Understanding my obesity "disease" before weight loss
JECole2013
Posts: 65 Member
I've been doing a lot of reading about the medical approach to obesity, rather than the diet approach to weight loss. It has been eye-opening. I've been dieting in one way or another for 35 years or so and I thought I knew everything there was to know about the subject.
I've been on Atkins, Scarsdale, low-fat, high-protein, low carbs, high carbs, veggie, Sugar-busters, Weight-watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutri-systems, those hormone drops, and on and on .. just to name a few. I've lost some weight with just about all of them.
It wasn't until Gastric Bypass that I really lost weight and truly got my obesity under control.
But, I really didn't understand what is now called a disease ... obesity.
According to the AMA, obesity is a metabolic and hormonal disease that causes weight gain and high BMI ... so far, but there is likely more study to come. And there was apparently a lot of debate about calling it a disease because of a patient's behavior or choice in the matter to become overweight.
Dieting away restricted foods, such as the diets listed above do, isn't the most effective way to treat this disease. In fact, it is best, they say, not to restrict any foods. Our body needs fats, carbs and protein to function well. It also needs that fuel throughout the day, so skipping meals isn't advised either.
But, as I read more about this "disease", I think there is a component missing ... addiction.
Food addictions, and I bet that those almost all fall under the category of sugar addition, I think needs to be part of the equation.
Because, the advice "don't cut out any foods" to loose weight just doesnt seem like good advice anymore in this day and age with so much junk food out there.
We have so much "food" for cheap sale. Obesity treatment and management means facing some hard truths, that those of us with this disease should never say ... drink a soda or eat a bowl of ice cream. Those low nutritious, high sugar foods can a deadly food addition trip.
I read a lot here on MFP that in order to be success at this, we need to "cheat" now and again or allow ourselves a piece of cake from time to time or we are setting ourselves up to fail. I've been pondering this and wonder if it is not the other way around.
A recent study of thousands of people who dieted their way out of obesity and have maintained a normal weight for more than 5 years showed there were several common habits of these successful people, and one was that they never cheated.
I had gastric bypass 14 years ago and I almost never ate sugar for years after that because it would make me physically sick. I passed on birthday cakes, including my own, Christmas goodies, halloween candy and so on year after year. But as my body adjusted to the new digestive system, I began to tolerate sugar and I thought, incorrectly as it turned out, without harm. Over the last year, I was really craving food, almost all the time, and I was adding more calories to my diet as a result ... and before I knew it, 40 some pounds to my body.
Of course I knew I was gaining. I went up two sizes. But, as typical of my behavior when gaining, stayed off the scale.
I struggled at the end of every day to avoid anything sweet, but it got the better of me every night. Then I would crave salt. Then sugar again. I thought I was OK because in the old days, the days before surgery, I would eat a bag of potato chips, and now I ate just a bowl, or a full candy bar, now just a piece, may two or three... ummm, denial.
As I said, I've been thinking and writing a lot about this lately. It is all well and good to tell someone to cut calories, exercise more, add more nutrition, but if you are battling the addition, its feels impossible, hopeless and depressing. Not a recipe for good health.
For me, the appetite suppressant that my doctor prescribed stopped the additions immediately, the very next day I was off sugar, no cravings and eating much less calories. That told me that I wasn't "emotionally" eating or eating out of habit. I was eating because my body/mind was telling me to eat. And trying to rely solely on will-power wasn't working for me.
The very next day, I began food journaling for the first time in years.
I was still operating under the notion that all that "dieting behavior" such as journaling, forcing myself to eat at times that I didn't want to (like breakfast) and reading about food was over whelming.
Today, a month after I began this, I feel that all that "dieting behavior" is important for me in the treatment of my disease.
1. Calorie intact is very hard to gage and for years I thought I was eating the right amount for me but I wasn't. So I must keep track, measure, journal. If I get this wrong, I'm risking my life.
2. Breakfast is important for me so that I load nutrients into my engine. I'm not very hungry in the morning, but it doesn't matter. Before the meds, I didn't want to ruin the only time in the day that I didn't feel hungry with food! Now, that is no longer precious time for me because I don't crave food anymore.
3. I have to make sure all the food I eat, has nutritional value. That isn't easy, but it is easier if I eat real food and not processed. I have been making my own food and freezing them so I don't have to rely on pre made meals, etc.
4. I have to exercise, but I need to ease into it so I don't pull a muscle or push my lazy heart. The goal is to eventually get to every day, 30 minutes.
5. Drink lots and lots of water.
6. Get plenty of good sleep.
And, I will have to do this the rest of my life and since I don't want to be on appetite suppressants for the rest of my life, I need to avoid foods that trigger my addition. That means I don't plan to "cheat" on birthday cake or Christmas cookies n the future. It doesn't seem worth it and I don't think that depriving myself of that will make me fall off the wagon. I don't feel emotionally bad that I can't eat refined sugar any more than I believe a diabetic feels bad about the foods they shouldn't eat. I accept that these are the cards I was dealt. I'm not one of those other people here on MFP who are looking to get buff from their already svelte figures. I mean no disrespect, but their journey isn't mine. I'm here to try to put my medical condition into remission and keep it there for life. Their advice doesn't often apply. So I will leave the advice about cheating and sugar to the folks on a different path and I am going to work to stay away from the stuff and try to get healthy for life.
