Life After Bariatric Surgery

How Much Weight Will I Lose?

The amount of weight you’ll lose depends on many factors, including your:

• Weight before surgery
• Overall health
• Surgical procedure
• Ability to exercise
• Commitment to your dietary guidelines and other follow-up care
• Age

On average, patients lose about a fifth of their excess weight in the first 10 weeks. About 75 percent of people eventually lose at least half of their excess weight and keep it off for at least five years.
 

Recovery After Surgery

Expect to spend two to five days at AnMed Medical Center after surgery. Your nurses will help you get up and walk as soon as possible to encourage blood flow and help your body heal. We’ll closely monitor you to make sure you recover well before you go home. 

Follow-Up Care

Expect a call from us a week after surgery to check on your health. You’ll also want to:

• See your bariatric care team in person two weeks, three months, six months and one year after surgery
• Keep appointments with your primary care doctor every three months in the year after surgery 
• Get blood tests annually to make sure your body has healthy levels of vitamin B12, iron, folate and red blood cells 

Between appointments, reach out to our patient navigator any time you have a question. You’ll receive timely care for urgent concerns because our bariatric surgeons are on call 24/7. 
 

Diet & Exercise After Surgery

Your digestive organs require time to heal, so you’ll need to consume only liquids and stick to light physical activity for several weeks. Follow your personalized instructions for advancing through the following five phases of your post-surgical lifestyle: 

• Phase 1: Sugar-free, clear liquids and walking two or three times a day for 5-10 minutes, gradually increasing to 20 minutes
• Phase 2: Sugar-free liquids and high-protein shakes. Continue to increase physical activities per your doctor’s instructions.
• Phase 3: Soft or pureed, high-protein foods for six to eight weeks, allowing your body time to adjust to soft, solid food; exercise 15-30 minutes four times per week, gradually increasing your time until you’re active continuously for 45 minutes.
• Phase 4: Solid, high-protein foods and vegetables until you have lost 75 percent of your excess weight; exercise 30-45 minutes five or six times per week.
• Phase 5: Addition of complex carbohydrates to high-protein foods and vegetables. You will stay on this maintenance diet for the rest of your life, paying close attention to the foods that you can tolerate and eliminating the ones you cannot. Limit sugar to avoid unnecessary calories and reduce the risk of complications. Exercise every day.

Dietitian Services 

To make healthy eating easier, a dietitian will:

• Give you sample menus
• Explain how to read nutrition labels 
• Offer one-on-one counseling and nutrition classes 
• Schedule grocery store tours 
• Recommend vitamins or supplements, allowing you to choose the brand that suits your preferences and budget
• Help you understand what to expect as your body metabolizes food differently than it did before surgery 
   

Weight-Loss Surgery Support Groups 

Join in-person meetings on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the LifeChoice classroom, located at the AnMed Cardiac and Orthopedic Center in Anderson. You don’t need to register to enjoy guest speakers, question-and-answer sessions, and chats with your encouraging peers.

At any time, you can talk to other bariatric surgery patients online in AnMed’s New Beginnings Support Group on Facebook. Share your story and ask for advice as a member of this welcoming, positive community. 

Health Changes After Weight Loss

Know what changes to expect to your health after losing a lot of weight. You may experience:

• Less need for medications to treat obesity-related conditions or for insulin to control diabetes 
• Changes in mood, which you may manage with the help of support group members and mental health professionals 
• Loose, excess skin that our plastic surgeon can remove to prevent rashes and irritation

Depend on us for the compassion and expertise you need to feel your best throughout the months and years after surgery.