Adjusting Your Mood at Your Bariatric Center

Posted: Feb 26 in Weight Loss Blog by Staff

Anyone who has undergone weight loss surgery knows that losing weight is more than a physical task. Losing weight—especially losing a lot of weight—impacts you emotionally and mentally in ways that many people are not prepared for. Physical changes in your body can stir up deep-seated emotions and frustrations that may interfere with your weight loss plan.

While you are losing weight with the support of your bariatric center it is important that you take the chance to evaluate the changes occurring internally, as well as externally, and make an effort to keep your mood positive as you progress towards your goal.

How Weight Loss Can Impact Your Mood

Your mood is an outward display of your inner emotions. Unfortunately, not all of us are able to control our moods in the way we might wish. Deep emotions that we may not be cognizant of can manifest themselves in our moods. Feelings of jealousy, confusion, impatience and despair can come out in our moods as sadness or anger.

When you are trying to lose weight your mood is especially susceptible to ups and downs. While emotions are the primary component of a mood, the display of emotions is greatly impacted by several physical factors—including your diet, hormones and stress levels. As you are losing weight it will take extra effort to maintain a positive mood about your health and wellness goals. Keeping your mood positive will help you remain motivated and on track for success.

Here are a few tips for maintaining a good mood as you lose weight:

• Just smile. Sometimes there are no words that can make you feel better in the moment, but a smile often can. Even if you don’t mean it, force a smile onto your face. The longer you smile, the clearer a positive path may become.
• Think something good. Challenge negative thoughts with positive ones to keep a good mood. A happy thought can drag you out of a downward spiral. The next time you are upset over a setback, take a look behind you and congratulate yourself on how far you’ve already come.
• Stay aware. One of the worst things you can do for your mood is ignore it. Learn the early signs a bad mood. Are you shutting the cabinets a bit louder than usual? Losing your patience with your dog quicker than normal? Picking yourself apart in the mirror out of nowhere? Learn to identify these signs before your bad mood pulls you and everyone around you down into a funk.

Everyone has mood swings, and stressful experiences like weight loss surgery can intensify the experience. Try to stay a step ahead of yourself and anticipate your changing mood when you have a rough day. Do your best to tear down your bad mood before it tears down you and those you care about.