Weight loss surgery

Parent Cafe
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<p>A good rule of thumb - if it came from the ground or had a mother you can eat it. If not … don’t. This means all pre-packaged and processed foods go to the no list.</p>

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<p>Love all the rules to keep in mind about food! So true!</p>

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<p>Also keep in mind there is a difference between being hungry and wanting food. Too many people don’t understand the difference between the two.</p>

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<p>I don’t agree with this.</p>

<p>I have actually found pre-packaged and processed foods to be very helpful for weight loss for two reasons:</p>

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<li><p>They get me out of the kitchen – and away from the sight and smell of food – fast.</p></li>
<li><p>They have built-in portion control. If you’re eating a carton of yogurt or a single-serving frozen entree, the calorie count is right on the label, so you know what you’re getting, with no measuring or guessing.</p></li>
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<p>I’d rather eat a quarter cup of plain non-fat yogurt with real fruit than a flavored one with too much sugar or fake sugar. </p>

<p>I like that cooking makes you wait before you actually start eating. </p>

<p>But we’re all different. You have to figure out what food rules work for you.</p>

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<p>I watched ‘Fathead’ today on Youtube - I enjoyed it. It was interesting but nothing I hadn’t read or heard before.</p>

<p>Then I watched ‘Why Are Thin People Not Fat’. It was about an experiment where they took naturally thin people and tried to fatten them up. Very, very interesting. It points to a genetic connection plus it talks about why people either fail at dieting or are likely to regain it. That part was a little depressing, actually but it basically said once the body has produced excessive fat cells beyond what we have naturally, even when you lose weight, those fat cells still hang around demanding to be fed.</p>

<p>That video reconfirmed everything I know from living with a naturally thin husband for 25 years.</p>

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<p>MomLive, that sounds very interesting. Is it on Hulu?</p>

<p>I find it kind of interesting that people seem to have no trouble understanding that either genetics, hormones, or “metabolism” plays a part in explaining how an adult who doesn’t exercise and eats like a lumberjack remains as skinny as a rail. “He’s got good genes,” or “he just has an active metabolism.” </p>

<p>But take someone who is overweight despite their claims that they exercise and try to eat right and it’s “No siree Bob.” They have no discipline, they need to get off the couch, they are lazy, they are eating the wrong things, they are lying. They have no willpower. Women who experienced sudden weight gain with menopause are told they are making excuses and are just not trying hard enough.</p>

<p>I guess genes, hormones, and “metabolism” only factor in for the skinnies.</p>

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<p>It is on Hulu but I watched it on YouTube.</p>

<p>I agree with you. I suspect one day future generations will look back and our current food supply and go ‘what were they thinking?’.</p>

<p>Of course, it’s probably always been that way and always will be. It’s frightening, though, how easily we ‘fall’ for whatever the current theory is and how often it’s wrong.</p>

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<p>People in the Ag department did question the new guidelines for low-fat, high carbs when they were being developed and many question current guidelines today.</p>

<p>I regularly search for breakfast cereals that have no sugar and low-carbs. I’ve only found one and it’s $21/pound.</p>

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<p>^^^^Wow, BC! Which cereal is that?</p>

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<p>[Linwoods</a> Online Store](<a href=“http://linwoods.elsstore.com/]Linwoods”>http://linwoods.elsstore.com/)</p>

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<p>If you’re looking for a no-sugar low-carb breakfast, why would you eat cereal? Why not have something like an egg? It seems to me that cereal is kind of high-carb by definition.</p>

