There apparently is some basis for compulsive eating being out of the control of the obese person:
GHRELIN TO CURE OBESITY
Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
Does it make you angry that you have such a difficult time losing
weight? A report in the New England Journal of Medicine touts a
breakthrough that may lead to a cure for obesity. Researchers at the
University of Washington have shown that a hormone, called ghrelin,
produced primarily by the stomach, makes you hungry, and that eating
drops blood levels of ghrelin to shut off hunger. The researchers showed
that blood levels of ghrelin rise just before you eat and drop after you
eat. This is what you would expect from a hormone that makes you hungry.
They showed that people who lose weight have higher blood levels of
ghrelin, than they did when they were fat. This also supports the theory
because the body tends to maintain its ideal weight and when you lose
weight, your body should produce more ghrelin to stimulate you to regain
the lost weight. Therefore ghrelin makes you fat by causing hunger to
make you eat more and slowing your metabolism to make you burn fewer
calories.
Previous studies showed that ghrelin is produced primarily by cells in
the stomach and a little bit by cells in the upper intestines. Using
this information, researchers then studied obese people who had had
gastric bypass surgery. In this surgery, a hole in made in the upper
stomach, a piece of the intestine is sewn against the stomach hole, and
the lower stomach is sewn shut. Therefore, after a person eats, food
passes into the uppermost portion of the stomach and then out through a
hole, so that the food doesn’t even get into the stomach. In gastric
bypass patients, food never enters the stomach or upper intestines, the
areas that produce ghrelin.
People who have had bypass surgery do not have a rise in ghrelin before
they eat and do not have a drop after they eat. Their levels of ghrelin
remain low all the time. This shows that ghrelin is produced by stomach
cells only when food passes into the stomach. How can ghrelin cause
hunger and make you fat, and be called out by food entering the stomach?
At first this doesn’t make any sense whatever. However, the authors feel
that an empty stomach cause stomach cells to produce ghrelin. Food in
the stomach stops production of ghrelin. However, when no food enters
the stomach for a long time, stomach cells stop making ghrelin and a
person stops being hungry.
These studies show that today the only really effective way for
permanent weight loss for people who are more than 100 pounds overweight
is to have gastric bypass surgery. In the near future, a drug company
will probably develop a drug that blocks ghrelin, and that company will
sell that more than a trillion dollars a year of that drug. As of now,
any doctor who tells grossly obese people that they are too fat because
they eat too much or exercise too little is callous toward the obese
person. Being more than 100 pounds overweight is a disease caused by
stomach cells that make too much ghrelin, and the only effective
treatment today is bypass surgery.
I really don’t see where this is coming from… What tone?
There are a lot of fatbashing threads and non fatbashing threads on this board, but they usually turn into “oh yeah, well you hate fat people” if someone asks a question related to overeating, etc.
She doesn’t like her. Maybe she’s an obnoxious person. Maybe she doesn’t do her job. Maybe she just DOESN’T like her. She doesn’t want this person to suffer with a condition that can be treated.
She had a simple question and asked it. Disgust was never implied. Period.
JSGoddess, I hope you keep us up to date on her progress. It sounds to me like you care about the well-being of this person, and have genuine concern about her seemingly lackadaisical attitude toward her own weight loss.
My friend here at work had bariatric surgery almost two years ago. She was probably about 300 lbs. and only 5’2 in height. According to her, she had tried every diet, but she was just worn out from it. She felt that any little bit she lost was just a tiny drop in the bucket, and that made her unhealthy behavior spiral.
I wondered how she would behave after surgery, and I can say I was quite impressed. She indulged for the last two weeks before the surgery, but after that she was done. She’s followed the proper diet and exercise program and has lost about 175 lbs. She had some plastic surgery to remove the loose skin and to perk up the boobies and now she looks and feels fabulous.
I’ve talked to her every day for almost two years, so I feel I know her fairly well. She knew she had a problem with food, there was no denial about that. I think the surgery was the catalyst for her to make real, permanent changes. The promise is that people will lose a large amount of weight very quickly, and I think that has to be inspirational to people who are considering this surgery.
I don’t profess to know what it’s like to be overweight, but when I see people going for this surgery I can’t help but think it’s a positive step. Sure, it’s risky, but if you follow the doctor’s orders it can save your life on so many levels. I’m certain that no one enjoys being obese, and if it’s gotten out of hand there’s no shame in taking the help you need to overcome it. Not everyone has the willpower or the patience to diet and exercise for years and years to lose the weight.
I have been proud of her for how she’s handled her surgery and changed her lifestyle. It’s been really neat to watch her shrink. Now she’s a good 10 lb. smaller than me. It was the right decision for her.
Her surgery is next week! She was shocked it is going to be so soon. I’m still uncomfortable with the idea, not because of the surgery itself, but because she just doesn’t seem to be taking it seriously.
Not my life, none of my business. I’m just a worrier.
Based on previous posts, and human nature, this would be a good time to take her to an all-you-can-eat-restaurant or her favorite restaurants. Cause after the surgery that won’t be an option.
Olive Garden has a bottomless pasta bowl where you can get 5 different kinds of pasta with 5 different kinds of sauce. I suggest you stay away from the whole wheat linguini. Also, the first bowl is pretty big, so if you want to sample many different kinds, ask for a small serving for the first bowl.
Also, JS, please keep this post going with weekly updates as to her progress and results. I am very curious as to how it turns out.
