“Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

Last Updated on February 12, 2024

“Why didn’t I do this sooner?” That’s the sentiment I hear most often from my patients. When I ask them following their surgery about their biggest regret—whether they’re 65, 45, or 20—it’s always that they wish they had done it years ago.

When I ask these patients about why they didn’t do it sooner, it’s not because it was too expensive, or because they were scared. It’s because they were optimistic.

Read that again. The biggest reason people don’t pursue weight loss surgery is optimism. As humans, it’s natural to feel optimistic about what we’re capable of achieving, and this holds true in weight loss too. Before coming to see me, my patients were optimistic that this time, that diet, exercise program, or magic pill, would work.

The harsh truth? It won’t. And it’s not because you aren’t following the right diet, or working hard enough at the gym, or because you don’t have enough willpower. It’s because once your body reaches a certain weight and BMI, this becomes your new normal. When you bring your weight down below this new normal by dieting, your body doesn’t view this as a positive thing. Quite the opposite, in fact; your body begins to notice that you’re eating less, and—as crazy as this may sound to someone trying to lose weight—it thinks you don’t have enough food.

While you may be able to lose weight in the short term, your body is designed to bring your weight back up, and it always will. Patients are often surprised by this, but I’m not. While they think if only they hadn’t lost their job, or their partner hadn’t left, or they hadn’t broken their leg, that they would still be on their diet, I know the truth is that this is what’s supposed to happen.

I’ve spoken with thousands of patients who delayed their surgery for years because they were optimistic. Check out more Gastric sleeve regrets here. Don’t make that same mistake. Reach out today.