Lap band? Really?

A friend of mine is considering a laparoscopic adjustable gastric band — more commonly called a lap band — because he just can’t lose the weight any other way.

Really?

My friend and I have had discussions on many occasions about his obesity. He can’t exercise, he says — he’s too fat. I’ll grant you, he does have a problem back that has required several surgeries, but, still, can you at least give some kind of exercise a shot for a couple months? Answer: no.

Fine. I know that your body composition is 70% to 80% determined by what  you eat. So how about you get on a primal or low-carb or low-calorie diet and see how that goes?

Tried it. Just can’t do it.

WHAT?

Seriously, this guy — and he is my friend, I love him like a brother, which is probably why I’m so hard on him — is clinically obese, obviously because he has an eating problem. He just cannot control himself.

But he’s an adult with the freedom to choose how to live his life. Why would he choose to continue to eat himself to death?

I don’t know why I’m asking you, because he doesn’t know either. All he knows is that he has tried everything and failed, so now he’s probably headed into surgery.

I cannot even imagine doing that. I mean, I was obese. Okay, not as overweight as my friend, but I was seriously fat. Then one day something clicked inside me and I became determined to lose weight. Then I became determined to get into shape. Click. Click.

Many people are clickless. They know what they have to do, but they just can’t do it.

I wish my friend luck with his lap band. I have another friend who had one installed, and it worked for her. She lost a ton of weight and is living a fuller, happier life now, thanks to the lap band.

Fine. I don’t get it, but I always say that we all need to test ourselves and choose our own paths to fitness. If your path involves a lap band, I wish you well.