Time-Saving Tips to Make Weight Loss Surgery Work

[Alex Brecher 10,494]

Weight loss surgery is hard work, and being in a time crunch can be another challenge. After weight loss surgery, you may need to spend extra time planning meals, preparing your food, and working out. That time can become a barrier to success

So how can you fit weight loss into your already-packed life? We have a few tips that can help you save precious minutes here and there.

Serve one meal per family.

Do you regularly make your family one meal and make yourself another? You’re doubling the time you spend cooking. You’re also showing your family that healthy eating is something that only YOU do, not something “normal.”

Save time and make the healthy eating bandwagon more welcoming by planning to serve one basic meal at each family dinner. You can always alter it to make it a little lower calorie for yourself, or to add some of the treats that your family loves but that are off-limits for you.

Take a spaghetti dinner, for example. You can skip the Pasta but serve it to everyone else, while making lean ground turkey meatballs in Tomato sauce with a side of veggies that you and everyone can enjoy. If you’re craving noodles, use some low-carb ones or make zucchini noodles. Then, if your family wants, offer extras such as parmesan cheese and garlic bread. It’s no extra work for you, and everyone gets what they want…while they get some good nutrients in them, too.

Use meal helpers – the healthy ones.

We’re not talking about boxes of rice or pasta helpers or family-sized frozen mac and cheese or pizza. We’re talking about healthy meal helpers, such as already-marinated chicken breast, pre-cut salad and veggies, and rotisserie chicken. They’re nutritious, and they save time.

You can also stockpile instant high-protein meals for anytime. BariatricPal has tons of hot and cold breakfasts and lunch and dinner choices that are ready in minutes and designed for weight loss surgery patients. Choose them for Breakfast or lunch at work, for a quick dinner, or when you just feel like a great-tasting entrée without needing to cook.

Multi-task when appropriate.

We’re not fans of multi-tasking when it comes to focusing. In fact, multi-tasking can actually be one of the biggest time-wasters of your day since it takes so much time to switch your attention from one task to another. But in its place, multi-tasking can be a brilliant time-saving move.

Doubling up on family time and chores is one of the most sensible ways to multi-task. You’ll get to spend more time with your family, while making chores more pleasant and saving time. Take your children with you to the supermarket (bonus: they can learn to read food labels!), and work on household chores together. Cleaning the house is a lot more fun when it’s a family activity, and it’ll teach good habits and responsibility.

Multi-tasking can also be a great way to fit more exercise into your life, since one of the biggest excuses for not getting active is lack of time. Walk them to and from school while you chat about their days. Walk laps, doing jumping jacks and squats, or even help out the coach and run drills with the kids if you’re watching your children’s sports practice. Encourage your children to play outside, and make it fun for them by being right there with them. Walk on a treadmill, use an exercise bike, or march in place while watching TV or during commercial breaks.

Make movement part of life.

Did you know moving for even a minute at a time can give you tons of benefits? There are plenty of ways to add in activity without taking an extra second of your time. You can try different games with yourself to see which works for you. You might decide to stand up every time you send a text message or check your phone, or remind yourself to walk around your office whenever you’re on the phone.

Now, we’re not saying to quit your gym membership or give up on your regular workouts. Just know that every little bit counts, and getting in a few minutes here and there can keep your metabolism going and help you think more clearly…so you can make better food choices.

Plan ahead to save time.

Sometimes it’s hard to set aside a few minutes to plan the week’s meals, recipes, and grocery shopping, but it saves time overall. You’ll be able to zip through the grocery store and get meals on the table faster when you already know exactly what you’re making. Planning ahead can even let you plan for leftovers, so you don’t have to cook another meal just yet.

You already know that sustainability is the key to long-term weight loss surgery success. The more you can fit your healthy weight loss surgery habits into your regular life, the easier it’ll be to keep up those good habits. They don’t need to take up much time as long as you plan them carefully.

[Christinamo7 4,041]

one thing that jumps out at me, while all of this is true and good - and that's the last one about planning ahead - because I think it comes down to good self care. making time to take care of your needs a priority.

I think one reason a lot of women anyway (men pipe up if this is also true for you!) put on weight is because they are so busy taking care of everyone else that they do not take the time for good self care. Any yet, it's a trap, and we know it even while we are doing it. You can not take good care of others by neglecting yourself.

There are a lot of things I could be doing on a Sunday afternoon besides preparing my food for the week, but it is really important to have good, appropriate, measured food ready to go so that I can stick with my program.

one of the things to learn from this WLS process, in order to be healthier coming out the other side is what does good self care look like, and how do I do this? many times therapy is needed, sometimes just a friend to talk through the process as you go along.

Good article, Alex.

[OKCPirate 5,323]

Alex, the only thing I would add is be grateful. I can go out to dinner with my SO and we just get one entree. She doesn't eat much and I can't. When you start adding it up, that is a significant financial savings (by my calculations it pays for a Mexico surgery in a year).