If you're seriously overweight and want to do something about it, then you may have come across the idea of gastric bypass surgery. It certainly has been shown to be a great way of losing a lot of weight. However you need to realize that this is a major surgical procedure, and so shouldn't be undertaken on a whim. Like any surgery, there are risks and possible complications that can occur, and it's important to discuss these with your surgeon before the operation.
So how does gastric bypass surgery actually work? There are a couple of different types of gastric bypass surgery, but the most common method is also sometimes refereed to as stomach stapling - basically, the stomach is divided and part of it close off, to limit the amount of food you can eat. The effect of this is that patient stops feeling hungry most of the time. Less hunger means less food eaten, so less calories, and this leads to weight loss. Quite often, patients start to get their sense of hunger back after around six months, but it's usually just a sign that it's time for a meal. This is quite different to the psychological need for food, which masquerades as hunger, which has often led to the large weight gain in the first place.
Straight after gastric bypass surgery, it's important to stick to the guidelines you're given about what you can and can't eat. This is because the stomach needs to heal properly after the operation. The post-surgery diet is generally high in fluids, as much as one to two fluid ounces per meal. As your stomach heals, you will gradually be able to increase the amount of food you eat. By the time 12 to 18 months have passed, your stomach will be functioning at its optimum level. For most people, this translates into eating around 4 to 6 ounces of food at a meal. Most patients are also encouraged to stick with an intake of around 1,200 and 1,800 calories. The success of gastric bypass surgery is based almost entirely on the fact that the amount of food you can eat changes completely.
It's only possible to generalize about the effects of gastric bypass surgery, but most of the time it's expected that the patient will lose somewhere around 75 to 80 per cent of the excess weight they had prior to the surgery. This weight loss occurs slowly, over a period of about a year. Not everybody is the same, however, and you will need to follow a healthy, balanced diet as well to get optimum results. Regular exercise is also helpful.
You will need to talk to your insurance company to find out if they will cover gastric bypass surgery. It varies from company to company, but not all of them cover weight loss surgeries. Even your individual insurance plan may differ from the company's usual policy. It may be possible to get the surgery covered if you can prove that you will gain substantial health benefits and so reduce your risk of medical conditions developing in the future. You may need to complete a diet history and a psychiatric evaluation as part of your proof that gastric bypass surgery is the best option for you.
