Guest guest Posted May 14, 1999 Report Share Posted May 14, 1999 Wo! what a very deep question. Obviously I am not in a position to answer this in relation to the band as I am still a 'baby' yet. All I can say is that my problem has been mainly one of portion size, combined with occasional eating of the 'wrong' foods. I have always had a problem recognising hunger as such and in the past I have not known when to stop. You know how it is, you fill yourself up with a large meal and yet you can always find room for dessert. (Is this mouth hunger?) My reasoning is that the band will allow me to recognise when I have had enough and I will then be better able to cope with any craving for foods that I really should not eat, outside of meal times. Strangely, before the band any hunger that I experienced was exacerbated by eating, i.e. the more I ate the more hungry I became, again that is something that hopefully will just not happen. Janet At 10:40 14/05/99 -0700, you wrote: > > >I would like to explore this idea that we have to give up our addiction >to food once we get an AGB. Is that true? Did you have an " addiction " >before? Old time bandsters: Did that change? Is the band " just a >tool " or is it something more? " a different way of life " > >Does the band " help " you eat less or " make " you eat less? >Who's in charge here? Am I making a conscious decision to eat less or >did I make the conscious decision to have surgery which resulted in my >inability to eat as much or both. > >Am I coping with problems differently? Rather than eating for comfort >am I finding other ways to distract or comfort myself? Or am I just >walking around slightly on edge all the time? I still eat out of >boredom. What about hungry? Am I really not hungry? Or is my >perception of " hungry " just really so distorted from all those years >when I ate when I wasn't hungry that I really can't tell anymore? > >Is this mouth hunger, head hunger, stomach hunger a real thing or an >artificial concept? > >What do you guys think? > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Got an opinion? >http://www.onelist.com >Make it count! Sign up for the ONElist Weekly Survey now. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 14, 1999 Report Share Posted May 14, 1999 Hi Jessie et al. I am Amber from NE Florida and I am thinking about your many posts and the great sense you show! I am an RN too and joined this group ~ 1 month ago in hopes of better educating myself re the possibility of weight loss surgery. I have been out of the clinical setting for over 10 years so I thought reading tons of information and asking questions from those who have " gone before " might help me make a decision re the surgery. Anyway, your most recent post was very thought provoking. I would have considered myself to be an addict prior to an experience occurring about 2 years ago. I have been overweight for a long time and currently have a BMI of 68. Anytime I have been on a diet it has caused me to FOCUS on food/eating. Not good if you are trying to loose weight. After the death of my husband 3 years ago I became depressed. I was placed on Prozac for the depression. One of the side effects of Prozac can be weight loss. Within a few days of taking the prozac I was no longer obsessed about food and eating. I found I would not even think of eating until I noticed my stomach REALLY growling. I lost approx. 50# and I believed that I had discovered " the cure " . The monkey was FINALLY off my back. How wonderful to no longer think of food and desire food all the time! And the weight " just fell off " . I really thought I could get my weight problems and subsequent health problems under control but alas, as I soon discovered this side effect would not last. Now, my hypothetical question is - am I an addict or is it possible that my body is missing some very elemental chemical necessary to " feeling full " ? i.e.: Seratonin. But if it is a decreased seratonin level. Why don't drugs similar to Prozac have the same result? At the same time, I look at my 140 # sister who will eat massive amounts of nutritionally nil foods and remain slender which leads me to wonder, am I an addict or do I metabolize food very differently than the average person. Is decreased Lepetin the problem? My son in law is a healthy 6' tall, 165 # person who reports that he must eat 3-4K calories per day to maintain his weight. My daughter is an RN and confirms this. Both of these individuals are " nervous nellies " who fidget non-stop. I am calmer and more relaxed. Is their intense physical activity caused by another chemical I don't have? And you mentioned the " setpoint theory " . I know that every time I have lost weight it finds me and adds a few extra pounds to remind me that it does not agree with dieting.. What about the theory that many of us have become obese as a protective mechanism as a result of childhood abuse. Many of us have been conditioned to seek comfort in food by well meaning family members who provide special goodies when we are having a tough time. At this point I don't know which surgery might be best for me, or where to have it however, I do know obesity is not .a simple equation of calories out, fewer calories in = weight loss. How easy that would be! Amber addicted to food > > > I would like to explore this idea that we have to give up our addiction > to food once we get an AGB. Is that true? Did you have an " addiction " > before? Old time bandsters: Did that change? Is