Weight Loss Surgery (Obesity Surgery) Benefits

There are many benefits of having weight loss surgery however it is important to be realistic about the benefits.  Although weight loss surgery does indeed change people’s lives for the better in many cases it is also hard work and you will need to be committed to establishing a healthy lifestyle.  Many patients dream of how they will be after weight loss surgery, looking better, feeling better, being fertile and be able to raise a family but sometimes forget the hard work involved in maintaining a healthy diet and exercise.  Not to mention the emotional struggles many weight loss surgery patients undergo, however many patients do experience life–changing transformations which do truly change their lives for the better.  The majority of weight loss surgery patients do look better, feel better and most importantly are healthier.  If you visit many weight loss surgery websites you can find numerous testimonials from patients stating how their lives are ‘transformed’ post surgery.  Many speak of at last living a life that they want to or a feeling of at last being able to experience life how everyone else does.  This is understandable if excessive weight has been the focus of your life since childhood.  For many patients weight loss has ruled their lives and made some things such as working, raising a family, being active and having confidence seemingly unreachable. 

The most obvious benefit of weight loss surgery is the rapid and visual loss of weight.  Many patients who have spent years gaining and regaining weight with various diets and exercise programs find that weight loss surgery is the only true solution to their excessive weight and the only way they can maintain a healthy weight.  Research shows that the majority of morbidly obese people find it difficult to lose weight and if they do manage any significant weigh loss most regain the weight within five years, a very frustrating situation.  For many patients weight loss surgery is indeed their last hope.  Weight loss surgery offers an effective form of weight loss and a means by which many can maintain a healthy weight where other methods such as diet and exercise have failed.  Weight loss surgery is therefore the most effective way of losing and maintaining a healthy weight long-term for morbidly obese patients.  The weight loss can indeed be very rapid with some surgeries, with most weight loss being seen within the first year.  For many weight loss surgery patients weight loss continues for 2-3 years after the surgery before settling down to a healthy weight.  The benefits of weight are numerous apart from weight-loss, you will feel emotionally better as well as physically better when you have maintained a healthy weight.  Many achieve well being as they discover their lives are no longer dominated by weight loss.  Weight loss surgery patients are often very surprised by the new amounts of energy they have post surgery.  Having much more energy brings many benefits; being able to join in activities with your children, doing housework faster, walking longer distances and much more.  In particular patients report not feeling so short of breath after very simple tasks like walking up the stairs, walking to the bus stop, bending to lift things and shopping in the supermarket.  Things that many normal weight people take for granted everyday are enjoyed once patients reach and maintain a healthy weight.  Many patients discover a new lease of life as they reduce their weight, which radiates into all areas of their lives, at home and at work. 

Many patients who have had weight loss surgery do not experience hunger like they did before surgery.  Patients still experience hunger but not to the same extent as prior to surgery.  You will feel hunger, however you can satisfy your appetite will a small amount of food and will feel full and bloated if you continue to eat.  Many patients will experience dumping syndrome or vomiting if they overeat and eat more than their new pouch can cope with. 

Less visual but equally important are the important health improvements that occur as a result of losing excessive weight.  Weight loss surgery has been proved to be effective in controlling many of the serious obesity-related health conditions, such as:

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Sleep apnoea
• Osteoarthritis
• Gastric reflux disease
• Infertility
• Respiratory disease
• High cholesterol
• Cardiovascular function
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Cancers

Other benefits such as increased energy levels, mobility and self-esteem are also noticeable soon after surgery.  Many patients who have weight loss surgery (obesity surgery) have been obese since childhood and have been used to being teased and bullied because of their size.  Often this results in low self-esteem and poor body image.  Many patients who have lost significant amounts of weight describe the surgery as giving them a ‘new’ them and a completely different lifestyle.  Gaining confidence about their bodies has given many a new lease of life and many personal relationships have improved as a result of improved self worth.

Although it is not a benefit that is mentioned very often it is not to be overlooked, eating less costs less! Not only will you start to save money on you food bill every week you are also avoiding all the costs of the various medications you may have taken.  As you reduce your weight to a healthy level you will be able to stop taking many of the obesity-related medications you may have been taking.  Not only are you saving money for yourself and your family but also nationally those that have had weight loss surgery have avoided expensive heart and joint surgeries, which are common in those morbidly obese.  Many obese people who do not have weight loss surgery end up having to have surgery to solve hip, knee or back problems. 

One of the most positive benefits after gaining better health due to reduced weight for many is improved self-esteem.  Having a better self-image and feeling better about ourselves makes life feel better and often we attract more positive situations with improved self-esteem.  Many weight loss patients have experienced years of failure in trying to loss weight leading to feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment and shame.  As patients start to loss weight and see the improvements in the way their body looks and feels they start to feel more confident and in control of their own lives. 

Being more active and mobile brings many benefits, for many just getting up and down the stairs is a major challenge.  Just walking to the bus stop could be an uncomfortable and frustrating experience for many morbidly obese people.  Post surgery when you have maintained a healthy weight you will find that many activities will become much easier and pleasurable such as walking, biking, housework, playing with children, swimming and keeping fit.  As you gain in fitness active pursuits will no longer be strenuous or painful.  Often patients describe small pleasures in discovering that they can fit through turn-styles, squeeze themselves into seating booths at restaurants and cinema seats. 

Another benefit which many patients report is the joy of shopping for regular sized clothes.  Finding extra sizes can be difficult, often morbidly obese people have to resort to mail order or trying to squeeze into the biggest size the chain stores have on offer.  Many morbidly obese people speak of the embarrassment and shame of shopping in chain stores and not being able to fit into any of the sizes.  In most cases patients pre weight loss surgery have lost all interest in their appearance, which increases their poor-self image and low self-esteem.  Normal weight people take having an abundance of styles and colours to choose from for granted.  Many obese people who have never had the opportunity to pick out clothes their size in colours and styles of their choice find shopping in regular shops a real joy post surgery.  Many patients describe the experience of shopping for clothes post surgery as ‘feeling part of the real world again’ as for so long they felt alienated from others by their clothes size. 

Once you start looking good and feeling good, many patients find they have improved sex lives as their mobility and sex drives increase.  Sadly many of the benefits that weight loss surgery patients experience post surgery are things that many normal weight people take for granted.  As an obese person you will have experienced discrimination and prejudice.  As you lose weight many patients experience more social acceptance among others, which can open doors at work and socially which were firmly closed before surgery.  Our society tends to react to people by the way they look, often people are more favorable to thinner people both socially and in work situations. 

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