Managing Special Occasions after Weight Loss Surgery

When creating weight loss goals, you are likely to think about your standard day. This may include how you’ll fit exercise into your work schedule, what healthy meals you can prepare for you and your family and how much water you’ll drink throughout the day. Special occasions require changes to this pre-set schedule, and that leaves room for set-backs and mistakes.

Life after weight loss surgery is filled with many challenges. Planning ahead for special occasions and having strategies in mind to help you cope with stress during these events can help you stay on track with your weight loss.

Preparing for Special Occasions

Special occasions nearly always involve food, and unfortunately, this encourages many people to overeat during these events since the holidays bring special treats we only get that one time of year.

The trouble with special occasions is that they are more common than we like to think. We celebrate all sorts of tiny milestones, from birthdays to anniversaries to school accomplishment and holidays. When all is said and done, we may be celebrating a special occasion several times a month. This leads us to eat these special foods more often than we originally may think, and repeatedly overeating in this way will severely interfere with weight loss—even after weight loss surgery.

There are steps you can take to manage your eating habits on special occasions:

• Separate social time from eating time. When you are talking, keep a glass of water in your hand and stay away from the dessert table.
• Learn the menu and plan your meal ahead of time. Find out what will be for dinner and do your nutrient research ahead of time so you can plan out a proper meal for your post-surgery needs.
• Help with the cleaning. At family events, you can stay away from the buffet and dessert table by helping with the clean-up efforts after dinner.
• Bring your own food. Offer to bring a plate that you know you can safely enjoy. This way, you’ll know you have something healthy to eat at dinner.

It is easy to get caught up in the events of a special occasion and to think of it as “just this one time.” However, one time leads into another time, and this just makes it easier for overeating to become a habit and the norm. Following weight loss surgery, stay true to your goals and keep on track with your weight loss plan by having a strong strategy in place and feeling confidant in your ability to manage any special occasion that pops up on your calendar.