Treatment of excess weight - the path to health and a beautiful body

What is excess weight

Excess body weight is formed due to the deposition of excess fat reserves, provoked by various factors. They not only violate the aesthetic picture, but also cause the development of pathologies of internal organs.

When considering the concept of excess weight, one cannot fail to mention the body mass index. It is the ratio of body weight, expressed in kilograms, to height in meters squared: kg/m². If this indicator is between 25–30, they are said to be overweight.

If its value goes beyond 30, this indicates obesity. It is divided into two types:

central, when excess fat is concentrated in the abdominal area. This type is considered the most dangerous, since it is it that provokes the occurrence of diseases of the internal organs;
pathological, develops as a result of endocrine disorders.

We should talk about obesity when the waist size in women is more than 82 cm, and in men - over 102 cm.

Depending on the amount of extra kilos, four degrees of the disease are distinguished:

I degree – excess weight is more than 29%;
II degree – from 30 to 49%;
III degree – from 55 to 99%;
IV degree – more than 100% of normal body weight.

John Minnock is recognized as one of the greatest people in history. Its maximum weight reached 635 kg. Naturally, the guy could not move on his own, and it took about 10 people to turn him over to the other side. Consequences: At the age of 37, John was hospitalized with heart failure.

It should be said that obesity has a detrimental effect on the entire body. Excess fat mass puts additional stress on the heart, resulting in hypertension, heart attack or stroke.

The musculoskeletal system also suffers greatly. Unable to withstand the additional load, hernias appear in the spinal column, and inflammation and deformation accompany the joints.

There is no need to talk about the digestive system. Cholecystitis, pancreatitis, cholelithiasis, gastritis, liver failure - all this tirelessly accompanies such people.

Obesity causes persistent metabolic disorders, which increases the risk of developing diabetes, and also provokes sexual problems. Death is usually a consequence of cardiopulmonary failure.

Where do the extra kilos come from?

There may be several reasons for weight gain. But still, the most common of them is overeating and a passive lifestyle.

The accumulation of fatty deposits occurs due to an imbalance between calories entering the body and wasted energy. In other words, the abuse of high-calorie foods, favorite sweets and flour products can easily provoke the appearance of extra pounds if the incoming calories are not burned in a timely manner.

For example, Michael Hebranco, whose weight at the age of 16 was already 160 kg, claimed that at breakfast he ate 12 eggs and a whole loaf of fried bread with jam. Moreover, this was only a warm-up, and real food followed. The guy claimed that he had a real addiction to food, like drug addiction or alcoholism. Its maximum weight was 500 kg. At this time, he consumed about 13 thousand calories per day.

Often, extra pounds are added as a result of disorganization of the daily routine. For example, a person returns late from work. During the working day, he would break in with snacks, and when he came home, he would have a full meal, but, as a rule, this happens at 9 or 10 o’clock in the evening. Calories come in and remain unutilized. An active lifestyle and sports training would help burn them. But unfortunately, not everyone manages to comply with this regime. Sedentary work, lack of time and simply laziness get in the way of a healthy life.

Banal overeating also almost always has its own reason. And, above all, these are stressful situations, strong shocks that a person seeks to eat. Thus, it has been established that victims of sexual violence subconsciously strive to eat more in order to hide their sexuality from prying eyes and no longer attract attention.

A person also tends to “eat up” his need for security, sensing a potential threat, or mistakes another emotion for hunger: excitement or disappointment. An individual, and more often a woman, cannot correctly interpret the feeling, experiences anxiety, but cannot connect it with anything.

Hereditary predisposition adds fuel to the fire if someone in the family suffers from excess weight.

On the other hand, obesity is caused by some internal disease. And in this case, obesity is secondary.

Endocrine disorders often provoke weight gain. First of all, this is hypothyroidism - decreased function of the thyroid gland and diabetes mellitus, as well as Itsenko-Cushing's disease, manifested by adrenal dysfunction. Other pathological conditions include: impaired enzyme activity, genetic diseases, pathologies of the heart and kidneys. Thus, the already familiar John Minnock, who was admitted to the hospital with heart failure and weighing 635 kg, had about 400 kg of his weight in fluid. It accumulated as a result of edema caused by cardiac dysfunction.

It has been established that certain groups of drugs also contribute to weight gain. These are glucocorticoids, hormone-based contraceptives, and psychotropic drugs.

One summer I was choosing a new outfit for myself in a store (as always, some kind of hoodie). And I saw a girl my age choosing an evening dress for herself. She looked beautiful: slender legs, toned butt, narrow, chiseled waist. And her boyfriend stood behind and timidly inhaled the aroma of her hair, while she did not notice it... God, how I wanted to be in the place of this girl!

That’s when I started dreaming! Someday I’ll muster up the willpower to lose weight and I’ll also become slim, someday I’ll be able to wear something other than trousers and not be embarrassed by my shape! Someday I will truly love myself! Someday I will allow myself to be happy and loved! Someday definitely... Stop. Why wait? Maybe the day and hour has come when I will make up my mind and become who I dream of being?

