Many people believe that having weight loss surgery is taking the "easy way out" which is completely untrue. When someone has weight loss surgery, the procedure is done but the work has only begun. Changing your life and habits are paramount in weight loss surgery success.

When having weight loss surgery, you commit yourself to certain nutrition and dietary requirements. You become committed to a healthy lifestyle with the habits that support your weight loss. Weight loss surgery is a tool to use but you must choose to use that tool.

After the early post-operative stage, you can regain weight or stall at a weight before your desired goal. Some of the reasons are familiar to many of us. To maximize your weight loss surgery success, here are some unhealthy behaviors to avoid:

• Testing old habits. After we've had surgery and lost excess weight, we feel great and look great. We think that maybe, just maybe, we can return to some of our old habits. We test once, twice, and before you know it, that old habit has crept into our lives again. The result can be weight regain or a weight loss stall. If you return to the old habits that made you heavy in the first place, you'll run the risk of becoming heavy again. Creating new healthy habits that replace the old habits is a big step to ensure your weight loss success is permanent.

• Grazing. This is probably the number 1 cause of weight regain from bariatric surgery. After you've had surgery, you can out eat the procedure. Grazing is the mindless, hand to mouth type of eating. It is nibbling a little bit for long periods of time. You aren't full but continually eating. Grazing is for cows on a pasture, not successful bariatric post-ops.

• I'm cured syndrome. You're not. Weight loss surgery does not provide protection for never gaining weight again. Weight loss surgery doesn't give you a permanent state of goal weight and maintenance. To maintain your weight loss, along with the habits that allow you to lose weight, are reflective of the choices you make every day. Don't get trapped into a false sense of security that you can eat anything you want and keep your weight loss from surgery.

• Stop exercising. Once you've lost your weight, you're done, right? No. The habit of exercising allowed you to lose weight and it continues to allow you to maintain your weight loss. The exercise that you did to become successful, will continue your success.

Bariatric surgery, or weight loss surgery, is a fabulous tool for losing weight, maintaining weight loss, and allows someone that is morbidly obese to achieve a second chance at regaining health. You can have a beautiful, expensive hammer that sits in your toolbox. Your impressive hammer doesn't do much on its own without you using it. The same applies to weight loss surgery. It is a very effective tool when we choose to use it in our lifestyle changes and choices.

Success with weight loss surgery is very possible for the short-term and long-term. Weight loss surgery doesn't guarantee success; you guarantee your success through your choices and healthy lifestyle. Enjoy your success, you deserve it.