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I had gastric bypass and have lost 203 pounds in 19 months. I still continue to lose, so I don't know about the 18 month time limit being set in stone.
When someone has gastric bypass (stomach stapling) they cannot eat sweets or fried foods for the rest of their lives because they get "dumping syndrome", which is a nice way of saying vomiting/diarrhea both at the same time. Once or twice is all it takes and no one even wants sweets or fried food after that.
Other than no sweets or fried food my diet hasn't changed.
Also, I know a number of people who exercise, but I don't due to back and knee issues. Even with a lack of exercise I've lost weight.
If you truly cannot get your head wrapped around not binge eating and are 100 pounds or more overweight I'd suggest the bypass surgery. It's best thing I've ever done for myself.
Alas this has been my waterloo. I read a book which touted..."Find some kind of exercise that you ENJOY". yikes. There is absolutely NO exercise that I enjoy.
I am hoping that simply eating less calories and better quality food will do the trick.
20yrsinBranson
I hear you, Branson. It's not easy. But hey. Don't you live in a hotbed of country music (I've been to Branson -- it's a gas, IMHO!)? Aren't there dances to attend or dance clubs you can join? Square dancing, line dancing, Texas two-step, that kind of thing? Dancing is exercise, just like any other activity. Some people enjoy it. Maybe you would, too.
I'll freely admit to being ignorant on issues I've never had an interest in or that haven't affected me personally. I'm not particularly interested in discussions about Social Security, for example.
And I've never been , or been with, anyone over 180 pounds.
This post is directed at general ignorance in our society and not any one individual person in CD.
I understand what I am about to post is very personal to me, may be controversial and most of you may not understand it. However, it is on my mind a lot and I feel the need to express my feelings and opinions on the matter...I do not understand why the majority of the U.S. population is overweight or obese, yet there is a general mentality among the general population that it is as simple as a lack of individual willpower.
I am a morbidy obese male at 380 pounds. Despite what many may think of me, my weight problem is largely medical in nature. For example, I am in physical therapy right now for walking difficulties. My therapist actually finds me HIGHLY MOTIVATED despite my disturbingly high weight. When the therapists says do 8 minutes on the hand bike, I do 10. When he tells me to go on the Nustep Machine at level 5, I do level 6. Always at least a little more than what he says is necessary. Why? I want to get better and if I can still physically do more, I will do it.
However, other medical problems get in the way of proper weight management. First of all, I am a Binge Eater. It is an eating disorder that the pycological community is well aware of. In fact, I believe it will be in the next DSM, the index of all psycological disorders. Basically, the sufferer has VERY POWERFUL urges to overeat until it is physically impossible to eat anymore. One with this Binge Eating Disorder or BED downs food very rapidly and for a short time, the binge is very pleasurable, despite knowing it is destructive. (A top Bariatric doctor in New York once told me overcoming this disorder is even harder than an alcoholic overcoming alcoholism due to the fact that unlike an alcoholic, one has to eat. One can't simply stay away from temptations like an alcholic can avoid alcohol-serving establishments.) Anyway, after the binge is over the sufferer feels depressed and ashamed of their actions, which is why they often binge alone. As someone who had dealt with this disorder, I understand it all too well. Note: It is only after a year of professional help that I have only recently got some degree of control over my urges to overeat.
Secondly, yes, not all obese indivduals are binge eaters or even emotional or psychological overeaters. But the body is DESIGNED TO EAT and CONSUME. It goes back to the days when we were caveman and we had to store food during times of famine. Problem is that this is no more famine. Outside of these times of famine, two top bariatric doctors told me that our bodies are actually designed to gain 10 pounds a year, for those times of famine. Also, after we do gain weight, internal mechanisms ensure that it is very rare that someone can lose weight for more than 1 1/2 years. That is why when people get bariatric surgery and dramatically lose weight, they stop losing the weight after 18 months! That is why they lose the majority but not all of excess body fat. The MDs have told me that the medical community does not understand exactly why this happens, but the body just will not lose anymore weight past 18 months.