I've been on Atkins, Scarsdale, low-fat, high-protein, low carbs, high carbs, veggie, Sugar-busters, Weight-watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutri-systems, those hormone drops, and on and on .. just to name a few. I've lost some weight with just about all of them.
It wasn't until Gastric Bypass that I really lost weight and truly got my obesity under control.
But, I really didn't understand what is now called a disease ... obesity.
According to the AMA, obesity is a metabolic and hormonal disease that causes weight gain and high BMI ... so far, but there is likely more study to come. And there was apparently a lot of debate about calling it a disease because of a patient's behavior or choice in the matter to become overweight.
Dieting away restricted foods, such as the diets listed above do, isn't the most effective way to treat this disease. In fact, it is best, they say, not to restrict any foods. Our body needs fats, carbs and protein to function well. It also needs that fuel throughout the day, so skipping meals isn't advised either.
But, as I read more about this "disease", I think there is a component missing ... addiction.
Food addictions, and I bet that those almost all fall under the category of sugar addition, I think needs to be part of the equation.
Because, the advice "don't cut out any foods" to loose weight just doesnt seem like good advice anymore in this day and age with so much junk food out there.
We have so much "food" for cheap sale. Obesity treatment and management means facing some hard truths, that those of us with this disease should never say ... drink a soda or eat a bowl of ice cream. Those low nutritious, high sugar foods can a deadly food addition trip.
I read a lot here on MFP that in order to be success at this, we need to "cheat" now and again or allow ourselves a piece of cake from time to time or we are setting ourselves up to fail. I've been pondering this and wonder if it is not the other way around.
A recent study of thousands of people who dieted their way out of obesity and have maintained a normal weight for more than 5 years showed there were several common habits of these successful people, and one was that they never cheated.
I had gastric bypass 14 years ago and I almost never ate sugar for years after that because it would make me physically sick. I passed on birthday cakes, including my own, Christmas goodies, halloween candy and so on year after year. But as my body adjusted to the new digestive system, I began to tolerate sugar and I thought, incorrectly as it turned out, without harm. Over the last year, I was really craving food, almost all the time, and I was adding more calories to my diet as a result ... and before I knew it, 40 some pounds to my body.
Of course I knew I was gaining. I went up two sizes. But, as typical of my behavior when gaining, stayed off the scale.
I struggled at the end of every day to avoid anything sweet, but it got the better of me every night. Then I would crave salt. Then sugar again. I thought I was OK because in the old days, the days before surgery, I would eat a bag of potato chips, and now I ate just a bowl, or a full candy bar, now just a piece, may two or three... ummm, denial.
As I said, I've been thinking and writing a lot about this lately. It is all well and good to tell someone to cut calories, exercise more, add more nutrition, but if you are battling the addition, its feels impossible, hopeless and depressing. Not a recipe for good health.
For me, the appetite suppressant that my doctor prescribed stopped the additions immediately, the very next day I was off sugar, no cravings and eating much less calories. That told me that I wasn't "emotionally" eating or eating out of habit. I was eating because my body/mind was telling me to eat. And trying to rely solely on will-power wasn't working for me.
The very next day, I began food journaling for the first time in years.
I was still operating under the notion that all that "dieting behavior" such as journaling, forcing myself to eat at times that I didn't want to (like breakfast) and reading about food was over whelming.
Today, a month after I began this, I feel that all that "dieting behavior" is important for me in the treatment of my disease.
1. Calorie intact is very hard to gage and for years I thought I was eating the right amount for me but I wasn't. So I must keep track, measure, journal. If I get this wrong, I'm risking my life.
2. Breakfast is important for me so that I load nutrients into my engine. I'm not very hungry in the morning, but it doesn't matter. Before the meds, I didn't want to ruin the only time in the day that I didn't feel hungry with food! Now, that is no longer precious time for me because I don't crave food anymore.
3. I have to make sure all the food I eat, has nutritional value. That isn't easy, but it is easier if I eat real food and not processed. I have been making my own food and freezing them so I don't have to rely on pre made meals, etc.
4. I have to exercise, but I need to ease into it so I don't pull a muscle or push my lazy heart. The goal is to eventually get to every day, 30 minutes.
5. Drink lots and lots of water.
6. Get plenty of good sleep.
And, I will have to do this the rest of my life and since I don't want to be on appetite suppressants for the rest of my life, I need to avoid foods that trigger my addition. That means I don't plan to "cheat" on birthday cake or Christmas cookies n the future. It doesn't seem worth it and I don't think that depriving myself of that will make me fall off the wagon. I don't feel emotionally bad that I can't eat refined sugar any more than I believe a diabetic feels bad about the foods they shouldn't eat. I accept that these are the cards I was dealt. I'm not one of those other people here on MFP who are looking to get buff from their already svelte figures. I mean no disrespect, but their journey isn't mine. I'm here to try to put my medical condition into remission and keep it there for life. Their advice doesn't often apply. So I will leave the advice about cheating and sugar to the folks on a different path and I am going to work to stay away from the stuff and try to get healthy for life.
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