Obesity Surgery has High Risks

A new study has found that four out of every ten people who undergo weight loss surgery experience complications within half a year. Many of these complications are so serious they have to go to emergency rooms.

The average cost of the surgery and six months of follow-up is $29,921. But for patients with complications that require re-admission to hospital, the average cost is $65,031.

Past studies found that ten to twenty percent of people had problems after the surgery. But this study done by federal researchers found that forty percent had complications within 180 days of surgery. The most common ailments include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal hernias, infections, pneumonia, respiratory failure and leaking of gastric juices.

Fitness Goal: Muscles

Fitness Goal: Muscles

Sometimes the main goal of a fitness program is not weight loss, but rather a healthy and muscular body frame.

In these pictures, Aaron Ferguson weighs only five pounds less in the 'after' photo. In the before photo, he weighs 166 pounds and has a body fat ratio of seventeen percent. In the after photo he weighs 161 pounds but his body fat ratio has been reduced to an unusually low six percent.

Aaron was able to transform his body into a supremely muscular frame within only twelve weeks. This wasn't done primarily for appearances sake. In the process he cured the pain in his lower back (due to sacral joint problems). He had thought he would need a spinal fusion but his intense fitness program fully cured his back pain.

In the process he has become a muscle man extraordinaire. See here.

Losing 120 pounds in One Year (South Beach Diet)

Jennette (the 'Pasta Queen') has lost more than 120 pounds in just over a year. She has 90 more pounds to lose to get to her goal weight. She started out at 372 pounds in November 2004 and now weighs 249 pounds. Her height is 5'9".

She follows the South Beach Diet and works out on a treadmill five times a week. She doesn't recommend the South Beach Diet for everyone, but it has worked very well for her.

Hers is one of the most authentic and aesthetic sites I've come across in the personal weight loss story online world. She is a web designer by training, and this really shows in the beautiful and interesting presentation of her web site. But she is also an honest and excellent writer.

I really enjoy her 3D progress update photos. You can drag on them, and see her progress in terms of side, front and back photos. She writes about her weight loss experience on a regular basis, and each Saturday she tells us her new weight, regardless whether it is up or down. It's a very inspirational story.

She just noted on her site that she ate way too many chocolates over Christmas but managed to lose weight that week anyway. In her last post, she is selling a pair of size 28 black dress pants on eBay.

Check out her wonderful site atHalf of Me.

Enjoying Huge Success with a Low-Carb Diet

Jimmy Moore had an amazing year in 2004. Over the course of that one year he lost 180 pounds. He did this with an Atkins Low-Carb diet. He started right on New Year's Day as a New Year's Resolution and didn't look back. At the beginning of 2004 he weighed just over 400 pounds. By the end of the year he was down to his goal weight of 220 pounds.

But the success didn't stop there. He also started a blog called "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" about his dieting experience and this experiment has seen a huge uptake in reader numbers. He started the blog in April and the growth of his audience has been incredible. By the month of November, he was getting more than 20,000 monthly page views.

He's also written a 188 page book which was published less than two months ago. Check out LIVIN' LA VIDA LOW-CARB: My Journey From Flabby Fat to Sensationally Skinny in One Yearat Amazon.

Angela Hefel Lost 163 Pounds

Angela Hefel lost 163 pounds with the help of Weight Watchers. At her heaviest she weighed 297 pounds and suffered from knee and back pain. Her height is five feet and three and a half inches.

She's the one on the left side (and left insert) of the People Magazine cover pictured here.

She initially joined Weight Watchers in late 1998 and it took her a year and a half to lose 115 pounds. At this point she reached a plateau and tried to maintain the weight loss but gained some of it back. In the summer of 2004 she returned to Weight Watchers and lost another 70 pounds by March 2005. Her total weight loss from her heaviest weight is 163 pounds.

Hefel is 38. She's a school teacher and has been getting lots of public attention for the past few months. In October she was interviewed on ABC's "The View" where she talked about her weight loss. And in early December People Magazine came by for a photo shoot. Hefel will be featured in People's Magazine January 9th special double issue "Half Their Size" about celebrities and regular people who succeeded in their weight loss goals using healthy diet and fitness regimes.

If anyone reading this knows Angela Hefel and could persuade her to do an interview here, I would be so thrilled! I guess the diet part of her weight loss was following a strict Weight Watchers plan. But I think a lot of people would be keen to know what her exercise regime was for that last seventy pounds.

Update January 1st: Angela's husband has just left a comment below. She is on her way to New York today to be on Tuesday's Good Morning America. He thinks she won't mind answering some questions for us. If you've got any q's about her weight loss, please leave them below. I have three questions:

1) In 2004 when you decided to try to lose the last seventy pounds, what was the spark that ignited this decision and made it stick?

2) People Magazine says you initially joined the Weight Watchers 'Flex' plan and started walking three miles about four times per week. What did your exercise regimen consist of when you rejoined a few years later to lose the last seventy pounds?

