My 600lb life

[Twatalert]

I keep watching episodes and there is a lady on today struggling to lose weight prior to weight loss surgery. The doctor sent her home twice or so after she failed to achieve her target wait in order to get approved for surgery.

Finally he sent her to see a therapist to work through emotional issues. I dont get why he sends patients to therapy so late and not from day one as soon as they seek his help?

Many patients report terrible childhood trauma such as rape, drug addicted parents and what not.

Its clear to me that these people are addicted to food and have bigger issues than just a poor diet. You don't send a drug addict home and ask them to come off drugs before getting any other help offered?

It seems to be portrayed as a lack of willpower when they don't achieve there target of losing x amount of weight in a month. I do think it takes some willpower but these people need to work through their issues from day 1.

Just looking at myself, the more I address my own past, issues etc the less the urge to over eat becomes for me. No amount of willpower will be enough to lose the weight I need. Since I have changed aspects of my thinking etc (through therapy and ongoing work on my past and my beliefs) I actually need very little willpower to not over eat.

I've seen that programme before. Doctor No ticks them off and says 'lose weight'. But no sign of any counsellors, which these hardened addicts really need. It's sad and all for TV 😢

Completely agree. I read a book on overeating and it changed my life. Food is an addiction for some (myself included) and feeling like a failure when willpower isn't enough only increases the cycle.as I get older and have more control over other aspects of my life i realise overeating is a huge mental health issue and addiction rather than being greedy or just liking food too much. Ive seen it described as a form of self harm and thats makes a lot of sense to me. Ive struggled since age 12 with my weight and I only started to regain control when I realised and understood WHY I was so compelled to eat.

I agree. So many on that show seem so lost, and unable to overcome their emotional issues.
In my view (and experience!) They need help from a psychologist as well as the surgery.

Either can provide some help, but both will stand them in a better stead.

I had a gastric sleeve, and whilst it has helped massively, I know for a fact that I can work around it, and many do eventually do just that.

My surgeon advised 100g meals between 3 and 6 times per day. If I can concentrate on making sure those meals are protein heavy, lower in carbs, and provide me with good nutrition I can manage to eat less than 1000 calories per day...often closer to the 600 calorie mark to be fair.

If I dont concentrate on what I'm eating, 100g of chocolate is 500+ calories, same with crisps etc. I could happily do a hungry Caterpillar and eat 3000+ calories in my permitted meals.

Luckily I've managed to keep myself on a pretty good track, but considering I can no longer feel real hunger, I spend a lot of time feeling like I could just do with a biscuit, slice of cake, packet of crisps, take away. If I hadn't have done some work on the mental side of things, I'd have convinced myself by now I could eat crisps, chocolate and cake each day.

Inpersuitofhappiness- where did you have the procedure done? I have been thinking about paying to have it done but am unsure. Would be very interested in hearing more about your experience. Was the procedure scary? What was recovery like? Have you lost much weight? Hope you don’t mind my asking.

I love this program. Specially when they try to blame not losing weight on drinking to much water.

watch Dr Fung here

If someone is 600lbs then they quite clearly have very serious issues. It's not as simple as them having a bit appetite, a few and habits, or just really liking chocolate or needing more willpower or whatever other nonsense people attribute it to.

You need to eat a mammoth amount of calories to get to and maintain such a high weight. It's not within the realms of normal, reasonable bahaviour. So yes, I completely agree with you that they should be having therapy early on. The issues are psychological.

big appetite + a few bad habits

Stupid phone.

I do agree with a lot of what everyone's said here ref emotional over eating (I struggle myself) and having 'feeders' around them but I've also noticed from watching this often that Dr Now's patients often come from 'big' families, so the jury's out for me on wether there's a genetic element or not. I think there must be, to some extent at least.

1000lb sisters was another. Mum and both sisters all similar build...
Surely some people are more prone to this 'addiction' than others? Like alcoholism or any other addiction.

@username1724

Completely agree. I read a book on overeating and it changed my life. Food is an addiction for some (myself included) and feeling like a failure when willpower isn't enough only increases the cycle.as I get older and have more control over other aspects of my life i realise overeating is a huge mental health issue and addiction rather than being greedy or just liking food too much. Ive seen it described as a form of self harm and thats makes a lot of sense to me. Ive struggled since age 12 with my weight and I only started to regain control when I realised and understood WHY I was so compelled to eat.

