some folks out there that just are able to kick it in to high gear and keep it there. It’s not that I don’t enjoy exercising, generally I do. My biggest excuse is the time factor.

If you’re like me, it’s a struggle to keep focused on how exercise is an investment in the long term success of our surgeries.

6 – Grazing
Eating three small meals a day along with a planned snack or two is not grazing. If you and your doctor decide that’s what you need, and you make plans for it. Great. Grazing is when you start grabbing something every time you walk by the kitchen, or grabbing something to nibble on while watching TV cause you have to keep your hands busy.

If you find yourself grazing, try to figure out why and do something about it. My own tends to come from boredom… and old habits (like having some chips and salsa while watching a movie). Even if you’re like me and only have “good” stuff around the house (one of the plusses of living alone I guess) to snack on, those unplanned snacks are still adding calories to your daily total, calories you probably really don’t need.

If you think you’re hungry and start reaching for something between meals, try grabbing a glass of water instead, or find something else to get your mind off it for awhile… call a friend, come check for new posts on formerfatdudes.com, check out a link we have here, or maybe it’s as simple as telling yourself to wait 5 or 10 minutes before seeing if you really are feeling hungry. Course, after that 10 minutes is up… you can always see if you can put it off another 10. Then before you know it, it will be time for that next planned meal.

7 – Not Eating Right
Grazing is not eating at the right times, but even when you plan your meals and snacks, you need to make sure you are making good choices. Lap-band types don’t have to worry as much about what they eat in terms of side-effect. RNY folks have possible dumping issues to help keep us a bit more focused, but even that’s not a guarantee.

I’m finding that even at just 7 months out, sugars are not that big a problem for me. And it kinda sucks. No, I don’t want to dump, but knowing that I likely would was a nice way to re-enforce making better decisions. I still have to watch fats, so that’s a good thing.

And carbs, some people have trouble with breads for example… again, for better or worse, I’ve been doing fine, which means I have to have much more self-discipline in certain ways, and essentially make sure I’m making better choices. I mentioned chips and salsa as a snack, yea, I still do them. But now instead of half-bag of corn tortilla chips with sour cream and salsa, I do a small handful of soybean chips with a spoon of yogurt and salsa. I have to watch the calories, but at least I’m getting some protein out of the deal.

It comes down to being aware of your options, being aware of your own trigger foods, and seeing if you can’t find ways to still enjoy things in a way that’s … well, even if it’s not good for you.. is much less worse for you.

And eating right is also about not skipping meals, especially breakfast. Skipping meals at any time can lead to increased hunger urges which can lead you to grabbing something you really wouldn’t have otherwise, just to satisfy those cravings.

8 – Thinking WLS Is A Cure
This is one I’ve run in to more on various forums than I have in person, but it seems to be one of those persistent misconceptions that are floating around out there. As great as bariatric surgery is, it’s not a cure. Probably the most common phrase you’ll hear is that it’s a “tool”, and when you use it right it helps you get the job done.

I think it’s because WLS generally leads to some very rapid initial weight loss that it becomes very easy to get complacent about the whole thing. Everyone hears about this “honeymoon” phase, but until you start experiencing it it is hard to really wrap your head around the concept of it.

So the best advice I can give on this now is to be aware of it, to be aware that WLS is a game changer, not just right now – but forever. The surgery is just one part of making a lifestyle change. Maybe that’s why you hear so many WLS patients talk about this as journey, WLS is not the destination, it’s along for the ride.

Back to that tool analogy, maybe think of it like a compass. You can get yourself from point A to point B without a compass, but that’s some hilly, rocky, rough terrain to cross and that compass will help you keep a fairly straight path. And keeping the first seven points I brought up are part of using your surgery in the right way to keep you on your path to weight loss success.

There you have it, yea, there are likely any number of other issues to look at when it comes to helping you on your own journey, but I think these here are some of the more important ones to keep in mind. If you have others you want to share, do so in the comments.

There are lots of lists out there to give you some information about how to succeed/not fail at this… here’s ten things I see that a WLS patient needs to keep focused on to maximize their chances of not just reaching their goal, but maintaining for the long haul.

There’s nothing here I haven’t seen talked about again and again, and if you’ve done any sort of research so far yourself, this won’t be new to you either. BUT, they are all well worth repeating.

Related Posts:

• Way Back Machine: The Terrible Twos
• Gastric Bypass and Alcohol
• Flashback: Let’s not do that again
• Flash Back: We’ll See When I Get There…
• Flash Back: Head Games