Need Opinions On Something Doctor Said

amills1152

Maybe go see what the specialist has to say, make it clear you are looking to NOT have surgery and are simply looking for honest opinions (of course, don't rule out that recommending surgery could be beneficial for the doc's wallet, so feel out whose interests he really has at heart) but also, how many calories a day are you eating? Is it possible you're not eating enough? There's a GREAT post on here called "In Place of a Road Map" just do a search for it in the forum, it's a step-by-step on how to figure out what you should be taking in based on how much you're burning. If you're honest with the numbers, you might be surprised to find that you should actually be eating more calories than you think! It's worth a read! Best of luck! ^_^

cubbies77

I am a doctor....you need to stick to a diet....its really just a matter of finding the number of calories that result in 0 net weight loss or gain and go from there....
Its hard work!!!!!.... but just a matter of how many calories you eat vs how many you burn
if you are not losing weight its simply because you are not operating at a net calories loss
its really that simple!!!
it you want a doctor to give you an easy option, then do surgery
otherwise, speaking as a doctor, we really have no advice to offer other that what you already know (healthy foods, moderate portions, calorie count, exercise, etc...)

I'm glad you aren't my doctor. My doctor was smart enough to test me for insulin resistance and thyroid issues instead of assuming I was lying about reducing my calories and exercising and giving me the same speech every other doctor had for the past *sixteen years*.

Once the results came back positive for insulin resistance, he put me on Glucophage and told me to reduce my carbs to 30%.

I wish he'd been my doctor when I was 19. We could have stopped this train before it started. I was 220 when I went to the first doctor who said, "Just eat right and exercise. You aren't actually hungry all the time. You just don't have control. Just eat lots of fiber." By the time I got to this doctor, I weighed 357 pounds. I'm glad he took the time to listen to me and believe me instead of feeding me the same old line about counting calories and getting off my couch. It's so freeing to feel satisfied after a meal and not have hunger gnawing at me every second of the day.

snshnkty11

I would up your exercise & speak with a nutritionist before considering surgery or pills. That's just me though. I mean there's no harm in speaking to them I suppose. But even if you had some kind of surgery, you would need to have self control & will power afterwards to not over eat & things like that in order not to undo all the good the surgery was supposed to do for you. So I would work on that now. How often do you work out? I try to do something every day. If I don't do something every day, I tend to get lazy & eventually stop doing stuff all together; b/c that one or two days off a week turns into more off days. You don't have to exercise a lot either. 20 min a day doing some kind of exercise would be good.

middllagedguy

has your doctor checked your thyroid level? Many women develop low thyroid conditions after pregnancy (postpartum hypothyroidism), which would make it very hard to lose weight. Otherwise just keep doing what you are doing when you lose the 5 pounds, and stop doing what you are doing when you regain the 5 pounds. I'll bet there's something different.

sarahrbraun

On Friday I called my doctor and told him I've been having trouble losing weight. I told him I've been watching what I eat, counting calories, and exercising at least a couple times a week but haven't really been having any results other than gaining and losing the same 5lbs. I asked him what he thinks I should do different or change. He recommend me to a doctor's office that specializes in surgical weight loss procedures. But they do have one doctor that helps from a non-surgical standpoint. My question is should I do what my doctor said and make an appointment with this other office or should I keep doing what I'm doing but up my exercise?

Leave everything alone EXCEPT, cut your carbs down to 100g net per day ( that is total carbs minus fiber and any sugar alcohol) for a few weeks. You may feel like you have the flu ( they sometimes call it carb flu), but your weight should change. I had an issue similar to yours...I gave the reduced carbs a chance for a month, and I lost like 8lbs! the second month I lost 6lbs, and the 3rd month I lost 4lbs.

Lowering carbs is an option - but not necessary.

OP, I started at 230lbs. I'm 5'6" and I'm 29 years old. I've lost 46lbs so far - the only thing I've done is stay under my calorie goal.

How many days a week are you exercising? I find it hard to think that using the roadmap gave you a calorie goal of 1540. My calorie goal is about 2000 - and that's exercising 3-5 times a week (and I have a desk job). How did you calculate your numbers?

