Following bariatric surgery, you will have been asked to adhere to a new diet provided by our Dietitian Lisa here at UGIRS as part of our Bariatric Programme, which will include advice about the importance of keeping hydrated and how water is preferable to fizzy or high-calorie drinks like creamy coffees. You’ll have been advised to become ‘more active’ in your everyday life by our Health Coach Meredith, but what does that mean and how can you implement it?
Today we will be covering two simple principles in the post-bariatric surgery program that will aid in your weight loss and your long-term health; the importance of walking and water.
Walking and weight loss
You may have been inactive for some time, and the thought of attempting any form of physical exercise can be daunting. But walking is something that we do every day, it gets us from A to B. The good news is that even walking is considered a physical activity, and can help contribute towards your total weight loss and your long-term weight maintenance.
Obesity is a complex disease that involves many different physiological and psychological reasons why a patient may not be able to lose weight through conventional methods alone, and weight loss surgery is their final option. Thankfully, it can be very successful in finally tipping the scales in your favour and achieving sustained, meaningful weight loss.
It still does however require you to make a number of significant and important changes to your lifestyle more broadly. The ability to reduce the number of calories you consume after weight loss surgery will be easier, but in turn, the quality of the foods you do consume needs to improve as well. If you are already trying to make a change, you are much more likely to succeed following weight loss surgery.
Baby steps
If you’re new to regular exercise, you don’t want to overdo it and risk any soreness or injury. So it’s important to start small (baby steps); start by including short, light-intensity walks into your daily routine. Over time as you build your ability and confidence, these walks can become longer in duration or distance, or you can increase the level of intensity (i.e. pick up the pace!).
Easy ways to increase your steps (which you’ve probably already heard of) might be getting off the bus/train a stop earlier and walking the extra distance. Or parking your car further from the entrance so you have a greater distance to walk. Choosing to walk to the shop if you can rather than drive. These are all good ways to cleverly increase your movement without having to radically alter your day to day routine.
Benefits of walking
Including walking as a regular exercise activity can help you to burn extra calories and aid in weight loss, but that’s not the only benefit of moving in this way often. Some studies have shown that people who exercise regularly are more likely to keep their weight off long-term (maintain their new healthy weight), and by walking more you are working towards this goal.
Walking has also been shown to increase a person’s overall mood and well-being, quite often coupled with the joys of being in nature and outside in fresh air. But even if you’re getting your steps in on the treadmill in the gym, the ‘happy’ endorphins that will be released by your body after exercise will help keep you motivated.
Water and weight loss
Staying hydrated throughout the day in Australia is important, but even more so after bariatric surgery. Bariatric patients may find it difficult to consume enough water following surgery as they now have a reduced stomach size, which can often lead to dehydration. If you are recovering from weight loss surgery you should ensure that you are staying as hydrated as possible by sipping water regularly throughout the day.
How water aids weight loss
Water is necessary to metabolise stored fat or carbohydrates within the body, so drinking water is literally assisting your body in losing weight. It also helps to flush your body of toxins and waste, that can leave you feeling sluggish or bloated, giving you more energy to be active. Water is also a natural appetite suppressant, with people often confusing being thirsty for being hungry; reaching for a glass of water first can help to curb unnecessary snacking between meals.
Why water is important
After bariatric surgery, you are following a new healthy lifestyle; you will have a new diet to follow from Lisa our Dietitian and it will include drinking water. Water contains no calories, in comparison to other flavoured drinks, juices or coffee (it’s easy to consume excess calories in a day through liquids alone). It is the perfect accompaniment to your new low-calorie, balanced diet.
Sugar-free fizzy drinks may be tempting, and although they are much better than their high-sugar counterparts, the carbonation of these drinks can cause issues for patients who have had bariatric surgery, so should be avoided particularly around meal times.
Taking these two simple steps of drinking enough water and regularly walking can have a positive long-term impact on your weight loss, maintenance and overall wellbeing.