Day: February 14, 2024

I have never had a big problem with weight. I am larger than I was in my younger days when I might have been described as being skinny, but much smaller than many of my contemporaries. I remember a time when I was so thin that I felt unattractive. I had a difficult time finding clothes small enough to fit without looking as though they were limply dangling on a coat hanger. I actually celebrated when Twiggy came along and made my childlike figure popular. On the day that I married I was five foot six and one half inches tall and weighed eighty eight pounds. I did nothing special to be so svelte. It was just the way I was.  

After the birth of my first child my weight languished in the one hundred ten pound range. A second child sent me ramping up to one hundred twenty pounds where I stayed without any effort until my late forties. That’s when I finally had to take precautions with my eating and force myself to exercise more. Little by little my weight increased in small increments that added up and I began to understand those who struggled to keep the pounds from leading to obesity. I eventually learned how to stabilize and manage my weight so that I don’t tip the scales into a health danger zone. iI takes a bit more effort that I was accustomed to using for most of my life, but I can do it without feeling starved. 

My brothers and my husband have not been as fortunate to have bodies that seem to regulated themselves as well as mine does. Maintaining a healthy weight was a struggle for them as it is for many people. One brother told me that he was always hungry for most of his life. It was as though his brain constantly sent him signals that he needed more nourishment. He would think about food both day and night so curbing his consumption was a battle of wills. He said that he never felt full and sometimes even woke up in the middle of the night thinking that he needed to eat. Eventually he had surgery hoping to curb his appetite and suddenly he felt like I always have. He lost weight and kept it off. He finally ended those incessant feelings that he needed food when he should have been full. 

Recent studies have proven that my brother was not just making an excuse for his obesity. Researchers have indeed found that we have hormonal sensors in our brains that tell us when we have satisfied our need to eat. For some people this system does not work the way it should. Those souls have unusual cravings for food that literally haunt them all of the time. On the other end of the spectrum are people who get messages that they have eaten enough when they have not. Most of us are somewhere in the midrange that keeps us eating properly. 

Now in addition to weight loss surgery there are medications injected into the body on a weekly basis that essentially jump start the normal processes that tell us that we have had enough to eat. People using those drugs report that they feel normal for the first time. Food is no longer an obsession for them. They lose the excess pounds and then stay in a healthy range like I have been able to do. For them it feels as though a miracle has happened. Every aspect of their health is better. Blood sugar levels and blood pressure readings go down. They have more energy and feel younger. They look better and feel confident. 

We have had a tendency in our society to blame obesity on laziness and gluttony when now we are learning that in many ways the urge to overeat occurs because of a faulty mechanism that is supposed to curb appetites. It seems that some of us have the good fortune to remain at healthy weights mostly because our bodies are working just as they should, not because we are somehow better than our heavy counterparts. We take feeling full for granted when the evidence is now showing that the mechanism for insuring that response does not always work as well as it should. 

The American Medical Association is excited about the implications of the weight loss drugs that are proving to be a panacea for people who have struggled to feel normal for years. They are literally urging insurance companies and even Medicare and Medicaid to cover these drugs. They insist that the effects of weight loss that such medications produce will revolutionize our healthcare system. In fact, there are even beliefs that they may work for people with other addictions as well. 

We have all known people who can consume food with the most voracious eaters and never gain a pound. I used to be that way and my father-in-law still is. He is as thin as a rail and yet he is able to consume more food than either my husband or I do in a single day. He eats a very large breakfast each morning and then consumes lunch and snacks until the evening when he enjoys crackers and cheese with his daily intake of wine followed by the same dinner that we all eat. He follows his last meal of the day with cookies or candy or ice cream and yet he stays incredibly thin. I maintain a reasonable albeit more average weight while my husband is much heavier than either of us. If I were to quantify each person’s consumption of food I would have to say that my father-in-law eats the most, my husband is slightly behind him and I definitely eat less than either of them. Because I purchase and dispense the food I know what each of us consume. We are indeed a study in how different bodies react to very similar amounts of food. 

I appreciate that researc

I have never had a big problem with weight. I am larger than I was in my younger days when I might have been described as being skinny, but much smaller than many of my contemporaries. I remember a time when I was so thin that I felt unattractive. I had a difficult time find clothes small enough to fit without looking as though they were limply dangling on a coat hanger. I actually celebrated when Twiggy came along and made my childlike figure popular. On the day that I married I was five foot six and one half inches and weighed eighty eight pounds. I did nothing special to be so svelte. It was just the way I was.  