And the denial block immediately turned on: no, I can’t... I have to go on a diet, starve, drink only water! After hoodie shopping, I went home and thought about how I could do it so that I could lose weight and not go on a diet...

And a “miracle” appeared before my eyes: I saw a billboard advertising a new fitness center near my home. Don’t think: what a banality! At that moment it became my “Eureka”.

But I still resisted. "Well, I do not!" - I told myself. After all, I never liked sports. And what willpower is needed to lose weight! Then I bit myself for about 10 minutes for my weakness of will and finally made up my mind. Why not? What if it works?

Maybe the day and hour has come when I will change my life and open up to a new world that is so desired for me? A world where others will not mock me, but seriously call me a slender, beautiful girl! It seemed that sporting torment, shame and disappointment lay ahead of me.

But I still gave myself a chance...

Remembering the story from two years ago, I see a girl with low self-esteem who does not value or love herself. I see a man who is dressed up in a bunch of complexes and is afraid to meet something new and unfamiliar. I see a girl who doesn’t believe and doesn’t trust herself.

Thank God that the Internet is available to everyone. Thanks to him, I was able to find out what I needed to do, how to cultivate this very willpower to lose weight.

I started with a simple visualization technique. I made a “new” me: I cut out a shot of my face from my photographs, and from a glossy magazine I took the figure of the model whose body I liked the most.

You know, this process of “decorative and applied arts” caused me a lot of positive emotions. When the “new me” was ready, I hung the “photo” in my room above my bed and every day I looked at the one I so wanted to become.

The next day I bought myself a gym membership.

At first it was difficult for me to study. I won’t hide it: I’ve never been a fan of an active lifestyle. But there was an incentive: the photo of the “new me” that I saw in the morning and evening inspired me when I didn’t want to go to the gym.

I went to the gym twice a week - I needed to get used to physical activity. After two weeks I was already working out three times a week, and after a month and a half I no longer wanted to give up playing sports - after all, I saw tangible and unexpected changes that had happened to me!

“Now I will never give up sports!” - I told myself when I looked in the mirror. After 2 months I lost 4 kg. The joy from the first victory was indescribable! I saw the changes in myself that I had dreamed about for so long.

Further more. “No matter what happens, don’t stop – I can do it!” - I encouraged myself. And I decided to write what I want to be when I finally lose weight. My main rule was this: I need to write as if I had already lost weight, do not use the particle “not” in my affirmation, and clearly indicate the desired volumes and weight. Which is what I did.

Again, I hung the notes in my bedroom and read them whenever I had free time. You know, self-hypnosis can work wonders!

After a year and a half, I achieved my goal and became the person I always dreamed of being. I lost 29 kg. A couple of years ago I weighed 80 kg, and today I weigh 51!
When old acquaintances or neighbors see me, they are sincerely and greatly surprised at my changes. Women asked where I suddenly got the willpower and how they could lose weight if I didn’t have it.

Along with external changes, internal ones also occurred. My character has changed. I gained enormous willpower and self-confidence. Training gave me the opportunity to get to know myself better, meet people who lead a healthy lifestyle and think positively. Surprisingly, I began to think more about good things - and my life changed.

Now I love myself, often relax with friends and am not afraid of new acquaintances. Because I understand: I feel amazing and look great!

Relieving excess weight using non-drug methods

First of all, a person aimed at losing weight should adjust his diet :

reduce calorie intake;
fill the diet with vegetables and fruits, cereals, and protein. Exclude baked goods, fatty, smoked, salty foods;
between main meals, have snacks, but only with permitted foods;
drink more water – up to 2 liters per day. It promotes the breakdown of fats;
Arrange fasting days 1–2 times a week: vegetable, fruit, kefir days;
Monitor your weight daily using scales. Do not allow the values to increase by more than 3 kg. It’s also worth remembering that the weight may not start to come off right away, but don’t get upset, you just need to be patient.

But these are only general provisions. You can use them on your own if you want to get rid of a few extra pounds.

In case of obesity, when excess kilograms can reach 20, 30, it is better to consult a specialist, and specifically a nutritionist . The doctor will help you choose an individual diet, taking into account the condition of your body, and will develop a daily diet plan that will allow you to lose weight safely.

A nutritionist is a specialist in the field of nutrition who has information about each food element. He knows about the benefits and harms of a particular product, its calorie content, and the amount required for the body. The main thing is that the specialist has information on how to correctly combine products so that they bring maximum benefit to the body and enrich it with vitamins and minerals. He will create a diet taking into account the required caloric intake and select the optimal ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

In addition, it is worth understanding that if a person suffers from obesity, physical activity is initially contraindicated , otherwise the joints will be subjected to excessive pressure. Only after getting rid of a certain amount of kilos can you start training. In this case, it is better if the process is supervised by a specialist - a personal trainer. It will distribute the load without risk to health. Thus, by combining proper nutrition and dosed training, the process will move forward. And a positive result will definitely come.

An important stage in the treatment of obesity is psychotherapy . It helps to develop correct eating habits, teaches self-control skills, and changes the patient’s attitude towards food. Reveals to him the true reasons for food abuse.

