A World of Weight Loss
How to make your home in Saginaw or Ypsilanti the perfect place for Lap Band success
Unlike most animals on Earth, we humans have a distinct advantage when it comes to our environments: we can control them. In your home, you have control over just about everything, especially what you keep in the kitchen—and this can be a huge help in losing weight.
After a gastric band surgery such as Lap Band in Ypsilanti or Saginaw, you’ll need to stick closely to your dietary guidelines and exercise plan, but having a carefully maintained home can make it easier to progress towards your goals. Remember: you are the master of your own domain. Only you can decide what goes into it and what you get out of it.
Ready to live in the most Lap-Band-friendly environment possible? Start with these three tips!
Build barriers.
Is there something in your kitchen at this very moment that calls to you, that needles you with tempting calories every time your mind wanders to its inviting unhealthiness? There doesn’t have to be! You decide what goes in your kitchen, so only you are responsible for that temptingly tasty treat. It may be a valuable practice, especially at the beginning of your weight loss journey, to go through every cabinet on a search-and-destroy mission, getting rid of anything that has no place in your Lap Band diet.
You can serve as a nutritional gatekeeper for your household, ensuring that only the healthiest foods make their way from the grocery store to your refrigerator. If someone else in your home usually does the shopping, that’s ok—this person can become your nutritional gatekeeper too, with a little help. Try making a list of the healthy foods you’d like around the house and the unhealthy foods you’d like to keep as far away as possible. You can also put up mental barriers in the grocery store by avoiding the inner aisles (where most processed, unhealthy foods are kept) or by avoiding certain tempting sections of the restaurant menu (appetizers, drinks, desserts).
Keep fitness close.
When you sign up at a gym 10 minutes away, it may not seem like a long way to go, but that 10-minute drive can quickly become an excuse if you’re fishing for a reason to bail on a workout. One of the best ways to stick to your exercise plan after Lap Band is to make working out close and convenient. Rather than an out-of-the-way gym, pick one located between your workplace and your home and bring a set of workout clothes with you to work—this way, you can make exercise a natural part of your journey home each day. You can even keep a set of barbells or resistance bands at your desk for a quick midday workout.
To keep things even closer, you can set up a workout station in your own home. If you don’t have a spare room to dedicate to fitness, try keeping some exercise equipment in whatever room houses your TV. This will allow you to get a quick workout whenever you might normally plop down on the couch to enjoy your favorite shows. Little changes like these can lead to big payoffs—you may be surprised by how much more exercise you get when you make working out so easy.
We should all be concerned about environmental safety, but I’m not talking about emissions standards or the polar ice caps. To make the most of your Lap Band weight loss program, you need to make sure your home is the best possible place to lose weight, the healthiest habitat for someone focused on building a better life.
How else can we make our homes healthy places to live? Share your tips, experiences and questions with us in the comments below!