Making the decision to have bariatric surgery can be hard. The recovery from any of the bariatric surgeries can be hard and take longer that you think it should. The good news is that you can do things to make the process go better. From finding the right rehabilitation center to knowing when to ask for help, you can get through the recovery to lead a better life.

1. Start walking as soon as you can.

This is going to feel wrong for just about a thousand reasons. When you are at the hospital and later at the rehabilitation center, you need to walk as much as you can. It will be hard at first but it will get easier. There are a number of reasons to walk after surgery.

There are a number of reasons you will want to get moving as soon as you can after your operation. When abdominal surgery is performed laparoscopically, the bariatric surgeons use a lot of air to do what they need to do. This can leave you feeling bloated and uncomfortable. That is normal and the best way to get rid of that air is to walk around.

As you recover and move to a rehabilitation center, you will want to keep walking, but for different reasons. You may not be in the habit of working out on a regular basis. Now is the time to start new, healthier habits. Making exercise a real part of your life will make your chances of having success from your gastric bypass surgery or gastric sleeve surgery.

2. Be religious about your diet.

When you have this kind of surgery, you will be given a diet from your doctor. You need to follow this as if your life depends on it because it does. If you are going to have success with your bariatric surgery, you are going to have to do your part. The longer you keep at it, the easier it will become.

If you do not follow the diet as given to you by your doctor, your stomach can actually return to the size it had before you had the surgery. You simply have to follow the diet to the letter.

3. Keep your spirits up.

Bariatric surgeries have given a number of people around the world a new lease on life but it is serious surgery. Many people who have any kind of major operation have reported experiencing depression and other problems in the weeks after the surgery is over.

There are things people do to stay motivated through these periods of time. They find fun sports to play. They get a smart watch or FitBit to keep track of their workouts. There are some non-exercise related things you can do. Play Words with Friends, read a book, watch a movie. Just do things that make you happy that are not eating a pizza (or whatever you favorite food is).

4. Talk to people who have been through this.

You may think that your friends and family are all the support you need but it really can help to talk to people who have been through a bariatric surgery. You can start looking for or going to support groups when you are in the rehabilitation center but should keep that up when you go home.

These are the people you can talk to when you are having a hard time sticking to your diet or going out to get some exercise. You can get work out tips, recipes and these people can help you keep your promise to yourself to get healthy by losing weight and getting into good shape. Talking to people when you are down and sharing your successes when you have them (you will have successes!) can really make the recovery time easier for you and your friends and family As great as your friends and family are, if they have not been through bariatric surgery, they really do not understand what you are going through.

There are a lot of things you will have to do to get through your recovery from bariatric surgery. Things can get harder when you leave the rehabilitation center but you can have success. It will get better.