Hello my name is.......and I am OBESE

[madwife2002]

When I googled the word obesity I was astonished to find that I had 156,002,803 results.

What is Obesity?

• Wikipedia describes it as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) describes obesity as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A crude population measure of obesity is the body mass index (BMI), a person's weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in metres). A person with a BMI of 30 or more is generally considered obese. A person with a BMI equal to or more than 25 is considered overweight.

There's even a society for Obesity: Home - The Obesity Society

Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Once considered a problem only in high income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings.

So my question is how does all this information help me?

• I love eating ... there's no question and I love eating foods which are 'bad' for me ... I can't help it - they are delicious.
• So why can't I stop eating?
• Why can't I change my lifestyle?
• How can I stop the delicious foods cravings?
• And, I know that 95% of diets fail ... 1 in 20 dieters will succeed.

We discussed this at work recently and decided that you can do without cigarettes and drugs; and, you can freely move around in society without ever coming into contact with them.

Unfortunately, you cannot avoid food. You have to eat - there are no two ways around it!

In all societies, we eat food for pleasure! We have restaurants, weddings, christenings, birthday parties, July 4th parties ... you name it we have a party and it all includes FOOD. Our mouths drool at the thought of all the delicious food we are going to eat.

If the food is bad then we complain and moan, for days, weeks and even years. We remember.

If the food is good we compliment that person, party, or restaurant, for days, weeks and years. We return to good restaurants for ever or as long as the food is good.

So how is it possible to lose weight and stay slim?

We read about success stories in magazines, newspapers and television.

We the OB's have to stay away from food because we can diet, and we do diet a lot, but we can't stop returning to the food which pleasures us!

I diet one year - lose 30lbs easily. I am almost starved to death whilst I am losing it. Then one day my resolve is broken ... just one candy, just one or two chips, a small bite of the cookie or the cake, an extra serving of potato and WHAM I am right back to square one! Then I feel comforted inside - Oh boy the food I am missing tastes soooooooooooooo ... it is not in my imagination it is real!!

I love the feeling of being slim I really do it is great but the problem is I love food more. The 30lb's I lost is now 50 lbs gain. How did it happen? I really don't know but who cares ... who really cares ... only ME.

Everywhere I go there is food! It's on the TV, there are cooking programs which make food look so yummy, movies and tv shows have everybody eating, at work people are eating, machines give us food, free samples in supermarkets ... you name it there it is!

I can change my lifestyle but I love my lifestyle. That's where the problem lies-it's not against the law to eat! You don't beat people up, murder or cause fights and arguments in the home, it doesn't make you abuse children or women. It is socially acceptable to eat, food is sold everywhere-you don't have to go down a back alley to deal food.

Honestly, it frightens me that I am killing myself with my weight problems-but I am happy and contented as long as nobody takes my photo.

I really don't know anybody who has weight problems and has kept off the weight! Every single person I know replaces the lost weight within a couple of years and puts more on.

This is the area we have to look at, not how to diet because I am sure every single person who is overweight knows how to diet! The problem is keeping it off. Yes! You have to change your lifestyle but I think the problem is we like our lifestyle-to change it means we can't go out every week to eat or to people's houses for meals, or go to the food parties because Temptation is why we return to our bad eating habits! If we were strong willed we would all be a size 6-10 I guarantee that.

So to all the diet companies out there...

We all know how to diet! We have been on a diet and most of us still exercise. We don't eat more, we just can't stop the weight from piling on. We need more than just salads, chicken, or fish no carbs, no cakes, no chips, choc, or candy. Give us something that is close to what we normally eat - allow certain treats. It's by no means the answer but it can help those who stray from their diets.

I want to stop this yo yo diet

Quote

The only diet that works is a change of life style. You might be able to loss weight and stay off in a few months. However, you will bounce back if you stop dieting. A recent research found women that are frequently on yo yo diet ( if they gain/lose more than 10 pound for 10 or more time in their adulthood) are 2.5 time more likely to get kidney cancer than those who have stable weight (even if they are overweight).