I only suggested it as a way to break through this gain/lose cycle she seems to be stuck in. I did say for a FEW WEEKS.In my case, I promised myself that i would give it a solid month, and if I wasn't seeing results or I wasn't happy, I would go back to my old ways. For the most part, I have been doing this for 9 months now.

no1canadianangel

I have seen sooooo many people lost TONS of weight without surgery... you owe it to your body to do everything you can without cutting it open

shirleycooke35

Aniyahsmommy - you haven't said how much weight you need to lose or where you live. In Britain your doctor's advice and nutritional advice would be free but there could be a cost for surgery (unles deemed to be necessary for your health). To help yourself be absolutely honest. Weigh your food very carefully, log in to MFP and record everything carefully, log all your exercise. Avoid obviously fatty or sweet food. Weigh yourself once a week.

I have tried to lose weight for many years attending slimming groups etc. Nothing has worked until I joined MFP. It is easy to use even for a elderly person like me!

grassette

If you weight only 225 lbs, you can loose weight naturally. Some people are advising that you get a good medical to make sure that you don't have underlying problems. That is good advice.

Learn about nutrition. I don't know what you eat on a regular basis, but many people don't have a healthy diet. So learn about what your body needs, then measure it out.

Be active. Wear a pedometer that counts out your steps so you can see how active you are during the day. Try to get in a minimum of 12,000 steps a day. You can pick up a good one for $25.

Use MFP to log in exercise and food. Make sure that you are running a calorie deficit of at least 200 cals per day.

Good luck. You don't need surgery to do this.

Pridgenization

I think it is good to go and see the doctor. I went about 18 months ago and found out that I have insulin resistance and extremely low vitamin d. The doctor prescribed medicine (metformin) to help with my insulin resistance and vitamin d. Based upon several factors, she gave me a diet that fits my IR, PCOS and high blood pressure. I went every week or two for weigh ins. She would look over my food log and give me suggestions on things to change in my food choices. There are lots of different medical obstacles to losing weight. Its good to find out what they are and fix them, if it is possible. Good luck to you.

dym123

I pretty much had the same conversation with my doctor last summer. I was complaining about the slow progress I was making, she recommended I see a nutrionist to evaluate my diet. Unless this other doctor is going to check for thyroid issues or diabetes, then suggesting weight loss surgery should have been the last resort.

Mcgrawhaha

theres pretty much 2 possibilities that i think it could be... 1. your either not logging correct or forgetting simple things such as coffee, creamer, ketchup, etc since these things actually can add up over an entire day or 2. there is a medical issue going on, possibly an underactive thyroid which would need to be diagnosed by a dr.

if i had to choose which one is more than likely possible over the other, it would be number 1. last year, before i got super serious, i wasnt logging little things, and was guessing on portion sizes. these are things that really add up, and can end up sabataging you. in september, i started logging every ounce of coffee, cream, ketchup, salsa, relish, and any other condiment or drink that alot of people dont log... and also became very specific on my portion by measuring and or weighing everything. since september i have been melting fat off of myself.

Lissa_M

I am a result of RNY gastric bypass. I spent most of my life (and especially my adult life) battling with my weight. RNY was recommended to me 8 years ago, but at that point I decided to do the non-surgical route. I did the medically supervised diet, exercise route, tried a few prescription options and the bottom line for me was they didn't work for me. Finally, in 2011, my doctor told me that if I wasn't careful I would be dead by 40. I needed to lose 200+ lbs and the side effects from my type 2 diabetes were literally killing me. I had RNY gastric bypass in December of 2011 and its the best thing I have ever done for myself

WLS isn't for everyone, but I would at least talk to both the non-surgical and surgical doctor and find out what your options are and see what work bests for you.

I would definitely ask about having some blood work done. My pregnancy increased my insulin resistance and I had thyroid issues postpartum.

fmebear

On Friday I called my doctor and told him I've been having trouble losing weight. I told him I've been watching what I eat, counting calories, and exercising at least a couple times a week but haven't really been having any results other than gaining and losing the same 5lbs. I asked him what he thinks I should do different or change. He recommend me to a doctor's office that specializes in surgical weight loss procedures. But they do have one doctor that helps from a non-surgical standpoint. My question is should I do what my doctor said and make an appointment with this other office or should I keep doing what I'm doing but up my exercise?

