If you or someone you know is living with obesity and they wish to lose excess weight, it is almost impossible to be able to achieve meaningful long-term weight loss through diet, exercise and lifestyle changes alone. But it’s important to try to lose weight this way first, to be considered for bariatric surgery, and hopefully today’s blog will go some way towards explaining why.
When deciding who to help you on your journey towards a healthier, longer life, we all acknowledge that a team effort is by far the best way to achieve the best results. Weight gain doesn’t happen overnight – there are many different areas of health to consider, including the behaviours that go with being overweight. It’s these behaviours that can be the most challenging to overcome to be successful.
Here’s why our exemplary team approach to obesity treatment at UGIRS works.
Before Weight Loss Surgery
After your first appointment with A/Prof Charles Pilgrim, and the usual checks and routine bloodwork with Perioperative Physician Dr Yasir Khan, you meet with Lisa the Dietitian who will explain your pre-operative Very Low Energy Diet (VLED) as well as your diet post-surgery and overview of eating behaviours for success.
Our Secret Weight Loss Weapon
So far this is all pretty standard practice for weight loss surgery. Where we are different is that two weeks ahead of your surgery date, you will also meet with Meredith the Health Coach. This is the first session of up to six sessions you will have with Meredith throughout your aftercare, to discuss everything from your goals/setting expectations, what to expect and how you’ll feel before, during and after surgery.
Bad habits take many different forms and take a long time (sometimes a lifetime) to form. Working with Meredith from the perspective of an overall health coach, you are asked to commit to small new habits each week, building towards long-term success and sustainability, addressing these undesirable habits and behaviours.
Weight loss surgery may restrict the amount of calories that can be consumed, but the best weight loss results that last are powered by choosing a new lifestyle. Meredith guides each of our weight loss surgery patients towards this new, happier, longer and healthier life.
After Weight Loss Surgery
Our team approach means that once you’ve had your weight loss surgery, whether that be a gastric band or a gastric sleeve, every two weeks you will see one of the team that is most important to your recovery at that stage.
Two weeks post-surgery is a standard check-in to ensure everything is healing as it should be and that you’re recovering well from a surgical perspective with A/Prof Charles Pilgrim.. The next appointment you will attend (4 weeks post-weight loss surgery) will be with Lisa the Dietitian again, who’s there to help you have a smooth transition to solid foods and reinforce positive eating habits. Meeting Health Coach Meredith two weeks later (6 weeks post-surgery) you’ll explore different approaches to your new diet, to help support you in making this drastic change.
If you want a full breakdown of the aftercare we provide you can see the timeline for our Bariatric Program. By seeing patients every two weeks for those crucial first few months and beyond, we can do the real life-changing work. Using the opportunity that the weight loss surgery has provided to introduce and enforce new healthy habits, with the help and guidance of a caring and specialised team.
Weight loss surgery is not a miracle cure for obesity, but it is probably the most important tool we currently have to offer those who live with obesity a way to lose a significant amount of weight and live longer healthier lives. Our approach encompasses every aspect from medical, to dietary and behavioural. The best outcomes are always achieved through a team effort, and that includes the patient ensuring they make the most of the follow-up care and follow the directions/advice they are given.