Yo Yo diet - How typical dieter failed to lose weight and became heavier in long term

[RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN]

luvschoolnursing

You hit the nail on the head. The reason you don't feel so hungry on the South Beach diet is because you're not eating all that sugary carb junk. When you eat that junk and it raises your sugar, you crash and automatically get hungry again even if it's just two hours later. You can learn to eat in this fashion with out just following Southbeach. Eat healthy protein like chicken, tuna, fish, beans.....eat healthy carbs. It is a life style, Not a Diet. But do treat yourself once a week or else you will most likely fail. I always treat myself to ice cream or something on weekends.

Change the way you think about food. It's not that hard. Do it for your kids, your parents or anybody. It's the best feeling in the world to be in control of your own health. You may not be able to control the world, the oil spill or anything else like this, but you CAN CONTROL your own body and what you look like. Why would anybody Not want to do this. You'll feel so much better, JUST DO IT! Make the change TODAY.

[llg, PhD, RN]

To RedhairedNurse: You write that you are "naturally thin" and "addicted to exercise" ... and ...."love the way it makes you feel."

OK ... good for you. I'm happy for you -- really, I am. But those facts about you make you fundamentally different from those of us who are "naturally heavy" and who "hate exercise." Your experiences with these issues throughout your life have been totally different form those of us who are not naturally like you. So it makes little sense to assume that your approach will work for us. As we come from an entirely different perspective, we may need an entirely different approach than the approaches that the "naturally thin people who love exercise" find works for them.

Maybe that's part of the problem with the whole health promotion / diet /nutrition /exercise industry in America. It is being designed and run by people who are "naturally thin" and "addicted to exercise" and who therefore look at the situation through an entirely different lens. Maybe the industry needs to see things from the perspective of those of us who actually suffer from this problem.

Maybe the reason that only 5% of the people who follow the type of advice that you (and most of the other "experts") are giving actually maintain a long-term weight loss ... is that those approaches are best suited for those people who are "natually thin" and "addicted to exercise." Science is showing that the classic advice being given by the "experts" is not working for 19 out of 20 people.

The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that the previously suggested solutions don't work for everyone. Only then can NEW approaches be developed and tried.

[carluvscats]

llg ~

I'd like to comment on a few things. I don't think any of us are "naturally heavy". Our bodies function best at normal weight and normal food intake. Our mamas and papas may be fat but they did not make us fat; too much food and not enough activity made us fat. It certainly is not "natural" to be fat.

The "industry" is based on science and like the laws of science, proven to work, regardless if they were invented by "naturally thin" people.

"Maybe the industry needs to see things from the perspective of those of us who actually suffer from this problem." .......... I cringe when I hear people use the term "suffer" to describe their overweight condition. This is not cancer. People "suffer" from cancer, they "suffer" from Alzheimer's, they "suffer" from conditions they did not choose. Ultimately, we have chosen to be like this. We choose to overeat, eat too much crap, not exercise, etc. etc. etc.

I guess what I hate most is that many of us have a "victim mentality" when it comes to our weight. We *have* to come to the point where we realize it is up to US and nobody else to do something about it. The blame stops here, with each of us.

Please realize I come in peace and as someone who struggles to "get it". I wish it were easier to change habits and mindsets. My default button has always been food.

It is a new day. Today I choose differently. :)

[tencat]

John20 obviously you are a fortunate person who has not had to deal with crappy metabolism and weight issues. Good for you. I do not think obese people need to be pitied at all, but compassion and understanding for the reasons WHY they are obese are in order. According to you, obesity is a 'personal weakness'. I think being judgmental of obese persons solely based on their weight is a 'personal weakness' too......and as much of a prejudice as judging someone by his/her skin color......

[Gingilly]

Read the Diet Cure book- it discusses amino acid therapy to fix brain craving and then rebalancing the chemistry to stop them too. Also read Detoxify of Die- some of the craving can be symptoms of environmental toxicity and the book deals with that. For thyroid issues look into Dr Holtorfs website- great discussion on leptin and thyroid. Good luck and thanks for the honesty. Obesity is hard but so is fixing it. I learned this the hard way.

[greenfiremajick]

luvschoolnursing- try the hcg diet. you lose about 1 lb per day. It really did work for me. And if you follow the protocol (keyword being "if") you aren't hungry. I was skeptical about it, but it certainly works. It also forces u to learn good eating habits right away, instead of buying prepackaged food and eating that until you have lost the weight and THEN starting the good eating habits!

