Fat Man UnleashedA Weight Loss Blog with Fitness, Health, and Diet Tips

Former Fat Guy Rob Cooper On Diet and Nutrition47 lbs LOSTso farApril 29, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 9 comments

Last week I posted a fitness interview with Rob Cooper. He is the guy that lost 300 lbs the natural way. This week we will focus on his diet and nutrition. We can stand to learn something from his weight loss journey. Health wise, I think continual learning is crucial and Rob’s insights provide that.

The following is the second of a three part interview.

Picking up on last week’s fitness goal, describe the diet you’re following to achieve your goal.


I’m following a 90% vegetarian diet, 10% meat. So, not vegetarian per say, but more or less plant based. It’s the opposite of a cave man diet, yet similar. I go 9, 10 or 14 days eating a whole food, plant based diet, then have 2 or 3 days of meat along with the plants.

I LOVE food (that’s how I got to be almost 500 pounds in the first place, remember?), and I find that the better I eat, and the more I train, the more I get to eat!

My program is also about longevity. I want to be climbing mountains and jumping out of planes when I’m 80 years old. My plan is to go past 100 years old too, so I’m not even near middle age yet

I got interested in natural health back when I first started my weight loss journey, and it fascinated me. There’s so much that doctors don’t tell us (because they don’t know), so I became my own doctor. I learned how the body works, how it processes food, how it digests, how it assimilates nutrients, etc. and I’ve never looked back.

My philosophy is about natural health and natural weight loss, living lean from a healthy perspective with longevity in mind.

What is the main focus of the diet? (ie: cutting calories? cutting fat? eating natural?)


Whole foods – eating natural, low fat, high nutrient density food sources, predominantly a vegetarian diet with minimal amounts of the best possible sources meat – grass fed bison, chicken and grass fed chicken eggs.

Primary focus is high fiber, nutrient dense foods.

How many meals a day are you eating?



Four to 5 a day, with a goal of 6.



Does the rest of your family / household eat the same way?



Yes, thankfully. My girlfriend is the best. She was vegan when I met her, having dropped 30 pounds herself (for her 5’ tall frame). It’s wonderful having someone eat the same way, the same restaurants and the same beliefs about food, food sources, food quality. She’s no longer strictly vegan by any means as she incorporates some animal protein as well now, but to a much lesser extent than me. She’s just relaxed about her eating now that she’s reached her goal, yet conscious about the health consequences of eating too much protein.

Do you allow for a reward meal (cheat meal)?



Yes – I like great red wine and that’s my reward. I absolutely love the food I eat, so great wine and the odd great imported beer are my treats. My goal is to be able to have some wine or beer every two weeks, and allow for the next day to be an off day of some sort, because doing cardio after a night of drinking just doesn’t feel right. One should be allowed to sleep in, lol.

Other than that, I find that for a 10% body fat goal, training twice a day, 6 weeks in a row allows for a little more freedom. I don’t count calories, and don’t weigh anything. We eat out twice a week or so, and it’s usually thai. I make sure I’ve either just finished training or I’m about to train after I eat. That allows me to use the food as fuel.

Which if any supplements do you add to your diet?



I’ve been eating Sunrider food supplements since I found out about them in 1991. They changed my life and I’ve never been without them since. I used to use creatine and glutamine and whey. Now I don’t. I used creatine for 15 years but stopped. I’ve used whey off and on for about 7 years, but no longer feel the need to waste money on it when I can get better nutrition from whole foods and Sunrider.

Coffee or green tea?



Green tea. I drink Sunrider Calli tea and Fortune Delight exclusively.



Water or calorie free beverage?



Water and Sunrider Fortune Delight (a 3 calorie whole food beverage that supports my health).


How much do you spend on food in a given week / month?



My girlfriend and I actually track this month to month – how much we spend on groceries and how much we spend eating out. We average about $800 a month on groceries of which I’m eating 60%.

Are there any foods you outright avoid and DO NOT eat?



Dairy. Absolutely NO dairy goes anywhere near my lips. The biggest lie ever told to the public is about milk and dairy being good for you – what a joke. Tell the lie long enough and loud enough and people believe it.

Cola of any sort – nope, nada. I haven’t bought pop [soda] since 1992 in any variety.

Sugar – I haven’t bought sugar – ever.

List your top 3 supplements?



Water, Sunrider foods, dark leafy green vegetables.



Please describe 3 of your best eating or dieting tips for the reader.

