By Dr. Seun Sowemimo
The start of a new season is a great time to refresh your fall nutrition and fitness routine. For those considering or already in the process of weight loss surgery, a new start toward health and wellness may already be underway.
During office visits with my bariatric patients this week, I recommended adding a few updates to their nutrition and fitness routine. For example, it’s good for the body to recalibrate metabolism to a different form of exercise (i.e. change from walking to playing tennis or try a Zumba class, for example).
It’s also a delicious season to enjoy whole foods, like right-off-the-vine fruits and vegetables, which are overflowing from our local farmers’ markets right now.
Pick up a few new things, try a new recipe. For example, I was never a fan of tofu. But my wife found a recipe that mixed it with a great sauce, sweet potatoes, garbanzo beans and some other vegetables; it’s now one of my favorite meals. (Never say never!)
I’ve outlined five recommendations below to hit the reset button and keep your weight loss strategy interesting and challenging. Boredom is never good.
1. Expand your food horizons
Try a new supermarket to discover some healthy new foods to freshen up your fall recipes. Our family rule is that we must stop at every roadside or farmer’s market to sample their fresh foods. Forgo your usual supermarket and visit a Trader Joe’s, Aldi or Whole Food market. Patients have told me that TJ’s offers great healthy frozen food options and the produce prices at Aldi cannot be beaten. Both of these chains also offer several European items, which can be fun to try.
READ: “Five Bariatric Friendly Recipes to Try This Fall” by Lori Skurbe, Prime Surgicare Bariatric Dietitian
2. Set a new stage
While you refresh your nutrition and exercise plan, take a few hours to get your surroundings organized as well:
- Make your home clean and clutter-free. Pick a room that drives you crazy — a closet, your desk, the garage (I can relate here…) and get rid of what is not needed or broken.
- Wash your car inside and out.
- Paint a room a different color.
- Rearrange your furniture.
3. Change up your exercise regime
Depending on where you are in your weight loss journey, you may be surprised to learn that you can participate in some fitness activities that were too taxing or dangerous prior to your weight loss. Last week, a sleeve patient who has lost 75 pounds in 6 months, picked up a tennis racquet for the first time in 20 years. She said she played horribly but loved every minute of it. When was the last time you rode a bike or played a little badminton in the backyard?
4. Try whole food plant-based nutrition
Consider trying a whole food plant-based diet that revs up your metabolism, energy level and weight loss. Make those new recipes you’ve been collecting and add in the rich foods of fall, such as pumpkin and other squashes. Real foods, derived from plants, not boxes or packages, offer unmatched disease-fighting vitamins, minerals–and fewer calories. They can also boost your immune system’s virus-fighting ability. Many of our bariatric warriors reaching goal weight have transitioned to WFPB eating and love it.
5. Day Trip Somewhere New
Haven’t visited the Shore in the fall or day-tripped to New York or Philly in years? Get out of town for the day and see some new sites. Been meaning to try water aerobics? Find a course that fits your schedule and ask if you can sample a class at no charge. NOTE: Bring a mask to any city you visit and review/prepare to meet Covid-19 requirements to enter restaurants and other sites in both cities before you go. Fitness centers also have their own safety protocols to keep members safe.
Bottom line–While you are losing weight and regaining good health, make sure you have some fun along the way.
Post a comment below about how you’re changing up your daily routine this fall. I’d love to hear from you!
Bariatric surgery success requires more than an operation
If you have tried multiple diet and exercise plans and have not achieved the level of success you are looking for, join me at our next free patient webinar where my team and I introduce the safest bariatric options – gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, revising a lap band to a more productive bariatric option.
Are you ready to come in and talk about your health and weight goals? Great! Your Prime Surgicare team is looking forward to partnering with you on this life-changing journey.
About Seun Sowemimo, MD, FACS, FASMBS
Dr. Seun is a top NJ bariatric surgeon and the medical director at Prime Surgicare, with offices in Freehold and Jackson, New Jersey. He is board-certified and Columbia and Yale University fellowship-trained in advanced laparoscopic, bariatric and general surgery.
To learn more, visit his YouTube channel or call Prime Surgicare at (732)-414-2707.