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Jan 20 2023

The Failure of Diets

cartoon person contemplating food choices
Summary

Diets often fail because the brain keeps telling the body “I’m hungry.” Weight loss surgery causes your brain to tell your body “I’m full” – even with much less food.

Diets often fail because the brain keeps telling the body “I’m hungry.” Weight loss surgery is different.

Many people who struggle with their weight have done so for most of their life.

Most patients we see every day at the NMMC Bariatric Center have tried everything... and then some. Maybe you too have tried a long list of diets and programs that haven’t worked. You may wonder why weight loss surgery would be any different.

Set Point

Have you heard of the theory of set point? It says that your body weight range is predetermined by your genetics, and that your body will use hormones, hunger and behavior changes to “defend” that range of body weight (and body fat). This means your body will find a new (lower) weight range that it fights to maintain.

Weight loss surgery works because it is not a diet. Instead, it is a procedure that changes the composition of your body. Diets often fail because the brain will keep telling the body “I’m hungry.”

In contrast, weight loss surgery causes your brain to tell your body “I’m full” – even with much less food.

You will be physically unable to consume as much food as you did before. That kicks off rapid weight loss itself—but that’s only part of the equation.

The Rest of the Equation

There are also emotional, hormonal and physiological changes. You learn to eat smaller portions and feel full sooner. And many patients no longer crave sweets or other unhealthy foods.

Surgery can help your brain calculate a new set point.

When you combine these changes with dietary counseling and learning about what food fuels your body and brain, you start to see real changes. Changes that last a lifetime.

Do I Qualify?

According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, you could be a candidate for weight loss surgery if:

  • Your BMI is 35 or greater
  • Your BMI is between 30-35, and you have a serious obesity-related health problem (e.g. hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc.)

Time for a Change

Weight loss surgery is a big step. It is a tool, not a magic cure. You didn’t put all the weight on overnight... and you won’t lose it overnight.

As we ring in 2023, consider this – where will you be in a year if you don’t do anything different? Let us help you change your life.

Learn more and see if weight loss surgery might be right for you.

Dr. Terry Pinson
Dr. Terry Pinson
Meet the author

Terry W. Pinson, MD

General SurgeryBariatric Surgery

Dr. Terry W. Pinson is board certified in general surgery and has special interests in bariatric, gastrointestinal, minimally invasive and advanced laparoscopic surgery. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Pinson graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and completed his general surgery residency at Caraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Pinson joined the NMMC medical staff in 1995. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgery and a Fellow of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery.

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