Totally agree. There have been many times I've been tempted to comment on some of the weight loss threads here (not the supportive 'how can I lose weight?' ones, more the 'it's your own fault you're fat' ones) where you inevitably get the posters who have never suffered with emotional eating in their life spouting gems like 'well just eat less and move more, it's not rocket science'...

But I don't tend to comment, because these people don't want to hear it. They believe they're right and that we're all just lazy fuckers who need to learn some self control. I do wonder if, for example, they'd tell a drug addict how easy it is to get off the drugs though 'seriously, it's not hard, just don't take the drugs in the first place'

Just out of interest, what was the book you read that helped you?

@FairyF1

Inpersuitofhappiness- where did you have the procedure done? I have been thinking about paying to have it done but am unsure. Would be very interested in hearing more about your experience. Was the procedure scary? What was recovery like? Have you lost much weight? Hope you don’t mind my asking.

I had my procedure done in Czech republic, I researched quite heavily into where I'd have it done, and ultimately I chose where I did because it was a main hospital, so it had a bariatric surgery department but within a main hospital, so should anything happen, which is sadly a bit more common with surgery on us larger people, I wouldnt be patched up and transferred to another hospital for help, and my surgeon has spent the past 10 years doing these operations, with a lower complication rate than we have averagely here and it was roughly half the cost, so by the time I had invested in the mental health package that their psychologist (who had the operation with them, I believe 8 years ago!) I had still saved a few thousand pounds.

I was petrified when I had my operation, I'm scared of anything medical, and it was during the pandemic, but I had a little your of the hospital, they took my bloods, did a chest x ray, an ecg, spirometry, gastroscopy, and I had my operation at about 10 am. I was so scared of giving up food, but honestly couldnt go on living the way I was.

Painkillers werent required for me after the first day of the operation, I felt pretty awful the first day (trapped wind and the anaestetic) they also like you to stay until Saturday/sunday (op is Monday/tuesday morning) second day some people were actually walking into town.

I started my pre op diet at 326lb, a month later I weighed 304. I had my operation in ZZthe beginning of August, I now weigh 250lb.
Gine from a size 26-28 top to 22. Bottoms 22 to 18. My life has changed considerably. I have more energy than the rest of my family now. I like to walk, and can hop up the stairs. I'm off blood pressure medication. Not having food there to console me when things feel bad is hard but ultimately I feel like I can respect myself more because I'm not treating myself like a human dustbin anymore. I have to concentrate on what I'm eating, and my operation does help because I cannot eat food in the same way I did. I eat 100g portions, any more than that I'm uncomfortably full. I also find some foods I loved I can no longer tolerate.

Its hands down the best thing I've done for myself, Its been an amazing journey so far. If you want the company who I had it with, I'll PM you it, I'm unsure how mumsnet would feel about me posting it on the forum... I couldn't praise my lovely surgeon enough. He came to see me every morning to check on me. He used to do plastic surgery too, but hes so busy with bariatric patients that he stopped (but I've got these tiny, very neat little scars from my operatiom- no worse than some of my stretch marks)

I think I answered everything! If I didnt I'll reply again!

Some of the patients are so unhealthy that there isn't time to go through therapy. It is crisis time. They have lose weight instantly and as quickly as possible to take them from a dangerous situation- e.g. risk of blood clots/ heart failure- until they get to a condition where they can survive surgery.
The patients also need to demonstrate that they can turn things right around and use sheer will power to stick to a diet which they will HAVE to follow once they've had surgery, otherwise they will stretch out their surgery.
It has to be done QUICKLY as it is often a matter of life or death. The therapy is then introduced, once the crisis is over, to explore and resolve their issues to support long term loss and weight maintenance.

I have seen one or two of these type of programmes and I’ve noticed how enabling the families are. Some of these people can barely move and yet their families must be bringing them all sorts of crap to eat. Horrible.

With that programme specifically, I have notied there seems to be a frequent resistence to going to therapy, from the patients. Understandably, many of them seem deeply worried about "digging up" past traumas and so are reluctant to attend, or skip appointments.

