If you have recently had gastric sleeve surgery and you have noticed that your weight loss has stopped, you may be feeling frustrated. If you aren’t seeing the results you want and aren’t sure why, you may feel like you’ve hit a wall.
Most of the time, you won’t see significant weight loss right after their surgery completion. That’s because the body is adapting to and healing from the procedure. The transition to protein shakes and soft proteins will also take some time for your body to get used to.
At a certain point along the weight loss journey, however, it’s less about the amount of weight you’re losing and more about maintaining your weight. The surgical procedure is designed to help you get rid of excess pounds. We all have a healthy target weight – losing much more than that isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Gastric sleeve weight loss surgery or gastric bypass surgery is just the first step. Learning how to eat a balanced diet and increasing physical activity is the overall goal. We feel this holistic approach gives you a better chance of reaching your fat loss goals as well as leading an overall healthier lifestyle.
How it works
After bariatric surgery, your body starts burning glycogen, which means you’ll lose a lot of water weight. Then, the body will start turning to fat and muscle mass to burn. Once this happens and muscle is being burned, the metabolism slows.
This slowed metabolism is sometimes called a weight loss ‘plateau’ and you may not see much weight loss happening. Often our patients will see these plateaus at six weeks, three months, six months, and nine months after bariatric surgery. This is your body readjusting to a new “normal.”
In other words, if you have a high metabolism, you will burn more calories. If you don’t, then you won’t burn as much. Your metabolism naturally slows as you get older – it’s one of the reasons we just can’t seem to keep the weight off like when we were younger.
How to reach your weight loss goal
We understand that reaching your weight loss goal after surgery is very important for you! Don’t lose hope if your weight loss has slowed down or even stopped completely. You can continue losing weight if you stay committed, even after you hit a plateau.
First, stay on track with your exercise and diet routine. If you have slacked a little on your exercise regimen or you haven’t been as strict with your eating habits, it’s time to get back to what you were doing right after surgery.
Also, try switching up your exercise routine a bit – challenge yourself, make it a little more intense, or try something new completely. If your body adapts to the exercise and it’s too ‘easy’, the body won’t need to work as hard, and you won’t burn as many calories.
Supporting your weight loss after gastric sleeve surgery
The WeightWise Program is not a “quick fix” and the procedure is just the first step. The most successful patients are the ones that follow a life-long commitment to improved eating and increased physical activity. That’s why our clients are assigned a dietitian as well as an exercise physiologist.
Some clinics will perform the surgery and then give their bariatric patients recommendations for personal trainers or nutritionists to follow up with. We feel having everyone under one roof leads to better results because of this collaboration. Miscommunication is greatly reduced and patients won’t receive conflicting directions.
Working together, our surgeons, dietitians, and exercise physiologists will create a plan designed specifically for you. We also take into consideration the emotional side of weight loss surgery. Our patient advocates are here to answer your questions, provide a shoulder to cry on, and share in your achievements.
Our team at WeightWise wants to help you achieve your weight loss goals and put you on the path toward a healthy lifestyle. Watch our free online seminar to see why our program has been so successful for so many. And when you’re ready for that initial consultation, we’ll be here for you.