3) The photos of you in People Magazine are extremely attractive! Is there a chance we could post some of your real-life photos (that haven't had the benefit of professional photographers) on this site?

Thanks so much! I think a lot of people will be looking forward to hearing more about your inspiring story.

The Mayo Clinic Diet - Healthy Weight Loss

The Mayo Clinic Diet program is based on healthy eating and sustainable weight loss. It's not a rapid way to lose weight. Rather it's a very healthy way to lose weight and keep it off for the long term.

The main aspects of their weight loss program is encouraging people to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. They call it 'low energy density' and it means you are eating a lot of bulky foods that have few calories. This will help make you feel full and these foods are very nutritious, so it will help you in all aspects of your health, not just with weight loss.

Last week, the Mayo Clinic teamed up with eDiets.com to make their weight loss program available on the eDiets website. If you subscribe to this plan on eDiets you will get weekly personalized menus, charting and results reports, do's and don'ts for losing weight and other personalized online advice.

But you don't need to subscribe to the plan to benefit from their basic recommendations - just try making vegetables and fruits a large part of your total diet. See more about Eating More to Lose Weight in a previous post here.

The Best Diet is One that Suits You

Researchers have found that the most successful diet programs are ones that appeal to the people trying them out.

The director of Obesity Research at Tufts-New Medical Center recommends that people consider a broad spectrum of choices when they consider a weight loss program.

He notes that of the 8,000 successful dieters in their survey, the majority listed "my own diet and exercise regimen" as the most effective strategy they used. Only nineteen percent of the successful dieters had attended a commercial weight loss program and only about thirty percent had looked at one or more diet books.

Source: ConsumerReports.org

Cathi Lee's Story - Losing Three Hundred and Thirty Pounds

Cathi Lee has lost 330 pounds over the past three years.

Her weight loss program consists of giving up on junk food and exercising. She had no help from a doctor or dietician but she did a lot of research on healthy weight-loss before starting her program.

She is 5'4 tall and used to weigh 500 pounds. Now she weighs 170 and fits into a size 12 petite.She was so obese that she couldn't exercise at all in the first year.

She lost 90 pounds in that first year by changing her diet only. Last year she started exercising by walking just a quarter of a mile a day. After greatly increasing her walking routine over that year she joined a gym in October 2004. By October of 2005 she completed a 26 mile marathon in six hours. (Update: to be more precise, I believe her marathon finishing time was six hours and six minutes.)

The focus of her successful diet is lots of vegetables and fruits, with fish and chicken being the main proteins.

People Magazine interviewed Cathy Lee in October and just took some photos of her to feature in their December 30th upcoming edition. I guess this edition may have a New Year's Resolution weight loss focus. It should be available at your local supermarket by December 29th.

Update December 28th: Cathi Lee was interviewed on NBC's Today show today. If anyone knows if this info is available online somewhere, please comment below.

Update December 29th: Thanks much to Stacy Meyer Jochem. She is Cathi's marathon training partner and she left a note here telling us where we can see the interview with Cathi Lee on MSN.COM. (See her comment below).

As well today I notice People Magazine has just announced their "Half Their Size" issue. It's a special-double issue that will be on newstands for two weeks beginning tomorrow. The focus is on how famous celebrities and regular people have lost their weight. The stories discuss healthy weight-loss and don't include examples of surgery, fad diets or diet pills.

What I find really interesting about Cathi Lee's story is that she did her own research and is following her own unique diet. It would be great to know more about her daily eating plan.

Update January 15th: Cathi Lee will be interviewed on ABC's Good Morning America tomorrow morning.

Knee Pain Caused by Being Overweight

If you suffer from knee pain and are also significantly overweight, consider trying to lose the weight before taking more drastic steps such as knee surgery.

Losing weight can help people who suffer from knee arthritis. The extra weight is putting stress on your weight bearing joints. If you know your knee pain is due to arthritis, than losing weight may cure the condition. Several studies have shown this to be the case.

For an example of one man who was considering knee surgery but lost fifty pounds in twelve weeks instead (via a change in diet and exercise) and cured his knee pain, see a previous post here on Michael Becker.

Your doctor would be the best person to consult about this, but I would think that before opting for knee joint surgery, most people should probably consider weight loss (if overweight), increased appropriate exercise, glucosamine and/or the wearing of an unloading knee brace.

Unloading braces ('valgus knee braces') were developed about ten years ago and are often recommended to people who have knee pain due to osteoarthritis. To the extent that they can help reduce pain they can also be used by people who want to exercise in order to lose weight but find it too painful to do so because of knee pain.

Addicted to Food - A Quiz

Do you feel you have a food addiction?

Do you think about your weight or about food constantly? Do you find yourself trying different diets regularly with no long-term success? Have you ever wanted to stop eating and couldn't?

These are three questions on a list of twenty devised by the people at Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous. If you answer yes to any of these questions you may be a food addict. You can take their food addiction quiz here.

