# Alternative to surgery to bypass your stomach - balloon **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 10, 2020, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-surgery-to-bypass-your-stomach-balloon/846230 "2020-01-10T17:12:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-surgery-to-bypass-your-stomach-balloon/846230/21 "2020-01-10T23:13:45Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > A 42 hour fast is pretty extreme, and if you do that aren’t you only eating 6 meals a week? Are people able to sustain that? I thought the original idea for IF was one day on, one day off but they found that most people couldn’t maintain it so not people push ideas like a 16:8 or 20:4 or OMAD plan. No, in my case it’s actually eight meals a week, lunch and dinner on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. I’ve maintained it for more than a year and see no reason why I can’t continue indefinitely. Weight loss has slowed down as a approached and went under my initial goal weight, but I’m continuing fasting for the hormonal and metabolic benefits. I do my strength training in a fasted state to aid in recovery and lactic acid conversion. I wouldn’t consider 16:8 or 20:4 intermittent fasting, I’d call it time restricted eating. If it’s not over 24 hours I don’t call it fasting, and it’s like running, the first mile is the hard one. The first 24 hours are the tough ones, once you’ve got them in you might as well keep going. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-surgery-to-bypass-your-stomach-balloon/846230/22 "2020-01-10T23:46:48Z")
Every one is going to have their idea of how to lose weight. And most of those people have some idea on my position on this. My first stance is that if you can’t do it for the rest of your life, you will gain the weight back (and probably more) Does it matter? If you lose the weight but gain it back and then some in the next year or two, will you count that as a success? I know two people who have had weight loss surgery and kept it off. I know of some other people who had it and gained all the weight back. My guess is that different people have different reasons for being overweight. If I’m right, then if you tend to sit down to 3 huge meals a day and nothing else, and you can exercise some discipline over your eating, but can’t not eat if you are still hungry, then the “make your stomach smaller” surgery just may work. (But if you’re like me, and tend to eat very small amounts throughout the day, I don’t think surgery is a good option. Or if you get a lot of calories from alcohol or soda pop. Or if your problem is that you eat for emotional reasons rather than hunger.) Bear in mind that if you get weight loss surgery, you _will_ be put on a very limited calorie diet afterwards. And there are potential health problems, not just from undergoing surgery but from nutrient malabsorption afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-surgery-to-bypass-your-stomach-balloon/846230/23 "2020-01-10T23:56:34Z")
Gastric balloons have been used as a weight-loss aid for at least 40 years that I know of. ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-surgery-to-bypass-your-stomach-balloon/846230/24 "2020-01-11T06:18:33Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Same reason why alcoholics and addicts don’t just stop. Yeah, I can’t do that also, but a balloon is not the answer in this case. Actually, alcohol is not a problem, but an answer… ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-surgery-to-bypass-your-stomach-balloon/846230/25 "2020-01-11T16:15:19Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > No, in my case it’s actually eight meals a week, lunch and dinner on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. I’ve maintained it for more than a year and see no reason why I can’t continue indefinitely. Weight loss has slowed down as a approached and went under my initial goal weight, but I’m continuing fasting for the hormonal and metabolic benefits. I do my strength training in a fasted state to aid in recovery and lactic acid conversion. > > I wouldn’t consider 16:8 or 20:4 intermittent fasting, I’d call it time restricted eating. If it’s not over 24 hours I don’t call it fasting, and it’s like running, the first mile is the hard one. The first 24 hours are the tough ones, once you’ve got them in you might as well keep going. I was under the impression even 16:8 fasting led to metabolic improvements and weight loss. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-surgery-to-bypass-your-stomach-balloon/846230/26 "2020-01-12T03:17:19Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I was under the impression even 16:8 fasting led to metabolic improvements and weight loss. It does, and that’s the way I got into it, more or less accidentally by delaying my breakfast until I’d finished my morning walk. By the time my walk had gotten up to seven or so miles, breakfast came so late it was stepping on lunch, so I just started skipping lunch and having breakfast at noon. I started the 3X42 protocol as a way to induce autophagy. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-surgery-to-bypass-your-stomach-balloon/846230/27 "2020-01-12T04:40:27Z")
> [@komolono](#): > > I’m afraid of dentists, spiders, snakes and so on but I know I should loose weight…so is there an alternative for surgery. My idea is to swallow an empty balloon and fill it after it is in my empty stomach. Any concerns? From someone who has had to spend time in the hospital for having a chunk of debris close off my stomach, DO NOT DO THIS. Having to get your stomach pumped is thoroughly unpleasant, and dying from a ruptured stomach (because nothing can get out) damn well is likely worse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-surgery-to-bypass-your-stomach-balloon/846230.md?page=1)