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This is how you start new habits after a weight loss surgery
Interview with dietician Bo van Rooij
A lot changes after a weight loss surgery. Your stomach is smaller and your intestines may also be rerouted. But that's not all. You will also start working on other habits, such as eating smaller portions and exercising more. That can all take a lot of getting used to. And how do you start with those new habits after a weight loss surgery? We will discuss this further in this blog.
We visited dietician Bo van Rooij, founder of MyFoodCoach. Her specialty is helping to break stubborn habits. She guides people to convert those habits step by step into habits that do work for successful weight loss.
What is a habit?
A habit is a learned impulse that leads to certain behavior. And often that behavior is rewarding. By repeating this rewarding behavior over and over again, you develop habitual behavior. Your brain learns that when one thing happens - like a certain situation -, you have to do something.
So when you put on your coat to go outside (the situation), you also have to grab your keys (what you have to do). An association is made between the jacket and the keys. And that's nice, because it makes this behavior easier and makes you grab your keys without thinking.
Bo: “Habits can be good or bad. A habit such as eating chips while watching television ensures that you unconsciously consume a lot of extra calories. When you consider that you have probably been doing this for decades, you realize that a habit can have quite an influence on your body. And unfortunately, habits do not take into account the longer-term consequences, such as gaining weight.”
A habit is therefore certain behavior that you hardly have to put any effort into and do not think about. You just do it in certain situations. And perhaps for many years.
What makes breaking a habit difficult?
Your brain does a lot automatically. This is useful in many cases, so that you do not forget your keys, for example. But all that automaticity also makes your brain a bit lazy. And it doesn't like change. Change means being conscious and making an effort. And make an effort? That takes a lot of energy.
That makes breaking a habit very difficult. Especially if you have been doing something a certain way for a long time and it brings you benefits. Because let's face it, a snack while watching a movie is really tasty. But you still want to break that habit, because it unconsciously provides extra calories and it doesn't work for you when you want to lose weight.
Bo: “You often experience a new habit as difficult and annoying, because you feel you are no longer allowed to do anything. You are no longer allowed chips at the movies. You are not allowed to drink soft drinks after a walk. What else are you allowed to do?
Your brain is very sensitive to what it is allowed to do. That is why it can help to think for yourself what you can do. When you do that, your brain becomes very happy. So instead of “I can no longer have chips while watching the movie”, you get “I can have a nice cup of tea with the movie”. It's much better to be allowed to do something than not, right?
How do you make breaking a habit easier?
We often make a new habit extremely difficult for ourselves. And when something is difficult, you continue to dread it. Then you won't work on it.
That's why the first step is to make a new habit easy for yourself. And you do this by chopping that new habit into small, easy pieces. And every little bit of change should feel like something you can handle. Because you can do something small and easy much faster. This way your brain can get used to those small changes and get better at them. It then becomes a little easier and eventually automatic. And then you just add a new, small piece of change.
If those little things work out, you're doing really well! And your brain really likes that good feeling. Ultimately, the small changes become easier and more normal. And then you achieve a new habit that actually seemed quite difficult at first.
Bo: “It is important to link new actions to something you already do. Do you always drink a cup of coffee at 3 p.m.? Then link that moment to a walk. By linking new habits to existing habits, you make it easier to maintain something new.”
Would you like to exercise more? Then start small. You don't have to walk for four days straight away. Look at the habits you already have and whether there is a standard time when you can schedule small walks. So don't be discouraged by the demands and the bar you set high!
Which habit is best to start with?
After a weight loss surgery you really have to do some things differently. But before that actually happens, your body needs time to recover. You will undoubtedly be very tired and may not feel well. This may take several days or weeks. Surrender yourself to that and listen to your body. Your body is first really busy getting used to a smaller stomach and perhaps also rerouted intestines.
You can start writing down your current habits during this period. What do you do in a day? What do you eat and drink? If you find it difficult to remember it all, you can also use an app with a food diary, for example. Then you can write down what you do several times a day.
Then take a good look at your habits. At what time of day do you still consume too many calories? And what are you eating or drinking at that moment that causes so many calories? That is the eating habit that stands in the way of achieving your goal. And it is best to start working on that eating habit first.
Bo: “Sometimes it is advised to make a list of everything you would like to do differently. But if a list is far too long or contains difficult changes, you may become stressed. And that is precisely when change is difficult.
It is therefore better to look at what habits you have now. And then see which habit really doesn't contribute to your weight loss goal. That is the habit you should focus on.”
Then write down why that one habit is getting in the way of your goal. And think about how you can ensure that he no longer stands in the way of your goal. What else can you do? And what small steps can you take differently?
Consider, for example, the habit of having a cookie with every cup of coffee. The amount of cookies together can cause you to take in more calories than you consume. That really hinders your goal of losing weight by limiting calorie intake. By replacing that cookie with a healthy snack, you consume fewer calories and it is less of an obstacle to your goal.
This way you focus on just one habit that you break little by little. And that makes actually changing your habit easier.
Actually start new habits
Of course, starting to change can be very difficult. But writing it down for yourself can really help. Also tell your partner, family and friends about your goal and how you are going to achieve it. They can help and support you.
Also feel free to stick a note on the refrigerator or wall that will remind you of your new habit and the small steps. It can also be nice to hang up some kind of calendar. Then you can write down a check or nice drawing here if you managed to maintain a new habit that day. That is extremely motivating!
