Bariatric surgery marks the beginning of a transformative journey toward better health and well-being. To ensure success, it’s essential to have the right tools at your disposal. With the advancement of technology, there are several apps available to help you track your progress, maintain a balanced diet, stay active, and manage your mental health. Here’s a list of ten must-have apps for bariatric surgery patients.
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Best For: Comprehensive Bariatric Support
Baritastic is a go-to app for bariatric patients, offering a wide range of features, including food diaries, water trackers, vitamin reminders, and weight loss graphs. The app also connects you with a community of fellow patients for added support and motivation.
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Best For: Tracking Nutrition and Exercise
MyFitnessPal is a versatile app that helps you track your daily food intake, monitor calorie consumption, and manage your exercise routine. Its extensive food database and barcode scanning feature make it easy to log meals and stay on track with your nutritional goals.
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Best For: Simple, Effective Calorie Counting
Lose It! simplifies calorie counting, helping you manage your diet with ease. You can set personalized goals, track your meals, and analyze your nutrition. The app also offers a barcode scanner and recipe builder for accurate meal logging.
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Best For: Staying Hydrated
Hydration is crucial for post-surgery recovery. WaterMinder helps you track your water intake and sends reminders to ensure you meet your daily hydration goals. The app is customizable, allowing you to log various types of beverages and monitor your fluid consumption.
Best For: Mental Well-being and Stress Management
Headspace is a mindfulness and meditation app that helps you manage stress, anxiety, and other emotional challenges. It offers guided meditations, sleep aids, and mindfulness exercises, supporting your mental well-being as you navigate your weight loss journey.
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Best For: Encouraging Physical Activity
Pacer is a simple app that tracks your steps and monitors your physical activity. It offers personalized fitness plans and challenges to keep you motivated, helping you stay active and maintain your weight loss progress.
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Best For: Making Healthier Food Choices
Fooducate is an excellent app for learning more about the nutritional value of the foods you eat. It allows you to scan barcodes to get detailed information about the ingredients and healthiness of various foods. The app also provides suggestions for healthier alternatives, helping you make better food choices.
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Best For: Improving Sleep Quality
Good sleep is vital for recovery and overall health after bariatric surgery. Sleep Cycle is an app that tracks your sleep patterns and wakes you up during your lightest sleep phase, ensuring you start your day feeling refreshed. The app also provides insights into your sleep quality and tips for improving it.
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Best For: Mindful Eating
YouAte is a unique food journaling app that encourages mindful eating. Instead of focusing solely on calories, it allows you to take pictures of your meals and reflect on how they made you feel. This approach helps you develop a healthier relationship with food, which is essential for long-term success after bariatric surgery.
These ten apps are essential tools for anyone who has undergone bariatric surgery. They offer valuable support in managing your diet, exercise, hydration, sleep, and mental health, ensuring you stay on track with your weight loss goals. Incorporating these apps into your daily routine can significantly enhance your post-surgery experience.
Remember, while these apps can provide excellent support, they are most effective when used in conjunction with advice from your healthcare team. Always consult with your surgeon, dietitian, or bariatric support staff before making any significant changes to your post-surgery plan.
Are you ready to take control of your health? Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can support you on your journey to a healthier life!
References:
- Thomas, C., Simmons, E., Musbahi, A., Small, P., & Courtney, M. (2023). A contemporary review of smart phone applications in bariatric and metabolic surgery: an underdeveloped support service. Obesity Surgery, 33(6), 1866-1875.
- Farinella, E., Koliakos, N., Papakonstantinou, D., Breuer, N., Pau, L., Poras, M., … & Briganti, G. (2024). The utilisation of digital applications for measuring patient outcomes following bariatric surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies. Obesity Surgery, 34(2), 635-642.
- Badorrek, S., Franklin, J., Devadas, M., & Williams, K. (2023). Support needs of people undertaking bariatric surgery: A narrative review. Clinical Obesity, 13(4).