the band " just a > tool " or is it something more? " a different way of life " > > Does the band " help " you eat less or " make " you eat less? > Who's in charge here? Am I making a conscious decision to eat less or > did I make the conscious decision to have surgery which resulted in my > inability to eat as much or both. > > Am I coping with problems differently? Rather than eating for comfort > am I finding other ways to distract or comfort myself? Or am I just > walking around slightly on edge all the time? I still eat out of > boredom. What about hungry? Am I really not hungry? Or is my > perception of " hungry " just really so distorted from all those years > when I ate when I wasn't hungry that I really can't tell anymore? > > Is this mouth hunger, head hunger, stomach hunger a real thing or an > artificial concept? > > What do you guys think? > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Got an opinion? > http://www.onelist.com > Make it count! Sign up for the ONElist Weekly Survey now. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 1999 Report Share Posted May 15, 1999 Dear Amber How lovely to hear from you, I do hope that you will continue to post regularly as I really enjoyed reading what you have to say. I also hope that you ultimately find the treatment best for you. I have been looking for fifteen years and I have wasted a lot of time and done more diets that I really want to think about. Finally I do believe that I have found the answer .... I don't mean to make it sound like the Holy Grail. I have long pondered the question of whether I was missing something and since researching the subject and reading every article and book that came my way and watching every documentary on TV, I think there is some truth in the fact that a percentage of us do have a missing link. We had a TV programme here in England recently that discussed the recent discovery concerning the Leptin question. One of the scientists doing the research is German and is working with mice (which ironically he is allergic to!) and he has discovered that we fatties have plenty of Leptin, it is more a question of whether we metabolise it. Anyway, he reckons he will have the answer within 9 to 10 years, I for one don't want to wait that long and am very glad that I have found my own solution. Love Janet At 17:26 14/05/99 -0400, you wrote: > > >Hi Jessie et al. > >I am Amber from NE Florida and I am thinking about your many posts and the >great sense you show! I am an RN too and joined this group ~ 1 month ago in >hopes of better educating myself re the possibility of weight loss surgery. >I have been out of the clinical setting for over 10 years so I thought >reading tons of information and asking questions from those who have " gone >before " might help me make a decision re the surgery. > >Anyway, your most recent post was very thought provoking. I would have >considered myself to be an addict prior to an experience occurring about 2 >years ago. I have been overweight for a long time and currently have a BMI >of 68. Anytime I have been on a diet it has caused me to FOCUS on >food/eating. Not good if you are trying to loose weight. > >After the death of my husband 3 years ago I became depressed. I was placed >on Prozac for the depression. One of the side effects of Prozac can be >weight loss. Within a few days of taking the prozac I was no longer obsessed >about food and eating. I found I would not even think of eating until I >noticed my stomach REALLY growling. I lost approx. 50# and I believed that I >had discovered " the cure " . The monkey was FINALLY off my back. How wonderful >to no longer think of food and desire food all the time! And the weight > " just fell off " . I really thought I could get my weight problems and >subsequent health problems under control but alas, as I soon discovered this >side effect would not last. Now, my hypothetical question is - am I an >addict or is it possible that my body is missing some very elemental >chemical necessary to " feeling full " ? i.e.: Seratonin. But if it is a >decreased seratonin level. Why don't drugs similar to Prozac have the same >result? > >At the same time, I look at my 140 # sister who will eat massive amounts of >nutritionally nil foods and remain slender which leads me to wonder, am I an >addict or do I metabolize food very differently than the average person. Is >decreased Lepetin the problem? > >My son in law is a healthy 6' tall, 165 # person who reports that he must >eat 3-4K calories per day to maintain his weight. My daughter is an RN and >confirms this. Both of these individuals are " nervous nellies " who fidget >non-stop. I am calmer and more relaxed. Is their intense physical activity >caused by another chemical I don't have? > >And you mentioned the " setpoint theory " . I know that every time I have lost >weight it finds me and adds a few extra pounds to remind me that it does not >agree with dieting.. > >What about the theory that many of us have become obese as a protective >mechanism as a result of childhood abuse. Many of us have been conditioned >to seek comfort in food by well meaning family members who provide special >goodies when we are having a tough time. > >At this point I don't know which surgery might be best for me, or where to >have it however, I do know obesity is not .a simple equation of calories >out, fewer calories in = weight loss. How easy that would be! > >Amber > addicted to food > > >> >> >> I would like to