Pre-op habits and surgery prep

[A1220M 101]

Hi all!

New here and this is my first post ever.

I'm doing my pre-op testing and in research mode (that never ends for me).

I don't yet have a surgery date, but preparing myself for the process.

For anyone post-op: Were there any habits you focused on or things you did before surgery that made it easier to go through?

Anything you wish you would have done beforehand to better prepare?

[BigSue 1,325]

Welcome! Glad you found this forum -- it has been incredibly helpful for me as I've gone through this process. There's a lot of great info and advice here!

I lost about 70 pounds in the 5 months before surgery, and hands down, the best thing I did to prepare was logging everything I ate in MyFitnessPal. I think that was the key to my pre-surgery weight loss and is something I've continued since my surgery. There are other similar apps (there's one called Baritastic that's specifically made for bariatric surgery patients), but I started with MyFitnessPal and liked it, so I'm sticking with it.

I think it's also a good idea to get into the habit of drinking more Water and tracking your water intake (you can do that in MyFitnessPal, too). I didn't really work out before surgery, and maybe it would have helped if I had started earlier, but I started a few months after surgery and now I work out and take walks every day.

[Creekimp13 5,838]

Walking. Started walking 6 months before surgery. Worked up from about 5000 steps a day to 10,000+ steps a day...and got them the day of my surgery wandering the unit halls after my surgery:)

Building up endurance walking...and continuing to walk every day....has been incredibly helpful. Strong metabolism, I can eat more calories, great energy and endurance.

Exercise is one of the most effective and least prescibed antidepressants. Helps your bone density, boosts your metabolism, improves heart health.

You can walk about anywhere.

Invest in a Fitbit or other tracker and get active:)

[A1220M 101]

Really appreciate the pre-op ideas!

@Creekimp13 - Good idea no the walking habit. Were you "prescribed" a certain amount of walking by the doctor daily or weekly?

@BigSue - I absolutely LOVE Myfitnesspal! Did you use that post-op at all? The Water tracking is something I need to get better at. Great idea.

Thanks!

[BigSue 1,325]

9 minutes ago, A1220M said:

@BigSue - I absolutely LOVE Myfitnesspal! Did you use that post-op at all? The Water tracking is something I need to get better at. Great idea.

Oh yes! I still log everything I eat in MyFitnessPal and also use it to track my Water and my weight.

[A1220M 101]

6 minutes ago, BigSue said:

Oh yes! I still log everything I eat in MyFitnessPal and also use it to track my Water and my weight.

Awesome. Good to know I'm on the right track, there. I've not done Water on that app, so I'll check that out.