Tips To Boost Your Willpower After Weight Loss Surgery

Many of our patients at Advanced Surgicare describe ongoing struggles with willpower. They want to make sensible decisions about their health and weight loss, but they have trouble controlling their urges and resisting temptations. They feel as though they are caught in destructive behavioral patterns and can’t break free.

Many of our patients at Advanced Surgicare describe ongoing struggles with willpower. They want to make sensible decisions about their health and weight loss, but they have trouble controlling their urges and resisting temptations. They feel as though they are caught in destructive behavioral patterns and can’t break free.

If you feel the same way, you may be interested to discover that willpower is an attribute that can be learned and practiced. Some researchers believe it is like a muscle, and it gets stronger the more we use it. Here, Dr. V. Kuzinkovas shares some tips to boost willpower after weight loss surgery.

Avoid Getting Too Tired, Too Hungry or Too Stressed

We all make poor decisions when we are exhausted, famished or stressed. You will find it much easier to face and resist temptation when you get plenty of rest, eat before you get too hungry and avoid getting mentally overwhelmed.

Manipulate Your Environment

To the extent that it is possible, control your environment and eliminate triggers so that you do not have to rely on self-control all the time. Don’t keep junk food in your house. Don’t say yes to the dinner invitation with friends. Though it isn’t feasible to manipulate your environment all the time, in general you should focus on making it easy to do things that are good for your health, and difficult to do the things that are not.

Make Exercise Enjoyable

A number of our patients struggle to maintain the willpower to exercise when it feels like a chore or punishment. It certainly makes sense that if you don’t enjoy riding a stationary bike or using a treadmill, you will find excuses to avoid those activities.

For a change, choose physical activities that you enjoy, such as taking cardio dance classes or biking around a scenic part of town. Or, make a stationary bike or treadmill workout more enjoyable by investing in new gear or listening to an audiobook or podcast.

Reframe Some of Your Thoughts

The words we use and the stories we tell ourselves are powerful. It’s helpful to reframe certain thoughts to take ownership of your actions. For example, avoid saying “I can’t eat that,” which indicates the decision is out of your control or you are punishing yourself. Instead, reframe the thought as “I don’t eat that,” which signals you are in control of your choices.

Another way to reframe “I can’t have that” is to tell yourself “Not now, but later.” In other words, you are not depriving yourself of your favorite dessert forever, you are simply postponing it.

Ask for Support

Having the support of your family and friends can be very useful to maintain willpower when you want to give up. Be honest with your loved ones about your struggles with willpower, and ask for their support as you navigate tough situations.

Contact Us Today

If you are interested in learning more about the tools to success after weight loss surgery, please call or email Dr. Kuzinkovas and the team at Advanced Surgicare today.