Bariatric Surgery – Support, Image, and Motivation
After weight loss surgery, the number one goal of patients is to stay on the path towards weight loss. There will be many distractions that will try and make their motivation slump, like financial stresses. Even if some of their bariatric surgery expenses are covered by your insurance they will still have to pay for their dietary supplements and any future cosmetic surgeries. They will also have to pay a price in the psychological effects before and after surgery. Before surgery a morbidly obese patient may have a hard time convincing themselves that they can follow through and stick to their doctors’ guidelines. After surgery there is no turning back, and patients may feel more pressured than ever to not fail.
Staying motivated towards getting the proper exercise and proper nutrition required in order to lose weight can be a challenge. For some it is a mountain of responsibility and sometimes requires online support or joining support groups. These support groups can be great difference makers and doctors will often require patients join such groups prior to surgery. The support groups help patients deal with the change in body they will experience or are experiencing.
Image changes can be great things yet carry with them a flurry of effects on one’s psyche. Support groups will encourage and motivate, helping to mold a once fragile, susceptible mind into one rich with self assurance. As bariatric patients go through the period known as the “rapid weight loss” period, they should embrace the changes in their body by making additional outward changes to their lives. First, they must recognize the importance of the changes they are making. Often pre-op years and post-op years are looked at as “two separate lives.” While friends and family may stay the same, successful post-op years must truly be of a different lifestyle. There must be a modification of behavior. This modification will help to resolve the years of emotional damage that can be caused by being overweight.
For instance, lets say depression is a side effect of a specific obese person. After bariatric surgery the obesity disappears through a miracle of science, yet there is no such miracle to quickly heal the depression and emotional damage that still remains. This is the purpose of being surrounded by supporters who share in each other’s circumstance, that they may uplift one another through positive reinforcement.
