Weight loss is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions out there—and as we touched upon a few weeks ago, so is saving money.
When it comes to good health, money shouldn’t be an obstacle. In some cases, it doesn’t have to be; bariatric surgery is a double dip—effective in treating obesity and cost-effective!
Check out these great ways that surgery can keep your wallet, and your health, happy!
Proper portioning and selecting nourishing foods are key to healthy eating—and when it comes to sustainable diets, plans help keep us on track with our goals. So what’s the downside?
For most people, changing their diets isn’t enough to lose weight long-term, even when they are exercising and making healthy choices. There are many factors beyond our control that determine our weight and our ability to lose it, from hormones to family history. So while diet plans can help people stick to better eating habits, they’re not always worth the money.
If a diet plan works for you—that’s great!
But if it doesn’t, you could be paying hundreds of dollars a month for something that won’t get you to your desired results. And on top of that, there’s only so much eating can do! For people with weight-related comorbidities, such as sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes, a simple diet change can’t solve their problems.
Bariatric surgery helps patients lose weight, but it can help them gain so much more; namely, relief from symptoms exacerbated by obesity and overweight. In fact, the ADA’s 2018 Standards of Care in the Treatment of Diabetes continues to suggest bariatric surgery as a major treatment for type 2 diabetes—some patients even stop needing their medication after their procedure! This is a major advancement; not too long ago, they did not even acknowledge the role of surgery in managing diabetes.
We all know the feeling of wanting good things to come to us quickly—but when it comes to long-term weight loss, “instant” solutions that sound too good to be true, like diet pills and fad diets, usually are.
Even extreme weight loss through diet and exercise can have huge drawbacks. Take, for example, past contestants on NBC’s The Biggest Loser—the show is famous for the weigh-ins where they reveal their dramatic transformations. However, the exercise is grueling and the diet plans are not sustainable in the long-term. So, even though contestants can shed hundreds of pounds, many gain the weight back once the show is over.
Our bodies change our metabolisms to fight to gain weight when they perceive they are facing starvation—the lack of nutrients in extreme and fad diets can convince the body it is “starving”.
This is why many people who go on short-term diets gain the weight they lost back once they return to their normal eating habits causing metabolic problems that can persist years down the line after the initial weight loss. So paying for these “miracle” weight-loss solutions costs more than money—it can cost your ability to lose weight!
Bariatric surgery circumvents these metabolic changes and even helps reset the body’s wiring, such as the satiety hormone Leptin, which communicates fullness to the body. Most patients are able to sustain their dramatic weight loss in the long-term because they are eating less in conjunction with a healthy metabolism.
One of the reasons an exercise regimen may fail to provide long-term results is the same as any diet—if your strategy isn’t sustainable, you won’t be able to find success! So, while regular exercise should be a part of any healthy lifestyle, you may be wasting money on the gym if it isn’t suiting your needs.
Some exercises—especially those done from home—can save you on a monthly membership you never enjoyed. This is especially true if your only motive at the gym is losing lots of weight! Studies show that while eating healthy and staying active are important components to healthy living, they aren’t nearly as effective at helping people lose weight and keep it off as bariatric surgery. Conversely, bariatric surgery is even more effective when patients adhere to these healthy lifestyle and eating habits.
Don’t fret if the gym is your happy place; bariatric surgery helps improve the symptoms of many weight-related issues, such as joint pain, hypertension, and asthma. Enjoying the workout more means you’ll get more bang for your buck!
This is a huge one—healthcare costs are skyrocketing in this country, and there’s no clear end in sight. Many comorbidities associated with obesity and overweight are not only dangerous, but costly to treat: obesity has been linked to hypertension, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, joint pain, increased cancer risk, asthma, and even increased risk of death. Plus, recent studies have shown that over 181,000 people die every year as a direct result of obesity.
Not only does it cost more to treat these conditions on top of general health care; they are likely to persist for as long as a patient is still afflicted by their extra weight. Bariatric surgery has been proven to not only positively affect the symptoms of many weight-related conditions; it can even help them resolve completely! Not only that, but it has been shown that these operations typically pay for themselves in two years or less.
Bariatric surgery can help you have fewer bills to pay, but more than that, it can help you have less to worry about when it comes to the state of your health—and that security is priceless.
At University Bariatrics, our team is passionate about the safest and most effective bariatric procedures, but we’re even more passionate about patient success! Our core mission is helping patients live their healthiest, happiest lives by providing them with only the best that bariatrics has to offer.
So why wait? Learn more about bariatric surgery at one of Dr. Mehran’s seminars or webinars, or schedule a consultation to come in and see us!