Obesity Discussion Forums

[Merle]

Obesity Clinic TLC- Inside Brookhaven

Has anyone else watched this TV show? I saw it again after seeing it a while back and I wanted to comment how the doctor puts everyone on a 1200 calorie weight loss diet. Is it me or shouldn't each diet be catered to the individual?

In this last show former WWF wrestler Val Puccio was struggling to lose weight and it was amazing to see someone so big! 6'9" 600lbs at his most!

[Irving]

that is one big person! i did not see the first episode but will look for more obesity clinic TLC shows.

[fr1endly2]

I agree that diets need to be custom tailored for different people.
BUT i guess the standard american heart assoication uses the basic
standard calorie diets still to this day........

I have seen the show once. I am a big fan of big medicene which airs
before it in my area.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by fr1endly2

I agree that diets need to be custom tailored for different people.
BUT i guess the standard american heart assoication uses the basic
standard calorie diets still to this day........

I have seen the show once. I am a big fan of big medicene which airs
before it in my area.

Especially for someone 6'9" 600lbs, a 1200 calorie diet is not nearly enough IMO. That's starvation. I too prefer big medicine on TLC by a wide margin.

[cardinarky]

I really enjoyed the Brookhaven episodes. From what I have learned over on the Reality TV forums, this show aired in 5 or 6 parts originally back in May of this year. I really enjoyed the show myself. I was surprised to see the number of people on the forums who outright hated it.
They felt that the Dr. was simply exploiting Medicare/Medicade and had no real interest in weight loss programs.
I found the psychology of each patient at Brookhaven incredibly interesting. If you had asked me 6 months ago how may people in this country weighed more than 600 pounds, I would have guessed less than 50.
The show is bringing out the fact that there are 1000's of people in this condition around the country who are bound to their homes and are not seen.
We have an outright epidemic of obesity in this country and I feel Brookhaven brings that to the table and public conscience.
There is another clinic in Ohio that also has programs for the (Eric Cartman term) mega-obese. It again shows a snapshot of what is really going on in our society.
To me the shows are great motivators to continue. They show what can really happen.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by cardinarky

I really enjoyed the Brookhaven episodes. From what I have learned over on the Reality TV forums, this show aired in 5 or 6 parts originally back in May of this year. I really enjoyed the show myself. I was surprised to see the number of people on the forums who outright hated it.
They felt that the Dr. was simply exploiting Medicare/Medicade and had no real interest in weight loss programs.
I found the psychology of each patient at Brookhaven incredibly interesting. If you had asked me 6 months ago how may people in this country weighed more than 600 pounds, I would have guessed less than 50.
The show is bringing out the fact that there are 1000's of people in this condition around the country who are bound to their homes and are not seen.
We have an outright epidemic of obesity in this country and I feel Brookhaven brings that to the table and public conscience.
There is another clinic in Ohio that also has programs for the (Eric Cartman term) mega-obese. It again shows a snapshot of what is really going on in our society.
To me the shows are great motivators to continue. They show what can really happen.

+5 internets for South Park reference.


I do agree on the epidemic, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were more than 10,000 people in the US who weighed over 600lbs. I think a lot of these shows are serving as an eye opener to many; it's just too bad all these obesity programs took so long to get started.

[pissyinpa]

I watch this show every time it is on. I realize that I was that out of control of my eating too. I had weight loss surgery. I also had thyroid cancer at the same time and WITH dieting and Exercise I lost a total of 55lbs after all that pain I went through for the bariatric surgery- it was NOT worth it (if you have any notion that this weight loss is related to that surgery in any way, let me assure you that surgery was 9/03 and since about 2yrs out I can eat anything... a whole whopper, fries and a 6 piece nugget.... anything I am ashamed to admit).
It wasn't until December of this past year, a trauma that came out of left field and MANY MANY books on why we eat and OCD and addictions and co dependency... that it finally started to dawn on me.
I read the NO FLOUR, NO SUGAR DIET by Dr. Gott and it all made sense to me.
I disgust myself now, looking back on cramming that garbage into my face! I have a hard time feeling sorry for anyone that allows themselves to get into that shape either. When you hit a certain weight where suddenly you can't get out of bed or walk to the bathroom.... what makes you go eat more???
1200/1500 or 1800 is MORE than enough food to live on. The point of NOT feeding them more than that is so their bodies get enough food to keep them from going into starvation mode and forcing their bodies to eat it's own stored fats! That isn't starvation if you are eating correctly. Besides, what they are complaining about isn't the amount, it is WHAT they are being served. They don't like it. It is tasteless. Skinless baked chicken, fish probably 3-4 times a week, 2 cups of no starch veggies, cup of boullion, limit bread, fried foods/fats and sugar out of the diet. And what do they order out? Fried foods, greasy chinese, and gelatto...laden with sugar.
I say that is a 75 bed facility that you have to go through a lot to get into. There are people that would do anything to get in there for help. If it were a clinic for drug or alcohol abuse how long would that cheating be tolerated? I get so infuriated that they are doing that with the food. I say if they are caught they get 1 and ONLY 1 warning. You gain weight, your guest gets caught sneaking food in they are banned, you get caught with even crumbs on your chest you are gone. I am now reading book after book on addiction and OCD and co dependency to learn more about myself. I see that they have strict regiems but being a bariatric weight loss failure, I believe that until you understand WHY you do what you do we will all end up like Michael Hebranko. He did it, with Richard Simmons he went from 1000 pounds to an almost too thin weight. Now 20 yrs later back in Brookhaven and up to over 700 pounds again. How did he end up like that? BECAUSE HE NEVER ADDRESSED THE ISSUE, THE ADDICTION, THE REASON HE MUST EAT TO DULL SOME PAIN, FILL SOME VOID, SILENCE SOME HURT. We all have a reason that we are eating to such excess. I love when people attack me when I say that, but that is the bottom line. You don't just go out and decide "wow, my life is going too good, I need to go start some overwhelming addiction today. I won't care how embarrassed it makes me, I don't care how it degrades and humiliates me to have it. I don't care at what cost financilly, health wise or with my family. I am going to eat, drink, smoke, do drugs (et al) till my health is ruined and my life is put at risk. Yep, that is what I am going to do today".
I hope that while in Brookhaven they must go under psychotherapy or they will NEVER come to terms with their addicitions. I feel that should be a pre requsite for bariatric surgery too. My opinion only but I really think until we address WHY we are addicited no manner of diet, exercise or thinking is going to change the problem we all share. An addiction to food.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by pissyinpa