FA is based on similar principles as Alcoholics Anonymous. They hold regular meetings in dozens of cities. Many people find the program very effective. It is helpful to be in the company of others who are struggling with addictive eating and to share experiences and mutual support. FA is free and does not involve weigh-ins at meetings. Membership is open to anyone who wants help with their food addiction. For more info, check out the nearest FA meeting venue in your city.

Michael Becker: Before and After Pictures

Is it really possible to change ones appearance so much in only twelve weeks? Here is Michael Beckers 'before' photo and an 'after losing 56 pounds' photo. He initially weighed 280 pounds and now weighs 227 pounds

His body fat ratio went from 27.4 percent to 8.8 percent. He lost 56 pounds of fat and gained three pounds of muscle. He is one of the six finalists in the running for a one million dollar prize in theBody-for-Life Challenge. The winning candidate will be chosen in the second week of January 2006. See the six finalists here.

Update January 13th: The million dollar winner will be announced tomorrow. My bet is on Michael Becker.

Update: I guessed wrong. The winner was Aaron Ferguson.

Losing Weight: Before and After Pictures

If you've started losing weight and you need a little more inspiration to keep going, this is a fun diversion you may find interesting. These are some examples of virtual models at 'before' and 'after' weight loss.

The example model above is 5'7". Here we see her picture at 220 pounds, 190 pounds, 155 pounds and 135 pounds.

You can try this out for yourself to see what you might look like if you weighed less. You can design your own model at the Land's End website and specify a hairstyle, general body shape, nose, mouth, face shape, skin color and hair color. Enter your weight and height and see what you might look like for each ten pounds that you will lose.

The examples above are a 6' tall man at 260 pounds and at 190 pounds. The woman in the middle is 5'4 and 200 pounds versus an after picture of 120 pounds. The last female is 5'7 and 221 pounds versus 130 pounds.

Losing Sixty Pounds in Nine Months - A personal story

Kim Ayres has lost 66 pounds over nine months. And he has written a very interesting blog about his experience. His weight loss story is not finished yet. It sounds as though he would like to lose at least another 45 pounds.

He has a very engaging, modest and whimsical writing style. Here's an example;

When I was a teenager I used to fantasize about having my own pair of breasts to play with. Now, as an overweight, middle-aged man, I seem to have them - and it’s not as much fun as I thought it would be.

He doesn't say how tall he is but he does tell us he weighed 19 stone and 9 pounds when he started his weight loss routine. I've no idea what that is in pounds.

Kim is not on a diet. He doesn't believe dieting is the way to long term weight loss. His secret has been to switch to wholesome foods and cut out all processed foods.See his story here.

Welcome to Isadora's Weight Loss Stories

Thanks so much for visiting my site. I've written about my personal experience with weight loss (post pregnancy) here.

My main goal here is to search the web and come up with inspiring stories of weight loss success. I hope to highlight at least one great success story per week, hopefully more. Some of the stories will focus on celebrity weight loss but most will be about regular people who have discussed their weight loss online.

If you know of any inspiring examples of successful weight loss, please let me know.

Kristie Alley's Dieting Success

Kirstie Alley started a highly publicized weight loss program with Jenny Craig in December 2004. Less than one year later, she says she has lost over fifty pounds.

There is a lot of talk online by people questioning if she was honest in stating that her heaviest weight was 219 pounds. She does look much heavier in some of the earlier photos given her 5'7" frame.

Kirstie Alley was recently a guest on Oprah's show. She looked fabulous even though she said she would like to lose another thirty pounds. To me she looked incredibly gorgeous for someone who is 54 years old.

The Jenny Craig program says they recommend a weight loss of one to two pounds a week. This sounds like a very reasonable goal to me, much more realistic than all the ads you see for losing nine pounds per week.

The above are two photos of the slimmer Kirstie at last week's Oprah show. The paper models in the background are an approximation of how she looked about a year ago._________

The first picture above is Kirstie Alley on the set of Fat Actress. The photo was taken by Randy Tepper of Showtime about a year ago. The other two photos are from Oprah's show in November 2005.Update: December 31st: Kristie Alley is rumored to be dating Al Pacino. Pacino is 65 years old (and still very dashing). I wish them great joy in their relationship together. She has not dated anyone for the past five years. Update: March 2006: this turns out to be an unsubstantiated rumor.

Update: Happy Birthday to Kirstie Alley as she turns 55 this year. She was born on January 12 1951.Update June 17th 2006: In Touch Magazine is reporting Kristie has reached her goal weight ahead of time and has lost more than 69 pounds.

Update June 29th: Kirstie Alley is on the cover of People Magazine, July 3rd edition. Here she says she has lost 71 pounds and would like to lose a further fifteen and wear a bikini on TV.

Update July 10th: Kristie Alley is on the cover of New Zealand's Woman's Weekly. Here she says she now weighs 67kg (148 pounds) and says her heaviest point was 100kg (220 lbs).

Update November 6th: Here she is! This is today's shot of Kirstey Alley in a bikini on Oprah's show. She looks fabulous but it looks like she's put on a bit of weight since the last time she was on Oprah? I'll post the video clips here as soon as they are availalbe.