As for people who lose weight for up to 18 months without surgery, they tend to regain it back after 18 months. Out of 100 people that try to lose 100 pounds...5 will succeed and 1 will keep it off. Why? The body is designed to eat,consume and gain weight NOT lose it. Medical research into the subject time and time again shows us how much the odds are against the individual to lose weight and keep it off. This is true even for the most determined of all dieters. You can just say "they did not keep it up and lost willpower." Sorry, but the medical community is not looking at it like that anymore. The problem is that the general public still does and this is preventing us from further developing better treatments for obesity.
My story...When I reached 360 pounds in 2006, I went on a diet prescribed by a professional mainstream nutritionist. I followed it to a T. I began to exercise a little bit, then more, then became a gym rat. I would get 1 hour and 30 minutes of vigorous cardio, but strength training every other day. I became popular in the gym partially because my exercise routine was so successful. I dropped 120 pounds and went down to 240 pounds. I was happy as a kid on Christmas. I could finally do things that I could not do in a long time. In fact, at 28, I was in the best shape of my life. I even did a lot of hiking, which I really missed doing when I was too heavy. I really actually ENJOYED THE CARDIO WORKOUTS! I loved the endorphine rush.
However, after 18 months, I started to have my old problems of binge eating. No matter how much I loved the cardio or wanted to stay within a reasonable weight, I REGAINED ALL MY WEIGHT BACK AND AN EXTRA 20 POUNDS WITHIN two years. The desire to eat was VERY powerful and only then did doctors explain to me that my brain chemistry or some other internal mechanism is not letting me to continue to lose weight anymore. I am now being told that although the eater disorder may be a root cause, it is far from the only cause. Brain chemistry, genetics (my mother is obese), metabolism, etc. are part of a series of factors at play that determine what someone weights. NOT WILLPOWER ALONE. I can not weight to see if I can get back into shape again. I dream of being 240 again and walking again. Since I had two back surgeries, my back cannot support my weight for walking anymore. Watching a nature show burns me up with anger and depresses me, because it just reminds me of what I can't, though really want to do. I can not go shopping, climb stairs, hike, ski, swim, walk around the mall, walk in a park, etc. largely due to this DISEASE. Yes, it is a disease and a condition, NOT a matter of me not being able to put down a fork. If it was as simple as a lack of willpower I would probably be a marathon runner...People do not assume that when they see me. They are usually still in the stage of "he's fat and lazy and does not want to even move." I want to get up. I want to exercise, but I am going up against thousands of years of evolution.
Now I know some lazy people that do not exercise. They are either skinny or 15 pounds overweight. Yes, there may be some people like that. They often have genetic or biological factors on their side though. However, when you see someone 100+ pounds overweight, that is a MEDICAL CONDITION and NOT A LACK OF GENERAL WILLPOWER. Why does the average Joe think that a 380 pound man can not even put down a fork or does not even know how to eat properly? Why do people think the explanation is that simple when more and more people are having that condition? When more than half of the population has a medical condition like being overweight (though not necessarily by 100 pounds) you would think that people would be able to grasp that something else is going on. Why is there not more public awareness about this matter? That kind of ignorance is not helpful to developing better treatments towards obesity. (though I am slightly hopeful that the new Contrave drug will be approved by the FDA on December 7th. It may be able to allow weight loss past the 12-18 month limit should the drug be approved) I just do not understand how so many people can be so clueless about weight issues. ( I was VERY disappointed to read other postings in CD on weight issues.) Why do people know so little but have such strong opinions on weight issues?
I just wanted to thank you for your post.
Ironically, I suffered for many many many years from the opposite problem. Anorexia and Bulimia. It's weird because many people don't realize this, but they are oppostie sides of the same coin. All/both obsessed with FOOD.
Also Ironic? Anorexics are almost "worshiped" in this society (see "Fashion Models") and yet it is still covered by most health insurance as a disorder. Nice, huh?
Have you tried OA? A fellow athlete (and model ) turned me on to them.
I can't say I'm totally "cured", but I've been able to put many of my "food demons" behind me. Excellent organization, although, of course, chapters vary by location.
This post is directed at general ignorance in our society and not any one individual person in CD.
I am a morbidy obese male at 380 pounds. Despite what many may think of me, my weight problem is largely medical in nature.
Very few medical conditions cause obesity directly.
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For example, I am in physical therapy right now for walking difficulties.
Because you weigh almost 400lbs, a toll your frame was never designed to handle.
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However, other medical problems get in the way of proper weight management. First of all, I am a Binge Eater.
