Is bariatric surgery on your mind?
Whether you’ve recently had bariatric surgery or are considering a future weight loss procedure, you may be curious about some of the lasting benefits that can happen as a result. While there may be a few benefits that are obvious to you, we’ve gathered a list of some that most don’t know about until they have already started to take effect.
1. Reduced Risk of Medical Conditions
With obesity comes certain health risks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, those who are considered to be obese are at an increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions, especially in comparison to those of a healthy weight.
Some of these conditions and diseases can include:
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Type 2 diabetes
- Coronary heart disease
- Stroke
- Sleep apnea, or breathing problems
- Certain cancers, including breast, endometrial, colon, kidney, gallbladder, and liver
- Mental illness, such as depression and anxiety
- Body pain and difficulty with physical functioning
If you suffer from any of the above, consider speaking with your physician about bariatric surgery as a safe and effective solution. Losing weight in combination with a healthy lifestyle can eliminate many of these conditions or at a minimum make them much easier to treat.
2. Boost in Self-Esteem
What does weight loss mean to you?
To some, it means fitting better into their existing clothes, while to others it means the improvement of their appearance and their self-confidence. What we know to be true is that no two weight loss journeys are the same, but a boost in self-esteem is always a constant.
Losing weight can help you to feel more comfortable in your own skin. Your clothing might fit better and certain activities can be easier to complete than they were before, like walking up the stairs. Not to mention that weight loss following certain types of weight loss surgeries can help improve or eliminate some weight-related medical conditions. Improving your health can provide you with the confidence to do things you might have otherwise opted out of, like going on vacation or competing in a marathon.
3. Look and Feel Better
While this one might be obvious to some, you really need to see and feel it to believe it. After trying many different weight loss solutions without sustained success, the idea of losing the weight and looking your best might seem like something that is never going to happen. What most don’t know is that certain types of weight loss surgery, such as the gastric sleeve and mini gastric bypass, can help patients lose up to 75% of their excess weight and that most of the weight loss can happen in the first year after the procedure.
4. New Lifestyle
The work isn’t over after bariatric surgery. In fact, the work has only just begun. SmartShape Weight Loss Centre offers a comprehensive multi-disciplinary after care program that has been shown to be critical to both short and long term success. Patients who have access to, and take advantage of After Care programs such as ours have much better results. Following certain weight loss procedures, such as the Gastric Sleeve or mini Gastric Bypass (MGB), the patient will need to make a change in their lifestyle to keep the weight off. What most types of weight loss surgery will often do is limit the amount of food that can be consumed at once, helping the patient to feel fuller sooner and stay full longer.
This new lifestyle will likely consist of regular exercise, a well-balanced diet, and spending more time off the couch, doing the things they love to do.
Why not try…
- Going to the gym
- Hiking with the family
- Swimming
- Cycling
- Playing with kids in the backyard
- Walking the dog
- Walking
- Volunteering
- Take the stairs
- Cooking a new, healthy dish
5. Save Money
Did you know that losing weight can actually help you save money in the long run? If you’re having second thoughts about bariatric surgery, it might help you to know that it can cost significantly less to have weight loss surgery than expenses incurred with long-term obesity-related commodities. Many individuals have spent thousands of dollars on traditional weight loss (diet/exercise) programs only to find that any weight they lost was quickly regained, and often even more. Bariatric surgery offers significant and sustained weight loss that is unmatched by any and all non-surgical weight loss programs.
Losing weight and keeping it off can help cut expenses, such as:
- Groceries
- Clothing
- Prescription drugs
- Time lost from work due to weight-related health issues
If you find that you spend money regularly on some of the obesity-related expenses above, you may benefit from one of the weight loss surgery options available at the SmartShape™ Weight Loss Centre.
Weight Loss Surgery Options at SmartShape™
The SmartShape™ Weight Loss Centre offers several weight loss surgery options, including:
For more information about the weight loss procedures available to you, get in touch with our team of specialists today. We would be more than happy to help you explore the weight loss surgery options available to you.
This blog post originally appeared in www.obesitysurgery.ca