After the birth of my first child my weight languished in the one hundred ten pound range. A second child sent me ramping up to one hundred pounds where I stayed without any effort until my late forties. that’s when I finally had to take precautions with my eating and force myself to exercise more. Little by little my weight increased in larger and larger increments and I began to understand those who struggled to keep the pounds from leading to obesity. I eventually learned how to stabilize and manage my weight so that I don’t tip the scales into a health danger zone. it takes a bit more effort that I was accustomed to using for most of my life. 

My brothers and my husband have not been as fortunate to have bodies that seemed to regulated themselves as well as mine did. Maintaining a healthy weight was a struggle for them as it is for most people. One brother told me that he was always hungry. it was as though his brain constantly sent him signals that he needed more nourishment. He would think about food both day and night so curbing his consumption was a true battle of wills. Eventually he had surgery hoping to curb his appetite and suddenly he felt like I always have. He lost weight and kept it off. He finally sated those feelings that he needed food when he should have been full. 

Recent studies have proven that my brother was not just making an excuse for his obesity. Researchers have indeed found that we have hormonal sensors in our brains that tell us when we have satisfied our urges to eat. For some people this system does not work the way it should. Those souls have unusual cravings for food that literally haunt them all of the time. On the other end of the spectrum are people who get messages that they have eaten enough when they have not. Most of us are somewhere in the midrange that keeps us eating properly. 

Now in addition to weight loss surgery there are medications injected into the body on a weekly basis that essentially jump start the normal processes that tell us that we have had enough to eat. People using those drugs report that they feel normal for the first time. Food is no longer an obsession for them. They lose the excess pounds and then stay in a healthy range like I have been able to do. For them it feels as though a miracle has happened. Every aspect of their health is better. Blood sugar levels and blood pressure readings go down. They have more energy and feel younger. They look better and feel confident. 

We have had a tendency in our society to blame obesity on laziness and gluttony when now we are learning that in many ways the urge to overeat occurs because of a faulty mechanism for curbing appetites. It seems that some of us have the good fortune to remain at healthy weights mostly because our bodies are working just as they should, not because we are somehow better than our heavy counterparts. We take feeling full for granted when the evidence is now showing that the mechanism for insuring that response does not always work as well as it should. 

The American Medical Association is excited about the implications of the weight loss drugs that are proving to be a panacea for people who have struggled to feel normal for years. They are literally urging insurance companies and even Medicare and Medicaid to cover these drugs. They insist that the effects of weight loss that such medications produce will revolutionize our healthcare system. In fact, there are even beliefs that they may work for people with other addictions as well. 

We have all known people who can consume food with the most voracious eaters and never gain a pound. I used to be that way and my father-in-law still is. He is as thin as a rail and yet he is able to consume more food than either my husband or I do in a single day. He eats a very large breakfast each morning and then consumes lunch and snacks until the evening when he enjoys crackers and cheese with his daily intake of wine followed by the same dinner that we all eat. He follows his last meal of the day with cookies or candy or ice cream and yet he stays incredibly thin. I maintain a reasonable albeit more average weight while my husband is much heavier than either of us. Because I purchase and dispense the food I know what each of us consume. We are indeed a study in how different bodies handle very similar amounts of food. 

I appreciate that researchers are learning more and more about how each of our bodies handle our consumption of food. I like that evidence is demonstrating that the heavier people among us may be that way because of a faulty system rather than some flawed personality trait. We have condemned heavy people and celebrated thin ones far too long. Perhaps one day we will be able to help everyone find that feeling of fullness and satisfaction that seems so normal but does not always exist for so many. Maintaining a healthy weight should not be as painful as it is for so many among us. Scientists may have found the fountain of youth in a drug that sets them free to be healthy and energetic like me. I wish the best for them. 

ers are learning more and more about how each of handle our consumption of food. I like that evidence is demonstrating that the heavier people among us may be that way because faulty systems rather than flawed personality traits. We have condemned heavy people and celebrated thin ones far too long. Perhaps one day we will be able to help everyone find that feeling of fullness and satisfaction that seems so normal to people like me but does not always exist for others. Maintaining a healthy weight should not be as painful as it is for so many among us. Scientists may have found the fountain of youth in a drug that sets those who are overweight free to become healthy and energetic like me. I wish the best for them. I hope this is truly the miracle that they need.