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Lost 90lbs, 120lbs, then 150lbs....now fatter than ever! Is there really hope for those over 400lbs?
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so this is an old thread and OP has not returned... but raises an interesting question.
-- can people who are super overweight, like 400 lb lose weight without getting weight loss surgery?
-- that presumes people who get the surgery lose weight - but many who get the surgery also regain the weight within 5 years. The statistics are dismal. Somewhere, perhaps in the book 'weight loss surgery does not cure food addiction' by Connie Stapleton or in the book 'Food Junkies' by Vera Tarman - a statistic was provided that maybe 1 to 2% only lose the weight and keep it off after the surgery. That is a really DIRE statistic whether a person has the weight loss surgery or not.
-- changing the way we eat long enough to lose the weight is only part of the struggle; keeping it off is the rest of the struggle. Perhaps it is way more complicated than food quantity and quality - and includes relearning how to live life without using and abusing EXCESS food... social attitudes, beliefs, habits and ending self-medicating with OVEReating.
-- of interest - the statistics for quitting smoking, say cold turkey and staying quit are nearly as grim. 95% fail. Until they don't.
The ones who really succeed, with quitting smoking, any habit, losing weight - have tackled the thinking/behavioral issues and dealt with the physical issues. For Weight Loss - people who get a voracious appetite when OVEReating have to also learn how to break that appetite or live with it - and that kind of appetite is still being investigated - with some evidence it gets triggered from overeating EXCESS carbs.... which KETO/Atkins/Lo-Carb plans seem to break that appetite - but they are such a different way of eating, many people don't stick with it - let alone do we know if it is safe long-term. It is under study for many different illnesses, cancer patients, diabetes... I wish we knew now.
for me personally - i have not made it over the hurdle of losing and keeping the weight off. Working on it.... and enjoy reading people's thoughts, perspectives and experiences. Helps us grow in our thinking.
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LifeChangz wrote: »so this is an old thread and OP has not returned... but raises an interest question.
-- can people who are super overweight, like 400 lb lose weight without getting weight loss surgery?
-- that presumes people who get the surgery lose weight - but many who get the surge5 years. The statistics are dismal. Somewhere, perhaps in the book 'weight loss surgery does not cure food
addiction' by Connie Stapleton or in the book 'Food Junkies' by Vera Tarman - a statistic was provided that maybe 1 to 2% only lose the weight and keep it off after the surgery. That is a really DIRE statistic whether a person has the weight loss surgery or not.
-- changing the way we eat long enough to lose the weight is only part of the struggle; keeping it off is the rest of the struggle. Perhaps it is way more complicated than food quantity and quality - and includes relearning how to live life without using and abusing EXCESS food... social attitudes, beliefs, habits and ending self-medicating with OVEReating.
-- of interest - the statistics for quitting smoking, say cold turkey and staying quit are nearly as grim. 95% fail. Until they don't.
The ones who really succeed, with quitting smoking, any habit, losing weight - have tackled the thinking/behavioral issues and dealt with the physical issues. For Weight Loss - people who get a voracious appetite when OVEReating have to also learn how to break that appetite or live with it - and that kind of appetite is still being investigated - with some evidence it gets triggered from overeating EXCESS carbs.... which KETO/Atkins/Lo-Carb plans seem to break that appetite - but they are such a different way of eating, many people don't stick with it - let alone do we know if it is safe long-term. It is under study for many different illnesses, cancer patients, diabetes... I wish we knew now.
for me personally - i have not made it over the hurdle of losing and keeping the weight off. Working on it.... and enjoy reading people's thoughts, perspectives and experiences. Helps us grow in our thinking.
No, people like ultra processed foods too much and the health consequences don't show up early enough for people to have adopted a different eating strategy. By adulthood it's generally a life sentence to adherence and main stream media is paid for by the industrial food and pharmaceutical complex which generally won't tolerate any descending criticism.
If people ate more whole foods, ate more vegetables, ate less refined carbohydrates and less sugar and just displaced some of those ultra processed foods, which can be infinitely adjusted could work. As far as Atkins and low carb there's enough cultures that have thrived over millennia consuming fewer carbs and the simple fact that carbohydrates are not an essential nutrient makes perfect sense in this context. People have been on the Atkins and low carb diet for 40 years+ with success and are healthy, it's really not rocket science, imo. Cheers
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neanderthin wrote: »LifeChangz wrote: »so this is an old thread and OP has not returned... but raises an interest question.
