The journey to lose weight and to a more active, healthy life isn’t easy.
There’s no simple, quick fix but if you are willing to put in the work and make a total lifestyle change, you could be a candidate for McLaren’s surgical weight loss program.
Whitney Amann explains in today’s In Good Health.
“Our population in general is growing not only in population numbers but also in size,” said bariatric surgeon, Dr. Hollenbeck. “The incidence of obesity is increasing nationwide and locally in Michigan.”
If you fall into the obese weight classification, you are at a higher risk of developing many serious and life limiting diseases.
“As our population grows, the need for metabolic surgery or bariatric surgery increases,” he said.
If you are 100 pounds or more above your ideal body weight, have a BMI of 40 or greater — or 35 or greater with one or more obesity related health conditions, are over 18, understand the potential risks and other forms of weight control haven’t worked, you could be a candidate for weight loss surgery.
“Rearranging someone’s anatomy in a very focused and oriented way to help them achieve weight loss goals, to not only reduce their high blood pressure, diabetes but also reduce the stress on their hips, their knees and overall improve their healthy aspects of their life,” said Dr. Hollenbeck.
There are several types of bariatric surgery but two that are most common.
The two main ones now are the sleeve gastrectomy and the gastric bypass,” he said. “If you think of your system as a system of plumbing and I always refer to it as a sink and so a sleeve gastrectomy is removing half of the sink so you can decrease the amount you’re going to put into the sink, it’s still going to flow through the same plumbing. Whereas a gastric bypass is not only going to reduce the size of that sink, it’s going to bypass some of your plumbing to take it straight to the exit so that you reduce the number of calories you absorb from that food you intake.”
Your journey doesn’t start or end with surgery.
It’s a month’s long program and lifelong commitment.
There are short and long term risks but you won’t go through it alone.
“The surgery is one small aspect of this, not only do we have counselors to work through the psychosocial aspects of dieting and exercise but also the dietitians and nutritionists to make sure that once you have surgery and once you lose that weight, that we keep that weight off in order to remain healthy,” said Dr. Hollenbeck.
While it may not be a one stop shop or easy fix, the goal is to put you on the right path to success for the rest of your life.
“It’s not an end goal, it’s sort of a lifestyle change and so you’re committed to being healthier and losing weight and in doing that, you’ll help decrease the number of medications you take for high blood pressure for diabetes, help reduce the wear and tear on your knees, your hips, and overall live a better and healthier lifestyle,” he said.
Click if you think you may be a candidate or for more health tips.
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