explore this idea that we have to give up our addiction >> to food once we get an AGB. Is that true? Did you have an " addiction " >> before? Old time bandsters: Did that change? Is the band " just a >> tool " or is it something more? " a different way of life " >> >> Does the band " help " you eat less or " make " you eat less? >> Who's in charge here? Am I making a conscious decision to eat less or >> did I make the conscious decision to have surgery which resulted in my >> inability to eat as much or both. >> >> Am I coping with problems differently? Rather than eating for comfort >> am I finding other ways to distract or comfort myself? Or am I just >> walking around slightly on edge all the time? I still eat out of >> boredom. What about hungry? Am I really not hungry? Or is my >> perception of " hungry " just really so distorted from all those years >> when I ate when I wasn't hungry that I really can't tell anymore? >> >> Is this mouth hunger, head hunger, stomach hunger a real thing or an >> artificial concept? >> >> What do you guys think? >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> Got an opinion? >> http://www.onelist.com >> Make it count! Sign up for the ONElist Weekly Survey now. >> > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Did you know ONElist has over 300 Star Wars lists? >http://www.ONElist.com >Join one today! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 19, 1999 Report Share Posted May 19, 1999 Dear Jessie, i must say you always seem to stimulate me out of lurkland. and thank you for it. i sorta feel out of place when i read the list and the various histories. fortunately i was not among the abused (thank God), i was not tormented by harsh words by other people (at least i did not hear them. or they were so very few i just tossed it off as ignorance and placed them in the same category as people who would say something negative about my hair, shoes or something else they didn't like) but i can relate to the hunger theory. i call it the Hungry Heart condition. it happens when i am bored, most of the time, and that may only last 5 minutes but what damage we can do in under 5 minutes. I cannot say I eat when I am down or when I am up because there have been major upsets in my life and I could not get anything down my throat. I also have naturally thin siblings who do the same thing (we have discussed this at length). now don't get me wrong, i do believe that i have over the years eaten too much for my body or i would not have gotten to the size i was a year ago, but compared to many others i know, i didnot deserve to arrive at the size i was. As far as the band is concerned, i do not regret getting it a year ago (down 50 lbs) because i believe, for me, the band is only in the beginning stages. meaning! i waited for the weight to come off on its own with the band and i realized one day that the band will inch you to a better weight, but alas, i must actually do the work. duhhhh! again i find myself dieting (swore i wouldnt do it again), but that is OK; i also realized my problem was not dieting, it is keeping a normal weight. and so that i where i researched and decided to go agb, i will accept the working at it, (dieting is easy for the most part) with the HELP of my band, but i expect that after the dieting and exercising the band will then resume it's real job and HELP KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF. since it only takes one f-gene (fat) for us to be cursed with this disease, i accept that i am predisposed to always remain larger than most. but i do not accept that i have to stay this large and therefore that is why i searched out and went through with this procedure. it is not a cure for obesity, it is an aide. and i could remain this size if i wanted to sit around and look for all the reasons why it was me and not my siblings who received this f-gene, but i realized (and i guess i always knew) i would (was) miss out on too much fun if i stayed that large too long. ONE STEP AT A TIME (and no I am not an addict), I have learned through my own life experiences that life is precious and can change in a heartbeat. I happen to love this list and I think that the people on it are among the most awesome you can find anywhere. thank you for the suppport and love you have all shared and inspired. i really miss it when Ken and Steve lurk. where are those boys now. and Jessie thanks for all the medical information you have the courage to share and the inspiration you send my way to join in the conversation. OOXXOO ibselle (liz) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 19, 1999 Report Share Posted May 19, 1999 Dear amber, welcome to the list and i hope you find the surgery (if that is where you are headed) of choice, i think if you research, you will find medically the band is the better of the choices, but with a much slower end result. i myself am in no hurry to lose the weight it took years to acquire. i read your post and thought i was reading my journal. you are exactly where i am in my thinking. weight is not a simple " in and out " . there are many reasons, too many to make it an easy it can be fixed syndrome. if you need information on surgery, this is the right place to start. if you are looking (like me) for answers, some are here, but most we already know and it takes a place like this list to make us hear OURSELVES. OOXXOO Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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