Little known facts about losing weight after bariatric surgery
While most people trying to lose weight have yo-yo’ed over the years, it’s a lot less common to be losing large amounts of weight (like with bariatric surgery) quickly enough to notice changes other than the obvious one at the waistline.
Have you noticed any of the following?
You get shorter! No, your bones aren’t getting shorter! When losing weight, the fat pads on the soles of your feet become smaller. This tiny loss of fat in the soles of your feet leads people to think that someone in the bariatric surgery clinic isn’t measuring their height correctly, but alas, your true height is now really the shorter one!
Your shoe size may decrease. With the drastic weight loss seen after bariatric surgery (typically a loss of 20-30% of your starting body weight), it won’t only be your pants that are decreasing in size, but your shoes as well! Over the years, with weight gain, your shoe size most likely gradually increased because of the additional fat in the soles of your feet and in your ankles. The reverse happens with significant weight loss. Consider this change in shoe size as returning to your natural fit.
Your dentures may have to be resized. Significant weight loss not only changes your body, but it also changes your face (which you likely have noticed when renewing your driver’s license!). The weight loss in your face may change the fit of dentures or partials, which can make chewing your food down to a pulp difficult to do. If this hasn’t happened to you yet (and you’re still in the first few months after surgery), or if you’re waiting for surgery, you should anticipate a trip to your dentist to get this monitored. If you’ve been having gum pain or difficulty chewing your food since surgery, poor fitting dentures or partials may be the cause.
Your glasses fit differently. This goes along with the dentures not fitting well. At your highest weight, you may have picked a frame that fit a certain way, but with your recent drastic weight loss it’s very likely you’re finding that your glasses don’t sit well anymore. They may also feel uncomfortable, or perhaps they don’t frame your face as well anymore. The reason for this goes right along with dentures fitting differently; changes in the shape of your face may leave you with glasses that just don’t fit as well as they used to.
Your rings need to be resized. Another consequence of losing a large amount of body weight, is that your fingers lose a tiny amount of weight too! It’s a strong possibility that your rings will no longer fit as you approach the 6-12 month mark because your fingers become thinner. Depending on how loose your rings feel, you may need to get them resized.
It’s easy to predict that your pant and dress sizes will drop as you lose weight, meaning extra $$$ being spent on a new wardrobe. What you might not have known before reading this post, is to expect changes in the fit of your shoes, dentures, glasses, and rings. Don’t forget to account for these possible extra expenses when planning for bariatric surgery.
– Lisa and Monica, your bariatric surgery dietitians
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