When most people think of what steps they need to take to improve their health, they frequently aim for ‘losing weight’ and making improvements to their diet and exercise. It’s true that diet, exercise and maintaining a healthy weight are significant contributors to health. What we eat and drink play an important role in how our bodies perform and how we feel. In addition, intentional exercise also influences our performance, energy, and body composition.
However, diet and exercise are just a few pieces of the puzzle – there are many elements that contribute to good health. You can have the best diet in the world and exercise every day, but if you are under constant stress, get insufficient quality sleep, spend limited time outside, or have taxing social or personal relationships you will mostly likely still feel unwell, and far from optimally healthy. Indeed, the World Health Organisation defines health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease’.
The team at UGIRS are here to support your health and wellbeing beyond your weight loss surgery. We place emphasis on your ongoing nutrition after surgery and help you take steps to improve many of the other influences relevant to your health.
When you meet with each member of our team your health history, daily nutrition and exercise activities will be of course be explored in thorough detail prior to your surgery. You’ll also be asked a broad range of questions, as far reaching as ‘who does the grocery shopping?’, ‘how do you rate your stress levels?’ right through to ‘what are the names of your pets?’. We discuss what support structures you have in place and delve into your sleep patterns. We talk about expectations, motivations, and what success looks like to you.
You may wonder why some of these questions are relevant to weight loss surgery. Your answers help us to uncover what really matters to you, and how we can best assist and support you on your journey to better health.
Following from your surgery you will meet with the UGIRS Team for further check-ins for ongoing support, encouragement and accountability. These appointments are important. Why? Because weight loss surgery is not a set and forget procedure. Weight loss surgery can be the kickstart towards a healthier and happier life that allows you to do more of the things you love. However, assuming that the surgery alone will deliver optimal health, without intentional effort to improve other areas, is short-sighted.
During each of your follow up appointments we help you find and focus on the pieces of your own health puzzle. We work together with you to determine unique strategies that will help you achieve ongoing health and lasting success – beyond the number on the scale.
Those strategies might be as varied and individual as finding ways to improve your sleep; implementing more restorative, stress relieving practices; learning how to practice mindful eating; discovering how to create more supportive social interaction; exploring ways to get more sunlight; or journaling or brain dumping worries. We reflect on your goals, make adjustment to strategies if needed, and encourage you to keep making positive small changes that help to build healthy habits that last a lifetime.
True health is a constant journey of nurturing your body, listening to what it is telling you, making positive adjustments and finding what works for you.