And there you have it.
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It is an eating disorder that the pycological community is well aware of. In fact, I believe it will be in the next DSM, the index of all psycological disorders. Basically, the sufferer has VERY POWERFUL urges to overeat until it is physically impossible to eat anymore.
Your "condition" simply requires you to stop your hand from putting food in your mouth. No, you have no "medical" condition, you just eat far too much and exercise far too little.
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Also, after we do gain weight, internal mechanisms ensure that it is very rare that someone can lose weight for more than 1 1/2 years. That is why when people get bariatric surgery and dramatically lose weight, they stop losing the weight after 18 months! That is why they lose the majority but not all of excess body fat. The MDs have told me that the medical community does not understand exactly why this happens, but the body just will not lose anymore weight past 18 months.
yeah, totally weird how bariatric surgeons say you just can't do it without them. Fun fact, that's one of the most profitable fields to be in now, wonder why?
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The body is designed to eat,consume and gain weight NOT lose it.
And that's why you have watch how much you eat. Few of us are active enough to burn even half of what we take in these days....if you're a lumberjack tearing through 4,500 calories a day, by all means have thirds of bacon. If you're a desk jockey like me, pass on the bacon altogether.
Pleading from relief from the "ignorance" of society for something you did to yourself, all the while jacking up healthcare costs for everyone else seems pretty ignorant to me. Must everyone have their own damned pity brigade these days?
I hear you, Branson. It's not easy. But hey. Don't you live in a hotbed of country music (I've been to Branson -- it's a gas, IMHO!)? Aren't there dances to attend or dance clubs you can join? Square dancing, line dancing, Texas two-step, that kind of thing? Dancing is exercise, just like any other activity. Some people enjoy it. Maybe you would, too.
Funny you should mention this. I have always thought that in my bosom beats the heart of a dancer. In fact, I "see" music in dance steps, rather than hear it.
I don't believe there is anywhere to dance locally. Perhaps in Springfield. I'd love to do some ballroom (if I can get dh to cooperate). Perhaps I shall look into it.
I was a binge eater since, well, as long as I can remember. As a little kid, I'd sneak food whenever possible. As a teenager, I exercised daily for hours to stay within a normal weight because I couldn't stop binging to save my life. As a wife and mother, I kept food from my family. I went to multiple grocery stores because I bought so much junk food it was embarrassing. Food was on my mind all day. So ask me if food can become an addiction and I'll say heck yeah!
The only way I was able to overcome the binging was to cut out grains. In the past I had tried cutting out processed foods, gluten grains, and high fructose corn syrup - basically I stuck with natural ingredients. My food cravings were still on the loose, so I cut out all grains. Bingo! Binge eating went away.
I can now keep some of the foods in the house that I used to binge on, like salami, bacon and liverwurst, without binging. It must have been the bread that I used to eat with these foods that made me crave more and more. I also don't have cravings for candy (and I used to eat bags of the stuff every day). I don't know if it's cutting out the grains or cutting down on carbs (went from 300+g/day to under 100g), but maybe this is something for obese people to try.
Jaida, your symptoms sound like a classic case of systemic yeast overgrowth to me. Take a look at The Home of Doug Kaufmann Host of Know the Cause and see if anything looks interesting to you.
Why do people know so little but have such strong opinions on weight issues?
Bottom line, the plain truth is that MOST weight problems are caused by consuming more calories than you burn. You can argue that one until you're blue in the face, and throw the small percentage of the population with true medical issues at us until hell freezes over, but it won't change the fact that for nearly all fat people -- including you the OP -- the cause is if you eat more calories than you need, you will gain weight.
That covers about 97% of the obese population. I don't see why that's so difficult to grasp. You're a 400 lb person because you won't stop putting food in your mouth.
Oh Lentzr, I understand. I am not overweight and for the first 40 years of my life I was very thin and trying to gain weight. Some people get on their high horse and want to tell you to just not eat. Nothing is ever that easy. Good luck to you!
Oh Lentzr, I understand. I am not overweight and for the first 40 years of my life I was very thin and trying to gain weight. Some people get on their high horse and want to tell you to just not eat. Nothing is ever that easy. Good luck to you!
Nobody ever said it's easy to lose weight, however it is very simple.
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) turned me on to them. 