1. Focus on improving your health first and foremost. A healthy body will not store fat and is free of aches and pains. When you focus on natural principles, you get the all the benefits of a healthy body – stress management, better sleep, clear skin, mental acuity, quick recovery time, natural HGH etc.

2. Fruit is meant to be eaten on an empty stomach and eaten alone. Very few people realize this. Fruit is also the best post workout recovery food. It provides natural sugar, carbohydrates, water and fiber.

3. The only beverages that pass over your lips during your weight loss phase should be water and green tea. Anything else is not supporting you or your health. No protein shakes, no milk, no beer, no wine, no Gatorade, no pop, no coffee – nothing but water. Once you’ve reached your goal weight and want to move to maintenance or muscle building, then re-evaluate your fluids. Until then, stick with water. You be surprised at the results you can get in one week by simply switching to pure distilled water.

Next week we will cover Rob’s mental health and mindset. For the latest on Rob make sure to visit his site, FormerFatGuy.com and read more on his natural weight loss blog.

Like this? Share it:

Twitter’s Effect on Your Health47 lbs LOSTso farApril 27, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 18 comments

I consider myself a savvy internet user, but there are some internet tools that I refuse to use. Twitter was one of those such tools. I’m all about being as healthy as possible so when I see an addicting new internet tool I try to avoid it. Why? Simply because I know that I will want to be on it as much as possible. Twitter was no different. I stayed away as long as possible, but eventually gave in. You can follow me here: Israel Lagares’ Twitter

I gave in because I wanted to see what the big deal was that everyone was making. Now I know! Twitter is like a mini version of blogging, letting you use 140 characters per entry. It’s like an instant messenger and a blog molded together. It’s pretty addictive actually. I can see how someone would just stay online all day, tweeting away their health. But this isn’t about “killing” yourself by being online too much. It’s about the potentially positive aspects that Twitter can have on your health.

Side thought: I wouldn’t be surprised if some one starts some form of twitter-only blog or writing, totally removing any semblance of a blog hosted with its own domain. If you do, I’m expecting credit for giving you the idea ;). That would be a cool project actually. Anyway, back to what I was trying to get at with health.

After a few days of tweeting I started thinking of how I can use Twitter to help achieve my health goals and spread health information (instead of just letting it consume me). Twitter is a socially focused tool. It’s easy to build a large and dedicated community. That got me thinking: why not use this awesomely-awesome tool to communicate with people about health. It’s instant gratification. If you need a health question answered or a new workout idea just tweet it and bammmmm, you got it (if your followers have that info).

At the very least it can be a great supplement to the vast amount of web tools available. It’s pretty cool to see what some big name bloggers are doing and reading. There are some major brands that are starting to see the benefits of social media in general, which is an extension of their customer service. It’s also another way to network with like minded individuals, I’ve already made a few connections that may lead to good things.

So would you guys like to start a health focused Twitter group? Would you take advantage of this type of community? I would like to hear your thoughts.

Like this? Share it:

Gym Stereotypes To Laugh At47 lbs LOSTso farApril 25, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 4 comments

I was forwarded the perfect video for this week’s Fatso Friday. I for one can’t stand those people at gyms that stick out like sore thumbs. It’s the main reason why I’m not a member at a gym anymore. You know you’ve seen them, they come in pretty distinct flavors. I recall this one guy from when I was a member at Bally’s Total Fitness. He was just plain sad and always looked like he was one rep away from pulling a muscle or permanently injuring himself.

Supplement company MRI Performance put together a funny gym stereotypes commercial (they missed a few, but it’s still funny) as part of the launch for their new fat loss product, MRI 8-FX.

Check it out below. For RSS subscribers, follow this link to watch the video.

Which stereotype are you?

Like this? Share it:

Former Fat Guy Rob Cooper On Fitness47 lbs LOSTso farApril 23, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 10 comments

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Rob Cooper, the Former Fat Guy, about his natural weight loss experience. We covered his fitness, nutrition, and mental health. He is an inspiration to all, he once weighed nearly 500 lbs. 500 POUNDS! It took him only two and half years to drop 300 lbs.

Residing in Canada, Rob is now healthy, muscular, and follows a healthy eating plan and exercise routine. FormerFatGuy.com has been online since 1995 and is full of tons of information on weight loss, diet, and physical fitness. Rob clearly knows what he’s talking about when it comes to getting and STAYING in shape.

The first of a three part interview, the following covers Rob’s current fitness regimen. I love learning and reading about health and fitness and hope you do too. I was surprised to see that Rob and I have a few things in common.

