Obesity researchers discover NPY page

[peril]

Why obese people don't lose much weight when they diet

[emmie]

That didn't make too much sense because he says that 'fad diets' don't work but the thesis seems to be that all diets don't work, and he concludes that weight loss must be 'over a long period of time' but doesn't specify time.

I lost about 200 lbs after a lifetime of morbid obesity---and I rarely lost more than one pound a week. But I LOST, so although the body may work against fat loss (as is claimed here), it's possible with some effort. I have been maintaining this loss for almost 2 years.

When I read weight-loss boards, I find that most people are looking for some 'effortless' plan that allows them to eat their favorite junk foods. They soon give up and proclaim that they have some 'metabolic dysfunction' that makes it impossible for them to lose weight when the reality is that they are not committed to losing intelligently.

I understand that the body fights weight loss--and I've found maintenance to be even more challenging than losing, as my body seems intent on re-filling those fat cells. I'm not saying this is easy, but nothing worthwhile is achieved without commitment and effort.

[LauraSB]

When I read weight-loss boards, I find that most people are looking for some 'effortless' plan that allows them to eat their favorite junk foods. They soon give up and proclaim that they have some 'metabolic dysfunction' that makes it impossible for them to lose weight when the reality is that they are not committed to losing intelligently.

Yeah, the whole diet-o-sphere, including reports like the article posted just annoy the heck out of me. People "love" their pasta, "love" their yummy Dunkin Donuts coffees, "love" their french fries. When you "love" something that is slowly killing you, you are an addict. And even though addiction almost always has a physical component, addicts don't get better until they get their head in a different place. It's part of the reason that weight loss surgery fails for so many people. There's no reason to think that a new drug would be any better.

I'm not unsympathetic, because I was obese for over 20 years and I remember how hopeless it felt. But once I started to believe the only thing wrong with me was in my head, eliminating the crap from my diet and reducing my total consumption became completely manageable. Initially, I lost 2.5 lbs a week and then 50 lbs in 6 months and it wasn't that hard. I'm discovering that my metabolism is probably a little faster than average for a woman my age. It just couldn't handle a steady influx of processed, sweetened foods.

So, yeah, screw NPY.

[pauleen_faye]

Thanks for sharing the link. The article is very informative. By the way, have you heard about this small recent study which found a statistically significant amount of difference between the way doctors in obese patients? Many say that the bigger problem with this lack of empathy on the doctors’ parts is that when patients don’t feel like their doctors empathize with them, they are less likely to go to the doctor when they feel ill. In the long run, this could mean that more serious ailments aren’t attended to in a timely manner.

[MEversbergII]

Professor Herzog said with obesity being a major epidemic in the community, researchers have found it challenging to find ways of tricking the body into losing weight because of NPY.

I don't like the wording here. "Trick" the body into weight loss? Why do we talk about our bodies as if it were some thing that works against our will, and requires deception to overcome?

M.

[eKatherine]

I don't like the wording here. "Trick" the body into weight loss? Why do we talk about our bodies as if it were some thing that works against our will, and requires deception to overcome?

Because when you're eating a diet that is 60% processed carbs, that's the only way to lose weight, even temporarily.

The conclusions are based on the unstated presuppositions.