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Severe Obesity in Grownups: Weight Loss Treatment and Advice by Randy Baker

Severe obesity is a serious medical condition experienced by people with a body mass index of 40 or above. Previously called morbid obesity, it affects an estimated six million American grownups, or about 1 in 33 of the adult population. Associated with a range of complicated metabolic disorders including type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance syndrome and elevated blood-fats, plus other weight-related health issues, this condition should not be confused with overweight (BMI > 25) or regular obesity (BMI > 30). It is a serious disease requiring professional help.

Since I began my weight loss consultancy over 24 years ago, I have met and spoken at length with hundreds of seriously obese individuals weighing 300 pounds or more. For most of them, their weight was a major source of discomfort - both physical and emotional - yet over the years most had "adapted" to their growing waistline and were resigned to remaining seriously overweight for the remainder of their life.

For doctors and other health care medical specialists who work with obese patients, this sort of patient-resignation to lifelong obesity is no surprise. But as a matter of fact it is only one of many challenges to long-term weight loss. Many clinically obese people struggle with a variety of psychological issues to which they have trained themselves to respond by overeating. Some of these issues - for instance, the early loss of a parent - require advanced counseling and even then may remain unresolved. In addition, many obese individuals contend with family, educational or financial hardships which further scale down their treatment and recovery options. Given the complicated causes, reactions and conditions surrounding obesity, it comes as no surprise that many conventional treatments remain for the most part ineffective. Sadly, a lot of people of normal weight - including members of the medical profession - still find it hard to accept the intractable nature of the condition, which only adds to the sense of disaffection and guiltiness experienced by the really obese.

Obesity Treatment Alternatives

How effectual a treatment is in aiding severely obese patients to lose weight, mostly depends upon its ability to tackle the root causes of the condition. Many treatments deal with symptoms (excessive calorie intake) instead of causes (why obese people overindulge).

Conventional Weight Loss Diets

Now that the low carb approach championed by Atkins Diet appears to have run its course, leaving many obese dieters close to if not heavier than their initial starting weight, the efficacy of conventional weight loss programs is more questionable than ever as a means of cutting back obesity. Whatever their dietary composition, many reduced-calorie diets offer insufficient support to help obese patients make the required changes to their eating and exercise habits.

Bariatric Surgical Procedure

Gastric reduction surgery is a vital "last resort" treatment alternative for patients with severe weight-related health issues. It typically leads to very substantial weight loss and health benefits, but it deals with symptoms not causes. So although it instructs patients to eat less, thus forcing them to lose substantial amounts of weight in the 2 year period ensuing their gastric bypass or banding surgery, it tends to have less success in dealing with the root causes of disordered eating which have built up in the patient's mind over the years. Resulting in, about 2-3 years after their operation, a large percentage of bariatric patients find it too hard to follow the recommended dietary guidelines and end up regaining most if not all their beginning weight.

Obesity Drug Treatment

The increasing number of obesity drug prescriptions issued to patients shows that doctors continue to lean heavily on pharmaceutical intervention for weight loss. Moreover, with obesity now labelled as the "trillion dollar disease", drug companies continue to invest heavily in their search for a scientific breakthrough. Yet clinical tests of FDA-approved obesity pills continue to exhibit minimal long-term weight loss benefits for severely obese patients, almost surely because drugs are not yet capable of dealing with the fundamental causes of disordered eating.

Does This Imply Obesity Is Untreatable?

In view of the limited success of conventional diets, surgery and drugs, does this mean that obesity is a lost cause? No. It simply means that more specialized or support-based options are needed. The first step in finding the proper treatment alternative for any obesity condition is to consult a doctor, who should be able to delineate what specialized treatments are useable. For instance, there are a number of first-class medically-supervised weight loss plans run by hospitals and clinics in the US and Canada, that offer true support and counseling. Self-help support groups like Over Eaters Anonymous (505-891-2664) or TOPS (800-932-8677) can also be highly helpful. Alternatively, contact the American Dietetic Association (800-366-1655), or the American Obesity Association (202-776-7711) for more information.

Some Practical Advice If You Are Obese

For anyone who is 300 pounds or more, seeking medical advice and getting proper support is crucial. Depending upon pills, diets or willpower solely is not enough. Nevertheless, you can do a number of things to benefit yourself and improve your chances of losing weight. Here are a few recommendations.