So, Rob, let’s get this started. What is your current fitness or exercise goal?



My current goal is to get to 240 pounds at 10% body fat. Then take a few weeks break, then push on to 6%, do a photo shoot that sort of says “been there, done that” and then relax back up to 8%.

What methods are you using to achieve your goal?



I do cardio every morning, 7 days a week and do weight training every other day, allowing for a full 48 hours of rest between strength training sessions.


Describe the exercise program you’re following to achieve your goal.



I do morning cardio for about 45 minutes, mostly HIIT, followed with about 15 minutes of interval training or one single body part training. Then in the afternoon, I’ll go back and do my normal training session. I do supersets with all my exercises and focus on upper body one day, lower body the next. I train for no more than 45 minutes at any one time because I believe that any more than that is counter productive. If you can train more than 45 minutes, you’re not training hard enough!

Supersets allow me to get more work done in a 45 minute session. I mix it up a lot, never doing the same thing one workout to the next. They’re mostly the same, but I mix up combinations of exercises, do them in different orders, compound pushing with pulling one day, then two exercises pulling, two exercises pushing the next session. I might do the same thing for a week at most, then switch it up again.

My goal is keep my heart rate up, and stimulate as much muscle fiber per session as possible for maximum after burn

I’m also a very big believer in core training and most of my training sessions are core based. What does that mean? Glad you asked. I use the stability ball for flyes and DB press. I use the ball for seated db curls and I kneel on it for doing shoulder laterals for instance. I use the bosu trainer as well for doing squats, lunges, pushups and one arm chest press.

By having to keep my core engaged each training session, I work more muscle fiber than if I was laying on a bench or sitting on a seat of some sort. Besides, a stronger core allows for much heavier traditional lifts.

I’m also an avid backpacker / mountain climber, so having a stronger core allows me to carry heavier packs and be a little nimbler on the rocks. I’m all about real world fitness. When I’m outside the gym, I want functional muscle, not just good looking muscle.

Is this a year round exercise program?



Partially I guess. I don’t do daily HIIT for more than 6 weeks at a time. Too much of anything is bad and excessive HIIT without decent recovery time (2 weeks to a month or more) can lead to severe overtraining, depression, stunted growth, muscle wasting and erectile dysfunction. After a 6 week “blast”, as I call it, I take a full 2 weeks off from cardio and only do light weight training – just to keep my muscle. Then I do 2 weeks at every other day cardio while upping my strength training again, slowly working my way back to heavier weights.

As soon as I feel any sort of low energy coming on, or the slight sign of a sniffle, I stop all training and allow for proper recovery. Overtraining sucks.

To answer your question, no, this is not year round training schedule. This has purpose, to get to 10% body fat at 240 pounds. Then it’s about maintenance – which is a completely different program.

I’m going to modify my 6 week blast to a 4 week blast. I’m feeling that my energy peaks at about 3 weeks and begins to taper off at the end of 4, so I’m going to listen to that and take my recovery weeks earlier.

What was your exercise program like prior to setting this current goal?



I had taken almost two years off from the gym. I was traveling with a personal development company called Peak Potentials, facilitating courses and camps all over North America. I worked from 6 am till midnight or 2 am five days a week. It was very intense and when the weekends came, I just wanted down time.

After loosing the 300 pounds initially, and keeping it off for 16 years, I gained more than 50 pounds of fat and I’m currently on a 6 month program to get rid of it.

Prior to that however, my training program was like most – 3 days a week doing cardio and 5 or 6 days a week doing strength training. I’m 40 years old and have been training since 1992, so I’ve gone through all sorts of training “systems”. Hard to narrow it down to just one. Maybe I’ll do a post describing all the different types of training systems I’ve followed here soon.

What results are you expecting from this exercise program?



I expect to drop 3 pounds of fat a week, keep my muscle and or gain some muscle. I expect to drop body fat, but not too much weight – exchanging fat for muscle and dropping inches.

When do you expect to reach your goal?



July 1st, 2008 – Canada Day!



Do you have a reward for reaching your goal? What is it?



Lol, I can’t really say – kinda personal. My girlfriend has agreed to doing something special when I get to 10%.


Which is more important - Weight training or cardiovascular training in a weight loss / fat loss program?


Both. Primarily weight training as its muscle that makes cardio more effective. Cardio makes muscle more effective at burning fat, so we need the muscle to burn fat. Cardio is just the catalyst.

How often do you change your exercise program?



