Does Male Weight Loss Surgery Ruin Your Life?

     Back in the Roman era or when the Vikings were ransacking our lands, big men were seen for what they were - big strong powerful men, they were respected and looked up to. Can you imagine suggesting to Winston Churchill that a gastric band may help him lose a few pounds, he was an overweight man and everyone accepted this as a critical part of his leadership persona.

So why are many so judgemental about their fellow big men, when people see a big man they often automatically assume that this person is a jobless sponger living on benefits, lounging around on their sofa all day watching daytime TV and eating, of course there will be a few men like this, but in my experience as a big size men's fashion writer and owner of a big size men's shop, in most cases this is simply not true.

The fact that a good percentage of our sales are Hi-Visibility work wear would suggest that a lot of our customers are working in the blue collar sector. So many of the men I talk to have stories explaining their size, accidents that cause them to stop exercising, a hernia, or depression, most of these guys have accepted their size and many wish they could do something about it.

But is weight loss surgery the way forward? Everybody enjoys eating and we all want the best quality food that we can afford, so why would you want to have your stomach reduced to the size of a small orange only being able to eat pureed food for the first 5 weeks then 100 grams of high protein food 5 times a day, supplementing your diet with vitamin B1 & B2, folic acid and iron tablets for the rest of your life?

Can you imagine how you would feel never being able to eat an 8oz steak again or not being able to eat a ice cream or drink a pint of lager! Embarking on gastric band surgery thinking about nothing else but the weight you're going to shed, and not considering how you are going to cope with life without a satisfactory food intake is stretching hope and ignoring reason. How are you going to feel about eating after the surgery, there are many cases where men have eaten too much after their band has been fitted and they have stretched their stomach again even with the band fitted, and the weight loss advantage has disappeared.

If you are thinking of having a band fitted, let me throw a few scenarios at you for you to think about:

1/ A night out with the boys - What and how much are you going to be able to drink?

2/ Christmas Day - Are you going to enjoy your 3 mouthfuls of Christmas dinner ?

3/ Your constant lack of energy - No food = no energy, even with the vitamin supplements.

4/ Family dinner - Every day watching your family and kids eating their dinner, and you eating about ten percent of your children's intake.

5/ Your weekly take away - This will last 2 weeks

So, maybe you need to put your lifestyle into perspective, think about what you have done over the last few weeks, and imagine how different that time would have been with a band fitted.

You may think the sacrifice is too much. Take it steady, cut down on your meal size, do some exercise and watch the weight come down over a sustainable period.

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