Weight Loss Surgery?
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Yeah, this should always be a LAST RESORT. Diet and exercise, extensively and to even extreme degrees, should be tried first.
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@Texkonc and I did MediFast together while in Dallas and had amazing results. I lost 90lbs in 2011. I'd recommend trying them before going the surgery route. Can't hurt, other than the cost. It was healthy, relatively easy and worked really well. Not for everyone, of course, but something to consider.
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My wife did Dr directed weight loss system here in town for a year. She lost 80 lbs in that time. Once she stopped the program, she slowly gained it all back over the next year.
The problem with any solution, including surgery, is that you must change your behavior. If you don't you'll end up right back where you started.
For example, as long as my wife was accountable to the clinic, etc, she did well - hated every min of it mind you, but it worked. For her that's the only thing she's found that will get her there. She needs that external accountability.
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@Dashrender said:
My wife did Dr directed weight loss system here in town for a year. She lost 80 lbs in that time. Once she stopped the program, she slowly gained it all back over the next year.
The problem with any solution, including surgery, is that you must change your behavior. If you don't you'll end up right back where you started.
For example, as long as my wife was accountable to the clinic, etc, she did well - hated every min of it mind you, but it worked. For her that's the only thing she's found that will get her there. She needs that external accountability.
That's me too.
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I have a couple family members that have had it done. Its very good in the short term, but over the long term there can be issues. Try diet and exercise first. I know its hard, but it can be done for most people.
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My great-uncle had a metal band surgery when they first started doing these. It helped a lot in controlling his weight. However the band started to deteriorate and sprung, creating a bit of shrapnel and cutting into several organs. He had a ton of surgery to fix the damage caused by the faulty band.
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Diet and exercise. Not even a really hard level of exercise. mostly portion control.
From 350lbs to 176lbs.
2005 out to dinner with friends at GenCon Indy
2007 at my wedding in Tokyo
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Don't confuse "diet and exercise" with "going on a diet"
I did not go on a diet. I simply changed my diet to be not huge portions.
I was a bachelor. So I bought packaged things.
Typical:
Breakfast: Quaker oatmeal in a single serving bowl.
Lunch: Ramen in the pre packaged cup thing.
Afternoon Snack: 1 can of pineapples in natural juice. The little cans are two servings. I ate the whole thing.
Dinner: Hamburger/Tuna helper. I made this one night and split it into 3 meals.
No evening snack.Drinks: Coffee, Green Tea, Water.
On Saturday's I went out to a chinese buffet for lunch with co-workers (I worked Saturdays) but again, don't go crazy.
Exercise:
Morning and Afternoon mandated breaks: I walked up and down the stairwell of our 4 story office.
Lunch Break: I walked for the entire 1 hour. I ate my lunch at my desk prior to the lunch break. IN good weather, I walked the parking lot and read on my Sony Librie e-Reader. In bad weather I drove to a nearby mall (5 minutes) and walked 2 laps around it (2 miles) while reading. -
@thanksajdotcom said:
Yeah, this should always be a LAST RESORT. Diet and exercise, extensively and to even extreme degrees, should be tried first.
Agreed here...LAST RESORT...I lost 40 lbs on Weight Watchers and have more or less maintained that...I did the food tracker Sparkpeople and lost weight and I also did the Advocate 10 day challenge...all three of these require massive amounts of will power, which was always my problem...
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Running daily and drinking only water is how I keep my weight down. I'm 6' 3" 180 pounds
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I think saying "diet and exercise" really is meaningless unless you describe what that even means (@JaredBusch did though, I'm just saying when people say that in general), and I hate tracking things, I really despise any extra effort; I am truly lazy. So, here's my story.
I got up to 375lbs and just did Atkins, didn't even bother exercising until after I lost the weight. Atkins works if you stick to it and continue to essentially stick to low-carb (under 50g of carbs per day for me) for good, eat a lot of fat (especially saturated), etc. I've never been more healthy, had better blood pressure, etc.
I did notice the biggest thing was getting off the sugar soda, switched to diet, and I found that I liked Diet Mountaindew the most, it seemed to taste most like the regular, plus sugar free redbull as well, which does have like 3g of carbs though.