Every 6 weeks at the outside, 4 weeks normally, and right now I’m changing it almost day to day. I go by intuition – what feels right. I know what I want to work when I’m in the gym, I go in with a plan and then choose the exercises to fit that plan – then improvise within those exercises (from experience). Might be a superset, might be a triple set, might be a 20 minute interval training set. Depends on my energy and day’s goal.

Do you allow for down time at all? Recovery time?



HOLY SHIT YES! I listen to my body, if I’m not up for training, or not fully recovered from the last one, I wait another day and re-fuel my body. I’m also very aware of doing heavy HIIT training for lower body and then training legs again the same day. As I said before, I only do “6 week blasts” before taking 2 weeks off to fully recover. During the recovery time, my focus is on nutrition and rest. I will get a couple of massages, do some far-infrared sauna, and yoga to detox, refuel and repair.

What do you do if you simply do not want to go to the gym on a given day?

I talk myself into it.

Just as I can talk myself out of it, I can just as easily talk myself into it. I KNOW that I feel better once I’m warmed up, so as long as I can get to the gym, get changed and get onto the floor, I’m good. Then 2 sets in, I’m warm enough to go heavier and from there it’s a piece of cake. Of my top 10 all time workouts, I’d say 4 of them were ones I had to talk myself into.

On the days I don’t want to be there, I commit to just 30 minutes. Once I’m warm, I just go heavier, knowing I have to do as much work in 30 minutes as possible. After 30 minutes, I’m usually quite interested in doing 15 minutes more.

Well, thanks for the opportunity to learn more about what fuels your fitness. I look forward to reading more about your success.

Next week we will cover Rob’s nutrition. For the latest on Rob make sure to visit his site, FormerFatGuy.com and read more on his weight loss blog.

Like this? Share it:

Earth Day, What’s The Big Deal?47 lbs LOSTso farApril 22, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 10 comments

Photo Courtesy of Waffle Whiffer

Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day. So I guess I should be saying happy earth day, right? Earth Day is supposed to inspire awareness and appreciation of Earth. Wow, an entire day just for the environment.

What’s The Big Deal?

One day out of the year we should all respect the Earth. We shouldn’t use plastic bags, or drink out of things that aren’t recyclable. We should take all of our aluminum cans back to the supermarkets and earn a little money. Yeah, that’s only one day. Earth day has become an excuse for companies and stores to pretend that they care about the environment. They send out millions of plastic bags per year, but one time per month they try to cut down. How nice of them to do that. I suppose it makes it okay for them to pollute and destroy the planet as long as they put up a green logo on their web sites and hold green events for the public on Earth Day.

Tons of different stores and companies have been making attempts to go green. Walmart, Vons/Safeway and Kroger have all made attempts to go green. By doing so they have offered free reusable bags to their customers. A buddy of mine picked up a free Vons bag for spending $50 today.

Keep in mind that plastic bags can take as long as 1,000 years to degrade. Yet a reusable shopping bag only costs about $1 to purchase. It’s been great to see these bags given free, now it’s time to use them!

How green are they really?

What is Earth Day?

Each year on April 22 Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement started in 1970. This day is an excuse to alert the world of pollution and environment issues. Does it work?

Possibly, for one day. Earth Day is like any other, one sided and short lived. If people really wanted to make a difference they would have Earth Day, Earth Month and Earth Year. As a matter of fact, forget that. We should just practice what we practice on Earth Day all year round, every single day. Save the country and the world.

So, I say again, what’s the big deal with Earth Day?

Earth Day: Do Your Part

Throughout this month there have been many attempts for people to “go green.” The green movement has finally caught a little bit of fire. There is no reason not to be green. Simple little things can be done to help save the Earth. Yahoo has a dedicated Go Green area on their site, check it out. Go clean up a beach or a park. Or maybe just make an effort to recycle every single day for the rest of your life, and teach your kids to do the same.

Lose Weight and Be Green

As I mentioned plastic bags are not very eco-friendly. Neither are plastic bottles. During my healthy weight loss journey I’ve consumed tons of water, all in my reusable water bottle. I convinced a buddy to purchase a reusable water bottle as well. Instead of using plastic bottles and throwing them away, he’s started using the reusable bottle. With filtered water, the bottle comes perfectly equipped as being eco-friendly. You can also make an effort to walk or ride a bike to where you need to go. That would help cut down on the pollution from cars. You could even use public transportation or carpool to work.

What are you doing to help make the environment, and yourself, healthy?

