Thursday, March 15, 2007

Gastric Bypass was Never an Option

I think that everyone knows what they need to do to lose weight, I know I certainly did. I can't tell you how many times, when you're fat, people want to give diet suggestions. Even other fat people, as if they're taking their own advice! They've heard about this new diet, that new diet, and of course the subject of gastric bypass almost always comes up. It seems so easy, doesn't it? If only you could have surgery!

Gastric bypass was never an option I was ever tempted to contemplate. I didn't want to stop eating, wasn't that the point of being fat? So I could eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted? I wasn't complaining about being fat! I knew exactly what I was doing and I didn't want to change it. But most certainly not with surgery. Major surgery that was going to do what I knew I could do on my own, if I wanted to?

Also I knew that along with surgical starvation I would be left with a body that would simply be a smaller versoin of my fat body, probably worse! Yes, I could weigh less, but I would still have a saggy body with probably the same percentage of bodyfat. If I'm going to be 40-50% BF I'm going to eat!

And, as far as I'm concerned, the verdict is still out about the true success rate of this surgery. Surgery does not change eating habits, it only changes the amount of what you eat. In fact I hear stories of patients actually becoming malnourished after surgery, I'm betting because not only can they not eat enough of the right foods, but they still don't even chose the right foods to eat!

Gastric bypass and other surgeries like that only prove the point that if you eat less, you lose weight!

So, if you find yourself, or a friend, or loved one glamourizing surgery, instead, take responsiblity for the situation and decide to change it when you want to. And know that there are people like me that did it "the right way", and you (or they) can do it too!

3 comments:

Pete said...

So very true, Tracy. If you put up a new coat of paint but don't change what's underneath, the pretty facade will soon crumble, too. I know two people who had the bypass surgery. They lost weight. But since they did not change their habits and bought into proper nutrition and exercise, one regained all the weight back, and the other will not be too far behind. After the glow of losing the weight came off (from eating next to nothing) they returned to their old eating habits, and not exercising. Sad, really. If they had only changed their mindset. I am sure that they will continue to blame other things for their weight gain.

You did it the right way! keep on setting the role.

Tracy Reifkind said...

Exactly! I understand that it's hard, but surgery is not the answer.

And I do know what the answers are, implementing them more often than not is all you need to choose to start doing.

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