Weight-loss surgery is a specific type of operation to help severely obese people who have 100 pounds or more to lose in their quest to both lose weight and keep it off permanently. It alters the anatomy of your digestive system, physically limiting the amount of food that your body can consume as well as absorb. It does this in one of two ways: making the stomach smaller (restriction), or preventing calories from being absorbed into the body (malabsorption).

While there are different surgical options, the most important thing to remember is that weight-loss surgery supports an effort to change your lifestyle. That’s the true foundation of successful weight loss. Anyone considering weight-loss surgery needs to embrace a healthy lifestyle before and after the operation, since surgery does not replace the lifestyle effort. It only supports it.