-- can people who are super overweight, like 400 lb lose weight without getting weight loss surgery?
-- that presumes people who get the surgery lose weight - but many who get the surge5 years. The statistics are dismal. Somewhere, perhaps in the book 'weight loss surgery does not cure food
addiction' by Connie Stapleton or in the book 'Food Junkies' by Vera Tarman - a statistic was provided that maybe 1 to 2% only lose the weight and keep it off after the surgery. That is a really DIRE statistic whether a person has the weight loss surgery or not.
-- changing the way we eat long enough to lose the weight is only part of the struggle; keeping it off is the rest of the struggle. Perhaps it is way more complicated than food quantity and quality - and includes relearning how to live life without using and abusing EXCESS food... social attitudes, beliefs, habits and ending self-medicating with OVEReating.
-- of interest - the statistics for quitting smoking, say cold turkey and staying quit are nearly as grim. 95% fail. Until they don't.
The ones who really succeed, with quitting smoking, any habit, losing weight - have tackled the thinking/behavioral issues and dealt with the physical issues. For Weight Loss - people who get a voracious appetite when OVEReating have to also learn how to break that appetite or live with it - and that kind of appetite is still being investigated - with some evidence it gets triggered from overeating EXCESS carbs.... which KETO/Atkins/Lo-Carb plans seem to break that appetite - but they are such a different way of eating, many people don't stick with it - let alone do we know if it is safe long-term. It is under study for many different illnesses, cancer patients, diabetes... I wish we knew now.
for me personally - i have not made it over the hurdle of losing and keeping the weight off. Working on it.... and enjoy reading people's thoughts, perspectives and experiences. Helps us grow in our thinking.
No, people like ultra processed foods too much and the health consequences don't show up early enough for people to have adopted a different eating strategy. By adulthood it's generally a life sentence to adherence and main stream media is paid for by the industrial food and pharmaceutical complex which generally won't tolerate any descending criticism.
If people ate more whole foods, ate more vegetables, ate less refined carbohydrates and less sugar and just displaced some of those ultra processed foods, which can be infinitely adjusted could work. As far as Atkins and low carb there's enough cultures that have thrived over millennia consuming fewer carbs and the simple fact that carbohydrates are not an essential nutrient makes perfect sense in this context. People have been on the Atkins and low carb diet for 40 years+ with success and are healthy, it's really not rocket science, imo. Cheers
People in some countries also eat a great deal of carbs and are healthy and thin. I site as an example Italy (where I live). You do not have to go low carb. There must be some other demon to blame.7 -
snowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »LifeChangz wrote: »so this is an old thread and OP has not returned... but raises an interest question.
-- can people who are super overweight, like 400 lb lose weight without getting weight loss surgery?
-- that presumes people who get the surgery lose weight - but many who get the surge5 years. The statistics are dismal. Somewhere, perhaps in the book 'weight loss surgery does not cure food
addiction' by Connie Stapleton or in the book 'Food Junkies' by Vera Tarman - a statistic was provided that maybe 1 to 2% only lose the weight and keep it off after the surgery. That is a really DIRE statistic whether a person has the weight loss surgery or not.
-- changing the way we eat long enough to lose the weight is only part of the struggle; keeping it off is the rest of the struggle. Perhaps it is way more complicated than food quantity and quality - and includes relearning how to live life without using and abusing EXCESS food... social attitudes, beliefs, habits and ending self-medicating with OVEReating.
-- of interest - the statistics for quitting smoking, say cold turkey and staying quit are nearly as grim. 95% fail. Until they don't.