A few thoughts on this ... have you gained all the weight recently? Are you losing hair? Are you losing eyebrows/eye lashes? Tired all the time? The reason I ask is that I am hypothyroid. It does affect my weight gain and loss EVEN if I watch everything I do. I have to make sure my thyroid levels are at the optimal level in order to lose weight as well as feel great.

Ask the doctor to run a blood panel of everything - check EVERYTHING out first medically. I would just to make sure you do not have an underlying medical situation that can be corrected first. What I would hate to see happen, is to lose the weight (either surgically or on your own) only to have the medical situation sabotage it again.

mommyjos

have you had blood work drawn? I would make sure that you are where you're supposed to be with your body and maybe there's something underlying there. For me, I found out I have hypothyroidism and it was contributing to me not being able to lose weight! I had other symptoms of it and my dr. pushed it off as nothing. I pushed to do bloodwork and have seen a difference although I still lose way slower then I did before!

jlapey

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/10067-eat-train-progress-

Go to the above link and read all the threads with the red pins next to them. Very informative. You can also join the group and ask specific questions of the people who created it. Much more knowledgeable than the average MFPer. Good luck. You can count calories till you're blue in the face, but if the amount you count is too few or too many, it can be a problem.

marieyoung07

never do anything you don't want to
you can always get a second even third opinion
you always have dieticians and nutrionists
do not let someone talk you into something you know you don't want to do
best of luck
:flowerforyou:

serenapitala

Both. If you feel like you can up your exercise, go for it, but make the appointment. Your doc knows your health better than us, so his advice is based on you and your history. It won't hurt you to see a specialist. After blood work and examination, the specialist may be able to give you a great, personalized plan.

bcattoes

Because obesity increases risk for so many diseases, and weight loss surgery has become less invasive and has shown it can reverse insulin resistance and diabetes, more and more doctors are recommending surgery earlier than in the past.

Whether that option is right for you is a decision only you can make, but getting good information before making the decision is always a good idea. It's not without risk and there are side affects to deal with, such as loose skin and muscle weakness. And you will still need to learn to eat within your limits or you can gain the weight back. If it's not what you want, then make that very clear.

I would also agree with the poster who suggested consulting with a nutritionist first. Make sure it's a licensed dietician, but they can develop a diet specifically for you and test for food intollerances, if needed.

gimpygramma

I haven't read the whole thread so possibly this has already been suggested but if you go to see the specialist, I am sure he or she would find it helpful to view a month of your eating and exercise patterns. I'd never checked it out before but at the bottom of your food page there is a link to a printable form of the page. Well that allows you to see and print blocks of time in one go.

As far as your question, assuming the visit is covered by your insurance, well it doesn't hurt to listen.

Bobtheangrytomato

Weight loss surgery is major surgery. You will need to go under anesthesia. There could be complications. I would consider it a last resort. You're young, with less than 100lbs to lose, and you haven't mentioned any weight related health problems. My advice is to do as much research as humanely possible. Take a nutrition class if you can, read books on nutrition (amazon.com can give you a list with good reviews. I liked Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook), see a dietitian. Do everything you can, then consider surgery.

losingweightfindingme

Surgery is definitely not an easy option. I work on a bariatric unit at the hospital (mostly post-op weight loss surgery patients) and they end up coming in SO frequently for SO many complications. Working on that unit absolutely sealed the deal for me as far as weight loss surgery goes. I would say go to the specialist but see if they have any non-surgical options. Sometimes the best non-surgical resource they can give you is a referral to a certified nutritionist to see if maybe you are leaving something out of your diet or eating too much of something. They can give you a specialized dietary plan which may help boost your weight loss or at least get you out of the plateau. Sometimes it's as easy as having someone else look at your numbers and they can tell you from an outside perspective where you might want to change up your diet or exercise plan. I had the same issue with the same 5 pounds leaving then coming back and come to find out I was watching my calories so strictly that I wasn't allowing for extra intake to make up for my intense workouts. The nutritionist helped me see an error in something that I didn't realize would be a problem. I'd say, go see the person your doc is recommending but stick to your guns as far as a non-surgical approach. Good luck!

mistylovesmusic

I asked my doctor what I could do to get out of a plateau. To my surprise, she suggested I try the HCG diet. First of all, I only want to lose 20-25 pounds. Secondly, I was shocked that she would suggest a diet that has been proven to be so unhealthy. I think you only get 500 calories per day and you have to have injections. EEEKKKKK Anyway, I have a wonderul doctor. Their staff is excellent but after this, I think I'm going to leave the dieting to eating right and excercise. It's slow but I've always heard slow and steady wins the race.

