Undoubtedly, laser lipolysis is one of the best plastic surgeries to improve the figure and personal image. However, many patients are afraid of falling back into the bad habits they had before surgery and do not know how to take care of the results after laser liposuction.
Therefore, it is essential to adapt the lifestyle to achieve a sustainable change over time. The patient’s mind and determination are key factors that must be worked on to take on the challenges of living a healthier life.
So we have compiled some of the best tips that can help you during this stage to better preserve these results.
How to create new habits after laser liposuction?
As you may have heard on other occasions, nutrition and physical exercise are the pillars of a healthy life. But if it is something you did not have in place in your life before surgery, creating the habit becomes a challenge for beginners.
For a habit to occur, we must repeat the new pattern enough times for the brain to generate the necessary connections that encourage the automatic performance of that behavior [4].
Contrary to what is usually believed, a person can take between 18 and 254 days approximately to create a new habit and 66 days for this new behavior to become automatic, according to a study by the European Journal of Social Psychology in 2009 [2].
So you should be aware of the habits you have, which ones you want to change, and which ones you want to add to your daily life to generate a new long-term routine [3]. For this reason, experts [1] agree that following these recommendations could help you to correct and improve your lifestyle.
Tip #1: Think about your habits and what situations are conducive to unhealthy patterns
To do this, make a diary containing everything you ate in a week and how you felt when you decided to eat. This will help you realize what you are doing right and what those triggers set you back.
Many patients associate food as a form of reward that will lift their mood and they eat when they feel tired, sad, anxious, or bored, even if they are not hungry. Being aware of your emotions associated with food will allow you to seek the right help to manage the issue.
In addition, we also see other situations that do not help build healthy eating habits. For example, coming home and having no idea what to eat, the inability to refuse a dish when someone made it just for you, or keeping junk food in the fridge and drawers.
Tips #2: Replace old habits with new ones little by little
After identifying the habits that hinder your progress, it’s time to change them for new ones. Design a plan, start with small changes little by little, create the necessary atmosphere to accomplish them, and surround yourself with people who have the habit you want to achieve.
For example, if your goal is to go running for exercise, but you don’t want to be overcome by laziness, a good tactic is to leave your sports clothes ready the night before or take them with you to work and start running for short periods.
It’s better to go for a 10-minute run several times a week than to do it just one day for more than an hour, and then, not want to do it again because of fatigue or leg pain.
Tip #3: Reward effort
After reaching a goal, celebrate your mini-victories with rewards that don’t involve food. For example, a new piece of clothing or sports accessories, a bath with essences after training, or sharing your achievements on social networks.
On the other hand, if you get discouraged or don’t reach a goal at some point, be flexible, accept the failure and learn from it. Even most fitness influencers don’t achieve 24/7 all their goals. However, they always get back on track.
So it’s important to remember why you started this process and create a contingency plan to help you get back into the habit.
Tip #4: Add variety to your routine once it’s established
Lastly, you’ll want to add variety to your habits so they don’t become boring. Learn to make new healthy recipes, add exercises or activities you’ve never done, get new exercise partners, among other things, and get out of the monotony.
You could be interested in reading: ¿What food to eat after plastic surgery?
In summary
Maintaining the results of laser liposuction is possible as long as you follow a healthy diet and exercise routine. For this reason, you will have to create habits that will help you achieve this goal and become part of your lifestyle [5].
So it will be important that you establish new habits that you want to acquire, design a roadmap to follow, and create environments that motivate you to continue, even when you don’t feel like it.
At BetterMe, we can connect you with excellent post-operative services such as lymphatic drainage to help you achieve the results you desire while you take care of your diet and consolidate new healthy habits. Contact us and find out how we can coordinate every detail of your plastic surgery in Colombia.
You’d like to read too: 3 recipes to cook after plastic surgery
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References:
[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2022. Improving Your Eating Habits. [online] Available at: <https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/spanish/losingweight/eatinghabits.html> [Accessed 2 May 2022].
[2] Citeseerx.ist.psu.edu. 2022. How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. [online] Available at: <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.695.830&rep=rep1&type=pdf> [Accessed 2 May 2022].
[3] Frothingham, S., 2022. How Long Does It Actually Take to Form A New Habit?. [online] Healthline. Available at: <https://www.healthline.com/health/how-long-does-it-take-to-form-a-habit#base-figure> [Accessed 2 May 2022].
[4] Graziano, P., 2022. ¿Te cuesta arrancar? | Psicología Estratégica. [online] Psicología Estratégica. Available at: <https://psicologia-estrategica.com/te-cuesta-arrancar-7-pasos-crear-nuevos-habitos-sin-abandonar-camino/> [Accessed 2 May 2022].
[5] National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. 2022. Changing Your Habits for Better Health | NIDDK. [online] Available at: <https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/informacion-de-la-salud/alimentacion-nutricion/como-cambiar-sus-habitos-para-tener-una-mejor-salud> [Accessed 2 May 2022].
