Bariatric Surgery

[OneWithWood]

Excellent work LeeB!  Now you are inspiring me to get back on the loosing pounds train.  Seems I always get side tracked during the colder months  :

[doctorb]

This was posted on a total knee replacement thread.  It outlines what I tell my patients about calories, exercise and weight loss.  Just FYI.  Seemed to fit this conversation as well.  Again, Congrats to LeeB.


Here's a little Q&A I go through with my patients.  If you want to skip it, the take-home message is that while exercise can help you lose weight, you don't need to turn into a gym rat to do so.

"How many calories in one pound of fat?"  Answer:  "I have no idea"

The answer is that there are about 9 cal/gram of fat....and there are 454 grams in a pound.  Roughly speaking, that's about 4000 calories in a single pound of my spare tire (I usually grab it now to make the point.)

"How many calories do you burn if you run a mile?"  Answer: "I have no idea."

The answer about 100 calories.  And it doesn't matter whether you run a mile or walk it, it's still about 100 calories.  The calories burned seem to correlate with distance, not speed.

"How far is Washington DC from Baltimore?"  Answer:  "I have no idea."

The answer is about 40 miles.  So I show them that walking from my office in Baltimore to the Washington Monument would burn about 4000 calories.....only one pound of fat!  (40 miles  X 100 calories / mile = 4000 calories.)  They are shocked to realize that a 40 mile walk only burns one pound off their weight.

Now, let's look at exercise....If you walked 5 miles/day, How many calories would you burn?  Answer:  500  (5 miles X 100 calories / mile.)

If you walked 5 miles every day for a week, How many calories would you burn?
Answer:  3500 (7 days X 500 calories / day)

Doesn't that figure sound pretty close to the 4000 calories stored in a single pound of fat?  So....ideally:

If you could eat 500 calories less than you burn up every day (and that figure varies for each of us), you would be at minus (-) 3500 calories for the week.  If, in addition, you could walk 5 miles /day, you would be at an additional minus (-) 3500 calories for the week.  Total those two methods and you would be at minus (-) 7000 calories for the week, and, using the 4000 calories per pound estimate, you would lose between 1.5 and 2 pounds per week.

The point is that you don't have to exercise to lose weight.  Many of my patients have injuries and disabilities that will not permit them to walk 5 miles per day.  But through a change in dietary intake, we can make a steady dent in our universal problem of being overweight.  But exercise does increase the amount of calories you burn, and exercise has tremendous other health benefits besides burning fat.  Many patients tell me they can not lose weight because they can not exercise. That's when they get this little lecture and hopefully they benefit.

[LeeB]

I fully concur Doc. I haven't done any exercise per asy and have lost about 85 pounds so far. I will say I am more active now than before just because I can get around better but no structured exercise. It's all been by changing what I eat.

[customsawyer]

Sounds like you are changing what you don't eat. :D Great job Lee, keep up the good work.

[LeeB]

MAde it to my next milepost. Down to 250. Next goal will be a little easier, only 5 lbs this time. That will put me at 100lbs lost.  30 more pounds to go right now to reach my final goal.

[Raider Bill]

Outstanding!!!

I need some of your resolve.

[OneWithWood]

Keep it up Lee! I know you are going to get to your goal.

[Chuck White]

You've done fantastic, Lee!   smiley_clapping

[Roxie]

So happy for you!   8)

[WDH]

I know that you have to feel better. 

[LeeB]

I do feel much better. Imagine having a teenager strapped around your belly and carrying that around every move you make. I can even see my feet now.  8)

[Magicman]

You make me proud my friend.   

[LeeB]

 8) 100lbs lost. 25 more to go. Next goal is 235. At 245 now.

[OneWithWood]

Woohoo  8) 8) 8)

[Magicman]

I saw some pictures of you at the "Project".   You are doing a good thing for yourself.   

[sprucebunny]

A big congratulations  8) 8) 8)

Hope you will have a big steak to celebrate 

[LeeB]

Actually, I eat steak now. I just eat a moderate amount of it instead of 16 oz. at a time.

[Ron Scott]

Well done! Great job!

[LeeB]

Finally made it to 235. The losses have really slowed down now. Still slugging away at it though. I had a bit of a cancer scare this week with a metastasized squamous cell cancer under the skin on my left check. It was removed and a P.E.T. scan for any more cancer turned up negative. I truly believe that all the weight loss contributed to the good results.

[Magicman]

The losses may taper off a bit Lee, but your adjusted lifestyle and eating habits will continue to pay dividends.  Stay the course my friend. 

[LeeB]

Still slugging away at it. Now down to 230. 10 more pounds to go. Went to the doc to get my 6 month check and blood work done for prescription refills. In his words my "blood work was fantastic". He took me off of blood pressure meds. I've also been able to stop using my c-pap for sleep apnea.

[Chuck White]

Wow, You're really doin' it Lee!   8)

Congratulations.

Nice report from you Doc.

Proud of you, my friend!

[sprucebunny]

That's great news, Lee  8) 8)

I'd call it a real success story 

[LeeB]

The doc told me he thought I had probably lost enough weight but I still want to try ang get to my original goal of 220 lbs.

[OneWithWood]

You are an inspiration, Lee!