Weight loss surgery seems like a silver bullet. A little snip here, a little cut there, and viola! No more size 57 pants.
Well, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Surgery can help some people, but it’s often a bad choice.
There’s risk with any surgery, of course, but that’s not what I’m talking about. The really bad news is that many people who get some form of gastric bypass surgery end up putting 50% of their weight loss back on within a year or two.
Bet that didn’t enter your mind, if you were considering the surgical option. It rarely does.
You see, surgery doesn’t fix your mind (we’re not talking about brain surgery here). Getting a smaller stomach overnight certainly can force you to eat much less right away. That almost always causes you to lose weight.
But what happens over time, as you still think the same thoughts about food? You overeat. That stretches your stomach. Eventually, your stomach can be just as big as it used to be. You’ll be just as hungry. And you’ll probably be just as overweight as you were before your surgery.
That’s why weight loss starts in the head. You have to think right about food and eating. Only then can you lose weight and keep it off forever. Nothing else really works.
Remember that when you start wishing for a surgical procedure to make you thin overnight. It can do amazing things, but will it last?