Stop Telling Yourself That You Can't Lose Weight

Whatever your size or shape, and whatever your story of weight gain, the truth is you can lose weight and you can keep it off. In 24 years I have yet to encounter anyone who was unable to lose weight, although I have encountered lots of people who lacked the motivation to adhere to their diet! The point is, not being able to do something is quite different from not really wishing to do it. Still most dieters mix up these two things. They think they can't lose weight, in fact what they are really relating is an unwillingness to make the necessary changes to their eating habits. So stop telling yourself that you are unable to lose weight - because it's not true. The true question is: do you want to lose weight, and if so, why?

Start Telling Yourself Why You Want To Lose Weight

The messages we transmit to ourselves in the form of thoughts have the same result as radio commercials. The more frequently we hear a specific message, the more we trust it. Tell yourself each day that you want to lose weight and gradually it will become a larger and larger priority. But don't stop there. In addition, tell yourself how losing weight will better your life. Maybe your goal is to receive more male attention; or maybe your aim is to fit into a pair of regular jeans; or maybe you think a leaner body will hike your confidence. Frankly, it doesn't matter what benefit you think weight loss will give you, the important thing is to advertise this benefit to yourself at every possible opportunity. Start today and attempt it for three months, and I assure it will help you to lose weight.

Begin Knowing Your Body Chemistry

There are three things you need to know about body chemistry and obesity mastery. First, the longer you go without food, the more apt you are to eat too much later. So eat something small at least once every three hours. This shrinks the risk of binging and helps you burn calories at the quickest possible rate. Second, the less chewy and more easily digestible a food is, the easier it is to eat too much. By comparison, chewy foods tend to have more fiber and thus keep us fuller for longer. A effective example of an easily digestible food is a creamy dessert. Even after a huge meal, most of us can pulverize a serving of cheesecake or a bowl of rich ice cream, without much difficulty. In comparison, eating 5 oranges or 6 apples after a large main course would be nearly impossible. So include plenty of high fiber foods in your daily diet. They have less calories, they fill up your stomach, and they keep hunger away for longer. Thirdly, most women get food cravings in the week before TOM. This is perfectly normal as well as predictable. So make sure you have an extra supply of healthy snacks to keep yourself satisfied. Most importantly, don't try to deny yourself the extra food your body craves - you won't succeed - just make sure you have healthy choices available.

Don't Try To Be Perfect

God doesn't create perfect people, he makes humans. And humans enjoy tobacco, alcohol, double chocolate chip muffins and truck-sized boxes of movie popcorn. Thus unless you hail from Mars, don't attempt to be a perfect dieter because it ain't gonna happen! Every dieter has bad days, bad weeks, sometimes even bad months. But so what? Losing weight isn't a race - it's a journey. How long it takes to arrive at your goal is not important. The only thing that matters is that you do eventually get there. Besides, once you accept that your diet-wagon is going to lose a wheel every now and then you can plan how to react when it occurs. Whereas if you presume your diet is going to be trouble-free, you are less likely to be prepared when disaster strikes.

Remain Guilt-Free Under Every Circumstance

Suppose you are 300 pounds. You begin a weight loss plan, you begin exercising with a friend, things go well and you lose 30 pounds, you feel on top of the world, then you have a huge bust-up with someone. Result? Your weight loss plan falls apart, you stop exercising and start comfort-eating. How can you preclude this from happening? Answer: you can't. This is Life. This is what happens. All you can do is go with the flow. If this means binging for a week until you feel better, so be it. But whatever you do, DON'T FEEL GUILTY. Because guilt will eat you up and will keep you obese for ever. In my experience, a dieter's first round of overeating is rarely the problem - it's the guilt which it brings that does the damage and causes them to quit. Losing weight should be a guilt-free zone, and don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. On my weight loss program and forum there is no guilt, no matter what happens.

Connect Wit hA Weight Loss Community

If you are connected to the Internet, try to find an active forum where you can post your weekly weight, keep a food or weight loss journal, swap ideas with other dieters and just have fun. Many people consider weight loss as a totally serious matter. But it's not. It's a journey from A to B. And just like any journey, it passes more easily when we have fun and learn interesting things along the way. My weight loss forum is a very supportive place, but there are dozens of other forums to choose from. One of the best benefits of an active dieting forum is the chance it gives you to express your feelings. You can vent about your personal success or failure and also display your support for other people, which is equally therapeutic. So look out for a suitable online weight loss group and witness your obesity bit by bit disappear into thin air!