Bariatric Surgery... I'm a bit confused
 

I was watching something on the Discovery channel on Obesity, and I guess I'm a little confused.

In Bariatric surgery, they trim the stomach so that it holds approximately 1-2 ounces of food.

Now, I understand that one must eat less to lose weight, but how is that heathy? Can you even survive long term with a stomach that small? What happens five years down the line and all of their excess fat is gone - can a normal sized person glean enough energy from 1-2 ounces of food to live a normal lifestyle?

Isn't it basically medically forced anorexia?

Finally, instead of risking surgery/death, why don't you just choose to eat tiny portions? Is there an additional value to having a stomach that small? Feeling full? No Appetite?


Just one of those late night wonderings.... but I'm interested to know.

Color me confused :D

she-lish has experience in this field. ill ask her to post when i get home tomorrow.

As far as the small stomach, after the procedure you eat multiple small meals throughout the day vs a couple large ones...which is supposedly better for you anyway, or so I have read since I'm not expert on any of this.

My ex had this surgery done, after trying many other alternatives that didn't work for her. I don't know why some people can't control their eating, even to the point of causing life-threatening conditions, but I see it happens to otherwise intelligent people. My ex is very smart, she just couldn't control her eating. At least so far, one year after surgery, this procedure seems to be working for her.

I went the lap band route as apposed to the bypass, but you must take vitamins and suplaments(sp) for the rest of your life. The bypass works much faster than the lap band but the lap band has fewer complications and risks so I went that way.

Yes you eat very small meals and there are certain things that you still have to give up. My doctor always says that you can still drink milkshakes all day and you will not lose weight, so you still have to have some self control with these procedures but I have been doing very well with mine and have lost almost 75 pounds so far.

No it is not medically forced anorexia, you eat and feel full so you are not hungry, you dont eat more often than you normally do now, I still eat three meals a day just much, much smaller meals than I used to.

Like I said I got the Lap-Band not the bypass but most of the after procedures are the same just mine is adjustable and can be taken out if there is a complication, but it does not work as fast because with the bypass they shorten the intestens thus not allowing your body to absorb as much from your food, thus the need for the suplaments(sp)


Sorry for my spelling I suck at it.

K

I think the rough estimate is that 18 calories per day will sustain a pound of weight. It's frequent, small "meals" from what I've seen. There's also the side effect of only a bit of alcohol hitting like a ton of bricks after a few sips if my mom's friend who had gastric bypass is any indication. I've also heard from nutritionists and dietitians that losing more than two pounds per week on an average sized frame means that you're losing lean muscle rather than water weight and fat.

A few family friends have gone the gastric bypass route, and for at least two of them it is working well. For one of them, however, the results of the surgery ended up being fatal. She essentially starved to death over a few years, after many hospitalizations where she had to have a feeding tube to sustain her, as she couldn't keep any food or fluids down, let alone digest them.

This is kinda the result that I was thinking about. Obviously, having a shot glass sized stomach is great for losing weight, but I can't fathom how a person, once the weight is lost, is able to sustain their weight eating only that small amount per day - especially if they are/become and active person...

I have a friend that did the lap band. He lost a lot of weight initially. And then decided because he had a smaller stomach, he could start eating whatever he wanted because portions were controlled. He gained probably 50-60% of the weight back.
It drives me crazy.