The hardest was avoiding bread since I'm just completely in love with pizza, so I have it every once in a while. The second hardest was drinking enough water, 4 litres a day, which was hard at first but got easier.
I don't worry about salt or anything either, especially since I drink a lot of water. I hate lettuce, so I eat spinach instead, but I still have a hard time with vegetables in general.
What I liked was that so much protein allowed me to gain some muscle too whilst doing nothing, it was kinda weird, though I do have a genetic predisposition to muscle gain, and most people don't have this. Though most people who stay on Atkins or some form of it tend to report at least some muscle gain.
My main problem is that I've got a gene for overeating*, i.e. not being able to realise that I'm full. High fat helps a lot with this and also usually what I do is figure out how much I want to eat and just cut that amount in half, seems to work ok, no measuring or any BS like that. Fat doesn't make you fat, though most Americans seem to think so, but then again if what you ate directly correlated to what was in your body, then I guess I got a lot of bacon and hamburgers in my arms **.
*I had my genes analysed that's how I know this.
**I feel a lot of guilt about not keeping kosher, but I just eat bacon, no other pork productsIn the end it doesn't matter what sort of diet or surgery you get if you don't change your life style. Plus also when it comes to exercise, stuff like running and walking doesn't really burn many calories. In fact, human beings are so efficient at running that we burn like 150 calories per mile, which is garbage.
If you want to ramp up weight loss, what eats fat more than anything else, is muscles. Lift weights, free weights, just get some crappy ones from a yard sale or something, don't waste money when you don't to.
Plenty of people get the surgery and just gain it all back slowly, because they go back to eating carbohydrates, and that's something to consider if you're genetically inclined toward type 2 diabetes (like me, and possibly you too), that your body will basically convert all sugars (carbs included) into fat, and counting calories will only work if you're running on like 700 calories a day for you, it certainly didn't work for me and was pure hell. Counting calories does work for about 25% of people though, so it may work for you.
I feel awesome. I lift weights like I used to in college and now I'm getting more attention from the ladies, and a few dudes too, but hey, a complement is a complement. My wife is still on my ass about vegetables though.
Just gotta stick to it.
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I will add on to change of lifestyle. You can't keep living the life that made you unhealthy, but just change 1-2 things for a year or so, and expect a change no matter what surgery or diet you do. I went to the extreme, then landed somewhere in the middle. I did fat free, whole food, vegan for a year. At the same time I was going to the gym 5 days a week, stoped driving in exchange for my bicycle 60%+ of the time. Doing so I lost over 80lbs in a year and felt amazing. Now I have landed somewhere in the middle, brought some meat and dairy back in to my diet and with a newborn, biking everywhere isn't as easy of an option. I have put 10-15 lbs back on, but I still feel great and held that for 3 years.
That all being said, it is about how you live. There isn't a surgery to change that. If you have the will power, cut back to 1,500 calories a day, drop soda and alcohol, get active and start choosing a bicycle or feet over a car when possible and hit the gym 4-5 days a week, unless you have a serious medical condition you will loose weight and feel a thousand times better. It isn't easy or fun (at first), but nothing great in life is easy. Good luck with what ever you decide on!
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I'm very hopeful that the change to the European lifestyle - fresh food, eating later, no preservatives or additives, walking everywhere, lots of hills, fresh air - will do something for me as well.
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Fast food is about the worst you can do. High in fat, and very high in sodium content. As well as lots of GMOs. Microwave meals are about as bad too.
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@s.hackleman When people ask me how I lost weight, I'll usually say either methamphetamines or if I'm eating my mostly semi-paleolithic+dairy diet I'll say I switched to raw veganism. I'm just a general smart ass I guess.
In all seriousness, a friend of mine gets sick when he eats meat, and for years he didn't even figure this out, he did so accidentally by switching to veganism to impress a girl. Pretty funny, but anyway, his main problem is protein and various vitamins, but not that big of a deal if you put in the effort.
Definitely not a lifestyle for me, I eat a lot of animal fat, but interestingly we go to the gym together and we're essentially equal on health when it comes to weight, blood pressure, cholesterol (good and bad), etc. I find that fascinating, especially because the general belief is that eating fat makes you fat and eating saturated fat will kill you, yet the opposite has happened to me and initially without any exercise, and the same thing happened with him and he eats the exact opposite way.