The ones who really succeed, with quitting smoking, any habit, losing weight - have tackled the thinking/behavioral issues and dealt with the physical issues. For Weight Loss - people who get a voracious appetite when OVEReating have to also learn how to break that appetite or live with it - and that kind of appetite is still being investigated - with some evidence it gets triggered from overeating EXCESS carbs.... which KETO/Atkins/Lo-Carb plans seem to break that appetite - but they are such a different way of eating, many people don't stick with it - let alone do we know if it is safe long-term. It is under study for many different illnesses, cancer patients, diabetes... I wish we knew now.
for me personally - i have not made it over the hurdle of losing and keeping the weight off. Working on it.... and enjoy reading people's thoughts, perspectives and experiences. Helps us grow in our thinking.
No, people like ultra processed foods too much and the health consequences don't show up early enough for people to have adopted a different eating strategy. By adulthood it's generally a life sentence to adherence and main stream media is paid for by the industrial food and pharmaceutical complex which generally won't tolerate any descending criticism.
If people ate more whole foods, ate more vegetables, ate less refined carbohydrates and less sugar and just displaced some of those ultra processed foods, which can be infinitely adjusted could work. As far as Atkins and low carb there's enough cultures that have thrived over millennia consuming fewer carbs and the simple fact that carbohydrates are not an essential nutrient makes perfect sense in this context. People have been on the Atkins and low carb diet for 40 years+ with success and are healthy, it's really not rocket science, imo. Cheers
People in some countries also eat a great deal of carbs and are healthy and thin. I site as an example Italy (where I live). You do not have to go low carb. There must be some other demon to blame.
I didn't say people had to go low carb to be healthy and thin, and I've used many countries and Italy as examples in other posts of cultures that eat a lot of carbs and are thin and healthy. The "demon" I mentioned in this post was ultra processed foods and I suggested people eat less of them. Cheers.3 -
I believe you can do it because I have seen others be successful. I have lost and gained many times also. I am currently 233 at 5’2”. My focus over the past several years has been developing healthy habits beyond just eating: meditation, sleep, water, exercise and therapy. I have made a lot of significant changes. I still struggle, but I am much better at taking one day at a time and letting go of my negative self-talk. I try daily to be grateful for my body and the accomplishments I have made. This week I switched from Noom to MFP because the coaching aspect of Noom has been greatly reduced. I have done WW several times and was pretty successful about 30 years ago, but it didn’t work as well each successive time I tried. The Gabriel Method helped me the most because Jon’s approach talks much more about the mental aspect behind weight gain and loss. I have seen folks (personally met several of them) lose hundreds of pounds and keep it off. I wish you all the best and as others have said, do what is best for and works for you. My biggest recommendation is to find a good therapist who can help you discover why you want to hold onto this weight. It is much more than calories in and calories out.2
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I have to agree with everyone who said you need to understand who you are before you can find the path that will lead you to permanent success with weight loss. If something has been ingrained into your sense memory (whether action or thought), you'll do it without even realizing it and before you know it you're putting weight back on.
When I look back over the years at what caused my changes in weight (I'm 63 now), I can clearly see why I was successful keeping weight off. It didn't really have a whole lot to do with how much I was eating or what I was eating, although I did tend to crave healthier foods when I was closer to my ideal weight. It had more to do with the people who were influencing my life, mostly family. When they were busy with their own lives and I wasn't in touch with them, I succeeded. When they were in my ear every day, their constant negative reinforcement regarding looks and weight bore down heavily on me and every day became a struggle to keep the weight off until it was completely out of control. Being on disability with chronic pain, food scarcity trauma, living below the poverty level - these are all things that chipped away at my ability to balance.
It all came to a head during the holiday season last year. I had always believed if I could just eat the right thing, I'd be golden. I found a ready made meals company and wracked up a lot of debt getting nutritious meals from them so I could quench my hunger in two minutes (time to cook them). I was right. From the last week in December of 2022 until now I've lost 27 pounds. Effortlessly. Keep in mind, I have a FitBit Charge 5 and I do my very best to walk at least 250 steps every hour for 11 hours. I aim for at least 3,000 steps per day, which is walking the length of my apartment three times. Dealing with chronic pain, there have been a couple of days where I barely crested 1,000 steps for the entire day, but that is generally an exception to the rule.