<p>My issue with packaged, portion-controlled food is that it’s loaded with additives and flavor enhancers. Take for example, a nice “healthy” serving of Chobani strawberry yogurt ([Google</a> Image Result for <a href=“http://flavorscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/chobani-nutritional-ingredients.jpg[/url]”>http://flavorscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/chobani-nutritional-ingredients.jpg](<a href=“http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://flavorscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/chobani-nutritional-ingredients.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flavorscientist.com/2011/11/09/chobani-greek-yogurt-strawberry-fruit-on-the-bottom/&h=1500&w=2000&sz=1090&tbnid=1-2adTcYrIDXAM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=122&zoom=1&usg=__Z7MWcL-y8SKE2b7NFxAvnMHms64=&docid=KkzC_0zuKNaNiM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xiK1UdL6AqqSiAK3ooDACA&ved=0CEUQ9QEwBQ&dur=449]Google”>http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://flavorscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/chobani-nutritional-ingredients.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flavorscientist.com/2011/11/09/chobani-greek-yogurt-strawberry-fruit-on-the-bottom/&h=1500&w=2000&sz=1090&tbnid=1-2adTcYrIDXAM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=122&zoom=1&usg=__Z7MWcL-y8SKE2b7NFxAvnMHms64=&docid=KkzC_0zuKNaNiM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xiK1UdL6AqqSiAK3ooDACA&ved=0CEUQ9QEwBQ&dur=449)</a>). It looks fairly healthy until you get to the “evaporated cane juice”… that’s sugar, and the whole package has 140 calories. If I eat instead nonfat plain yogurt, it’s 100 calories, and if I add a half-cup of fresh strawberries, I add 32 calories and I get a whole serving of real fruit, too. I get about three times the fiber, half the sugar, and a whole lot more taste.</p>

<p>Give me real food any day.</p>

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<p>Isn’t cereal by definition a carbohydrate?</p>

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<p>I normally bring two eggs (with tuna fish or sausage), and some carbs, typically cereal. I need the carbs for my late morning or early afternoon run.</p>

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<p>You can find lots of foods without additives and flavor enhancers. This Linwoods stuff is pretty simple. So simple that I could just buy the ingredients for $3/pound and mix them myself (or have my wife do it).</p>

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<p>The only cereal I even like anymore is steel cut oatmeal, though I haven’t had any in ages. It’s good stuff, though.</p>

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<p>MomLive, I watched that documentary. Interesting, though not much really surprising. The exception was the guy who, after spending a month eating twice his normal calories, and much of that high sugar and high refined carbohydrates actually put on minimal fat but instead gained a good deal of his weight in muscle! I have to hate that guy!!!</p>

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<p>to OP - I had the vertical sleeve done 1 year ago. It took about 6 months to go through all the approvals (psychology, classes, nutrition, testing, etc). During that time I lost 30 pounds on my own, then I lost 13 more on the two week liquid diet before surgery, then 42 more in the first 4 months after surgery for a total loss of 85 pounds. I am very happy with the results and have kept it off, but I would only recommend as a last resort and would not try to kid anyone that it is easy. I would highly recommend the website obesityhelp.com, then there are subgroups for the different kinds of surgery. I didn’t have major problems, but some of them were: horrible leg cramps and hives during months 1-3 (this doesn’t appear to be common), hair loss at 4 months (very common and all back to normal by 8 months), shingles (kind of related to reduced immune system and hive issue). Good things - no longer pre-diabetic, no more hunger (but I still want to eat), and of course looking better, fitting into clothes better, fitting into the booths at restaurants, etc! Keys to working - follow the rules and I did about 1.5 hours of exercise every day. That is what this surgery is all about - a tool to help you keep if off in the future.</p>

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<p>Jbourne, congrats on your success.</p>

<p>How did you and how hard was it for you to lose that first 30 pounds?</p>

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<p>I keep thinking about this thread. Here’s the thing: if anyone came to you and said, I want to cut you open, with a 1-2% chance of dying, and larger chance of lifelong complications, and I want you to pay 25,000 dollars for this, you’d spend a long long time thinking about it and maybe you’d try to find another path. But… it’s seen as an “instant” fix.</p>

<p>Me, when my doctor suggested the surgery, I started looking for any other way out. It’s hard and it’s taking a long time, but slowly but steadily my weight is decreasing. My knees feel better, my health is better, I look better, and sex is more fun. And every time I want to eat, I think about that metaphorical guy holding a gun to my head and saying “I want 25K and I might just kill you anyway.”</p>

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<p>There’s also this non-invasive approach:</p>

<p>[Cryolipolysis</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryolipolysis]Cryolipolysis”>Fat removal procedures - Wikipedia)</p>