Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 551169)

Golly. AND Boy Howdy. Celebrities are a different breed indeed.

Originally Posted by Villages PL (Post 551500)

What sets them apart? They certainly have an incentive to maintain their looks and vitality. There's a lot of competition in show business. Although some can be fat if they play fat characters, most of them need to be at the top of their game.

Whether or not their healthy lifestyles will spread to the general population is highly doubtful. People generally need big incentives. For example, looking for a mate. I have seen many mate-seekers go on health "kicks" to lose weight. After they get married they go right back to their highest unhealthy weight. Funny thing: A man and a woman I know both did the same thing. They both lost weight. A few years after marrying (second marriages) they both got huge again.

:)

Originally Posted by Geewiz (Post 551237)

This is probably TMI – but, I actually know quite a bit about this.

For folks who were of average weight for most of their lives; but, who failed to adjust their caloric intake/activity level as their metabolism changed due to age, the success rate of diet/exercise, while relatively low, certainly justifies the effort. Certain medication can help. Groups, like Weight Watchers, help.

Remember, it is possible for anyone to lose weight – even large amounts – for a short period. You need to examine success rates on studies that follow patients for at least 5 years. Also, every time you diet and lose a lot of weight, that comes with a price. Successful dieting actually changes your metabolism so if you regain the weight, subsequent dieting is much harder to achieve the same result.

No one said life is fair.

For the chronically obese, diets and exercise rarely work for the long term. I come from a family where everyone is chronically obese. And it is not due to behavior. I was raised in a totally separate home and far away from my half brothers. Daddy had bad genes and we all grew up fat.

My ex-wife used to always wonder how I could be so large (5'8” and at one time 375) while eating so little. Daddy died a bad death due to diabetes which I developed. I decided things had to change (BTW – I did the medically supervised starvation diet in college and lost over 100 lbs...that lasted 4 years).

After a bunch of research, I found that studies showed that the only real option for the chronically obese is a gastric bypass (Roux-n-y). Lap bands don't have the same success rate and duodenal switch surgery is really, really risky (it is probably why Jessie Jackson Jr. is at Mayo..but, he had one and his chronic depression is likely a side effect of malnutrition).

For me, I lost 155 lbs (from 375 to 220) regained 55 lbs due to bad behavior related to the divorce and now have lost 25 lbs since the divorce (so down to 250) and as the weight is slowly coming down again I think 200 is a reasonable goal.

More upsides...no more diabetes, normal blood pressure and great cardiac numbers.

There are big costs...I can't eat a normal sized meal. I fill up way too quick. Eating can hurt. There is also another issue that comes with gastric bypass that is way too much TMI. Also, I have to take lots of vitamins and have regular blood chems drawn.

Also, loosing weight quickly will introduce you to the wonderful world of kidney stones and gall stones (the latter I avoided because my gall bladder was already full of stones so they removed it during the roux-n-y...a $6000 upcharge).

Also, I might have to have a body lift....but, I won't consider it until finally done losing.

I am sharing all this stuff, because there is a great deal of misinformation in this thread. We have such goofy issues concerning size in this country and most of the stuff you read is absolute nonsense. Indeed, fat is the last OK prejudice.

Lastly, for those considering surgery – you need to doc shop carfully. Trust me – you want it done at a major research/university hospital. You want it done laparoscopically by a doc that publishes his findings and has performed this surgery thousands of times. You need to ask tough questions..the first being how many have died and how often have you been sued and had to settle.

Originally Posted by Villages PL (Post 551500)

What sets them apart? They certainly have an incentive to maintain their looks and vitality. There's a lot of competition in show business. Although some can be fat if they play fat characters, most of them need to be at the top of their game.

Whether or not their healthy lifestyles will spread to the general population is highly doubtful. People generally need big incentives. For example, looking for a mate. I have seen many mate-seekers go on health "kicks" to lose weight. After they get married they go right back to their highest unhealthy weight. Funny thing: A man and a woman I know both did the same thing. They both lost weight. A few years after marrying (second marriages) they both got huge again.

:)

Originally Posted by zcaveman (Post 551627)

How many of these celebs actually stick to a diet? According to my reliable sources - GLOBE and ENQUIRER - they go on a binge diet and then go back on their binge eating sprees.

Using a celeb as a role model for diets is a useless venture.

Z