Good luck!

sgmfit44

Hi, I am a doctor and honestly most of us do not know anything about weight loss. But , getting a second opinion is a very good idea. Just be sure you tell the specialist that you are not wanting surgery, just more help.
Also count everything you put into your mouth!!!!. If you cheat, you only cheat yourself.
Maybe your carbs are too concentrated. Maybe your exercise is not truly cardiovascular. Maybe you are not drinking enough water. And maybe you are not getting enough sleep. There are studies that show the importance of sleep for maintenance of normal cardiac,respiratory and nutritional functions.
Keep up the good work. thanks for listening

imthejenjen

seems like the doctor is just trying to make money either for himself or a colleague, IMO.

imthejenjen

I asked my doctor what I could do to get out of a plateau. To my surprise, she suggested I try the HCG diet. First of all, I only want to lose 20-25 pounds. Secondly, I was shocked that she would suggest a diet that has been proven to be so unhealthy. I think you only get 500 calories per day and you have to have injections. EEEKKKKK Anyway, I have a wonderul doctor. Their staff is excellent but after this, I think I'm going to leave the dieting to eating right and excercise. It's slow but I've always heard slow and steady wins the race.

Good luck!

Before I started MFP I did the hcg diet (pills) for 2 weeks. Yes I lost weight, about 7-8lbs, but I can't say I lost it because of the HCG in the pills. I lost it by eating practically nothing and don't want to eat that little again!

alasin1derland

You are clearly ready to start getting healthy or you wouldn't have reached out to your doctor and to mfp. Something you may not have incorporated is water. Water works with the organs to move the fat out of the body. Make sure you are getting at least 8 glasses a day. Calories in versus calories out. If you are thinking about something as serious as surgery, you should first invest in yourself. Get a chest strap heart rate monitor, then you'll have a more accurate calorie burn and use mfp to show you how many calories you are consuming. Water, calorie counting and exercise. Exercise can be walking around the block. Commit yourself and see what you can achieve. A healthy life style should be part of your daily grooming. Like brushing your teeth, showering and changing your clothes. You don't ever have to be a perfect eater but make a conscious effort to reach for healthier choices more often, find replacements for your favorite food. For example I changed from regular peanut butter to whipped peanut butter. I saved 30 calories a tbsp. If I normally eat 2 tbsp, I saved enough calories to have a lemon sorbet in the evening. Its a numbers game. Everywhere you can shave calories, you can put something else on the list for the day. When I started I used all different flavors of 35 calorie yogurt. Get the right mind set, use the tools mfp offers and you will succeed.

paxbfl

Here's what I have learned....don't lie to MyFitnessPal, and it won't lie to you. Be brutally honest with portion sizes, and record everything.

YES!!! And up your workouts. Get a heart-rate monitor to figure out how many calories you're burning. Are you standing there watching the DVD or are you really pushing yourself?

I've just lost 40 pounds in the last 4 months. The biggest thing for me is that I can't believe how EASY it was. Granted I'm a big guy and had quite a bit to lose, but once I got on my program the weight just dropped off. I was very careful about my calories, almost always came in under my goal (except for free days!) and worked out HARD 6 days a week. It was fun and I felt (and feel) GREAT! Now I'm getting my body fat % measured and thinking about building muscle because I'm at my goal weight!!!

Some people do the surgery and it really helps them. I understand that. But it doesn't sound like you need the surgery to do this.

Send me a friend request - I'll help in any way I can!

elsinora

The more you have to lose, the more daunting and impossible it seems and of course is disheartening when you fluctuate. There's no harm in chatting to the specialists but I really would seriously leave surgery as the utter and final option. Whether gastric band, bypass etc, it is still hard work and not an easy way put, as you still have to monitor your intake and volume meticulously and you won't be able to eat the same way again. The propensity for loose skin is also high because of the quick and dramatic weightloss.

But! - I promise you, I understand. I was 250lbs and I literally could not shift more than 7lbs without puttin it back on etc and I thought I was destined to be like this forever.

But .... I got brutally honest with myself and weighed everything and logged everything and I found I was severely underestimating my calories. I also stepped up the exercise and ate better which really helped long term in understanding and really reprogramming how, when, why I'd eat until it became second nature.

