Have you been looking at having cosmetic surgery? To be an appropriate candidate for any surgical procedure, you will need to have a body mass index (BMI) which is below 30. Anything above 30 is considered to be obese. This BMI level can cause complications during surgery – you may stop breathing due to the amount of anaesthetic administered.
Furthermore, many surgeries require you to lose weight prior to the procedure. Rather than being an alternative for weight loss, liposuction requires you to be as close as possible to your ideal weight. If you are planning on losing a significant amount of weight after having liposuction, you may require further surgeries, such as a tummy tuck.
It can often be disheartening for those who are told they need to lower their BMI before they are eligible to have cosmetic surgery. We understand that it can be difficult to try and lose weight. That’s why we have put together a list of things you can do to start your weight loss journey.
1. Don’t deprive yourself
When we are on a diet and trying to lose weight, we often focus on the foods we can’t eat – no carbs, no sugar, no full fats – essentially, don’t eat foods you have previously enjoyed eating. However, depriving yourself of enjoyable foods can mean that’s all you focus on. In the end, this just makes your cravings even worse. We are all human, and eventually, your willpower will give way. If your cravings are bad enough, you may end up binge eating on unhealthy foods.
Instead of total deprivation, allow yourself some time to have a cheat snack or meal – just make sure you don’t overdo it. Allowing yourself to have a cheat meal every now (one or two times a week maximum) and then means you’re more likely to stay on track with the diet, and not completely go off track with binge eating.
2. Stay hydrated
It can sometimes be difficult to remember to drink the right amount of water. We get busy with our jobs, or binge a tv show, or go out shopping, and suddenly we find that we are hungry.
Sometimes this hunger can actually just be because we have not had enough water. Remember to try and drink eight-ounce glasses of water per day (2 litres, or half a gallon). Drinks such as soft drink or alcohol do not count for your water intake – these drinks will drastically increase your calorie count. When you are trying to decrease your weight, it’s best to just stick to water.
3. Set regular meal times
Planning a routine can often help people on their weight loss journey. In fact, there are many benefits to eating at regular times, including:
- Prevents you from being hungry: if you skip a meal, you will inevitably find yourself more hungry, and therefore more likely to snack or have larger, overindulgent meals.
- Gives you enough energy: if you’re increasing your exercise, you will need to eat sufficient foods to fuel your body.
- Creates a routine: starting a new diet is hard, however, once we have created a new habit it can become a bit easier. It can be tricky to start a new habit, but once you’ve started the routine, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
- Stops you snacking: if you eat at irregular times or don’t eat three main meals per day, you may find yourself snacking during the day and therefore increasing the amount of food you’re eating.
4. Exercise with other people
Whether we like it or not, a crucial element of weight loss is exercise. If you’re not used to being physically active, this can be more of a challenge than healthy eating. Sometimes getting into a good exercise regime just takes a little motivation. Sometimes exercising with other people is just the motivation you need.
Your exercise can be something as simple as going for walks with other people. If you’re looking for something a bit more strenuous without breaking the budget, you can join a parkrun. If you are looking to join a gym, going to classes with a teacher and other people can often be a good motivator. Often it is hard to feel the need to exercise when you are going by yourself, but if you are meeting other people or have a scheduled class it can act as an extra reason to go and be active.
5. Don’t stress about counting calories
With the number of apps we have available nowadays, it’s very easy to find one that lets you log everything you have eaten and the number of calories in them. There are some advantages to this – it does keep you accountable for what you’ve eaten. However, it can be easy to become too worried and stressed about the calorie count, and therefore disheartened by your progress. There are a few reasons why you shouldn’t worry too much about counting calries, such as:
- There are other factors to consider: your calorie intake only makes up one part of your weight loss journey. You also need to consider the amount of exercise you’re getting, your quality of sleep, and any health problems such as hormonal changes.
- Calorie counts aren’t always accurate: when you’re entering calorie counts into an app, you either have to rely on what is printed on a package or enter data other people have already input. This isn’t always necessarily 100% accurate. So you may actually be consuming more or fewer calories than you realise.
- Knowing how many calories you actually need: apps will often ask for information such as your gender, your age, your height, weight and goal weight, and then determine how many calories you should be consuming on a daily basis. However, this is only really an approximate guess, as no app will ever know information such as your basal metabolic rate.
- How many calories you consume from the food: so you know the approximate amount of calories you should be consuming. But you don’t know how many calories your body is actually absorbing. This can come down to factors such as how much fibre the food has in it, or even your gut health and how the bacteria absorbs food.
Instead of counting calories, just look at the overall diet. Make sure you’re eating a balanced diet with vegetables, fruits, whole grains and protein. Make sure to eat mindfully to avoid binging. Pay attention to how your body is reacting – if you’re too tired and don’t have enough energy all the time, tweak the diet until you find exactly what works for you.
Do you have any more questions? Contact Centre for Surgery today for more information or to book a consultation with one of our surgeons.