Okay, I admit it. I think about it all the time.

What if I could go under the knife and come out thinner on the other side? What would bariatric surgery be like?

I know it has to be painful because all surgery is. And there must be side effects because there always are. But besides all that, could it still be right for me?

Over the years, I read about it from time to time, especially when the weight loss battle was kicking my behind. But I always thought I could lose the weight on my own. And I did for a time.

But as I get older, the battle gets harder. Take this week for instance, I swam twice and hit the treadmill twice. And I watched what I ate. But I still gained a pound. Man, was I po'd!

So today, I found myself remembering an encounter with a woman who was having gastric bypass surgery. She and I were in the same hospital room a few years ago. The lady, who wasn't the nicest person around, was about 5'2" and 5'2" in circumference, as one of my heftier friends used to say about herself.

After she had the surgery, I overheard the doctor laying out the eating rules. Just juice for a few days, then no more than a few tablespoons of soft foods. She had to stay away from fats and sweets or she would become ill.
And if she had complications, she had to return to the hospital immediately.

It sounded scary to me, but I have often wondered what size she is now.

And now that Lap-Band surgery has come along, I am really intrigued. In this procedure, surgeons insert a band around your stomach that can be tightened or loosened depending on your weight-loss needs. But it also can have complications.

So I turned to the Internet for more information. I found a pretty informative guide to bariatric surgery on the North Shore-Long Island Jewish site.

The site features detailed explanations of the types of surgery available, and video and audio of the procedures. The hospital system also offers informational sessions in case you want to learn more.

My biggest question is how to pay for surgery. I called my insurance company and a representative told me they don't pay for it. In fact, they wouldn't even pay for a nutritionist, which struck me as stupid. Ever heard of preventative medicine?

Anyway, I guess I'll keep fantasizing until I can hit the lottery and pay for it myself.

If any of you have weight-loss surgery, I would love to hear from you on your experience. Maybe that will give us all some pointers.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com