13 Strategies for Overcoming Post-Bariatric Surgery Challenges
Life after bariatric surgery can be a profound and transformative journey, but it is not without its struggles. While the procedure often brings hope you hope for renewed health and well-being, it also presents a unique set of challenges, physically, emotionally, and psychologically.
All of the components inherent in this significant change in your life are important to acknowledge so you can start the process of working through these challenges. For example, adjusting to a new way of eating, coping with rapid weight loss, and managing potential complications can feel overwhelming, are just a few things that come up.
Bariatric surgery is just one component of your journey. The surgery provides you the start and the opportunity to make a significant change in your life but what happens after surgery is key to helping you make sustainable lifestyle changes.
But beyond the physical adjustments, the emotional journey is equally complex, as you navigate shifting self-identity, relationships, and mental health. Because your path to healing after bariatric surgery is not always straightforward, it requires continuous effort, support, and self-compassion.
11 Common Challenges
1. Nutritional Deficiencies
After bariatric surgery, you may have a reduced capacity to absorb nutrients due to changes in the digestive system. This can lead to deficiencies in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B12, iron, calcium, and vitamin D.
It’s important that you continue to adhere to a specialized diet and take recommended supplements is critical. However, it can be equally challenging due to difficulties in following dietary guidelines or forgetting to take supplements regularly.
2. Dietary Adjustments and Compliance
It ‘s important that you adopt significant changes to your eating habits, including consuming smaller portions, eating slowly, chewing thoroughly, and avoiding certain foods. You may struggle also with food intolerances or digestive discomfort after surgery.
Your new eating behaviors can be difficult to maintain at times, especially in social situations or when dealing with emotional eating triggers. So, understanding and acknowledging your triggers are key to having success after bariatric surgery.
Triggers can be in the form of certain food and drink, or social/holiday situations. Therefore, having a plan on how to manage your triggers is essential.
3. Body Image and Emotional Adjustment
Rapid weight loss can lead to changes in body image may be challenging for to process. You may still see yourself as overweight or may struggle with loose skin and other physical changes.
Emotionally, there can be a sense of loss or identity confusion as you adjust to their new body, which may require psychological support to address. You may find it takes more time than you anticipated to adjust to your new body.
You may also find that people respond to you differently and this can have profound emotional and psychological effects.
4. Psychological and Emotional Health
Because most patients who have bariatric surgery have a history of emotional eating, binge eating, or disordered eating patterns, post surgery you may struggle to find new ways to cope with stress, anxiety, depression, or trauma without using food as a comfort.
You may also experience emotional challenges related to unrealistic expectations about weight loss, self-esteem, and self-worth, requiring ongoing counseling or therapy.
It’s also common for your feelings of self-esteem and self-worth to go up and down and be effected by even slight changes.
5. Social and Relationship Dynamics
Because weight loss can impact social dynamics and relationships, you may experience changes in how you relate to others, including friends, family, and partners. This can lead to tension, resentment, or jealousy in relationships, especially if people around you are not supportive or have difficulty adjusting to your new lifestyle and appearance.
6. Physical Activity and Exercise
Incorporating regular physical activity is crucial for maintaining weight loss and overall health, but you may have limitations due to pre-existing conditions, joint pain, or reduced stamina.
It’s important to incorporate safe, consistent, and appropriate exercise routines tailored to your individual capabilities to help ensure you stay motivated, encouraging even greater success.
7. Weight Regain Risk
There is always a risk of weight regain after bariatric surgery if you do not adhere to lifestyle changes. Maintaining long-term weight loss requires ongoing commitment to diet, exercise, and behavioral changes.
It also requires a long-term approach as well as making lifestyles changes that will help sustain you for the rest of your life.
You may struggle with this due to lack of motivation, life stressors, or returning to old eating habits, necessitating continuous support and monitoring. This is common but something you can work on.
8. Gastrointestinal Issues
You may experience various gastrointestinal issues such as dumping syndrome (rapid emptying of stomach contents into the small intestine), nausea, vomiting, or bowel irregularities. These issues can be uncomfortable and affect adherence to dietary guidelines, necessitating ongoing medical and nutritional management.
Understanding and learning about these issues will help you stay ahead and on top should this happen to you.
9. Managing Comorbidities
If you have comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, or heart disease, you may need to have your physician adjust your medications, monitor health parameters, and manage these conditions in conjunction with post-surgery dietary restrictions.
10. Long-Term Follow-Up and Support
Bariatric surgery is not a quick fix but a tool that requires lifelong behavioral changes and follow-up. You may find that you need long-term access to a multidisciplinary team, including dietitians, psychologists, and medical professionals, to maintain success.
Ensuring consistent follow-up, especially when you feel you no longer need it or have difficulty accessing resources, can be a challenge.
11. Stigma and Societal Perceptions
You may find that you may face stigma or judgment about undergoing bariatric surgery, often perceived as taking the "easy way out." This can lead to feelings of shame or defensiveness, which may impact your willingness to seek help or engage with support services.
