The need for losing weight has been with man for many centuries. The oldest methods that have been used have mainly involved making changes on lifestyle behaviors related to diet and physical activity. Although these methods are effective in the majority of people, they tend to take fairly long to produce the desired effects. There are several things on weight loss Marlborough MA residents need to understand if struggling with this problem.

The common practice is to start with the lifestyle options before moving on to the more aggressive surgical options. Dietary changes that can be made include a reduction in the amount of protein and carbohydrate and an increase in the amount of fruits and vegetables. Strive to cut down on the number of servings per meal progressively. Smaller meals taken more frequently are more helpful than larger meals taken a few times.

Physical exercise is the other important lifestyle component that should be addressed. Exercise has a role in burning excess calories which would otherwise end up as stored fat in adipose tissue. There are many forms of physical activities which are beneficial. These include jogging, swimming, cycling, running and even brisk walking. If you have not been exercising regularly, start at a low intensity and frequency and increase both steadily over time.

Surgery comes in when lifestyle options are not achieving the required goals. Any form of operation that is performed with the aim of reducing weight is known as a bariatric surgical operation. The type of surgery is determined by the magnitude of the problem. Examples of bariatric surgeries include lap-band gastric surgery, bypass surgery and sleeve gastrectomy. Each of them is associated with various benefits and side effects.

Lap band surgery is the commonest of the three because of fewer complications. The modern techniques involve the use of an instrument referred to as a laparoscope. The incisions that are made when performing the operations are smaller than those that are made when using the conventional approach. In this operation, a silicon band is used to compress the stomach and reduce its size which in turn reduces the amount of food that can be eaten in any one instance.

Sleeve gastrectomy leads to weight loss in a similar manner as lap band surgery; reduced stomach size, early satiety and reduced food consumption. The main difference is that whereas lap-band surgery is reversible, sleeve gastrectomy is a permanent procedure. The stomach in this case is reduced in size by removing a large part of it. The part removed may be as much as 80%.

A number of other surgeries are performed mainly for cosmetic purposes but may also have benefits in weight loss. Among these procedures are tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) and liposuction. Tummy tuck involves the reduction of fat tissues found in the abdominal region as well as the tightening of redundant skin. The aim is to make the region firmer. Liposuction is done to get rid of fat found in other regions such as buttocks, the neck, face and thighs among others.

It is important to remember that losing weight is not an event. Rather, it is a process that takes weeks, months or even years in some cases. Using more than one approach concurrently increases the chances of success. Surgery should be reserved for the most severe cases. Such will include patients that have or are at a very high risk of developing weight related complications such as gastro-esophageal reflux disease, hypertension, diabetes and sleep apnea.