You can do it, you really can. X

missability

I am 50 yrs old, and have had 2 gastric surgeries to lose weight, yes I said 2, the first was In 1991, I was 29 yrs old, and weighed approximately what I do right now (265 LBS). I had a stomach stapling done in Arizona, I flew there from PA, it cost a fortune, because it was new, and at that time nothing with weight-loss surgery or preventative medicine was in place with most medical insurances....The bottom line on any stomach altering surgery is this: All it does is change the physical size of your stomach, whether through banding, staples, a balloon, or actual cutting....it DOES NOT however cure the emotional and mental aspect of why we overeat!. So needless to say, it was a new surgery, with little known, and all they did was send me on my way after the surgery with these instructions:
Nothing but ice chips or cold and hot clear liquids for 10 days, (I lost 20 LBS), nothing but jello, broth, gravies, for 10 more days, (I lost 10 more LBS), nothing but food pureed in a blender, creamed soups, or jarred baby food for the next 4 months, (I lost 65 more LBS), NO seeds, nuts, or ground grains, for the next year...(tiny things like strawberry seeds can get caught in the staples). And I was told it would take approximately 18 months to 2 years for the skin to grown over the staples to prevent the seeds from getting caught. OH and by the way....whether you like water or not....drink drink drink...because the "normal" healthy adult, can go 72 hours without water before severe effects of dehydration set in,, dementia, blurred vision, dizziness, slipping into unconsciousness ....but once you've had the surgery, it's less then 24 hours.<<<<Scarey
Soooooo.....all the surgery did was put me on a starvation diet, I could have done that for free, without the pain.......and it WAS painful. Recovery took several weeks, however, now they do laser surgery for the most part, so I am sure it is less painful, but the end game is the same....less calories.
What they don't tell you is that by eating this way your body starts to experience vitamin deficiencies, it took 3 years of B-12 shots to get me regulated again, I got severely anemic, was tired all the time......and most of all the depletion of some of those nutrients, like B-12, brought on depression.......now my living circumstances were not the best, so that coupled with the vitamin deficiency really threw me into a deep depression, that I struggled with for years.
The other thing they didn't tell me is that you can EAT THROUGH the staple lines and stretch the stomach back out, oh sure you'll throw-up a lot at the beginning, but I am living proof that having the surgery is no guarantee.
And just like every other diet....it's about the calories. You can have the surgery, but when you hit phase two, 10 days in, and can have thick liquids, if you start sucking down milkshakes, and soft serve ice cream from McDonald's drive thru....the weight-loss ends!.....In 1996, 5 years later I was back up over 200 LBS, I started throwing up blood, the staples and small metal plate they had put in my stomach was ruptured. I actually had to gain 50 LBS, to have the surgery again to fix it! Why? Because I would have to follow the same eating regimen, and they were worried that by the time I could eat regular food (6 months in), I would be way under weight.
SOOOOOO I went to GNC and started buying shakes to gain weight, the ones body builders drink, those calories coupled with enormous amounts of food, got me back over 250, where they wanted me to be, before they did the surgery.
I went back, this time to Iowa, and had the surgery, to repair the first surgery.....and again I lost the same amount of weight in about 9 months, around 115 LBS. And again I went right back to old emotional eating habits with in 3 years......Today I am on another kind of diet, lot's of water, (over 100 ounces a day), nutritious, organic, grass fed, cage free, whole foods. No sugar substitutes, processed foods, wheat, gluten, soy, corn, WHITE rices, breads or pastas.
The size of your stomach does not need to change to lose weight, just the way you view food, and what you put in your mouth.
I hope this helped, I have been on MFP since January 1, 3 weeks tomorrow, I have lost 15 LBS., and 9.5 inches. My diary and blog about what I am doing are viewable if you care to add me as a friend. Beth Ann, AKA, Missability.

Kellyeee2013

What would have been appropriate would be to check medications, check thyroid, etc. You are supposed to consult doctor regardless when beginning weight loss routine (some of don't have that luxury though! haha). I am shocked that he recommended specialist in surgeries. Gross. This is just laziness and ignorance on his part. Maybe see what the specialist has to say though.... I am sure they would not suggest surgery unless all other avenues were explored... I would hope.