These feelings should be discussed with your therapist or another health care professional that can help you process your feelings so you don’t feel so alone.
13 Strategies to Set You Up for Success Post Surgery
1. Choose a Bariatric-Specialized Therapist
It’s important to find a therapist who understands the unique challenges faced by individuals undergoing bariatric surgery. A therapist with experience in weight loss, body image issues, emotional eating, and the psychological aspects of obesity will be better equipped to guide you through this journey.
2. Be Open and Honest
Therapy works best when you are open about your feelings, fears, and challenges. Bariatric surgery is a major life change that can trigger a range of emotions, such as anxiety, fear of failure, guilt, or even mourning your relationship with food.
Being honest with your therapist allows them to offer more effective support and guidance.
3. Address Underlying Emotional and Behavioral Patterns
You might experience weight gain that is often tied to emotional or psychological issues, such as stress, trauma, or emotional eating. Work with your therapist to identify and address these underlying patterns.
This may involve exploring your relationship with food, how you cope with emotions, and other contributing factors to weight gain.
4. Focus on Emotional and Mental Health, Not Just Physical Changes
While bariatric surgery focuses on physical transformation, therapy should help you focus on emotional and mental health changes as well. It’s crucial to address body image concerns, potential social changes, and any feelings of insecurity or self-worth that arise.
Therapy can also help you adjust to a new self-identity post-surgery.
5. Work on Building Healthy Coping Mechanisms
You might find that you turn to food for comfort, stress relief, or emotional regulation. After bariatric surgery, you need to find new, healthy coping mechanisms that don’t involve food.
Therapy can help you develop these strategies, whether through mindfulness, relaxation techniques, or new hobbies and activities that promote emotional well-being. A therapist can also help you understand your relationship to food so you can make positive, life-long changes.
6. Set Realistic Expectations
Bariatric surgery can lead to significant weight loss, but it’s important to have realistic expectations about the process and outcomes.
Therapy can help you manage any unrealistic goals, understand that setbacks are part of the journey, and build resilience when progress feels slow. It can also guide you in redefining success beyond just weight loss numbers.
7. Address Body Image and Self-Esteem Issues
Even after significant weight loss, many people struggle with body image issues or feel disconnected from their new body. Therapy can help you adjust to these changes, improve your self-esteem, and develop a positive body image. Addressing these issues is critical for long-term success and mental well-being.
8. Develop a Healthy Relationship with Food
Post-surgery, you will need to follow a new way of eating, which can be a challenging adjustment. Therapy can help you foster a healthy relationship with food, teaching you how to enjoy meals without guilt or fear and helping you navigate social situations where food is central.
9. Involve Your Support System
Bariatric therapy often works best when you have a strong support system. In therapy, you can explore ways to engage your family, friends, or partner in your journey. This support is crucial for long-term success and can help reduce feelings of isolation or pressure.
10. Focus on Long-Term Behavioral Change
Therapy should emphasize long-term behavior changes, not just short-term goals. You’ll need to develop new habits related to food, exercise, and emotional regulation that will support your success long after the surgery. Therapy can help reinforce these habits and provide accountability as you navigate this transition.
11. Prepare for Emotional Setbacks
Emotional ups and downs are common after bariatric surgery. The body’s physical changes can affect your mood, energy levels, and sense of identity. Therapy can help you prepare for these emotional shifts, teaching you how to manage them effectively and avoid relapse into old habits.
And doing the work in addition to therapy after bariatric surgery is essential for addressing the emotional and psychological challenges that may arise during the weight loss journey.
12. Work Through Relationship Changes
Weight loss can sometimes impact relationships, as others may respond differently to your physical changes. Therapy can provide a safe space to discuss these shifts, work through any feelings of jealousy or discomfort from others, and help you maintain healthy relationships as you change.
If you are in a relationship, you might be experiencing that your partner has started to feel threatened by your weight loss thinking or feeling that you will leave the relationship or want to start a new relationship.
13. Stay Committed to Therapy Post-Surgery
Bariatric surgery is not a "quick fix," and the emotional and mental challenges can persist long after the physical healing is complete. Continuing therapy in the months or even years after surgery can provide ongoing support, especially when faced with new challenges or plateaus.
And by actively engaging in therapy, being patient with yourself, and focusing on both mental and physical health, you can make bariatric therapy a key part of your long-term success after surgery.
Final Thoughts
Overcoming struggles after bariatric surgery is a journey of resilience, growth, and self-discovery. While the physical transformation is significant, the emotional and mental challenges are equally profound.
By addressing underlying behaviors, embracing a healthier relationship with food, and seeking the necessary support, it’s possible to navigate these challenges and find balance.
With patience, commitment, and self-compassion, you can move beyond the obstacles and fully embrace the healthier, empowered life you envisioned. Each step forward, no matter how small, is a victory in reclaiming YOUR health and well-being, both inside and out.
Healing from within is just as important as physical change, and with patience, commitment, and a strong support system, you can thrive and embrace personal growth and development.
