when overeating isn't a cause of the weight

[EdithK]

Hi! I apologize if this is a dumb question, but a bit of searching Google for the answer didn't yield much.

If someone is 450lbs but has never overeaten- and simply has a body that processes food in a really extreme way- how does gastric sleeve surgery help them lose weight? I have a loved one who's been about that size his entire adult life, often eating less than most people. It seems that, generally speaking, gastric sleeve surgery helps people lose weight primarily by reducing their desire and ability to overeat- but if he's that size on 2000 calories a day (or less) anyway, how can the surgery help him?

He has risk factors for various complications- most notably, he won't be able to exercise after the surgery because he has an undiagnosed illness (that's probably/partly unrelated to his weight) that prevents him from doing so, so I'm worried about the possibility of blood clots. Between his inability to exercise, his relatively high BMI (~59), his age (45), and the fact that he's got some kind of undiagnosed illness that affects his heart rate, it seems like the surgery is fraught with serious risk for him, and I don't really understand why it's worthwhile since eating too much isn't his issue. Can someone explain? Are the effects on metabolism greater than the stuff I've been reading suggests? I know that initially after surgery people have really low caloric intake for a while, and I see why that would help (because even for him eating 800 calories a day causes weight loss), but over time doesn't caloric intake go up? He has said that he can eat 1200 calories a day and still be 400lbs.

[Ann2]

OK, I'll bite.

How do you know for certain that he doesn't eat more than 2,000 calories a day and that he cannot lose weight when he's eating 1200 calories a day?

[amt5298]

i know for some reason i was putting on weight and my doc tried everything to help me lose weight for some reason i to metabolize food in a weird way and dont lose weight but i eat 5 meals now that i am sleeve and never hit over 900 calories and i am losing weight from the surgery but i also walk for 45 minutes a day you can break that down to ten minute intervals to equal at least 30 minutes a day 10 minutes at a time aint much strain and doing it in short burst has the same effect as doing it all at once i dont know if this helps you with your question but i know the surgery has helped me and i burn food slowly myself which cause massive weight gain

[acnichols]

I think there is another component to the gastric sleeve. 85 percent of your stomach is taken away. So every individual is different. Ive often wondered why I gained so easily as well. I come to the thought there are those of us that have stomachs that absorb every single ounce and squeeze out every calorie out of the food we eat. Couple that with a slower metabolism and that means weight gain if you don't reduce calories. With 85 percent of your stomach gone I know wonder how much of the 800-1000 calories I really absorb. I would get him to go to a doctor a bariatric doctor and check it out. The hair loss thing that happens with this surgery is malnutrition plain and simple to me. So i do think the surgery would help him be successful. You are very correct to worry about him and the risks he faces with surgery. But you also must consider at 450 lbs he is in danger and faces risks that are just as serious. The most wonderful thing I tell every body is I eat. Good food healthy food and im on a plan I am on a eating schedule because I am very rarely hungry! I can eat small amounts of really healthy food and I dont even think about food anymore. That is the most amazing thing I cant even put to words how great that is. I have always questioned the calories in calories burned thing to. But now it is way to painful and nearly impossible for me to overeat. I feel just as full and satisfied as I ever did before the sleeve. It is a personel decision but in the time Ive been on this site I have seen everyone be sucessful and say its the best thing they ever did. It is rough at the start but gets so much better the farther you go along. Id start all over again if I had to. Not even think twice about it. I was at 362 lbs and I was dying. I just didnt know it . Well at least admit it. I am getting my life back. Thats the decision I made. I hope it helps with your friends decision. Yes I do think it will work. You just follow the plan the doctor gives you and everyday you start losing and feeling better. The previous blogger had a great idea about starting of with short bursts of exercise. Probably the way they should start anyway. Good luck its the best thing I ever did.

[Stacy'sSleevedLife]

I think I understand what your saying. I was sleeved 1/12/2013 by Dr. Quinones and have lost 123 pounds. I am not atypical person as I had pretty much burned my adrenaline glands out. I could fall asleep walking which I did 3 to 5 miles a day plus I worked 8 hours a day and walked as much as possible. I would always take the stairs, never the elevator. My caloric intake was under 1200 a day. With all this I was still averaging putting on 1 to 2 pounds a month for the last year before my sleeve. For me the sleeve changed my body in a way I cant explain, I don't know if it was the fact that I became so involved in the diet we live by pre & post-op or all the vitamins that I started taking but within a month my weight started melting off.

[christine53]

I didn't over eat all my life, just ate the wrong thing. Doesn't matter if you have the sleeve or not, if you eat the wrong stuff you will never loss or even gain. That's just the way I think of it. I think it depends on what you mean by over eating. 2000 May not be over eating. But if you do that everyday that 14,000 calls. A wk. instead 8 or 9. Makes a huge different. A cup or soup vs a cup of ice cream.

[ncubed03]

His health will improve just by having the surgery. I was basically diabetic before the surgery and I couldn't even tie my shoes without losing my breath. In days after the surgery, my blood sugar went down and has stayed down. My blood work has come back pristine and I have been in the best health of my life! I don't exercise a lot because of time constraints but I know I can when I want to and it's easy to do. He will lose weight and once he gets going, he will find he can exercise and he will start to enjoy his life instead of just marking time until the next health issue pops up. This was the best decision of my life and I will tell anyone to do it because it can and will change their life!

[missemily516]

Before surgery I was not an overeater, however my food choices were not good - I ate mostly salads and bread. I also have complications where I can't exercise. What I have found is that I have learned what to eat. I don't know how it works but for me I was not able to lose weight before surgery, even when I tried. Since surgery I still don't exercise, however after losing 120 lbs in a year I can and do move a lot more. I can walk without getting out of breath, and most of my health problems have gone away.