What Is Obesity
Diet
Going
Back to Work
Birth
Control & Pregnancy
Long-Term
Follow-Up
Support
Groups
Diet 
The modifications made to your gastrointestinal
tract will require permanent changes in your eating habits that must
be adhered to for successful weight loss. Post-surgery dietary
guidelines will vary by surgeon. You may hear of other patients who
are given different guidelines following their weight loss surgery.
It is important to remember that every surgeon does not perform the
exact same weight loss surgery procedure and that the dietary
guidelines will be different for each surgeon and each type of
procedure. What is most important is that you adhere strictly to
your surgeon's recommended guidelines. The following are some of the
generally accepted dietary guidelines a weight loss surgery patient
may encounter:
- When you start eating solid food it is essential that you chew thoroughly. You will not be able to eat steaks or other chunks of meat if they are not ground or chewed thoroughly.
- Don't drink fluids while eating. They will make you feel full before you have consumed enough food.
- Omit desserts and other items with sugar listed as one of the first three ingredients.
- Omit carbonated drinks, high-calorie nutritional supplements, milk shakes, high-fat foods and foods with high fiber content.
- Avoid alcohol.
- Limit snacking between meals.
Going Back to Work 
Your ability to resume pre-surgery levels of
activity will vary according to your physical condition, the nature
of the activity and the type of weight loss surgery you had. Many
patients return to full pre-surgery levels of activity within six
weeks of their procedure. Patients who have had a minimally invasive
laparoscopic procedure may be able to return to these activities
within a few weeks.
Birth Control &
Pregnancy
It is strongly
advised that women of childbearing age use the most effective forms
of birth control during the first 16 to 24 months after weight loss
surgery. The added demands pregnancy places on your body and the
potential for fetal damage make this a most important
requirement.
Long-Term Follow-Up 
Although the short-term effects of weight loss surgery are
well understood, there are still questions to be answered about the
long-term effects on nutrition and body systems. Nutritional
deficiencies that occur over the course of many years will need to
be studied. Over time, you will need periodic checks for anemia (low
red blood cell count) and Vitamin B12, folate and iron levels.
Follow-up tests will initially be conducted every three to six
months or as needed, and then every one to two years.
Support Groups 
The widespread use of support groups has
provided weight loss surgery patients an excellent opportunity to
discuss their various personal and professional issues. Most learn,
for example, that weight loss surgery will not immediately resolve
existing emotional issues or heal the years of damage that morbid
obesity might have inflicted on their emotional well-being. Most
surgeons have support groups in place to assist you with short-term
and long-term questions and needs. Most bariatric surgeons who
frequently perform weight loss surgery will tell you that ongoing
post-surgical support helps produce the greatest level of success
for their patients.