Humans are adaptable that's for sure. Unfortunately he has yet to get his genes analysed so we can't see if there are any major differences there.
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@JaredBusch said:
<edit>I walked for the entire 1 hour. I ate my lunch at my desk prior to the lunch break. IN good weather, I walked the parking lot and read on my Sony Librie e-Reader. In bad weather I drove to a nearby mall (5 minutes) and walked 2 laps around it (2 miles) while reading.
How do you manage to walk AND read....
I'm sure if I pushed the sodas away I'd lose what I want.. At 6'2",.. I need to lose a bit..
@thecreativeone91 said:
Running daily and drinking only water is how I keep my weight down. I'm 6' 3" 180 pounds
Running and I have an agreement... I don't. wished I could get it into my head to do it.. I'm hoping the Office change will allow some of that change.
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@scottalanmiller said:
I'm very hopeful that the change to the European lifestyle - fresh food, eating later, no preservatives or additives, walking everywhere, lots of hills, fresh air - will do something for me as well.
Americans always thought I was unusual for either never eating breakfast or eating something small, and same for dinner/supper, but a slightly larger lunch, and lunch a little late too. In fact on two different occasions I made people angry by saying I don't really eat breakfast or like the traditional English/American breakfast food. It's no wonder people are tired as hell by 10am.
Anyway, I don't have a problem with preservatives in general, unless it's scientifically proven by double blind studies and peer review in a real journal, then I'll avoid at. As such in this house, we don't buy anything organic, ever, unless it's on sale or something and it's cheaper than alternatives. Primarily because organic is a non-logical false-standard based on marketing rather than science, and also because I love GMOs and I prefer food that's been made more efficiently.
Yes, I am one of those people who thinks humanity is more important than nature, but I do love nature and I do believe in climate change, but I also believe in bending it to the will of humanity instead of living like the first 10,000 years of "organic" agriculture that was full of mass starvation, blights, etc.
I love hiking in the woods/hills and such as well, I love forests in fact.
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@tonyshowoff I could get into the whole part of meat production causing more greenhouse gas than all the cars on eath combined, how out current rate of meat intake per capita is up 3 fold in the last 100 years in the US. It is completely unsistainable and will cause us either slow down or stop meat production, or bulldose what is left of all of the worlds rainforest in favor of farm land, but I won't.
for me the idea of more veggies less meat made me feel better, healthier, and I felt like I was doing my little tiny part to cut back on my carbon footprint that I leave it the world. I also, grow my own veggies, live in less than a 1,300 sqft with plans on downsizing, and mow with a reel mower.I'm a darn hippie, but it makes me happy knowing that I am making a gnats fart of a difference in the world.
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@s.hackleman Well, what you said is absolutely true and it is a concern of mine, and I often think about how there has to be a better way to do it. Unfortunately, I don't have the expertise, but fortunately I do have money and I do put investments into projects related to those ends.
However, agriculture of any kind is unsustainable, primarily because it destroys top soil, so even the most "sustainable agriculture" has a finite limit unless one finds ways to improve crop efficiency. In fact, human life in general is unsustainable, and so in general we've got a hell of a lot to do in the world.
Also farm land for meat production can't just be switched to plants, and in fact a lot of land that cows, pigs, etc can "grow" on, our crops cannot, at least not without genetic modification, though most of the people I've talked to who bring up what you do tend to be against that as well. Though also a lot of farm land would be regained that's currently being used to plant food for the animals on the other farm land. However too there's also a lot of farm land wasted on stuff like corn-based ethanol or just isn't farmed period in order to create artificial price controls.
I think for the most part we are both on the same page, but our desires and ends aren't exactly the same, but over all, the big picture of just not breaking down the entire planet is something that if worked at from either one of our perspectives could only be good. I'd hope you'd agree with that, even if you don't think what I want is as desirable or as necessary as what you do, because I feel the same, but opposite.
For me, veggies certainly help, but I'm really bad at eating them, because I'm just a picky eater, and I love really high (animal) fat foods, I smother my veggies in real butter, not only is it more filling, but it also gets me through to the other side. That and Tabasco sauce.
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Here is Spain, most crop production is not done via the top soil but in greenhouses. Although that is causes its own problems.
