Before You Have Bariatric (Weight Loss) Surgery

Personal Issues I spent about a year soul searching and researching bariatric surgery before I ever spoke to a doctor about having a gastric bypass. I recommend that anyone else do the same. This isn’t a decision to jump into lightly. If you aren’t ready to make a serious commitment to your continued health and fitness then going under the knife for a gastric bypass is just foolish. Once you see a doctor, there is an extensive screening process. If your doctor believes this is a viable option for you, he’ll refer you to a bariatric surgeon. The surgeon will … Continue reading →

Is Gastric Bypass Surgery for You?

If you can still lose weight by following a healthy diet and exercise then bariatric surgery is not for you. If you think you’d rather just have surgery to make the weight go away so that you can get on with your life then bariatric surgery is definitely not for you! Having a gastric bypass is not the easy way to weight loss. It simply provides motivated individuals with a second chance to do it right. Even after the surgery you’ll have to eat right and exercise to meet your goal weight. The surgery itself just resets your system so … Continue reading →

Dispelling the Weight Loss Surgery Myths

I should start here by letting you know that I have had gastric bypass surgery. I had a Roux-n-Y bypass. It was back on December 2001. December 14, 2001, to be exact and I will never forget that day because it changed my life. It is like a second birthday for me – only without the cake and ice cream for obvious reasons. Now that you know that, there are a few things that I feel I should tell you about gastric bypass surgery: 1. It is not “The easy way out”. I was accused by more than one friend … Continue reading →

Is Lap Band Surgery Safe?

In the past two years, we have been hearing about a new type of weight loss surgery called the “lap band”. For years, gastric bypass was the only surgery option that seemed to work. However, gastric bypass also comes with some high risks to infection, heavy scarring, and even death. Considered a highly invasive surgery, people who struggle with obesity have turned to gastric bypass trying to create a healthier life. Now, it appears the lap band system may be a better alternative, also successful but without as high as risks. The difference between the two surgeries is dramatic. For … Continue reading →

Weight Loss & Star Jones

Do you know who Star Jones is? She’s one of those women on the View. She used to be a pretty hefty woman and then she wasn’t. She won’t tell people what she did – whether it was a diet, a surgery or some miracle zap that turned her from a size 20 to a size 4 (or whatever she was to what she is) – but the point is – why do we all care so much? Celebrities Influence Our Culture First and foremost, it’s because Star Jones whether we like it or not is a celebrity. She’s on … Continue reading →

What is Gastric Banding?

I told you yesterday that I would discuss gastric banding later in the day, I need to stop using that phrase. Every time I do, it turns out I don’t discuss it until the next day! So you have my apologies for the delay. So as mentioned in Weight Loss News Bites yesterday, gastric banding seems to be gaining popularity as a less invasive surgical procedure for individuals who are only moderately obese. So What Is Gastric Banding? Gastric banding is a surgery that restricts the size of a person’s stomach so they need only consume small amounts of food … Continue reading →

Gastric Bypass Surgery

If you are trying to lose weight, and it seems that almost everyone is these days, then you should definitely avoid certain foods. Men should consume at least one thousand six hundred calories a day or 1600 calories, but it is important that these be productive calories. To increase the productivity of your calories, there are certain things that you should eat in large quantities and other foods that you should avoid. To lose weight and increase your intake in productive calories, you should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Still, even with the increased vegetable intake, you should … Continue reading →

Morbid Meanderings Mean Much – Gastric Bypass Surgery

Yep, that’s a title that’s guaranteed to get your attention. Unfortunately, we live in a world where weight can get out of hand. It can become unresponsive to your lifestyle and dietary changes. You can even find that dieting is a misery that either a) doesn’t work, b) harms your health, c) leaves you feeling worse or d) al of the above. Luckily, modern medicine has achieved some interesting and downright amazing results over the last fifty years. Fir performed in the 1950s, the gastric bypass has spent the last two decades becoming a successful surgery that helps patients to … Continue reading →

Weight Loss Surgery: Who I Am

My name is Lisa Pietsch and in December of 2001, my life was changed completely. I had a Roux-n-Y Gastric Bypass. There was a great deal of pain involved in this decision. Surgery and recovery are painful. Having a stomach that only holds one ounce and accidentally drinking two ounces of water is painful. The physical pain, though it can be excruciating, passes. The real pain is in the feeling of betrayal and judgment by one’s friends and family. People who I expected to support me surprised and hurt me by accusing me of “taking the easy way out” and … Continue reading →