One woman who had "done it all" including stomach stapling and was still over 300 pounds had electrodes implanted in her brain to simulate the feeling of fullness. One man did the whole diet and exercise route, one woman ate huge amounts of food while sleep walking. They had interviews of other people including David Kessler, author of The End of Overeating.
The woman with the electrodes was very hopeful at the end of the story, but I am not sure what a feeling of fullness will do to decrease cravings or eating when not hungry which many of us do. She was saying that she did not have her usual cravings and was eating healthier - so far. I hope they learn a lot from her willingness to try this experimental surgery.
The thing I frequently think about when seeing these stories, or when reading some of the weight loss forums (not so much the blogs) is that the focus remains so much on the food. What I can have, what I can't have. What I can substitute? Making mock versions of things that people love. It bothers me. It is like changing one addiction (unhealthy eating) for another (substitutions/mock food). When I tried a low fat diet many years ago, I did a lot of those things and the minute I tried real food again - I was a goner! Back to the real thing!!
I would really like to make my continued weight loss focused on how I am going to eat going forward. Make it about changing my awareness and habits and expanding my real food choices - including and all those things we are trying so hard to "mock up" in reasonable amounts and on occasion.
Something I did get out of the program; I am going to read Dr. Kessler's book - I keep hearing such positive things about it. So I am off to the library!
3 comments:
I am focused on food! I am sure there were times in my life where this was not the central theme of my days. Sigh.
You'll have to let me know what you think of the book. I saw the teaser for the show, but did not TiVo it.
Hi Susan,
Great post. I too have spent a lot of time focused on food and weight. Real change became possible for me after I began doing yoga. The awareness I developed in yoga carried over to other areas of my life, including my food habits. An important consideration is whether one's overeating stems from physical hunger or emotional hunger. I was an emotional eater so until I addressed that aspect, there wasn't a diet plan on the planet that could be successful!
I read Kessler's book and thought it was interesting. The overall focus was the lengths the food companies go to to make their food appealing to our desires for salt, sugar and fat. You can't really blame them I guess since they are in business to sell food!
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