I watch this show every time it is on. I realize that I was that out of control of my eating too. I had weight loss surgery. I also had thyroid cancer at the same time and WITH dieting and Exercise I lost a total of 55lbs after all that pain I went through for the bariatric surgery- it was NOT worth it (if you have any notion that this weight loss is related to that surgery in any way, let me assure you that surgery was 9/03 and since about 2yrs out I can eat anything... a whole whopper, fries and a 6 piece nugget.... anything I am ashamed to admit).
It wasn't until December of this past year, a trauma that came out of left field and MANY MANY books on why we eat and OCD and addictions and co dependency... that it finally started to dawn on me.
I read the NO FLOUR, NO SUGAR DIET by Dr. Gott and it all made sense to me.
I disgust myself now, looking back on cramming that garbage into my face! I have a hard time feeling sorry for anyone that allows themselves to get into that shape either. When you hit a certain weight where suddenly you can't get out of bed or walk to the bathroom.... what makes you go eat more???
1200/1500 or 1800 is MORE than enough food to live on. The point of NOT feeding them more than that is so their bodies get enough food to keep them from going into starvation mode and forcing their bodies to eat it's own stored fats! That isn't starvation if you are eating correctly. Besides, what they are complaining about isn't the amount, it is WHAT they are being served. They don't like it. It is tasteless. Skinless baked chicken, fish probably 3-4 times a week, 2 cups of no starch veggies, cup of boullion, limit bread, fried foods/fats and sugar out of the diet. And what do they order out? Fried foods, greasy chinese, and gelatto...laden with sugar.
I say that is a 75 bed facility that you have to go through a lot to get into. There are people that would do anything to get in there for help. If it were a clinic for drug or alcohol abuse how long would that cheating be tolerated? I get so infuriated that they are doing that with the food. I say if they are caught they get 1 and ONLY 1 warning. You gain weight, your guest gets caught sneaking food in they are banned, you get caught with even crumbs on your chest you are gone. I am now reading book after book on addiction and OCD and co dependency to learn more about myself. I see that they have strict regiems but being a bariatric weight loss failure, I believe that until you understand WHY you do what you do we will all end up like Michael Hebranko. He did it, with Richard Simmons he went from 1000 pounds to an almost too thin weight. Now 20 yrs later back in Brookhaven and up to over 700 pounds again. How did he end up like that? BECAUSE HE NEVER ADDRESSED THE ISSUE, THE ADDICTION, THE REASON HE MUST EAT TO DULL SOME PAIN, FILL SOME VOID, SILENCE SOME HURT. We all have a reason that we are eating to such excess. I love when people attack me when I say that, but that is the bottom line. You don't just go out and decide "wow, my life is going too good, I need to go start some overwhelming addiction today. I won't care how embarrassed it makes me, I don't care how it degrades and humiliates me to have it. I don't care at what cost financilly, health wise or with my family. I am going to eat, drink, smoke, do drugs (et al) till my health is ruined and my life is put at risk. Yep, that is what I am going to do today".
I hope that while in Brookhaven they must go under psychotherapy or they will NEVER come to terms with their addicitions. I feel that should be a pre requsite for bariatric surgery too. My opinion only but I really think until we address WHY we are addicited no manner of diet, exercise or thinking is going to change the problem we all share. An addiction to food.

EXCELLENT first post!! Very thoughtful and intuitive! I do agree with a lot of what you say, and would also like to throw in that many people are misinformed about clinics like this, weight loss surgery, etc.

