Emotional First Aid Kit: A Practical Guide to Life After Bariatric Surgery

I bought this for a friend. I read it first to make sure it was appropriate & worth their time, and I found it very insightful. It brought up many issues that I had never considered, but they seem like important ideas for folks who are struggling and thinking about some sort of weight-control surgery. It delivers a very honest and open dialogue about the realities of bypass surgery & variations of it. I like that it talked about the before, during, and after. Ultimately, my friend decided against the surgery, which the book addresses, and for some people that is the right decision. It carries on meaningful discussions about how surgeries of this sort are not a magic bullet and much work is still required on the part of the patient. It discusses if one is not truly committed to doing it right & following the plan the doctor gives, then it could become fatal. I would recommend this book strongly for anyone considering any type of weight control surgery. Reading it forced my friend to slow down & think through the day to day realities that would exist for the rest of their life. There is no changing your mind if you miss your old habits, but for some people, it gives the support and mental state needed for success. It discusses how getting your mind right first is critical to success- whatever you decide.

This is a great book with lots of info. Lots of suggestions and ideas of what to do with your relationship with food. I will keep it handy as I approach my lap band surgery. As I was reading it I found myself highlighting things. The only thing I really wish is that it was available on Kindle. At times when I will want to read it and keep on track, I do not want to share the title with others around me. The Kindle keeps what I am reading discreet. There are a lot of books on here that I would love to get and have for reference for after my lapband surgery. Just don't want to have to carry around a suitcase to read them. I bought my Kindle so I could store books and have them there when I need them. I just wish the Author and Publisher could see how nice it would be to have this available for Kindle. I really like that this Author is not sugar coating anything. She pretty much says it as it is. Lapband is just a tool and if you don't change your brain and how you think about food and exercise, you will not be sucessful. She gives techniques on staying in control and again makes it perfectly clear that you weight loss is only going to happen and stay off if you can get in control of your brain. Learning new ways to communicate with yourself and talking nicely to yourself can make a difference. I wish I had purchased this book months or years ago. Again, just wish i could have gotten it on Kindle for convenience and privacy. Now I need to get a book cover for it. Overweight people are tired of being judged, so reading a book call The Emotional First Aid Kit is something they don't necessarily want people to see them reading, no more judgement.

Bariatric surgery can be a life-changing operation -- but it is up to each patient to maintain that change of life. The surgery won't do it for you alone.This book is unique in that it is written not by a surgeon or patient, but by a very experienced family psychologist, Cynthia L. Alexander, PsyD. Her practice includes a large number of patients with serious weight problems, so she knows what she's talking about.Dr Alexander deals in practical terms with the main obstacles to successful weight loss -- which are also often the emotional difficulties which urge us to overeat in the first place -- stress and emotional pain, in particular, as well as greed, familial pressure and bad lifestyle habits.The book is also unique in that it deals with the pressures that arise AFTER the weight has been lost. Once you start to noticeably lose weight, you may find that not everybody is delighted with the new you. A variety of surprising reasons can lead people to want you to put it all back on again.This book will prepare you for that -- and help you to keep the weight off for the rest of your life.Written with compassion and insight, illustrated with many case histories, this is a fascinating and very rewarding book for bariatric patients. It is a very good place to go when experiencing difficulties or temptations. Highly recommended.

I learned several useful tools for continued success! I will definitely consider using some of the suggestions from this book and appreciated the multiple scenarios in the text.

A great read for those preparing for surgery. Know what's ahead the good and the challenges. Quick read too. Excellent

This is a wonderful book for those considering bariatric surgery or other substantial life-cycle changes for weight loss. Organized into 17 chapters, each presents a series of related problems and offers specific suggestions on dealing with the issues. These include such topics as self-talk, stress relief, weight maintenance, and relapses.The content is excellent and provides important information for anyone considering bariatric surgery. I think it would also be very useful to anyone looking at major life-style changes associated with long-term dieting.The book has two minor flaws that cause me to give it 4 instead of 5 stars. It desperately needs a complete index. Every section has important information, but it is difficult to find again without re-reading substantial portions of the chapter. The resources section at the end of the book is also disappointing. It gives a number of books, articles, and web sites but all are presented without annotations. And they are given alphabetically instead of by category, making these even less useful. One hopes that the third edition of this valuable book will correct these omissions.

Very informative and easy to read. Definitely worth having it as another tool in your bag.If you're considering a type of weight loss surgery this book will help in the decision making and will give you insight intowhat is ahead.

Although this is an american book, it follows all the psychology and advice that is given when looking at surgery here in England.I went to my doctors and told him that my issue with food is all in my head and could he help, and he referred me to the 2 tier weight management program at the hospital.Bariatric surgery will not be the instant fix you think its going to be. People eat for a huge variety of reasons and if you don't sort that out then the surgery won't work or you could just transfer one problem to another.This book has reinforced all that I have learned from the hospital. Food will always be an issue but if you follow the advice of this book then hopefully it will help you maintain whatever you lose whether you have the surgery or not.Edited to add that although the title says A Practical guide to life after bariatric surgery, this is essential reading for before bariatric surgery.

Very realistic approach, I appreciate the author doesn't sugar-coat the truth about the struggle that comes after such surgery. The book contains many useful tips on how to handle the emotional part of the matter and how to make sure this is a long lasting change.

this book is really helping me at the moment and the advice given within can be used for other things i rate this highly

Full of useful info a must read

very helpful and imformative