BUt I do not eat anything.......!

[darla80]

"I can not undersatnd why I am so heavy... I do not eat anything.. so why am I not losing weight?? "

this is the most frequent statement I hear from our pts with BMI over 30..

Of course when challenged to keep a food diary ..we find the calories..often in thier drinks or the ocassional snack of crackers ..or three bowls of ice cream or whatever....

what lines do you hear?

I had to buy a scale that goes up to 400 # as we had several pts I could not weigh on my scale that topped at 350..

I think it is sad

Is this a a sign of our times?

Darla

[Stephanie in FL]

Re: the person that drinks 7 gallons of Kool-aid-has she been tested for diabetes? Polydipsia is one symptom of diabetes. Also, ask if your overweight clients have tried water aerobics (or just walking in the pool).

Stephanie RN CDE

[mattsmom81]

Please be aware that yes, while there are obese people who are not being honest about what they eat, it IS possible for one's body to go into 'starvation' type mode, and will actually hang ONTO fat because of stress from internal or external sources.

Even on low calorie diets I could not lose weight for quite some time and even now it is hard. Chronic health issues causing pain and stress, also low thyroid plays a part. My caloric range where I will lose instead of gain weight is very small...and I will 'plateau' eating 1000 cals a day. Exercising more is not an option due to health and energy restrictions.

So..it isn't as easy for many people out there. Some of us are doing the best we can...and it isn't because we're eating 3 bowls of ice cream every day that we aren't svelte. While I accept some of the blame for being overweight, I know by experience weight loss is not it is not as easy as 'eat less and exercise more'...doesn't fit for everybody.

Perhaps this is why more overweight people won't talk to their doctors' offices honestly about obesity; they fear some of the stereotypes I read in this thread.

[prunepie]

in regards to the psych part of being overweight...

for example... when i gained 100 pounds in a year..... THATS when i became psychologically affected...i went to the dr crying bc my body was freaking out!!!! he ran blood sugar... and said you are fine..here is prozac and go get therapy.

i am not saying i am like all people...but i belong to groups for women with endocrine disorders who were blamed, mocked, scolded etc when reaching out to the medical profession for help.

do i eat very well?? nope.i could eat better, but i dont eat badly either. but as sooooooooooooooooooo many people have said... i eat better than my 140 pound hubby!! for example.

so, i believe that dietary eduction is important..but i believe more research needs to continue to find out why certain people eating the same amount of calories fat etc will gain weight and other people will not.

i believe in looking at a whole person..and not just running a cbc. i believed in docs wholeheartedly when i began my battle with health and weight. my only wish is that i was more informed and demanding to see an endocrinologist sooner..before years of becoming "psychologically screwed up" lol because i felt it was all of my fault.

the only reason i responded to this post is that i hope the world can become less fat phobic ..because it seems to me its the only acceptable discrimination left...you cant call someone derogatory racial names..but mocking someone for being fat or skinny or short is still okay. something is wrong with that. xoxo jenn

[Berta]

Let's not forget the financial part of eating healthy. It cost lots and lots of money to eat the proper food.

Try finding out how much your pt has allotted to spend on groceries for her family. The less money and the more people to feed, the greater the chance of obesity. I ain't talking cookies and cakes here. I am talking buying a piece of meat for say $10.00 verses spending that same $10.00 and getting say 20 boxes of mac & cheese. It sure goes further. The only reason I mentioned this is because I have been there..

Healthy food cost more.

[Kyriaka]

Berta, you are so right.

I am convinced that is why many low income parents buy cokes instead of milk. Milk is 4x what soda is. Healthy cereal is about double what the sugary cereals are.

If I could afford it I would only eat organic foods and shop at a health food store and eat only kosher foods.

[Kyriaka]

Berta, I have been there too.

[prunepie]

berta i also agree wholeheartedly....economics plays a huge part in weight and health. i have been there also..although mine was boxes and boxes of top ramen..sigh. xo jenn