Let me start out by saying that the decision to Fave Food Diet have weight-loss surgery or not is a very personal one. First of all, there isn't just a one-fits-all surgical technic. The traditional surgery, better known as Gastric bypass surgery (GBS), or bariatric surgery involves re-routing the path your food travels. The stomach is divided into two parts. Food travels from the smaller upper part of the stomach, called the "pouch," to the small intestine. Food no longer travels through the remaining larger part of the stomach. This change in the anatomy of your digestive system limits the amount of food that you can eat and that your body can digest, which helps with weight loss.
Although the surgery in done microscopically, it's more invasive than you might imagine. The pouch that is created is about the size of a plum and the opening to the pouch is only about the size of a dime. Therefore, eating becomes a real challenge, especially at first. If you don't chew your food adequately, it gets stuck in the opening of the pouch and you end up vomiting it back up as the only way to get it out. If you're used to inhaling your food, this behavior has to change immediately! You also can't eat large quantities, so you end up eating little bits much more often.
Two of my friends have undergone this surgery and the emotional component associated with eating has been the most difficult hurdle. They are no longer interested in the social aspect of eating out with friends because it's difficult to find menu items that meet their needs. There is the possibility of getting food stuck and having to run to the bathroom, and finally, there is the fact that foods with high sugar content can cause "dumping syndrome." This occurs when the body can't digest or absorb normally, so the food essentially runs straight through. Another fact associated with GBS is that you have to take a host of vitamins daily, because your body no longer absorbs the amounts necessary from food sources. If you don't get enough protein, hair loss is very common.
There are surgical alternatives to GBS that are less invasive but that have varying success rates. The Lap Band approach is also fairly well-known. I have another friend who went to Mexico to have this procedure done because her insurance wouldn't pay for it. For this approach, a band is placed around the top portion of the stomach, allowing the amount of food going into the stomach to be controlled. The band can be adjusted allowing the amount of food going into the stomach to be controlled. This procedure is minimally invasive, it's completely reversible (as opposed to GBS), but it does require a certain amount of maintenance, including occasionally having the band filled with liquid through a port in your side.