January Is Genuinely Difficult
January is hard for most people. For bariatric patients it has a particular edge, and understanding why makes it easier to navigate without turning a difficult month into a crisis.
The combination of post-Christmas disruption, cold dark weather, and the cultural noise around New Year resolutions creates a set of conditions that are genuinely challenging for anyone who has had weight loss surgery. Knowing this in advance, rather than being caught off guard by it, is most of the battle.
The Post-Christmas Slump
Most sleeve patients eat differently over Christmas – more volume, more sugar, more social eating, less routine. The return to normal habits in January can feel abrupt and punishing, particularly if you have spent two weeks eating in ways that reminded your body of old patterns. Cravings can feel stronger, restriction can feel more noticeable, and motivation is typically at its annual low point.
James found the January after their first post-op Christmas (January 2025) noticeably harder than he expected. The Christmas period had gone reasonably well – neither he nor Kirsten completely abandoned their habits – but January still brought a flatness and a pull back towards old eating patterns that required conscious effort to resist.
The Scale and January
January weigh-ins after Christmas rarely tell a useful story. Water retention, glycogen storage, and the aftermath of a few weeks of different eating all affect the number in ways that are temporary. Using January’s scale as a measure of progress or failure is almost always counterproductive. The better measure is whether habits are back on track – and that takes two to three weeks to translate into anything meaningful on the scale.
The Resolution Culture Problem
January is saturated with messaging about new starts, dramatic changes, and transformation. For bariatric patients who are already two years into a significant life change, this can feel alienating or create a false pressure to restart from scratch rather than simply resume what was working. The surgery is not undone by a difficult December. Getting back to protein-first eating, consistent supplementation, and normal hydration is the whole job – not a new beginning, just a continuation.
Sources
NICE CG189 – Obesity: identification, assessment and management
BOMSS – Guidelines on the peri-operative nutritional management of bariatric patients
NHS – Weight loss surgery: what to expect afterwards
British Psychological Society – Psychological aspects of obesity
About this content
This blog is written by James and Kirsten, a couple from the UK who had gastric sleeve surgery together in March 2024.
We started this blog because we couldn't find any sources of content that details before surgery, the surgery and then life post surgery - so we decided to write one ourselves.
Everything on this site is based on our own experience and the research we have done along the way. It is not medical advice. Gastric sleeve surgery is a serious procedure and every patient's journey is different. Please always consult your own bariatric team or GP before making any decisions about your health or treatment.
Some posts on this site may contain featured or sponsored content, or affiliate links. Where this is the case, it will always be clearly stated at the top of the article. Our opinions are always our own.
Publish Date: 24 December 2025 | Last Reviewed: 7 June 2026 | Next Planned Review: 7 December 2027