Toe, I bet 99 percent of sleeping problems are not caused by your fatal disease, and my idea will work on almost everyone as a result. There are always going to be rare exceptions, I will agree to that.
If they didn’t tell you you were fat, lazy and a disgusting sloth who smokes, they’d be sued by you after you became a diabetic, or after your leg finally succumbed to gangrene, or by your family after you had an acute MI because of all your risk factors…
So if I were you, I’d sign a release saying you and your family will ABSOLUTELY NEVER sue on the grounds you weren’t warned. Then you can talk about all sorts of fun stuff with your doctor that you want to, like puppies and kittens :rolleyes:.
ATMB thread with link to Pit thread. It’s full of nommy PALATRy goodness - enjoy!
Signing a release saying you and your family will ABSOLUTELY NEVER sue doesn’t actually keep you from suing. It’s just a very good defense for the defendant. Still gonna cost you if you do get sued.
You kidding? My father died from a particularly nasty smoker’s cancer (I kind of throat cancer that is resistant to chemo, IIRC). One day he was standing in the kitchen puffing away and said: “Hey! My tumor gets really hard when I smoke!” Yeah, neat-o, dad.
IMHO, you have a poor understanding of how eating disorders work and a poor understanding of the human nature factors that lead to poor eating habits. For one, hunger often has nothing to do with it. People develop poor eating habits for quite a variety of reasons. Some are psychological and can be complex, some are simply mundane bad habits such as eating to relieve boredom - like people who gnosh at work when they aren’t actually hungry at all - or for comfort, or in some cases as a form of self-abuse. In my Latin family, eating is a key factor of socializing and demonstrating affection. “I love you , I made you pie! You should eat something!”
The human nature elements that affect eating habits and patterns are quite diverse and not eating when you’re not hungry seldomly plays a role. For example, when my partner and I travel in the U.S. a single restaurant meal is often adequate for both of us. Yet we have friends and family there who will “eat everything on their plate” because they are conditioned to do so. It’s as if it’s an assigned task, like raking the yard. “Here is a yard full of leaves. Your job is to clear them off and put them in garbage bags. Here is a plate of food, your job is to clear it off and put it in the dishwasher.” They may be sated after eating only 1/3 of the meal, but dammit, they intent to “get their money’s worth” and they will eat the portions given to them, hungry or not. They also do not seem to know how to judge proper portions anymore. If they are always given a loaded plate, that will be the benchmark for serving themselves.
Obesity and diabetes is dramatically increasing in the Latin community, and studies are indicating that parental influence on terrible eating habits is a major contributing factor. At a very primitive level, like most animals, we are trained by our parents on how to identify food. If you grow up rarely eating fresh fruits and vegetables, but routinely eating fast food and processed pre-packaged meals - high in calories and sodium - you are more likely to continue eating those foods as an adult because they are most familiar to you. Again it’s not an issue of hunger, it’s an issue of poor choices and learned patterns of behaviour.
Appetite suppressants are actually currently available, by the way. The problem is they can also be dangerous. A friend went to her doctor to ask about the very Magic Pill you’re talking about. He said he could prescribe it, but that she would have to modify her eating habits as well because there could be very dangerous side effects otherwise. She refused the prescription because she did not want to change her lifestyle and then complained that the doctor didn’t understand her.
Sorry for the long post.
There are medications like that already. Disulfiram aka Antabuse is used for the treatment of alcohol use/dependence. It causes a severe adverse reaction when you drink alcohol. The problem of course is that the drunkard will stop taking the medication in order to drink.
People who eat when they are stressed will eat when they are stressed, it doesn’t matter if they are hungry or not.
/I eat when bored. So now I’m a skinny dude with a pot belly.
Bolding mine. In the cases I know, if you have an utter lack of ability to fight overeating, your doctor will not think you are a good candidate for surgery. Weight loss surgery will not be successful unless the patient is willing to change their habits.
Isn’t it amazing that people can sign a document saying they will or won’t do a certain thing (with their wits about them, on a reasonable subject), and yet it can be rendered totally irrelevant? Our society has totally left behind any sort of personal responsibility.
