Man refuses surgery, drops 270 pounds
Hey think about the implications of successful dieting hitting the national news. I guess because success comes so rare?
I am happy for this fellow he got the weight off, but one thing I have noticed is for the supersized who do lose large amounts of weight successfully, most often they are people who had psychological eating addiction problems who could return to normal eating patterns and leave extreme ones, and who also can still exercise to a certain point. The problem with an article like this is some of the readers will assume everyone is the same.
Small steps are what began Bryan's weight loss journey. After leaving the hospital, he began to move -- at first pushing a shopping cart around the grocery store like a toddler learning to walk. Then he ventured to the mailbox at the end of his driveway. Soon, he was conquering several miles at a time.
He lost 130 pounds in the first six months, then dropped another 140 pounds over the course of the next year. At 5-foot-8, Bryan now weighs just under 300 pounds.
"It turns out it really is true," Bryan wrote in his iReport submission. "If you use more energy than you take in, you will lose weight."
Bryan switched to a day shift at work to conquer his bad eating habits. He's very particular about what he puts in his mouth, refusing to stray from self-prepared lean meats, vegetables and fruits. He eats five to six meals a day, every two to three hours. He measures his portions so that his total calorie count for the day hits 2,500.
I read this and thought they make it sound so easy. I wonder how he advanced from the small walks so quickly to the miles of walking. I did the small walking but remained STUCK as my body swelled up more the more exercise I did. Also if he can lose weight on 2500 a day that is pretty good. Some of us stay supersized on less calories then that. I am happy this guy was able to save himself from the horrors of severe obesity. Let's hope it lasts for him. The other day, I saw some controversy of some women in size acceptance being mistreated for losing from 700 down to 400lbs, such things are silly to me. For those who can escape all the more power to them!
Forget about the calories and the exercise. This tells you everything "He's very particular about what he puts in his mouth, refusing to stray from self-prepared lean meats, vegetables and fruits."
ReplyDeleteSo, he eats meat, fruits and vegetables. A strict Paleo diet essentially. There is no wonder why he has been able to lose the weight. And even with an abundance of fruits and veggies this diet would be much lower carb than any standard diet. I'm sure the anti-inflammatory and lower carb properties of such a diet have helped him in excercising since this would help with swelling. Good for him!
I love that you are posting stories of people who have lost the weight without surgery. It just goes to show you that there is always hope.
Yeah I agree with you about the calories and exercise. My exercise is limited in that I will bloat up but do what I can. I agree about finding the anti-inflammatory aspects of a diet. This is why the least processed food as possible is the best way to go. It does sound like he went Paleo. I have been doing reading about the inflammation angle of things. Hey I want to see the people who did "succeed", what did they do? [not crazy industrial market place DIETING, but normal health improvements]
ReplyDeleteI think the low carb dieting thing probably did the trick, but also he was eating horribly beforehand. Not every fat person eats that much or that badly. In fact, I'd venture to say that many thin people eat that badly as well, but don't gain weight... but nobody worries about them.
ReplyDeleteYeah I think it helped him, it seems you agree with me, about the people who were eating horribly before being able to lose weight more successfully if they return to 'baseline" normal eating. Yeah I see thin people eat badly all the time, just take a look in the grocery store sometime what's in the grocery carts.
ReplyDeleteI also think he was able to lose weight eating 2,500 calories daily because men, for the most part, are able to lose weight easier than women. You ever wonder why most of the winners on "The Biggest Loser" are males? Yes, that. (Hate that show, btw. Too much shaming.)
ReplyDelete2500 calories a day! Imagine what someone could think I would have to eat to be my size if he lost on 2500. I'm definitely in agreement about being unable to lose very much eating a lot less. I have a friend who compulsively overate and lost all the weight by adopting more normal eating patterns so I also agree with you on that. Glad for anyone to get away from compulsions but its annoying people just assume I overeat because I'm 400lbs. The last time I went shopping kept running into this family with four small children who were gawping at me openly. I ended up in the checkout line behind them and there was over a dozen 2 liter sodas and other junk. I think people who can eat like that and remain slim must extrapolate their metabolism onto me and gawp at the thought.
ReplyDeleteI kept diet journals myself and didn't even reach 2500 calories most days. I feel like I have the calories dropped down to level I can handle and when I do [and yes I have tried to sink them lower multiple times] the levels of hunger become unbearable.
ReplyDeleteI actually have asked researchers and others to put me in a lab and watch what I eat and maintain this weight on. There seems to be no interest. The doctors admit I do have severe metabolic problems and their answers now weight loss surgery [they do not see this as a reduced food item but reduced fat and calories going into the intenstine, but then I think what about the reduced nutrition. My body has been low on Vit B before for years needing a monthly shot, anemic and now has a serious Vit D problem WITHOUT WLS].Yes I had the binge eating friend who told me she would eat whole pans of cakes and lasgna even once with a friend needing to go to the hospital on a restaurant night binge because they ate too much. I didn't relate to that at all. She got down to normal weights everytime she ate normally and seemed to see her problem as more phsychological rather then physiological. I get tired of people assuming I overeat too. I may not be perfect and ate more then a lettuce leaf for my dinner last night [turkey meatloaf, some noodles and broccoli and I ate more broccoli then noodles] but when they show the ultra fat on TV binge eating I say THAT IS NOT MY LIFE, and it's hard because I do know others judge me for that. [Trust me several endocrine problems get you no understanding]. It's strange even with my family, my sister got HYPERTHYROIDISM and became anorexic thing so why can't they see the effects in me of 10 years of untreated hypothyroidism which is the opposite. The grocery store blows my mind to be frank with the thin people. I find myself asking in my mind maybe they only eat 2 bites of that donut or cake or processed garbage, but then no they really are eating it. Their carts are full of absolute garbage. I sometimes live in amazement some of them are so thin they eat so badly. I think those people who eatlike that and are average or slim, extrapolate their metabolisms on to me too. I remember working at this place, the bad residential counselor job--and they would mock me for being fat and I was so poor back then, eating probably a cheap ham sandwich out of the fridge--we were allowed to eat some food there with the kids, and they would break out their Double-Whopper meals. just blew my mind and I was growing so fat. One thing I ask in this blog is a return to dealing with metabolism, of course you see I totally agree with that doctor I am more recently posting on about how the bad food has broken people's metabolic systems. Some are more canaries in the coal mine then others.
I used to read the dieting success stories on the MSN news feed and most of the successful ones were of the variety "I used to eat two combo meals for lunch and three for dinner and then a tub of ice cream, but once I started eating less food and exercising I lost weight," well sure, I'd lose weight too, if that's why I was fat.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that every meal I eat is perfectly perfect, but I typically eat in the 1500 to 1700 cal a day range, so I don't have a lot of wriggle room and to lose weight, I have to drop below 1000 cal and I can only do that for so long before I go crazy.
Yep the people who go from binging to eating normal can lose weight.
ReplyDeleteThose of us who stay fat on normal eating, well we still need normal nutrients and will have HUNGER. I know what you mean about the inability to drop calories further. I'm stuck in that boat most definitely.