I get it.

I completely understand the frustration of knowing absolutely everything you need to do to accomplish a goal, but being unable to because of inability to maintain willpower. I've struggled with weight issues numerous times throughout the years, never for lack of knowledge of what I needed to do to get it shape. It was simply inability to control my urges.

There are numerous studies on why we get cravings and urges to over indulge. Many aspects stem from mental inadequacies and self-esteem issues which result in us using food as comfort, which in fact only adds to the negative cycle overeating imposes upon our bodies.

I'm 6'4, so I get a lot of leeway when it comes to gaining weightsubliminal weight loss. It takes a considerable amount of gain for anyone to really notice that I've tipped the scale in the least desirable of ways. I just kind of get "worse looking" as I like to put it, as opposed to "looking fat".

At the same time, I've had stretches of months where I lost complete control and became completely ashamed at my physical appearance.

At 17, I was 265lbs with barely any muscle mass. I worked out for a year consistently and trimmed down to 250lbs with a substantial amount of muscle. Although I only lost 15lbs, it looked like a lot more because I completely transformed my body with the muscle gain. By 20, I had stopped working out and gained more weight, ballooning back up to 270.

Eventually, I had enough and went back to boxing, where I trimmed down to 222, with barely any fat on me. I personally think I looked better at 250 with the muscle than super skinny, but at 222, I was in the best shape of my life. I was a machine in the gym and with my road work (jogging).

After I stopped working out, I went all the way up to 292 and stayed there for a few years. At a sedentary job, the motivation just wasn't there to work out until I finally got the kick in the behind I needed to get back in shape when I moved across the country in May of this year. Since then, I have lost 40lbs and am currently at 252, edging closer towards my goal weight of 235.

The point I'm trying to make is that I understand weight issues from all angles. I've been chubby, I've been skinny, and I've been muscular. I've hit peaks and valleys in my own personal struggle with not only weight, but overall fitness.

It is this range of experiences that causes me to have a serious distaste for the increasingly popular weight loss surgeries. While there are quite a few available today, I would like to focus on one of the more popular options: Gastric Bypass Surgery.

What it is

Gastric Bypass surgery shrinks the stomach and allows food to bypass part of the small intestine, which results in the intestine absorbing fewer calories and causing you to get fuller quicker.

And while the simple thought of having someone do something to your body that "automatically" makes you lose weight can be tempting, I want you to really break this surgery down to the very basics of what it's doing...

Forcing you to eat less. That's right. Patients lay on a cold slab and have a doctor slice, slash and cut them inside out so that they do not have to consciously control their own eating habits. It forces them to eat less. And by "forces", yes, I mean you can actually die post-surgery from overeating as you can rip the shrunken stomach lining.

I'm sorry to offend anyone who has had the surgery or is close to someone who has, but this single-handedly puts the decline of not only this country's health, but mindset, in perspective.

We've become so unable to control ourselves, that we deem it an easier option to lay ourselves on a table and risk our lives, thus FORCING ourselves to have willpower.

There is nothing... I repeat, NOTHING, this surgery can do for you that good old fashioned saying "NO" to a piece of cake cannot. You're forcing something on yourself that you can accomplish on your own. Not only that, but you're risking your life to do it.

In all my struggles with weight, I never even considered such an option. Granted, previous success with fitness gave me an advantage over those that are brainwashed into believing surgery is the only way, but we need to wake up as a society.

It's not necessary to cut ourselves open like animals and re-arrange our insides to get a better body. On top of leaving scars and harming your body in ways even food can't, it's just not natural. Learn the healthy, natural way to obtain your goals.

Eat right, exercise, and say "NO!" when it's necessary!

There are 2 things you can put inside yourself to lose the weight: An apple or a knife. Which do you choose?