Right away! To start, you will take easy, short walks while you are in the hospital. The key is to start slow. Listen to your body and your surgeon. If you lift weights or do sports, stay “low impact” for the first month.

For many patients, exercise is important for stress control and appetite control, as well as burning off calories. As we age, lack of activity can lead to being frail or fragile, which is quite dangerous to overall health. Healthy bones and avoiding muscle loss partly depends on doing weekly exercise. Most patients also think of exercise as something that must be intense and painful (like “boot camp”). Regular, modest activity is far more useful in the long term. Even elite athletes can’t stay at a “peak” every week of the year. Instead, work with your surgeon’s program to find a variety of activities that can work for you. There is no “one-size-fits-all” plan. Expect to learn and change as you go!

Yes. Many insurance companies require patients to be on a weight loss program before qualifying for surgery. Many bariatric surgeons put their patients on a special pre-operative diet, usually 2 or 3 weeks just before surgery. The reason for the pre-operative diet is to shrink the liver and reduce fat in the abdomen. This helps during the procedure and makes it safer. Some insurance companies require a physician-monitored diet three to six months prior to surgery as part of their coverage requirement. These diets are very different from the short-term diets and usually are more about food education and showing a willingness to complete appointments and to learn.

No. Most people think of a “diet” as a plan that leaves you hungry. That is not the way people feel after surgery. Eventually, most patients get some form of appetite back 6-18 months after surgery. Your appetite is much weaker, and easier to satisfy than before. This does not mean you can whatever and whenever you want. Healthier food choices are important for best results, but most patients still enjoy tasty food, and even occasional “treats”.

Most groups advise waiting 12-18 months after surgery before getting pregnant. Most women are much more fertile after surgery, even with moderate weight loss. Birth control pills do NOT work as well in patients who are overweight. Birth control pills are not very reliable during the time your weight is changing. For this reason, having an IUD or using condoms and spermicide with ALL intercourse is needed. Menstrual periods can be very irregular, and you can get pregnant when you least expect it!

Yes. After surgery, there is much less risk of experiencing problems during pregnancy and during childbirth. There are also fewer miscarriages and stillbirths than in women with obesity who have not had surgery and weight loss. Kids born after mom’s surgery are LESS at risk of being affected by obesity later, due to activation of certain genes during fetal growth. There is also less risk of needing a C section.

After surgery, most patients return to work in one or two weeks.

Some hair loss is common between 3 and 6 months following surgery but almost always temporary. The reasons for hair loss are not totally understood. Even if you take all recommended supplements and meet protein requirements, hair loss will be noticed until the follicles come back. Adequate intake of protein, vitamins, and minerals will help to ensure hair re-growth, and avoid longer term thinning.

Some patients may choose to have plastic surgery, but this depends on many factors.

No. A small number of patients can regain their weight but the vast majority lose significant weight and keep this weight off. More than 95% of patients will successfully lose half of their extra body weight or more after surgery for weight loss. (1) Roux en Y gastric bypass patients, for example, on average lose approximately 70% of their extra body weight initially, and 2 years or more after surgery will regain approximately 5% of their extra body weight. (2) Compared to these results, patients who attempt weight loss without surgery, on average, are able to lose little weight and may gain weight in the long-term. (3)

Many patients are able to stop using some medications.