There is also a yahoo group called HCGDieters. Look it up! It has about 15-20,000 loyal members/followers of the HCG diet that have either completed the diet successfully or are currently on the diet. Hope this helps you or anyone else that reads it.

[vegas2009]

Diets don't work period. They just don't. Moderation of food intake and keeping one's self active is what works. I don't deprive myself of any food, simply because I CRAVE it more. My problem is that, I can't seem to stick to a physical activity that I can condition myself to be part of me keeping fit. I don't know, maybe I do have ADHD?? lol.

I know one thing's for sure though: I have to (at least) go back into hiking!

P.S. I don't judge anyone by their weight/height, etc. etc. Frankly, the overweight/obese people that I've met, usually have cute/pretty faces. I don't understand why people judge big people at all. If anything, people should judge/discriminate against stinky people! This is a choice that most people have control over.... TO STINK OR NOT TO STINK is the question. :) People should ask themselves this question, VERY IMPORTANT: Will I REEK today and POLLUTE the environment??

[HumptyDumpty]

Listen, I am not trying to be confrontational or anything, but this is the same thing I hear over and over again from many obese individuals. Obesity is basically non existent in some countries, why? Because people move around a lot and processed junk foods are not available. Its quite simple, if you do not like eating healthy and exercising, then get gastric bypass.... Its the only way you are going to loose weight and keep it off. As for a "lifestyle" change being a life long diet, that's ridiculous. It is a diet in terms of the products and types of foods you eat, but your current selection of junk is a diet as well.

I have a friend who weighed 350lbs and dropped down to 175 within 2 years. Do you know what he did? HE STOPPED EATING SO MUCH, started exercising on a regular basis (Not just exercise, but getting out and hiking, walking the dog, playing tennis, etc...) and ate real whole foods. Its been 5 years and he has kept it off and it is not even an issue anymore. Obesity is just as dangerous as alcoholism. The only way to stop is to just stop what your doing and change. Eat to live, do not live to eat. There is so much else in the world out there other than food.

[John20]

People can't change their skin color it's who they are. Obese people can change their weight.

That comparison made no sense and is insulting to people who have been the victim of racism.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

"Its the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. I come from a family of foodies and fatties but like the Dr said "genetics don't prepare your meals" '

Amen. I'm tired of our society constantly making excuses for everything they fail at. Losing weight is not hard, landing on the beaches of Normandy under constant fire with death all around you, yet still pushing forward is hard. Society needs to redefine our current version of "Hard" or we're doomed to failure by our weakness. And yes I see obesity as a weakness, as does the silent majority in society.

Calories in= calories expended; and you cannot be obese (unless you already are, in which case you'll need a negative ratio). It's simple law of math. Nobody is going to motivate you. It's your job as a living animal to motivate yourself to be healthy.

I like reading your posts - I pretty much agree with you.

But how do you motivate someone who is a diabetic, refuses to check blood sugars, refuses to eat in a healthy manner, refuses to exercise and is starting to have some of the symptoms that you would assume most MEN would not appreciate.

Take out a higher life insurance policy?

steph

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Can't help those who don't help themselves.

Lose weight or get diabetes, decrease your quality of life, and/or DIE earlier. Isn't that enough motivation? Isn't that reason enough to make managing weight one of the defining priorities in your life? If not, just do what you do.

If that were reason enough we wouldn't be having this conversation, or the obesity problem we are facing as a society. It might be enough for you though.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

On the bright side, everybody dies of something.

Mike, I cringe when I hear that phrase. Smokers sometimes say it too. "You gotta die of something, may as well die happy". My obese DM mom you to say that and she's suffering because of her weight in her 70's. The unknown of course is the process of dying. People don't usually drop dead after a happy life of overeating. It's a long, slow process for a lot of people. Starting with joint pain, back pain, CHF, DM, circulatory problems leading to amputations, gasping for breath with simple ADLs, that can sometime last for years.

Heck the same thing might happen to me, but like someone who drives with a seatbelt on, I'd like to change the odds a bit if I can. I still have a few pounds to lose myself, so I empathize.