But when they do go, it often marks a significant turnaround in their physical health.

I wonder if they've just seen more success by holding therapy back until the patient is more willing to accept it - often after a few set backs?

@LittleTreasure

Some of the patients are so unhealthy that there isn't time to go through therapy. It is crisis time. They have lose weight instantly and as quickly as possible to take them from a dangerous situation- e.g. risk of blood clots/ heart failure- until they get to a condition where they can survive surgery. The patients also need to demonstrate that they can turn things right around and use sheer will power to stick to a diet which they will HAVE to follow once they've had surgery, otherwise they will stretch out their surgery. It has to be done QUICKLY as it is often a matter of life or death. The therapy is then introduced, once the crisis is over, to explore and resolve their issues to support long term loss and weight maintenance.

They could start therapy AND follow Dr Now's diet. It is only an hour a week. Chances of success are much greater. They could then discuss their urges with a therapist weekly and explore WHY they want to keep eating. It may also be easier to resist the urge when you know you can discuss it with your therapist in just a few days. Or it may be easier to get back on track if you indeed had a bad day of overeating.

It is sad that you think it is all about willpower.

@PawsAndPhytoncides

With that programme specifically, I have notied there seems to be a frequent resistence to going to therapy, from the patients. Understandably, many of them seem deeply worried about "digging up" past traumas and so are reluctant to attend, or skip appointments.

But when they do go, it often marks a significant turnaround in their physical health.

I wonder if they've just seen more success by holding therapy back until the patient is more willing to accept it - often after a few set backs?

Yeah. I often wonder what we aren't shown that could give some answers.

It is certainly true that therapy doesn't work unless you are ready. Perhaps people are indeed more receptive towards the idea if they have failed once or twice in reaching their target.

@SnoozyBoozy It's awful isn't it. I wish someone had told me years ago that I am dealing with an addiction. For years I thought I just need willpower to stop eating, when in fact I needed willpower to address my underlying emotional issues.

Society has lots of work to do. In 50 years time extreme obesity will probably be recognised as a mental health issue rather than be attributed to a lack of willpower.

"The reason you not losing weight.... is because you overeating"

I love Dr Now

I watched this earlier in the week (Sunday or Monday night maybe?) and was practically shouting at the TV "she needs therapy not a diet". The poor girl had such serious mental health issues due to her childhood which led her to comfort eat, as well as hiding what she ate from her partner and living with a sister who was her enabler by taking her to the drive-thru when her partner wasn't at home.

Inpersuit would you pm me too?

Since this thread is already becoming a bit of a weight loss discussion: in my case, weight loss is costing lots of money as I needed therapy to gain a certain level of insight into my past and work through things. After 3 years of non stop therapy and another year of doing work on my own post therapy, I am only just starting to address my issues around eating. I had to sort out lots of other issues before it even occurred to me, through my own work, that the more issues I resolve the less I feel compelled to eat. No therapist, no doctor ever said to me I am addicted or made the link to mental health.

Emotional eating is accepted as a thing, but there is no treatment. The advice is 'eat less and move more'. That's it. Doing therapy takes a tremendous amount of commitment and willpower (besides money), but it is still so much easier than 'just trying to eat normally for a couple of weeks, without any other help, and resist the urge to eat every minute of the day'. It was truly awful and people don't understand what it is like.

less willpower than what I needed when I tried to not overeat for a couple of weeks. Nothing in my life has ever cost me so much willpower than trying not to overeat without any other treatment -

You can usually find them using Google, see how they have done in years after their broadcast story. Many are long-term success stories.

600 lb life is heavily edited, there's lots we don't see as part of their journey, including advice they get. We're usually only going to see the key moments when something changes or is the start of a new phase.

Like any other health care treatment, psychiatric treatment can't be imposed on them. They need to be ready for it or it has no chance of success.

I don't think it's about will power! It's sad you have misunderstood what i wrote. I was saying that at the beginning, prior to therapy, Dr Now's clients have to lose weight through sheer will power. Not that my personal opinion is all that is required by 600lb people is will power.

On a couple of the episodes i have seen, the patients have been speaking to counsellors.
Complex issues. Feel bad for some of those guys