Kenna Morton's Journal, 21 Mar 19

I have Binge Eating Disorder and I do most of it after dinner. I do the nighttime thing to. It is terrible. I have been using DBT Distress Tolerance Skills to manage the problem. Why are you taking the class? 

ny_shelly— to answer your question about why I took this class—- as a nurse (or any kind of medical professional) we are required to complete continuing education courses forever. I took this obesity class because it is so relevant to the times we are living in. On a personal level I lost 5 friends to obesity related issues in the last couple of years. Heart attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes. All of them just had no willingness to deal with their growing obesity issues and paid the ultimate price for it. Ironically, I have had the occasion to mentor quite a few people on a weight loss journey over the last 30 years. Adults, one child, all very obese and several that were morbidly obese. They were all successful and over the years not one of them gained the weight back. Several of them have gone on to do amazing things with their lives as a result of their lifestyle change. I’m a retired nurse, but you never really retire. I am still deeply involved in the medical world and act as a patient advocate for many people that I know. So, education is important to me and I go to school continuously at the local state university. 

I'm definitely looking forward to the treatment strategies as I would have put a check mark next to every single indicator. As I continue to focus on balancing out my eating I have reduced the night time snack from a peanut butter sandwich with milk to a single babybel cheese but according to this it's still a disorder. I've made myself my own personal lab rat in that when I wake during the night if I just take another sleep aide it takes 2-3 hours to resume sleep. If I have the sleep aide and the cheese it's less than 30 minutes. So I struggle with 'healthy mind' vs 'healthy sleep' and would love the two to merge. 

Thank you so much for this! 

I’m glad the post was helpful. For this conference I had 3 workbooks to read that were 250-300 pages each. This is a complicated issue that is so much more involved and so much the product of psychological and emotional issues. The medical world is coming to grips with the concept that putting obese people on a diet is good and well, it may be successful for a period but for the high percentage of people long term success is rare. Thus the yo-yo weight gain and loss cycle. The other thing that scientist and medical people alike are struggling with is this idea that so many people are completely resistant to do any activities physically to help the situation. It seems to be a pervasive problem. They also know that there can be a genetic component to weight issues, but they don’t even want to go there with their patients because it is one more excuse people can use to not work on preventing weight problems to begin with or to help resolve them.. very complicated. I see here on FS people who constantly berate not only their doctors but the entire medical profession for being stupid, non- supportive. I wonder if anyone ever thinks about how hard it is to see thousands of people every year with obesity issues, yo-yo weight gains, non compliance . You can’t make people do what is right. You cannot make people get the help they might need for their underlying emotional or psychological issues that may be the root cause of their obesity. You can’t make people accept responsibility for opening the candy, little Debbie pkg, or chips container. It is always someone else’s fault for having suckered them in to Eating it. The blame game is endless. Meanwhile, there is no sure cure. Everyone just keeps doing the best with what they have to work with. Knowledge is king and can open the door to a better future. 

I think this goes back to your post on consciousness. For a lifelong obese person like me it seems we have the answers to be able to diet and lose weight for a couple of months or years but without constant retraining and awareness it's not going to stick. Erasing and reversing decades of bad habits may take just as long as it took to cement them.  

Did they give any information on success rates and if they are improving? Didn't we hit a small plateau a few years back on obesity at the national level? Did childhood obesity start there decline? I get the disease fatigue for the medical community. When people rail against the medicine, the medical professionals, and the companies I realize their is some component people really need addressed. I know statins have been one leg of CVD where we continue to see improvement. '01 through'10 in the US every state continued to climb in obesity numbers. Pharmacology doubled the statins issued, and cardiovascular disease dropped by 40%. Why people think there is a conspiracy is remarkable. Statins are just one component, we improved CCU units in the US, we continue to improve education on diet through the NLA and RN's have been instrumental as well as RD's in getting and giving people tools to better understand the disease. Yet, we have people who think statins are part a vast conspiracy between Big Pharma, medical field, and the government. Very strange indeed. 

Lack of physical activity is something so straightforward yet folks want to deny the need to move. 3 short walks a day after meals or snacks is a huge benefit. I know at our local Y we have PPA programs and folks there typically drop weight and start their support system. One guy, late 60's, dropped 32 in 16 weeks. 6 years ago and I still see him plugging away. PPA=Project Pounds Away. You make connections with people from 26 to 76, learn a few tips on nutrition, exercise and move more. You weigh in bi-weekly and discuss how things are going. Success rates seem to be there and this is just one program. People become more secure in their lifting and learning machines, techniques, different workout programs. Always fun with good instructors. 300+ men and women getting healthier. I loved those classes. 

You are right though you can't force people. The best we can do is encourage IRL and here on FS land. 

*300+* was the weight of many starting out. The folks who engaged the process did well and those who couldn't avoid their old foods reverted and failed most times.  

Terrapin12– to answer one of your questions. No, our obesity numbers are no better. Each year it gets worse and worse. Childhood obesity is on a constant rise. Death from obesity related cardiac events in children under 17 is on a continuous rise. Generational obesity and type 2 diabetes is on a rise. On a personal note, the youngest person I have cared for that came in full arrest to my ER from an obesity related cardiac condition was 12.. sadly no one has an effective answer to this problem. The world as a whole is getting fatter, but the USA is #1. I will write more on this later.