An Option to Lose Weight, But No ‘Magic Wand’

 I have always been chubby. Recently I was diagnosed with potentially serious health issues related to my excessive body weight. I have heard about gastric surgeries which lead me to believe an easy weight loss solution. Since I have never really followed a diet (because I love to eat), I am contemplating to undergo this surgery, which hopefully can help me lose weight without dieting. What is your opinion?

Healthy weight loss is not easy, and there is no magic wand. To lose weight – with or without surgery – you need to be fully committed to be able to achieve a long-term positive outcome.

If you are a morbidly or grossly obese person (BMI over 40) it means that you need to take some kind of action to prevent detrimental health issues. In some cases a BMI of 35 and above may qualify for bariatric surgery /gastric bypass.

Being morbidly obese is a clinical condition for which it is important to find a solution. The ‘to get out of a bad situation’ options are always of somewhat drastic nature.

Available Options:

• A healthy, balanced low calorie diet therapy, including life style modification with individual support and motivational assistance under the guidance of a dietitian. In combination with: psychological counselling to uncover the reason, the cause for destructive eating and lifestyle habits , suitable exercise (a personal Trainer can be of great help and motivation)
• Bariatric surgery /Gastric bypass in combination with a specialized diet therapy, psychological counselling, as well as suitable exercise, also to prevent excessive loss of muscle tissue and to minimize the sagging of excess skin.
  Several types of bariatric surgery/procedures are available, each with its manifold pros and cons, benefits and risks

All procedures require a comprehensive medical check-up,  absolute commitment by the patient, experienced healthcare professionals and a good support team, as well as understanding family members, friends and colleagues.

Bariatric surgery seems an ‘easy’ solution, but is far from it and may differ greatly from the individual expectations of each patient!

With any type of surgical procedure, the stomach is reduced to a tiny pouch, drastically preventing the patient’s ability to eat more than 3-4 tablespoons of food at a time (after a suitable pre-op diet therapy lasting for weeks/months and subsequent post-op liquid and semi-solid food diet).

Whilst this may work well for individuals who are happy to do away with overeating, who may even despise their excess food intake, who now want to eat to live, it will not work for people who believe in living to eat, or consume excessive amounts of foods and fluids food to be able to cope with psychological pain and stressful situations.

Therefore, all patients undergoing bariatric surgery, require psychological assessments and counselling (for months, sometimes years) to find the cause and remedy/therapy for their  injurious to health eating behaviour to be able to handle their ‘loss’ of consuming favourite, comforting foods/fluids.

Pre- and post gastric restriction/bariatric interventions require detailed diet plans and subsequent regular reviews and individualized adjustments. Some post-op patients experience bouts of vomiting and/or severe stomach pain, because they underestimate the effects of the surgery and overestimate their stomach pouch capacity.

Without continuous before and after professional healthcare team guidance and support, it is not unusual that an initial rapid weight loss is followed by gradual weight gain, due to grazing, continuous consumption of high caloric foods and fluids, commonly because of previous life-long habits, psychological and emotional reasons.

Some – if not many – gastric surgery patients regain all weight lost (and more) due to not being adequately informed and prepared.

Whilst it is vital to strive for a healthier bodyweight, the individual needs to assess his/her options carefully, with specialist guidance.

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