I'll bypass the bypass. Thank you.

Today during my lunch break I participated in a brown bag "Lunch and Learn"  titled, Weight Loss and Nutrition.  It was a helpful session and scared me into thinking if I don't get my act together, I will soon be eligible for bypass surgery.

I entered the session with a huge plain bagel smothered in plain cream cheese and left with 1/4 of that same bagel the remains of which threw into the trash can.   Why did I do this, because at the session medical professionals talked about how fad diets and magical weight loss programs promise drastic results but studies show short-term dieting frequently results in weight re-gain. They presented proven strategies for long-term weight loss -- one of which included eat slower and savor your meals.

I'm used to inhaling my lunches, snacks and dinners with rapid speed, barely chewing  (whereas I eat my breakfast slower because I am barely awake enough to have the capacity to chow down before 9 a.m.).  The smart docs explained too fast eating causes us to overeat and we really should be taking 30 to 45 minutes to eat each meal because our bodies can't tell us we're full if we eat in less than 15 or 20 minutes..   Luckily they shared this advice within the first 10 minutes of the session and that way I was able to put the remainder of my bagel down.  And sure enough, 30 mins in, I was full off of my freakishly large bagel.  I stopped eating when I was "full".

These docs also went into great detail about weight loss surgery included diagrams and videos of gastric bypass surgery.   That made me lose my appetite especially since they shared that Non-Surgical obesity treatments, such as diets and medications generally suck.   Diets only yield a 6% long-term success rate whereas Medications only 12%.   

After watching a video where someone's stomach was cut down to the size of a banana, it's safe to say that I don't want to ever have to do weight loss surgery.  Sure it's effective, since most can get rid of 60 to 80% of excess weight within the first 18 months but gastric bypass is non-adjustable and requires the cutting and stapling of the stomach and the bowel.

My personal preference: I'd like to learn how to listen to my body and find it when I'm full by eating slower.