Like this? Share it:

Finding Health and Balance as a Blogger47 lbs LOSTso farApril 21, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 11 comments

I was going through my daily RSS health reading when I came across an article in the NY Times. By now, you should know what it’s about: blogging being “bad” for your health. Being the curious soul that I am, I went over and read the article and it got me thinking about my blogging health.

Well, the article basically says that blogging can kill ya! And it has, allegedly, killed some. Of course that’s a bit overboard but it does bring up some good points about blogging, and life in general. Now, as an ever thinking being I always try to extract positive, worthwhile information from my experiences. Always.

Continue reading my guest post over at Zen Habits.

Like this? Share it:

Heart Rate Monitors Don’t Work?47 lbs LOSTso farApril 20, 2008 by Dr. Kal | 3 comments

I read this article in the New York Times about the appropriateness of heart rate monitors. The article discusses the pros and cons of using heart rate monitors. Mainly focusing on the reasons why you do not need and should not use them.

This got me thinking because I advise my clients, who can afford one, to use a heart rate monitor. I also use one myself when I’m doing my high-intense uphill treadmill walking. Can you feel the burn?

My initial fear was that I had misled my clients and myself. But I quickly reassured myself of the benefits of using a heart rate monitor.

If you are trying to lose weight, a heart rate monitor is the best portable way to gauge how many calories you are burning. Knowing this is important when trying to figure out how much cardio you should be doing.

Most people overestimate how many calories they are burning with exercise, and a heart rate monitor brings you back to reality. Overestimating your calorie expenditure leads to overeating because you feel you “deserve” the food for all of your “hard” work.

If you are trying to lose weight, and you can afford it, I would recommend you get and use a heart rate monitor. It may or may not be accurate in gauging your cardiovascular fitness, but it is definitely the best portable device for gauging calories burned.

Dr. Kal is a weight-loss expert and ex-fat man. He is also the creator of the Don’t Go Broke Weight Loss Plan and the main contributor at Dr. Kal’s Blog.

Like this? Share it:

Fat People Cause Global Warming: Fat Isn’t Very Green47 lbs LOSTso farApril 18, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 11 comments

Photo Courtesy of starsky1231

Lately, we have noticed an increasing push for “going green.” We have seen changes in everything from transportation to food preparation to the internet. This got me thinking about how I could make my life greener. My immediate realization was that I was a walking global warming vessel. I’m fat. Being fat can’t be very green. Can it? We need to reduce our emissions of heat-trapping gases and learn how to use energy more efficiently.

Think about it. I’m overweight and require an above average usage of certain environmentally non-friendly things. Like what, you ask? Well, how about showering…? Being fat makes me take longer in the shower, using up more water than I should be using. So I waste water even though I make a conscious effort to “speed up” my showers. Another waste is toilet usage. I take, um, pretty big dumps and need more than one flush. I also use a lot of wipes to clean up. Don’t even get me started on my frequent urination due to all the water and green tea I consume. That equals quite a large amount of flushing per day.

Another way that being fat, or unhealthy, isn’t green is all the crap that gets consumed. I try to be as healthy as possible, but I do have my weaknesses. There are folks that eat out day after day after day. What do you think this does to the environment? That extra bag that was used to pack those 3 double cheeseburgers doesn’t just evaporate into thin air ya know. And the process of creating those burger wrappers doesn’t help either, factories and plants are needed for the creation of all of this.

How else can being fat not be very green? Clothes! Have you seen the amount of fabric needed to create some of the clothes that overweight people wear? I know you have. It’s all over television with the “I lost X amount of pounds” commercials. Think of what it takes to make that 5XL t-shirt. Think. What about all the washing that is needed for those large clothes? The water, the detergent, the softener, the dryer time…talk about endless loads of clothes.

If you’re fat you’re probably a notorious waster of electricity and gas too. It can be either watching too much television, having the air conditioning on a lot, or driving to that nearest fast food joint to pick up a “snack.” The heavier you are the more gas your car needs to carry you around. Fat = heavy = more gas needed. It’s simple math.

I’m not saying that being fat is causing global warming (need some research and scientific proof for this), but I can assure you that being fat isn’t very environmentally friendly.

Update: Looks like someone else feels the same way about global warming and fat people.

Like this? Share it:

Lipton Bike Contest Winner Announced47 lbs LOSTso farApril 17, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 5 comments

I’ll keep this short and sweet. The winner of the Lipton Fuji Bike Contest is….

GINA!

I will be in touch shortly. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy riding the bike around Fordham. Buy a strong lock and chain it up!

