Weight loss surgery can make everything better–your overall health, your social life and your weight (of course). But before you can fully realize all the benefits it has to offer, you've got to make it through the first year, and that's not always easy to do.
The first year after weight loss surgery is full of extensive metamorphosis. Some of the change will be exhilarating. Some will be challenging. And some will be unlike anything you've ever experienced before.
Here's a look at how you should prepare for your first year after weight loss surgery:
The first month
Get ready to drink your meals. The first two weeks are all about nursing your body back to health, which means liquid protein for the first two weeks, then pureed and soft food for the next two.
Months two, three and four
Finally, you'll be able to start eating "real" food again. Although you won't be eating anywhere as much as you ate before you went in for your procedure. And some of the things you liked to eat before won't appeal to you anymore. Months two, three and four will be a time of dietary experimentation.
Months five and six
These are the months in which you'll start to realize the fruits of all your hard work. Depending on what type of weight loss surgery you've had, you'll have lost somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of your total body weight–or one to two pounds a day. You're clothes will start to be loose, you'll have more energy and you'll start feeling more interested in exercising.
Month nine
By now, you and your doctor should have a pretty good idea of how your body is responding to the procedure. Any vitamin deficiencies should be addressed at your nine-month visit, and any modifications to your diet should be taken care of. You've got momentum, now is the time to build on it.
One year
This is it. You're one year in. You will have lost a lot of weight–maybe even 100 pounds. Now, it's time to get started on another successful year!
