Archive for October, 2008

When Should You Consider Weight Loss Surgery?

Monday, October 6th, 2008

Let me start off by saying this:

As a general rule, I am against weight loss surgeries like gastric bypass.

Why?

I say that because the surgery goes after a symptom instead of the root cause.

Plus, it’s just not natural.

God didn’t design our bodies thinking it would be a good idea to alter the structure of our digestive system in order to reduce the amount of food we can eat.

And that’s exactly what gastric bypass surgery does.

About the only time I would recommend a radical move like surgery (and it is a radical move) is when you’re so obese that you just cannot exercise. When exercise is just about physically impossible.

Remember, the ultimate end goal is not – or at least it shouldn’t be – weight loss.

The ultimate goal should be to get HEALTHIER.

Unfortunately, people look at these surgeries as an easy way out. And the truth is, it’s a potentially dangerous surgery with side effects and risks. Plus, it still requires a high level of discipline and effort going forward.

The success of a gastric bypass surgery isn’t decided after the operation is over, or the next day, or the next week or month.

The success of the surgery is determined years down the road based on the LIFESTYLE changes you make.

If you’re going to COMMIT to it, why not commit to it and actually DO it without the risks and costs of the surgery? Don’t you agree?

If you have a specific question about gastric bypass surgery, post it below and I’ll try to answer it for you in a future post.

What Drives You To Lose Weight?

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

Question for you. When you get motivated to lose weight, what is the one driving force behind your desire?

Without question, your motivation will fall into one of two categories: Pleasure or pain avoidance.

A “pleasure” motivator might be something like:

  • I want to attract a spouse.
  • I want to be more attractive to my current spouse.
  • I want to feel good about myself when I look in the mirror.
  • I want jaws to drop when I walk along the beach in my bikini.
  • I want to look good for the class reunion next month.

Pain avoidance might be:

  • I don’t want to be single my whole life.
  • I don’t want my spouse to stop desiring me.
  • I don’t want to die of a heart attack at an early age.
  • I don’t want to feel tired and exhausted walking up one flight of stairs.

My suggestion today is that you should pick a motivator from both categories. Pick a pleasure motivator AND a “pain avoidance” motivator.

The combination might just create a powerful combination of emotion within you that practically FORCES you to take action instead of just wishing it would happen.

Good luck. Feel free to share your motivators as a comment below.