Happy New Year from BariatricPal!

January 1, 201412 yr

Hey, BariatricPal Members!

Happy New Year!

We just sent out our regular monthly newsletter, but are sending out today’s newsletter to focus on the New Year! Our holiday newsletters will be a little bit different, focusing specifically on the holiday and giving tips to make the most of it as a weight loss surgery patient or potential patient. This is what you will find as you keep reading this BariatricPal New Year’s newsletter:

Saying Goodbye to 2013
Getting Back on Track in the New Year
New Year’s Resolutions That Can Inspire Success
Guide to Setting Weight Loss Surgery-Related Goals for 2014

We hope this newsletter will help you plan your healthy New Year. For more ideas and inspiration, head on over to BariatricPal and join the conversations. We will see you on the boards!

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder, BariatricPal

Saying Goodbye to 2013

The New Year is full of promise and hope. You may be eager to start with a clean slate and look ahead to 2014, but taking a few minutes to say goodbye to 2013 can make the difference in your health and weight loss in 2014. Consider how 2013 went, what went well in the Old Year, and what you would like to work on in the New Year.

Evaluate 2013

How would you say 2013 went overall? Did you have specific goals? Did you meet them? These are some examples of goals and progress toward them:

Get weight loss surgery: Yes!
Lose 50 pounds: No, only 35 pounds since surgery in May. Slipped up during family vacation in August.
Complete 10-mile hike. No, but signed up for one in February and am training for it.

What Will You Work on in 2014?

Some of your shortcomings in 2013 were undoubtedly out of your control, but others may be within your control. Think about which goals you failed to meet, and try to figure out how you can work toward them in 2014. Put these in a positive light so that you are not beating yourself up over the past, but are eager to work hard in 2014. These are some examples:

Wanted weight loss surgery, but did not know how the insurance worked. Solution: check insurance company’s online sources and phone for information.
Allowed others’ rude remarks throw off the diet. Solution: practice staying strong and ignoring anyone who diminishes the bariatric surgery journey.
Steadily lost weight while tracking, plateaued when not careful. Solution: always track every meal.
Developed esophagitis and had to deflate the lap-band for 6 weeks while it healed. Solution: do not overfill the band, and consult surgeon if unsure about whether it is filled adequately.

Now that you have a handle on what went well and what did not in 2013, you can make a clearer, more effective plan for 2014. Taking stock of 2013 can help you get closer to your weight loss goals and on a path to a healthier lifestyle in 2014.

Getting Back on Track in the New Year

The season can last for more than a full month, from before Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. During this time, high-calorie holiday food is everywhere, you might be too busy to exercise as much as usual, and stress can be high. You are not the only one if you slipped off away from your healthy lifestyle and fell short of your weight loss goals.

All people who are watching their diets can struggle during the holidays. Weight loss surgery patients can have it even tougher because of dietary restrictions, the fear of complications, and the return of haunting old habits (does “eating everything in sight” sound familiar?). However, the New Year is the time to get back on track, and these tips can help you:

Honestly assess the last month or two. How bad was it really? Did you fall a few pounds of your weight loss goals, did you plateau, or did you gain weight? Was it a question of eating a few high-calorie meals on special occasions, or did you munch steadily from morning until night from November through December? Recognizing how you got off track can help you get back on track.
Forgive yourself. Anger and shame will just add to your load in 2014. Leave them in 2013 and start 2014 with a clean slate. Remember that you deserve to forgive yourself, just like you would forgive anyone who erred and is asking for your forgiveness in the New Year.
Do not let the past get you down. Chances are that once you look clearly at the past month, things are not as bad as you feared. You probably did not gain as much weight or skip as many workouts as you think. Even if you did, undoing the damage is probably within reach.
Look ahead, not back. Think not about what went wrong during the holidays, but about what will go right in the coming weeks and months. Also appreciate your own role. You get to choose your behaviors and determine your outcomes.
Login to BariatricPal. Chatting with other weight loss surgery patients has multiple purposes. It lets you voice your concerns, fears, and hopes. It lets you know that others are going through the same experience as you, or have gone through the same thing in previous years and come out on top. It focuses you on the future.

Your good habits might have slipped over the holidays, but you can set yourself straight again. Whether you are preparing for surgery, losing weight after surgery, or maintaining your healthy lifestyle at goal weight, your healthy habits will pay off quickly.

New Year’s Resolutions That Can Inspire Success

New Year’s resolutions symbolize a clean slate and working toward new accomplishments. The wrong resolutions can be too unrealistic, or be so vague that they have no defined endpoint. The right resolutions can inspire you to work harder toward your goals. These are some tips for making good New Year’s resolutions, whether or not related to weight loss surgery:

Make them specific so that you know whether or not you have achieved them. “I will compliment my husband at least three times a week” instead of “I will be nicer to my husband,” or, “I will eat at least one serving of Protein at each meal before eating anything else,” instead of “I will make protein a priority,” or, “I will go to the gym for at least 30 minutes three times per week,” not, “I will get in shape.”
Make them realistic. “I will check the nutritional facts beforehand and order lean Proteins and vegetables when eating out,” not “I will not go to restaurants.”
Leave room for error. “I will eat at least 65 grams of protein per day at least 5 times per week,” instead of “I will eat at least 65 grams of protein each day,”
Focus on what you can control. “I will pack my Breakfast and lunch instead of going for fast food,” instead of, “I will lose 5 pounds per week,” or, “I will follow my dietitian’s weight loss surgery diet menus,” instead of “I will lose enough weight to get off of diabetes medications.”
Focus on behaviors rather than results. “I will eat slower and avoid fried foods,” instead of, “I will avoid weight loss surgery complications.”

These are a few more ideas for resolutions. Use them as written, modify them to meet your needs, or use them for inspiration as you develop your own resolutions.

I will set aside one afternoon each week for preparing and storing my meals for the week.
I will make a weekly list of my good decisions, such as passing up a lunchtime trip to the bakery with co-workers or putting workout clothes and shoes in the car.
I will weigh myself one morning per week, think carefully about what caused the number on the scale, and post the update to BariatricPal.
I will lose enough weight and be in good enough shape to enjoy our family’s dream vacation to Hawaii next summer.
I will eat breakfast at least six days per week and include a serving of protein.
I will measure and log all of my meals and Snacks.

The New Year should be a time for celebration, hope, and a fresh start. This newsletter should help you transition from 2013 so that you can make 2014 the very best it can for your weight loss and health. We wish you the very best for 2014. Here’s a toast to your health and weight loss, to making BariatricPal part of your weight loss journey, and to BariatricPal’s growth.

Cheers!

Alex

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