Hold on to your hats. The NIDDK (National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases) WIN Program (Weight-control Information Network) has a great idea! You'll find the following statement on their web site: "You may consider gastric surgery to promote weight loss if you are more than 80 pounds overweight. The surgery, sometimes called bariatric surgery, causes weight loss in one of two ways: 1) by limiting the amount of food your stomach can hold by closing off or removing parts of the stomach or 2) by causing food to be poorly digested by bypassing the stomach or part of the intestines. After surgery, patients usually lose weight quickly. While some weight is often regained, many patients are successful in keeping off most of their weight. In some cases, the surgery can lead to problems that require follow-up operations. Surgery may also reduce the amount of vitamins and minerals in your body and cause gallstones. For additional information, a fact sheet on gastric surgery is available from WIN." So, if you're really, really fat, maybe you should look into a good ol' stomach stapling. But don't try a low-carb diet; it's not healthy! Your tax dollars hard at work. Dori Zook Denver, CO _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com