Whether we like it or not

I am going to piggy back a little bit on Christa's post regarding weight loss medication.   I am a firm believer in what works, work it until it stops working.  Christa is a big girl and will make whatever decision feels right for her.  I think she is intelligent enough to know what is right for her at this point. That being said, I think clearly the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat whole foods and exercise vigorously on a regular basis.  It's a lifestyle change that has to be recognized, worked and then adopted as a way of life.   Damn, that was a hell of a lot easier to type then to do.  Let's face it, we don't have a society of obese people because they love being that way.  There are clearly issues at hand, whether they are emotional, physical or just plain gluttonous, that make us or made us fat.  To preach that ALL you have to do is a, b, c and d is making people feel even worse. I lived 16 years as SUPER morbidly obese.  For ALL of those years I knew logically what I had to do to lose weight. Something that is not clearly identifiable, even now, stopped me from doing that.  I am no smarter than I was then, perhaps more educated in nutrition but definitely not educated enough to show people the way.   I can only say it IS possible.  How we get there is another whole story.  But it's not just as easy as saying what it is we need to do.  I do, however, wi**** were that simple so all the beautiful and wonderful people on this board could benefit from it. Just my thoughts on it, take them or leave them. Donna

  

Oh, well said as always Donna! Anyway my "you do have control" comment to Christa was only because I felt she wasn't giving herself enough credit. It wasn't a comment on the rest of her post. To Christa: you ARE going to beat this!

I am a Janey-come-lately here, but point well taken,  Donna & Sonora.  I can only add to Donna's statement "the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat whole foods and exercise vigorously on a regular basis" is that the whole foods must be in right amounts.   And that added phrase in my mind is the kicker for me; healthy food has also made me fat. Some have trouble getting up off the couch to exercise, never my problem. To be able to control the amounts of the food is where I find that I need assistance! I took and will take again my meds (phendimetrazine 35 mg, or usually half a pill works fine) from the local bariatric doctor if I need it.  Being 100+ pounds overweight is also a burden on a body, so let us not whitewash that fact. The risk of taking a prescribed pill in a monitored program compared to yo-yo-ing for about 20 years is pretty marginal and not really worth arguing about. I would never, ever say, oh ya, run to the 7-11 and get the first app suppressant you can find....of course not.  But a monitored program with a doctor who has also attached a food plan is very much different. Getting to God has many paths (in my humble opinion), so does weight loss. To me, the end does justify the means. I say, after careful consideration and the guidance of your own trusted PCP, do whatever reasonable apporach you can find. If it's pills as part of a program that teaches you real take-away lessons on how to get to the goal of healthy weight, if it's WLS, all is fair in my book.

I appreciate  your post Neecee, but why must we be so politically correct? I realize my passion has made some back away, so be it.  But while one can choose to take a variety of paths, there is only one truly healthy option out there. I realize many take paths like pills, fad diets, extreme calorie reduction, even exercise binging, (and hello, I wasn't immune to this stuff in the past) and each may lead to results, but balance is the healthiest approach, so why fear or hold back saying so?  I mean, for instance, Christians consider Jesus the way and the light--the only way to God.  So for a Christian to state that other religions are equal is unacceptable and counters their faith.  It doesn't make the Christian exclusionary, just following his/her path in total.  One can still believe there's one best way, that doesn't mean they disrespect others' right to choose, just that they don't believe in the other choices. I've worked with pharma and I "get" the science of meds.  I also don't take meds by and large unless I'm severely sick and I know the med I'm taking.  I also get the "why" of surgeries, doesn't mean I think they are a best choice. I realize our friend here wants to kickstart things, but don't you think that kick start can come at a price?  Knowing those pills, I believe the price isn't worth it.  Back with the Phen/Phen debacle, folks after just weeks of usage had incurred trouble.  I mean, knowing what these meds do, it's not worth it to me.  Why not take the kick start in the form of what healthy eating and exercise can offer?  I believe they're both equivalent, so why not choose the healthiest option? I think also the focus on the pounds here is disconcerting when someone is hoping for an 18lbs in a month drop to get her motivated to get on board and stay on track.   It's not about the pounds, it's about health.  We are way too focused on #s.

Phen/Phen......not the same as Meridia or Phentermine...Adipex....whatever.

Very good addition Neecee, thank you.  Too much of anything is bad for you.  Life in moderation in all things.  Heck, some say even too much exercise is bad for you. So as not to derail the intention of the post, it was NOT about the pills.  That was just what led me to write this.  I wanted Christa to know I had read it and I hoped she didn't mind me piggybacking off of her thoughts. My feelings are that it's so easy to SAY this is how you need to do something.  If it were that easy we'd have no drug addicts, no alcoholics, no gambling addictions...well you get my drift. It's so much about what brings us to where we are, and how to get ourselves out of it.  It's about so much more than pushing away from the table, putting down the needle or not taking that first drink.  Addiction to anything is a horrible cir****tance and when ALL we can think about is food it's terribly difficult to change that behavior.   We cannot judge one another or where we came from.  There is a boat load of issues that people carry around their whole lives.  Do we HAVE to identify ourselves through these issues and self-medicate to get through them?  No, we don't.  Do we?? Hell yeah, we do it, regardless of the manifestation of what we have. That's all I was saying.  I don't want this to become about Christa's decision but realizing that there is no "one way" to do things, that's all. Donna

And I get what your point was, i hope, Donna. On my path, dealing with the addiction/compulsion/obsession of food started with " I cannot do this by myself". An admission of what I am doing ain't working. Of COURSE, in the end, the lesson is...sure I can. Like Dorothy, we did posess that power all along. She got ruby slippers, me an' Christa...we're using the pills.  You...found your self reliance.  Jerz...Super Trainer. Andi...Duke.  BettyBoop...WW.  Whatever works. I'm only sayin that I would love to be able to say yup, I did it, all on my own. I had to lay down my ego and admit I wasn't doing it.

SuperTrainer, that's funny.  LOL.

When you get right down to it, we all overeat for different reasons.  Therefore, I don't think that the same process of controlling the overeating is going to work for every single person.  Sure, exercise is going to help everyone.  Eating smaller portions is going to help everyone.  But as far as what you should eat, how many calories, what should make up those calories, what are trigger foods, etc... is going to be different for every person. What motivates me to lose weight (or doesn't) is going to be different than what motivates you.  What I may need to kick start my weight loss plan may be different than what you need (or don't need).  We are all at different places in this journey.  As others have said, if there was some magical option we would have all opted for it and none of us would be here talking about it because there wouldn't be a problem. When I say "you" I mean "you" in general of course and I am not directing this toward any one person -- just saying this to everyone.  I think if some need a pill to jump-start things then that is what they have chosen that they need for themselves.  If cutting out starches work for some people then that's great.  If eating more calories work for some, or cutting back fat, or eating whole foods, or low carb, or whatever works for whomever then I am happy for them.  I think different combinations work for different people.  They key is to find something that YOU can do that is healthy for YOU in the long-term that YOU are comfortable with forever.... and we all have to combine this with moving more -- again, different types of exercise and physical movement work for different people....