A slight hijack but still in the same vein…this morning at the doctor’s office, I was reading a skiing magazine. In between all the highlights of the best places for fresh powder, there was an interview with a lawyer who only defends ski resorts from people who injure themselves and sue the resort, be it from just being stupid and falling to skiing out of the bounds to hitting a known mogul. He has a full time job doing JUST this. I had NO idea this was ever a problem, seeing as you always sign a waiver saying you take full responsibility for your actions, that the resort isn’t liable, etc.
Incredible, really.
irishgirl, you’re absolutely right. Both of my parents are physicians, and they pretty much have the same night you describe with your husband. But their colleagues are all sorts of crazy because of the stress - one of their good friends hit on my mom (before knowing my parents were engaged) while his wife was pregnant. He’s had multiple marriages (as have others), some of them could drink frat boys under the table, some of them are religious extremists just like you’ve described.
A waiver does not protect the business from negligence.
::Hijack::
For example, I signed a waiver at an indoor rock climbing gym. The waiver indemnifies them in the event of an accident. For example, I fall normally knowing my safety line will catch me. The rope just happens to wrap around my finger as I fall in a way that breaks my finger - rats! How unlucky! My broken finger was a mishap that could not be predicted or reasonably foreseen. The gym had taken all reasonable steps to create a safe climbing environment and exercised due diligence. My broken finger was be an unfortunate fluke and I’m well aware that the sport can result in bumps, bruises, or serious injury if I really screw up.
However, if they knowingly rent me an old harness that should have been retired years ago, or use nylon ropes from a sailboat instead of actual climbing ropes, that’s negligence. A reasonable person can expect that using totally inappropriate equipment can result in equipment failure and injury. The injuries could have been prevented with common sense and due diligence. And if they didn’t tell me that they are cutting corners using dangerously old stuff, there was no informed consent. I didn’t agree to that shit.
My climbing gym settled a suit that involved a guy who fell, his safety line caught him, but the route was set up too close to the end of an exposed I-beam. He cut his leg badly on the corner of the beam. It was certainly a bit on the “unlucky fluke” side, however a reasonable person could have concluded that it was only a matter of time before someone would get hurt on the I-beam. Despite being a careful diligent climber, it was bound to happen eventually because the set-up was a little hazardous. (It has since been remedied).
So bascially, people are encouraged to sue, because chances are the business’s insurance company is likely to just settle to avoid the costs of litigation (particularly if the settelment will cost less than legal fees). But if the injured party was a total idiot who clearly did something stupid, like climb over the fence that has the “Danger! Hidden cliff with pointy sticks and man-eating tigers at the bottom!” sign posted on it, litigation is more likely to happen.
::/hijack::
She did better than my grandmother. In her 80s, bedridden, on oxygen, her daughters (my mother and aunts) taking turns staying at her house to take care of her through the night. And they kept catching her sneaking cigarettes. While still on the oxygen. The real question was, where did she keep getting the cigarettes. 
Well, the topic has strayed a lot from the OP, but I still am confused. Why in the world does a doctor have any obligation to suggest anything about how I live my life? The only service I am paying for is for him to fix the current problem. If that problem is exacerbated by my bad habits, it makes sense to mention them. But it makes no sense to tell me how to fix those problems unless I ask, nor to mention them after they’ve already told me, and know I know. In most cases, it’s not even in their specialty, and they should be referring me to an expert anyways.
But, then again, I don’t see this happening very often, anyways. It’s the rude ones that have trouble getting patients. The ones that think they are above everyone else, and that the societal norm of what topics can be discussed with a person don’t apply to them. A nurse practitioner I know who had just gotten a gastric bypass, and as she was losing weight, thought she had the right to chastise almost every one of her overweight patients. She was fired by the end of the month. I know a dentist who would constantly chastise people for how well they did at brushing. Now the only patients he can get are Medicaid patients, since no one else can stand him. (The other dentists around here are so successful they think it’s okay not to accept Medicaid, since they can only get a certain amount. But that’s another rant for another time.)
Preventative medicine, essentially. They’re trying to keep you from needing help on other dramatic health issues in the future (cancer, heart disease, diabetes) by suggesting that you change some things about your life right now. The medical field has historically been criticized for not being proactive, for only treating disease and not saying anything about how to prevent it.
