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Contents: What's Wrong with My Surgery? by Whitney Wilhide Behavior Modification: Finding an Answer to the Problem by Whitney Wilhide

What’s Wrong with My Surgery? By Whitney Wilhide Have you ever asked yourself this question? Many people feel Bariatric surgery will be the answer to their life long struggle with their health and weight, and for  most people, it is.  But what happens when you don’t feel well, are tired, or nauseated? What about when you haven’t reached your goal weight, or you find yourself eating larger quantities of food? What went wrong?  Most people do a tremendous amount of research on the topic of Bariatric surgery prior to having it. They get educated by their center with a lengthy process and a large manual with the focus of all of this being “the surgery is a tool.” Bariatric surgery is a true physical, emotional, and spiritual journey for most people. It forces behavioral changes; it forces patients to pay attention to their body and to treat it well. When people are not accountable to themselves for making the proper lifestyle changes, negative outcomes result. We are all human, we all make mistakes. But the successful patient is able to reflect within themselves, to search and discover the meaning of their behaviors, and make a decision about what they do and do not want to have in their life.  It is not always possible to change behavior by yourself. Sometimes you need to ask your friends or family to help you. Perhaps you know you will exercise if you are accountable to someone else and arrange times to meet a friend at the gym, or to go for a walk. Sometimes you may need to ask your spouse to help you choose the right types of food by getting rid of all the junk in the house. You may need professional help to allow you to figure out how to be accountable to yourself, and not blame others. All of these are healthy ways of developing new habits. Take this opportunity of life-change and allow it to transform your person into a more balanced you. Make the time to come to your follow-up visits, and to take your vitamins. Plan healthy meals and find activities you enjoy. Vow not to make excuses why you can’t drink plenty of fluid or get enough sleep. Help the surgery to transform you, don’t work against it. Empower yourself to do what you know you must!

Behavior Modification: Finding an Answer to the Problem By Whitney Wilhide In order to fix a problem, one must change something. This is true of relationships with people, the environment, weight problems or food addiction. Some problems may be harder to solve than others, but the answers always begin with self-awareness. If one fails to recognize their own specific issues with food, they will be unable to find constructive solutions and may transfer their food addiction to another unhealthy addiction, thus becoming depressed and frustrated. Some steps to modify unhealthy behaviors include: 1. Identifying specific unhealthy behaviors that hinder your success. Examples include: eating sweets or high carbohydrate foods, snacking frequently throughout the day, frequent meals out, or drinking high caloric beverages. The first step in identifying negative behaviors should be to journal your food intake. Your log should include the food that was eaten, what time, how much, where you were when you ate, and what was your mood. At the end of a few days, you may be surprised to see trends. For example, you might find that you primarily eat in your living room when you are bored. 2. Identifying very specific actions to help eliminate or decrease the unhealthy behavior. These actions may be committing to only eating meals at the dining room table, drinking a lot of water when stressed, or taking a walk when you are lonely or bored. Remember to journal as you did previously. 3. At the end of a week, evaluate your progress. Circle the times when you were unsuccessful with your plan. Are there trends? If your plan hasn’t decreased the problem behavior, try another action or make adjustments to your existing plan. 4. Congratulate yourself on the changes you have made. Stop looking at the scale to measure success, and look at the positive changes you have made and how much healthier you are becoming. Changing behavior requires deliberate planning. Increasing your self-awareness will help you make positive lifelong changes that you can be proud of. It takes time, discipline and energy, but the results are well worth it.

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