Weight management programme patients
Welcome to the bariatric area of the Plymouth Weight Management website. The information here is designed to support those who have undergone bariatric surgery.
It is well documented that the people who do well managing their weight (with or without the aid of bariatric surgery) are those who establish healthy habits; who engage in regular exercise, set themselves goals, monitor their food intake, mood and exercise, use stress management approaches, manage their environment to reduce temptations to overeat, call on their social network for help and support, attend follow-up appointments, and attend a support group. (Adapted from Jenny Radcliffe, Cut Down To Size, 2013).
The links, presentation and webinar below are designed to support you following your bariatric surgery. If you find you need additional or more specific advice during this time, please contact the Plymouth Weight Management team on our usual telephone number.
Post-op nutrition
Click on the links below for reminders about lifelong importance of food and supplements to optimise health and weight.
Post-op support for emotional & psychological wellbeing
Whether or not you have undergone bariatric surgery, the ‘need’ to eat when we are ‘sad, mad, glad’ may still be there. But if it is not true hunger that is telling you to start eating, what will signal you to stop eating? These tools will help you think about what might be happening with your eating behaviour.
Recommended self-care resources for people who have undergone bariatric surgery
Post-operative Bariatric Patient Support Presentation – click here to view
Denise Ratcliffe: Living with bariatric surgery, managing your mind and weight (2018 Routledge)
Whilst the benefits of bariatric surgery are significant, the psychological challenges it presents for patients have been overlooked. Features helpful psychoeducation, exercises and strategies to facilitate reflection and learning about the psychological and behavioural changes required post-operatively.
Jenny Radcliffe: Cut down to size (2013 Routledge)
Offers insight into the realities of living with weight loss surgery, and practical exercises to help you think through your emotional readiness, social circumstances and eating habits that could determine the success of surgery.
Michelle May MD: Webinar – click here for mindful eating cycle after bariatric surgery
Just because you have had bariatric surgery it does not mean your symptoms of overeating will disappear. The need to eat when we are ‘sad, mad or glad’ may be still there. But if hunger doesn’t tell you to start eating, how can it tell you to stop? Do you recognise these symptoms?
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- Eating too quickly, eating mindlessly, over-consumption
- Difficulty feeling satisfied, grazing, eating ‘slider’ foods and high-calorie soft foods and liquids
- Struggling with emotional eating, difficulty adjusting to life after bariatric surgery
If you’re struggling with any of these you need to know you are not alone and it is not your fault or the result of a lack of willpower. This is a YouTube replay of a webinar broadcast on 31 March 2020 during the coronavirus period. It re-explains the mindful eating cycles and maladapted eating. It’s designed for those who have had bariatric surgery and are struggling to understand why they are still overeating.
Michelle May MD: Eat what you love. Love what you eat. How to break your eat-repent-repeat cycle (2009)
Michelle May MD: click here to visit www.AmIHungry.com