When you want to take off a few inches and keep them off, you have several options available to you.  While it is far easier to get gastric bypass surgery as opposed to hiring a personal trainer, it is not the best option by far.  All you have to go through for a personal trainer is time finding a good match for you, money, and effort.  There are serious health risks and side effects that you need to be aware of if you are considering a gastric bypass surgery. 

The basic premise of gastric bypass surgery is that your stomach is smaller, and your food is bypassing parts of your intestines.  This promotes weight loss by both making you feel fuller much more quickly than before, as well as allowing less overall calories to be processed by your intestines.  Surgical staples or a plastic band are used to decrease the size of the stomach.  The stomach is then directly attached to the jejunum, or middle portion of the small intestines. 

There are many issues surrounding gastric bypass surgery.  You need to weigh your options and decide whether you should choose a surgical option of weight loss as opposed to hard work with a trainer.  The first issue is that your doctor might just recommend you try other methods of weight loss to begin with.  This is not a surgery to be given lightly, so you might even have to get a personal trainer before you would be allowed to get it anyway.  Why not be easy on yourself and put in the time with your trainer?

Another reason why gastric bypass surgery is bad is that it has an associated syndrome that can occur.  This syndrome, dumping syndrome, is when food passes too quickly through your smaller stomach.  It has a plethora of symptoms that occur shortly after you finish eating – nausea, diarrhea, fainting, and other feelings of weakness.  If you have a sweet tooth, forget it – high calories foods have a higher likelihood of causing this syndrome.

Other conditions that can occur because of gastric bypass surgery include peritonitis, which is a leak from where your stomach was reconnected to your intestine, and pulmonary embolism, which is a blood clot in the lung.  There is also a higher risk for developing gallstones or anemia than if you choose not to have the surgery.  Also, while the chances are fairly low, there have been deaths related to gastric bypass surgery – about 1%.

Gastric bypass surgery is bad for your basic nutrition as well – the part of the intestines that becomes bypassed is the area where minerals and vitamins can be absorbed.  So you will be susceptible to conditions caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies as well.

It can take up to 24 months after the surgery for your weight to become stable again – 2 years in which you will have to consult with a doctor and possible a dietitian about many different things.  This is hardly different from hiring a personal trainer, except that you are putting your life and long term health at risk.

Gastric bypass surgery also isn't an alternative for exercise – in fact, your need to regulate your meals and keep yourself fit increases with gastric bypass surgery.  Your stapled stomach cannot hold very much food, so you have to eat much smaller meals, and space out your drinking.  You also will not be able to eat many rich foods or alcohols. 

Hopefully you can understand now why gastric surgery is bad, and you should look into hiring a personal trainer to help you through any weight related issues you might be having.  Just consider the risks, money, and time that it takes for both options, and it should be pretty easy to figure out the superior choice.