Here is her winning comment:

“I’m a college student, struggling with my weight, wallet, and lifestyle. While I’ve recently been making changes, exercising more, and eating healthier, it isn’t always easy when you are trying to go to class, keep a job, study, and get everything done - especially if you saw the cafeteria that we’re supposed to eat it. It’s terrible!

I’ve oft considered buying a bike, but with books as expensive as they are, there’s no way I can afford it. However, were I to, say, win a bike, I could ride it to work, thus saving money by not paying for public transit or gas, get a better workout, and continue to earn money.”

Like this? Share it:

Lipton Free Your Y Contest: Bike Giveaway47 lbs LOSTso farApril 14, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 20 comments

Update: Winner Announced for the Contest
Update: John from John Is Fit is holding the same bikecontest, here is your chance to win a bike if you didn’t win it here! I personally entered to win.

It’s one of those times when I get to give back to the readers. I love giving back to the readers. I was recently made aware of the new “Free Your Y” contest from Lipton. It’s basically a contest where you upload a 2 minute video to YouTube displaying your youthfulness. What’s in it for you? Well, if you are the lucky winner you get $25,000! There are also second and third place prizes of $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.

So what’s this “Free Your Y” slogan all about? They are promoting the fact that Lipton’s White Teas are made from young tea buds, plucked early in their life cycle. Free your Y = Youth. Get it? It’s all about tapping into their customer’s inner youthful spirit and highlighting those things they do every day to feel young. I find the new teas have a soft, smooth taste. My wife likes them too. I’m no expert though.

The official web site for the contest is at: www.AreYouYoungEnough.com.

That contest officially starts April 15th. You can get the specifics by visiting the the link above. I may just submit my own video and try to win one of those prizes.

Fuji Bike Giveaway
Now for the juicy part: One lucky Fat Man Unleashed reader will win a free Lipton branded Fuji Crosstown 2.0 bike*. That’s right. A freebie with no strings attached. All you need to do is leave a comment on how having a bike can change your life or on what you do to live a more youthful life. Or, just leave a thoughtful comment. Just make it meaningful. I will pick a winner on Friday, April 18th.

That’s about it. Make a video, potentially win $25,000. Leave a comment, potentially win a brand new, free bike. What do you have to lose?

* Lipton Legal Disclaimer: The Pepsi/Lipton Partnership will provide a check for $75.00 to be used for professional assembly of all Lipton Fuji bicycles awarded. Neither Pepsi Co. nor Unilever is liable for any injuries, damages or accidents that may result from the receipt, assembly or use of this bicycle.

Like this? Share it:

Weight Loss Surgeries Are Not For Everyone47 lbs LOSTso farApril 12, 2008 by Dr. Kal | 9 comments

Weight-loss surgeries seem to be gaining in popularity. Many see them as an easy way out. You have the surgery. You lose weight. You go off into the sunset. Unfortunately it’s not that simple.

Digestion

After food is swallowed, it is broken down by acids in the stomach. Then the nutrients from the food are absorbed in the small intestines. Weight-loss surgeries work on these two aspects of food processing. These surgeries either alter the stomach, the small intestines or both.

Surgery Types

• Restrictive surgeries use staples or bands to decrease the size of the stomach. This restricts the amount of food the stomach can hold. It works because you can only eat as much as your stomach can hold.
• Malabsorptive surgeries completely bypass parts of the small intestines, decreasing the amount of small intestines involved in the digestion process. It works because there is less small intestines available to absorb nutrients and calories.
• One type of surgery forces you to eat less and the other forces you to absorb less.

Results

These surgeries will typically result in significant weight loss, especially during the first two years post-operation. However, these surgeries are not risk free. There are potential side-effects and complications associated with them.

Potential side effects include: nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, stomach discomfort, heart burn, weakness, sweating, faintness, diarrhea, dairy intolerance, headache, hair-loss and depression.

Potential complications include: leaking of stomach fluids, band/staple line breakdown, infection and nutritional deficiencies. Some complications require a second surgery for repair.

Not for Everyone

These surgeries are only meant for people who have a BMI greater than 35, who have also failed to lose weight using safer methods. Their potential rewards from weight-loss are greater than the potential risks associated with the surgery. Please do not gain weight on purpose so you can have the surgery because these surgeries are not risk-free.

Dr. Kalvin Chinyere is a weight-loss expert and ex-fat man. He is also the creator of the Don’t Go Broke Weight Loss Plan and the main contributor at Dr. Kal’s Blog.

Like this? Share it: