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Well, my husband is finally ready to get serious about a weight-loss regime. He is 50 yrs old and currently weighs about 400 lbs. I know how to lose weight, diet and exercise, but I definitely do not consider myself a professional. Also, I would prefer not to be the "bad guy" telling him what to eat, how much to exercise, etc.
I was surfing the internet, trying to find a good professional medical weight loss clinic to help, but the only ones I found were pushing injections, which after reading this forum, seems unnecessary and frankly, a money grab. Others seems to be mainly a chiropractic clinic, but also offer weight loss services. I'm not sure how effective those would be either.
I am worried that if he tries a drastic weight loss program on his own, it could have consequences for his health. Is professional help in his situation necessary or am I overreacting? I'm also not sure if some kind of surgery would be the best solution for him.
Well, my husband is finally ready to get serious about a weight-loss regime. He is 50 yrs old and currently weighs about 400 lbs. I know how to lose weight, diet and exercise, but I definitely do not consider myself a professional. Also, I would prefer not to be the "bad guy" telling him what to eat, how much to exercise, etc.
I was surfing the internet, trying to find a good professional medical weight loss clinic to help, but the only ones I found were pushing injections, which after reading this forum, seems unnecessary and frankly, a money grab. Others seems to be mainly a chiropractic clinic, but also offer weight loss services. I'm not sure how effective those would be either.
I am worried that if he tries a drastic weight loss program on his own, it could have consequences for his health. Is professional help in his situation necessary or am I overreacting? I'm also not sure if some kind of surgery would be the best solution for him.
Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated.
What about a dietician or something through your health insurance? I began with my GP and my Cardiologist.
You can sign him up for Weight Watchers and make sure he goes to the meetings. That is a great program that teaches people how to eat. You can contact your local gym and see what kind of trainers they have there. It really varies from gym to gym, but some are not only trained and certified in exercise but they are also in nutrition as well.
it is wonderful that your husband is willing to make this wonderful change.
Is professional help in his situation necessary or am I overreacting? I'm also not sure if some kind of surgery would be the best solution for him.
Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated.
If he weighs 400 pounds and (I assume) he has been trying to lose weight all his life, chances are, he isn't going to lose it by conventional means (which almost always means using willpower in one form or another) and keep it off. Let's be honest. Let's look at the statistics and the probabilities. Maybe a light bulb will go off in his head. Maybe out of the 500 diets available the next one he tries will be the silver bullet.
But you and I know it won't.
Tell him to consider the Verticle Sleeve or VSG.
Do you have a PPO insurance?
Is his BMI 40 or great OR does he have a BMI greater than 35 and at least one premorbidity such as sleep apnea or diabetes? If so, he would be covered up to 100% for this $20K procedure.
If he weighs 400 pounds and (I assume) he has been trying to lose weight all his life, chances are, he isn't going to lose it by conventional means (which almost always means using willpower in one form or another) and keep it off. Let's be honest. Let's look at the statistics and the probabilities. Maybe a light bulb will go off in his head. Maybe out of the 500 diets available the next one he tries will be the silver bullet.
But you and I know it won't.
Tell him to consider the Verticle Sleeve or VSG.
Do you have a PPO insurance?
Is his BMI 40 or great OR does he have a BMI greater than 35 and at least one premorbidity such as sleep apnea or diabetes? If so, he would be covered up to 100% for this $20K procedure.
Do you own stock in this company or in any way profit from this surgery? If so go away, if not, stop suggesting invasive procedures for something that can be dealt with without them.
Maybe a dietician would help? I just read The Smarter Science of Slim and I'm working with a dietician to implement the book's principles. It seems to be working. For me, speaking the the dietician weekly helps keep me focused/accountable, which I need while I'm working to change old habits. I'm using a dietician from Enthrive (www.enthrive.com); I speak to her on the phone once a week. Maybe something like that would help your husband stay focused and accountable, regardless of what type of diet plan/lifestyle he wants to use.
duke University has a great program or your local hospital usually have terrific programs check them out! They are not surgery related. Hospital run all the time weight loss and fitness programs.
Thanks everyone. These are all great ideas. I checked on the surgery option and based on his BMI, it appears this would be covered by our insurance. However, I will let him make the decision whether or not that is the route he wants to take. I am simply gathering the information and letting him make his choices.
I'm just concerned that without surgery, the longer he carries this weight around, the more his health is threatened. From a philosophical standpoint, I'm against it. I am old-fashioned and feel the best things in life are what you EARN. But I don't want him to die because I was sticking to my principles. I hope that makes sense.
I discussed Weight Watchers with him, but he is pretty shy, not much of a group person.
Thanks everyone. These are all great ideas. I checked on the surgery option and based on his BMI, it appears this would be covered by our insurance. However, I will let him make the decision whether or not that is the route he wants to take. I am simply gathering the information and letting him make his choices.
I'm just concerned that without surgery, the longer he carries this weight around, the more his health is threatened. From a philosophical standpoint, I'm against it. I am old-fashioned and feel the best things in life are what you EARN. But I don't want him to die because I was sticking to my principles. I hope that makes sense.
I discussed Weight Watchers with him, but he is pretty shy, not much of a group person.
I definitely do not think that surgery is the best route for most people, but that said, it is certainly not an EASY route either. In order to be approved for the surgery your husband will have to demonstrate his commitment by losing a certain amount of weight beforehand. Also, after the surgery he will be on an all-liquid diet for a period of time. To me, the more I read about surgery, the more diet and exercise sounds easier! So, just know he won't have an easy path no matter what he decides to do.
I'm not personally a very shy person, but I just didn't like the idea of WW meetings; I guess I don't want to be airing my issues with a big group, even if they have the same ones. I like the one-on-one stuff better and for me it helps because it's not like I can try to avoid being noticed when it's one on one. If I don't do what I am supposed to do my dietician will know it. There is no one else there to take the focus off of me and what I did or didn't do that week. But, I haven't done WW meetings, so maybe that same type of accountability/inability to hide is present there as well.
For the record no one really airs their stuff at WW meetings. It is mainly the leader talking about strategies to tackle the next week with. New ideas and such. People will offer what things they like or what they have done that has been successful. It is very upbeat and they also recognize loss milestones.
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