(Ok, so I snipped it a bit, and others have had the same suggestions, but bear with me)
When I have a snack craving, these things just don’t do it for me. I bought an air popper once, and could sit down to a huge (literally theater-sized) bowl of it and consume the entire thing without being satisfied. Carrot sticks I can eat, but do not satisfy me. Don’t get me started on celery. I have not found one “healthy” snack that is convenient, does not spoil quickly, delicious, and usually salty. I would much rather grab a handful of Cheetos and be done with it.
I’m not a vegetable-phobe, my roommate is vegan and that’s almost entirely what we cook in the house, but eating an apple, carrot, orange, banana, etc. does not satisfy my snack cravings. I’d be open to suggestions, but I haven’t found anything that works for me.
–chaoticbear, who used to have a BMI of almost 39, and is now at 25, but is still out of shape.
Nuts? Peanuts? String cheese? Probably not “healthy” in large amounts, but they seem to “stick” better for me than vegetables as a snack, so I don’t need to eat so much in the first place.
Aren’t Cheetos and popcorn kind of the same thing, really, except for the orange powder?
I’d like to second this. I’ve met more than one doctor/dentist who seemed to have completely lost touch with the amount of money normal people have (or, even, the employment landscape). My dentist really wants me to have a complicated oral surgery/braces/implant combo to save a capsized tooth that is currently not causing any problems, but may cause problems down the line.
I am aware that my current plan may mess up the tooth above it. It could even cause bite problems. But how many different ways can I explain I don’t have $10,000+ to devote to a tooth? It’s humiliating.
Also, telling us to “reduce stress” is laughable. Unemployment is like 13% in my state. I’m glad you have an in-demand, portable six-figure job. Most people don’t. Most people can’t walk into the boss’s office and demand he lighten their load.
I friend of mine was complaining her doctor keeps doing the same, encouraging her to make a “lifestyle change” to reduce her stress level. Yeah, because being a single mother of two who’s been unemployed for almost a year was a lifestyle she chose for shits and giggles.
Let me tell you, there are times I’ll scarf a bunch of Cheetos (Orange Death™ to me) too! They’re good even if they do leave my fingers all orange.
Congrats on such a huge loss in your BMI! That’s really fantastic.
A couple of my patients told me the same thing and asked for some different kinds of suggestions. They were trying not to eat three meals a day, but smaller meals and snacks so I tried to look at keeping the calories less than 200-250 and yet contains protein. In some situations preparing the food makes it seem like you’re getting more out of it than just a grab-n-go snack, so a few of the suggestions need a little putting together.
Obviously these aren’t perfect foods, but they are better than most overly processed/fast food/chips choices out there. If none of these do it for you or you’re thinking in another direction, I’ve got more suggestions. 
Snacking isn’t bad! It helps keep your metabolism revved up.
[ul]
[li]A hard boiled egg[/li][li]A whole wheat English Muffin with peanut butter[/li][li]Apple slices dipped in about a tablespoon of almond butter[/li][li]One half cup lowfat cottage cheese with spices of your choice and a few veggies for dipping[/li][li]Two slices of low sodium turkey with a handful of grapes[/li][li]Small bowl of plain oatmeal with skim milk and berries[/li][li]Two to four tablespoons of hummus with veggie of your choice[/li][li]low fat Greek yogurt with honey and chopped walnuts[/li][li]One multigrain waffle (like a toaster waffle- Van’s All Natural is a good brand) with honey, berries or fruit preserves[/li][/ul]
But you know what, you can’t be perfect all the time. Sometimes it really does come down to just wanting what you want. You’ve lost a considerable amount of weight, so it sounds like you’re already making positive changes. For me, when I want some McDonald’s fries and nothing else will do, I just go ahead and get them but get a small. You have to reward yourself and you can always do a little extra workout.
That’s good, but calorie-wise and ounce for ounce you might as well be eating chocolate. Peanuts are the Devil’s invention and I have struggled many times with the fact that I can eat a quarter of a pound without slowing down. On a low-calorie diet, that’s half a day’s allowance just on casual nibbles.
I’m sticking with it, but the pounds want to creep back on if I give an inch…