Me and My Brain

I have been talking a lot about how I feel that my brain is not wired correctly for survival in the Twentieth Century.  Now it looks like there is research being done out there that  proves my point.  

Carol Poe always had believed her weight issues were controlled by the brain, so in spite of the risks she enthusiastically agreed to participate in  Dr. Don Whiting's study of deep brain stimulation.  This is a surgery that is commonly used to treat Parkinson's.

On February 3, 2009, Dr.  Whiting, associate professor of neurosurgery and co-director of neuromodulation, did brain surgery on Carol to study the procedure's effects on obesity.  Although the prospect of brain surgery scares people, Whiting said the procedure is not as dangerous as it seems.  "Deep brain stimulation like we've been using for Parkinson's disease has a 1 to 1.5 percent chance of a serious complication such as bleeding, stroke, coma or death," he said. "Compare that to gastric bypass surgery, which has a 4 to 5 percent chance of a serious complication happening."

Not to mention the fact that gastric bypass surgery has no effect on hunger or the metabolism, both of which are addressed by deep brain stimulation, Whiting said.

The doctors of Ruby Memorial Hospital hope the procedure eventually will be widely available for obese patients like Poe who have made every other effort to lose weight.

See, I am not crazy.  I think I feel another surgery coming on!

Feed Me! I'm Hungry

Okay.  This may be in bad taste, but as somebody recovering from a food addiction, it just really made me laugh!  Just click on this and enjoy!

Feed Me!  I'm Hungry!

Hard Wired to Eat

I may have discussed this before, but it has become such an issue for me as of late, that I am blogging about it again.    Over the last few months I have stared to put weight back on.  This is to be expected.  All gastric by-pass patients begin to increase their weight after the first 1 1/2 years.  It has to due with the fact that the pouch has stretched out. thus accommodating more food, combined with the fact that most people begin to feel sensations of hunger again.  In my case, it has to do with the fact that I have also developed a "grazing" style of eating.  Basically I eat really small portions and I eat all day long.  The end result of this behaviour it that I am consuming way to many calories.

I began to do some research into the proper amounts of food intake.  My research reminded me, yet again, of how ridiculous the Canadian Food Guide is.  It asks people to consume way to much food in a day.  My research also lead me to understand the importance of creating muscle when exercising.  So, with this information in hand, I have tried to reduce the number of times I graze in my fridge and  increase the number to times I go to the gym with my modified routine which now incorporates weight training.  "So what is the problem?" you may ask.

The problem is that, in spite of the gastric by-pass, my increased knowledge and my desire to maintain my weight loss, I just can't stop eating!  I am not saying that I am binge eating again, rather I am just eating really small amounts of food every couple of hours and the accumulation of all that food results in my overeating!  I am so frustrated!  

I recognize that my  brain is not set up for our 20 century constant access to food.  (I would thrive as a Neanderthal!) I understand that I am hard wired to eat.  But even armed with this knowledge, I just can't seem to control my food intake.  I cannot believe how angry, frustrated and scared I am right now. I idea of gaining my weight back is terrifying.

So, yet another day goes by, where I resolve to do better, acknowledge each small success and try not to beat myself up with each failure.