These are all temporary solultions. Part of the requirements for weight loss surgery are that you change your eating habits before and after the surgery. I always wonder, if people cannot control their eating habits before the surgery, how will things all of a sudden change after the surgery (thinking long term). Of course in the short term your appetite is substantially lower, but overtime that can and will go up if you don't change your eating habits.

[pissyinpa]

I thank you for the compliments.
When I had my obesity surgery, it was still the "new" bariatric surgery. I belive the old one was a radical biliopancriatic surgery where most of your large intestine was removed. This caused diarrhea the rest of your life. I thought that was a small price to pay if it did happen, and occasionally, if I eat too much fats I dump still. (NOTHING worse than being in public and that happening too...) BUT the point was, we were told it was a "tool" did we listen, nah, we went out to dinner as soon as we could eat as a group and tested the waters, pushed the limit, how dare anyone tell us we couldn't eat what we wanted and still lose weight. Most did. I had other medical problems that cut that idea short, but I still tried. I have a friend that just lucked into a dr willing to give her a revision on her stoma (the hole going into the pouch). No drs want to do it because of the rate of reciditivy (did I spell that correctly? The rate of failure basically). Her pouch was fine but gorging on foods that weren't chewed enough, the bolus was so big that it got forced through the stoma (this is why they tell you NOT to drink while you eat) and stretched it out. She could eat what she wanted, it dumped into her pouch and went right on through her. She is not losing like she did first time and when the nutritionist told her what he expected her to get down to she balked at him. Now she has hit a plataue (she was 400 first surgery and had all kinds of leg problems, bad ones. She lost down to 229 and she couldn't eat fast enough to get back up there as soon as she could. Honestly I don't remember the exact date but her first surgery , was 2003 I believe. She whines that her legs hurt so she doesn't want to walk. She can't swim because she got MRSA - antibiotic resistant infection- and has had a port to drain the fluids and pus since 1 month after her surgery May 3rd of this year). I was not required to start a new diet before, then her 10yrs later, never mentioned it to me either. Did we listen how other people met and exceeded their goals. NOPE. Know why? The issues WHY we were eating like that were never addressed. I believe that in my heart. Something drives you to abuse yourself. There were nights, I sat in front of the tv after everyone else went to bed- pre op and post op - and stuffed food in my face, that I didn't really want but HAD to have. I HAD to have it! Was there a nutritional reason, no. I would be crying while I was eating it. Like someone was forcing me to do it against my will with a gun to my head. To this day, I can't tell you why.
I just knew, when I got the bomb dropped on me 2hrs before Christmas eve, that I had fought too hard for a second chance at life, to keep living it the way I was. I am starting to see patterns that happened in my life and how I always turned to food. I still crave crap that isn't good for me, too fattening and not nutritionally worth eating.... but I am determined not to fall into that trap. I can get by now adays with a taste of something. If I have to have it that bad I take a bite and hold it in my mouth and let it dissolve. Before I would have wolfed down the whole peice and not really tasted it. Sometimes I will eat half of a slice of pizza when the kids are having it but honestly, now just the bite dissolving inmy mouth is enough. I just needed the taste.
I have had many bad habits/addictions (according to one of the books I was reading about addictions two things are pretty common. 1. we all have a form of OCD, not necessarily like Monk with rituals, but the COMPULSION to eat. and 2. most of us have more than one addicition.... smoking, drinking, porn/sex, drugs.... there are all types of addictions if you are really honest with yourself.) and managed to break all except the addiction to food. I would lose some weight and then put it right back on plus some. I am determined to break the cycle this time. I wish they would talk more about the plans they put the people in Brookhaven on. I want to know if there is psychological counseling and how often they get it? How much physical therapy/exercise do they get? I wonder if they ever sit in their rooms and do the exercise on their own when they aren't "required" to do it? Do they see how large they are, what they really LOOK like? My friend that had the revision was always 40 or more pounds heavier than me and saw herself at my size or smaller!!!
I wonder if they have the opposite of that body dismorphia that anorexics have??? Is that possible? I would like to know what diet they use at Brookhaven. How often they are seen by a dr and do ALL of them end up getting the bypass surgery eventually? I looked up Brookhaven, and what comes up is the hospital, not the clinic and BOY do they push the bariatric surgery!!!
Did anyone see the special about the 1,000 pound man that went back to Mexico and chose the Zone Diet instead of weight loss surgery?
I thought that was great. He is giving himself a shot at learning to do it different. Will he stick to it? I hope they give us updates on him. Will he end up thinking it is too hard and going for the quick fix? Maybe if he did both? I just know if I had kept going the way I was going I could have easily been one of those people at Brookhaven.
Looking forward to hearing from other people that have gone a medical route to lose weight, Via dr. ordered specific diet, inpatient care at weight loss clinic, treatment at an addiction clinic, whatever. Want to know if you learned anything during your treatment that helped you in your weight loss effort? Thanks for having me and hoping to learn a lot from you all......