Having pre-cooked food sent to me every week taught me a lot about where I fail and why I fail. It really highlighted just how much food trauma I'm dealing with. I've been eating both Calorie Smart and Keto meals. Some of them are Vegetarian, which is to say carbs doesn't seem to have anything to do with it in my case. In the time I've been getting this food, I've never tried to stick to any "diet," I've just eaten the things I know I like the taste of. I rarely travel outside my home, but when I do and I'm starving, I notice I can't stomach the idea of eating at any of the fast food places I ate before. I choose Panera to get a sandwich or a salad.
I watched that 60 Minutes episode where they talked about how people gained so much weight during COVID and how it's reset their bodies into thinking they require more food than they really do. If you can figure out your own personal mind/body connection and make peace with it, I'm of the belief you can solidify permanent change. Too often we're our own worst enemies when it comes to expectations.
The basics apply. Get some rest. Eat clean, non-processed foods. Move around to get some exercise. It doesn't have to be fancy, circuit training at the gym. Just try to get steps in every hour to keep the blood circulating. This is what I've been doing. I take an Artichoke Leaf Capsule (1,000 mg), a Choline Capsule (650 mg), a Biotin Capsule (10,000 mcg) and a general daily vitamin pill every other day. I drink 1-2 12 ounce bottles of Apple-Kale-Wheatgrass juice every day. I'll admit I've missed a couple of lunches here and there, but it didn't cause me to overeat at dinner. The best thing we can do is think about our bodies kindly. It's half the battle.
May you be well blessed and well loved always.1 -
I was just under 400 when I started (388.6)
I hit my goal weight at 235 a little over 3 weeks ago. So far, so good. This is something I can definitely maintain.6 -
I normally stay quiet on social media but your story struck home with me. I wish I could talk with you directly because I have been where you are.
I am 74 years old and you maybe able to tell by my ID how I have felt for all of my life. My story is too long to tell but just a little of my background is, that I was born at 10lbs, 75lbs at 5 and 225 at 16. My first "diet" was at the age of 16 and lost down to 165 but still not a heathy weight. Got married at 21 and had my first child and after that I gained and gained and gained and got up and stayed above 350 for the majority of my adult life. God through a cog in my wheel and I got pregnant 6 yrs. after my second baby and the Dr. insisted, I get weighed and had to go to feed scale. He then told me that both of us could die at my weight and to abort my baby and I said, NO!
Even with all I had been through, it still wasn't enough to get me to stop overeating. At one point, I was up to 420lbs about your age and again had to be weighed on a special scale because I had to have a total knee replacement done but of course, I had to lose the weight down to 200lbs before he would even consider the surgery. It took me 5 years of battling to get the weight off with almost 2 of it staying at 250-260. I just couldn't seem to make the scale move but I wasn't about to give up and in 2003 I was able to get down to 206 and had the surgery.
To make a long story shorter, LOL, I regained almost all of my weight back and gone on so many diets and they would work for a while, but would put the weight back on again and the yo-yo dieting affected my gallbladder and had to be removed and almost died from a blocked duct and it bursting because gangrene set in.
On December 9, 2021, I was at 378lbs. I have heart problems, hypothyroidism and a host of other medical problems I can't even describe on here, but I was tired of being sick all the time and feeling badly. There is a lot of good advice but really not telling you how.
The very first thing I did was set a calorie count for my age at 1200 cals. and then a goal of losing in 5lb increments. The second thing was to get on MFP and start to measure my food so I could get an idea of portions and I started to lose naturally with no medications or programs, and my mindset still wasn't there yet, but I was determined. The most important thing I did was to read labels, and I realized that SALT was my enemy with heart problems. On Keto there is a lot of salt in keto food that aren't carb related and found that keto wasn't the best for me but in reading labels, I found a lot of sodium in carbs too and you would be surprised how much sodium in in the majority of our foods and EVEN healthy foods, so I set a Sodium goal and I try to stay within that goal. My mindset has changed so much since that morning in December and now I can say that this isn't a diet anymore but my way of living. I am now down to 219lbs as of this 6/4/23 and my goal is to get to a healthy weight for me. It has taken me a very long time to get this mindset because of my being morbidly obese most of my life. I guess it is not to late, but I wish I had this mindset when I had lost the 217lbs. I am going to go see my sisters in Oct. and they haven't seen me in the 100's since I was 18 and that is my goal in 5lb. increments.
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