Your Responsibilities

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Weight loss surgery is just one step in your journey toward better health. You cannot expect to maximize your results without having a plan for changing some behaviors and following through with the demands of aftercare. It is vitally important that you completely understand the risks, benefits, and limitations of the procedure you and your doctor have chosen.

Make sure that all your questions have been answered before you have surgery. It might help you to take a look at some of the more common questions patients have. Above all, you need to understand the part you’ll have to play in achieving successful long-term weight loss.

You will need to:

Recognize that bariatric surgery is simply a tool and not the complete answer to effective weight management.
Engage in exercise on a regular basis, as recommended by your weight management team.
Adopt healthy nutritional habits, focusing on portion sizes and low-fat, low-calorie and sugar-free foods.
Attend to any personal or emotional issues that may arise throughout your weight loss journey.
(Counselors or therapists are available to you before and after surgery)
Take part in educational and support programs on a regular basis.
(Studies show that patients who participate achieve greater success than those who do not)
Avoid consuming alcoholic beverages.
(Alcohol is high in calories, can cause dumping syndrome and, most importantly, there are indications that some weight loss surgery patients are at risk for alternate addictions including alcoholism)
Quit smoking prior to surgery.
Be knowledgeable about the risks, benefits and limitations of weight loss surgery and have a clear understanding that there may be short or long-term complications.

For more information about the risks of weight loss surgery, refer to the National Institutes of Health website. Or visit the links on our Knowledge Is Power page.

Attending one of our free, no obligation weight loss seminars is a good way to learn more about our weight loss program and meet key members of our weight loss team.

Learn more about weight loss surgery to make better choices

Meet patients who struggled until they had weight loss surgery

Ready for the next step?
Meet with our weight loss specialists.