I've always been obese; I was overweight before I had teeth. But in the last year or so as I've entered menopause my weight problem has escalated.
Obesity is comorbid with a staggering number of conditions: Type II diabetes, several kinds of cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma, osteoarthritis, chronic back pain - all are dramatically more common among obese folks. Obese women are 12x more likely to have type II diabetes, 3x more likely to have coronary artery disease, almost 3x more likely to have chronic back pain than normal weight peers.
Over the next months I'll share my personal journey, along with facts on obesity and weight loss research. In return, I'd love to hear your stories and suggestions.
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It hurts to walk. It used to be occasionally; now it's getting to be all the time. I have osteoarthritis especially in my right knee and developing in that hip, and the load of my extra 110 lbs is aggravating the condition. If I don't do something now, I risk entering the downward spiral that begins when obesity wears on your joints, then gains momentum when joint pain makes you more sedentary contributing to further obesity resulting in more damage to the joints.
Stop the merry-go-round. I want to get off.
So how did I get here? Factors like genetics and metabolism play a big part, but there's no doubt that I eat too much of the wrong foods and I don't exercise enough. I'm an early adopter in this regard: I was obese before obesity became an epidemic.
The Obesity Epidemic: 3 pictures are worth 1000 words
Warning: the visuals that follow, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control, are downright frightening. In 1989, there were no states surveyed where more than 14% of the population was obese:
Just 10 years later in 1999, 44 states had more than 14% of the population reported as obese. In 15 states the percentage was greater than 20%.
Fast forward another 10 years to 2009 and the change is amazing: 1 state, Colorado, has less than 20% of the population obese (and not much lower - 18.6%). In 9 states, more than 30% of the population is obese.
What can we do about it? Well greater minds than mine are stumped by that, but there's strong agreement that the fix begins in childhood. Efforts like First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative are raising awareness (and hackles) but much, much more needs to be done. I wish I knew what.
For now though, I'll focus on a different question: "What can I do about me?"
Many of you know someone who has lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off. You also probably know folks like me: I've probably lost nearly 1000 pounds in my time. Unfortunately, they've been the same pounds over and over and over. Now health is becoming compromised: in addition to the joint problems limiting my mobility there's hypertension, high cholesterol and very probably sleep apnea - all co-morbidities of obesity. So I'm swallowing my pride, fighting down my "by your own bootstraps" mentality and investigating weight loss surgery.
Because I take daily oral steroids, the only surgery option for me is laparoscopic vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Done for years as the first part of a two step operation for folks too heavy to endure gastric bypass, it's recently been approved as a stand-alone for less obese folks, as it has been proven effective on its own. One reason is that the part of the stomach removed produces ghrelin, a chemical associated with hunger & appetite. Less ghrelin, less appetite.
Thankfully, I have excellent insurance. Empire Blue has a very generous medical policy on bariatric surgery, and my plan has a co-pay of just $300 for the surgery plus $35 for each office visit.
It still won't be easy. I'm sure you've heard the stories of bariatric patients who've gained the weight back - you can defeat the surgery. But success rates are higher with surgery combined with nutrition and exercise than with nutrition/exercise alone.
Let the journey begin.