If the reason for weight gain lies in external conflicts with the patient’s environment, psychotherapy will help to form new principles of relationships with society.

Psychotherapeutic treatment is especially important in cases of psychogenic overeating.

Vasilenko V.V. Why fat people don’t lose weight / www.gastroscan.ru. 2021

Authors: Vasilenko V.V.

Why don't fat people lose weight?

V.V.
Vasilenko Tatiana, Tatiana, Feed me. Give them water, feed them Selected food, cook dumplings, peas and ham. N.M. Oleynikov. Gluttony. 1932

Repeated attempts have been made to find out why fat people fail to lose weight. It’s interesting to hear the opinion of the fat people themselves. Here is how their answers to the 11 main questions of the questionnaire were distributed (Table 1). Note that only 60% of respondents realize that they are, shall we say, somewhat sedentary. The remaining 10 factors they cite as negative are related to food intake. Calculating calories, as you understand, can give us practically nothing in ordinary life situations. Changing the diet and nature of nutrition is a difficult and lengthy process.

Table 1. Percentage of Overweight Americans Who Believe They Can't Lose Weight Because... (From a 2004 summary from the American chapter of the International Low-Calorie Food Association.)

These people are essentially deceived by their own feelings of appetite and satiety. As a result of the traditional view of nutrition, they forcefully overeat from childhood and later on their own. It is not without reason that they say that a child cannot be persuaded to finish everything that is on his plate. People are losing their sense of proportion, and “measure is that which is not a burden” (Pythagorean golden verses, with commentary by the philosopher Hierocles). Feelings are controlled, as we know, by the brain, the central nervous system (CNS). And it is not without reason that the 2009 Congress of Diabetologists, which brought together more than 15 thousand scientists and specialists, awarded the prize for the best scientific achievement to a work called “How adipose tissue communicates with the central nervous system: new aspects.”

A person’s eating behavior is influenced not only by the feeling of hunger, but also by many external factors. For example, the duration of food consumption and the quantity eaten are determined not only by hunger, but also by many other things, including the habit of “eating on time”, the quantity and “appetiteness” of the food offered.

Very often we think not about how to satisfy our hunger, but about “what to eat.” Simply put, eating to maintain bodily health has been replaced by gluttony. (Synonym: gluttony, according to Ushakov’s Dictionary.) This is what they wrote about this phenomenon in those days when it was considered a very serious vice. “The glutton works and laments how to fill his belly with food, and when he has eaten, he suffers during digestion” (Efrem the Syrian, c. 306-373). “The womb is the most unfaithful ally in treaties. This is a storage-nothing pantry. If a lot is invested in it, then it retains the harm, but does not preserve what was invested” (Basily of Caesarea, 330-379).

So, the feeling of hunger is replaced by appetite, that is, the desire for certain food. The main elements of the “appetizing” of a dish include its appearance (and colorful packaging of the finished food product), smell, taste, consistency, temperature, method of preparation and serving. Under the influence of strong external stimuli, such as particularly tempting and plentiful food choices, almost everyone from time to time eats more than is required to replenish energy reserves. Physiologists say that eventually the mechanisms regulating energy balance are overcome, but the reasons for the persistent loss of biological regulation under the influence of external stimuli remain poorly understood. This is why it is difficult to find ways to prevent and treat obesity. The abundance of “weight loss” diets indicates that there is no ideal solution.

But our nature is also to blame, which, according to N.M. Amosov (Amosov N.M. My health system.), has, in principle, established an exaggerated relationship between the feeling of hunger and the need for food in order to protect the body from starvation. Other scientists say that overweight in humanity can generally be considered as a completely natural consequence of events that began millions of years ago. Man has become a victim of his own evolutionary success - by switching to a high-calorie diet, he has reduced physical activity and the amount of energy spent on it to a minimum.

Modern diseases are too often seen as the result of eating "bad" foods that are too different from the natural human diet. However, many of the diseases common today are not caused by changes in diet, but by changes in lifestyle.

In everyday life, an approach to nutrition that is not associated with calorie counting has shown to be effective (Table 2).

Table 2. Low-fat, hypocaloric diet. (Compiled based on the recommendations of the European Atherosclerosis Society.)

Naturally, there are also special diets of varying severity designed to reduce body weight.

V.V. Vasilenko. Sixty essays on digestion (recommendations from a gastroenterologist to patients) Back to section

Medicines for weight loss

With the problem of excess weight, it is better to contact a nutritionist or endocrinologist. First of all, the specialist will order an examination to determine the true cause of weight gain:

thyroid hormones;
blood glucose;
glycated hemoglobin;
level of lipid components, etc.;
the level of leptin – the satiety hormone.

After the examination, the doctor develops treatment tactics. In certain cases, it may include medications. If there is an underlying disease, it is treated with specific drugs.

But there are special means aimed at reducing body weight:

to suppress appetite;
to reduce fat absorption;
affecting carbohydrate metabolism;
affecting the saturation center in the brain.

It is not recommended to use such drugs on their own, as they have a wide range of side effects. Many of them are prohibited from official sale. There is a narrow list of such medications that are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.