Ep 20: Habits Which Can Lead to Weight Regain After Bariatric Surgery
This post is a companion to Episode 20 of the Bariatric Nutrition Coach Podcast. Listen to the full episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Weight regain is one of the biggest fears people carry after bariatric surgery. In this episode I want to talk honestly about the eating behaviours most associated with weight regain — not to create fear, but to bring awareness. Because when you know what to look out for, you can catch it early.
1. Skipping Meals
Skipping meals might feel like it should help with weight loss, but the opposite is often true. When you skip meals, you arrive at the next eating occasion over-hungry, and it becomes almost impossible to eat slowly and stop when satisfied. The solution: regular, structured meals throughout the day.
2. Drinking More Calories
It can happen so gradually you barely notice. An extra milky coffee here, a smoothie there, a juice when you are out. Liquid calories are easy to consume and easy to underestimate. Over time they quietly contribute to weight regain. The goal is for most of your fluid intake to be low or no-calorie.
3. Snacking and Grazing
Unplanned, ad hoc snacking disrupts your eating schedule, reduces appetite at actual meals, and often involves high-carbohydrate or high-fat foods rather than lean proteins. The solution is again regular, deliberate meals and snacks rather than reactive grabbing throughout the day.
4. Night Eating
Eating after dinner is one of the most common habits I work on with clients. It can be driven by genuine hunger — often because not enough was eaten during the day — or by emotional reasons such as wanting to unwind or reward yourself after a long day. Both drivers are worth understanding and addressing.
If you recognise yourself in any of these habits, approach it with curiosity and compassion — not shame. These are very normal, very human patterns. Awareness is the first and most important step.
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