The Best Solution to Obesity (And It’s Not Surgery!)

About 25 percent of pulmonary embolism or blood clot patients experience a quick death, but fortunately for 577-pound Bryan Ganey, he was given a second chance at life.

When Ganey survived a pulmonary embolism, the doctors immediately suggested getting bariatric surgery to shed the unwanted pounds. With his knowledge of the procedure’s side effects and complications, he refused and deigned to take another option.

Bryan Ganey’s Journey to Optimal Health

To reach his goal of 200 pounds, Ganey drastically changed his lifestyle and is now working with a personal trainer. His diet now includes lean meats, vegetables, and fruits. Also, Ganey has switched from the night shift to daytime hours.

Today, he is under 300 pounds and is continuously losing up to seven pounds a month. Apart from his success in weight management, Ganey has been able to get off a number of medications and have his blood pressure medication reduced. His LDL or bad cholesterol levels have also been found to be at an optimal range. Plus, it now appears that the former 577-pounder is diabetes-free.

Surgery Will Make You Lose More than Excess Weight

Bryan Ganey is a testament to the miracles of taking control of health. While he chose the safe and healthy path toward a better life, some people resort to dangerous surgeries like bariatric surgery, thinking that these are the only solutions to obesity.

Bariatric surgery is a type of weight surgery and has two types:

1. Gastric banding – In this procedure, a band is surgically inserted around the top section of your stomach, restraining it into a small pouch.
2. Gastric bypass – Here, a portion of your small intestine, called the duodenum, is removed. The stomach is then reconnected further down your intestine. Since your duodenum is where most of the nutrient absorption process happens, having it removed may cause malnutrition. Your stomach is also stapled into a pouch, making it only hold so much, so you feel fuller faster.

As published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, people who undergo gastric bypass surgery have a one in 50 chance of dying within the 30 days of the procedure. (link) If the surgery was done by an inexperienced surgeon, your risk of dying rises. In fact, in the surgeon’s first 19 cases, the odds of death within 30 days were 4.7 times higher.

There have already been five deaths due to Lap-Band surgery since 2009, in California alone.

Some of the major complications of this procedure include:

• Gastroesophageal reflux, esophageal dilation, and even disrupted esophageal function
• Stomach obstruction and leaking or twisted access port into the stomach
• Band erosion and band slippage

The Consequences of Weight Surgery

While you might think that weight surgery can magically get rid of obesity, you will need to adhere to a certain lifestyle. Even LapBand.com states that while their procedure gives instant results, you have to be ready to make proper lifestyle and dietary choices to support long-term weight maintenance. (link)

The requirements of gastric bypass are more extreme. Because the opening of your stomach is tinier, it is crucial to chew your food thoroughly or it won’t be able to fit through the opening. Oftentimes, this leads to vomiting.

Instructions also include consuming the protein portion of your meal first because you may get too full to be able to take in any other type of food. Liquids are restricted up to 45 minutes before and after a meal, in case they take up the space left for food.

Due to the consumption of very little fiber, constipation is often a problem among patients who have had this surgery. In their situation, it is normal to have a bowel movement only once every two to three days. Other complications that occur are hair and muscle loss – all due to malnutrition.

Dumping syndrome – consisting of cramps, nausea, and diarrhea – is also a common occurrence in patients. Also, people who get surgery are only =allowed three small meals a day and need to eliminate red meats, spicy foods, and fibrous vegetables from their diet because their bodies cannot metabolize them anymore. Snacking is prohibited.

Dr. Joseph Mercola states that this is clearly not a healthy way of eating. Apart from the consequences of malnutrition, people who received bariatric surgery more than double their chances of fractures, and have a three times higher risk of breaking a hand or foot.

Take Control of Your Weight with a Proper Lifestyle

Dr. Mercola believes that instead of using surgery, there are two important dietary recommendations that will help you succeed in weight management and reverse the effects of obesity:

1. Completely restrict carbohydrates, such as sugars, fructose, and grains, from your diet.
2. Consume more dietary fats.

Dr. Mercola says that you can radically reduce and even eliminate your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer by limiting your fructose intake to no more than 25 grams a day, with a maximum of 15 grams a day from fresh fruits. For overweight people, cutting down to 10 to 15 grams a day is highly advised.

Swearing off soda – whether it’s regular or sugar-free – and other sources of fructose such as processed foods and fruit juices can do a lot for you. It is also crucial for you to avoid artificial sweeteners and so-called “natural” yet dangerous sweeteners like agave, says Dr. Mercola.

Other foods you have to avoid are refined carbohydrates such as breakfast cereals, bagels, waffles, and pretzels, as they break down to sugar quickly inside your body. According to Dr. Mercola, they also increase your insulin levels, making you prone to insulin resistance – the number one cause of nearly every health disorder, including weight gain.

Replace these unhealthy foods with vegetable carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fat, such as saturated fat. Read Dr. Mercola’s comprehensive nutrition plan to find other steps that can alter your diet for the better.

Apart from diet, you should also incorporate regular exercise, particularly high-intensity exercises. Read more about Dr. Mercola’s Peak Fitness program to discover what an effective routine should be.

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Tags: bariatric surgery, dr. joseph mercola, Dr. Mercola, gastric banding, gastric bypass, joe mercola, joseph mercola, mercola, obesity, pulmonary embolism, weight control, weight management