General

Losing weight is probably one of the unhealthiest things you can do. One out 171 people get down to "normal" size and actually succeed. Everyone else ends up gaining more than they lose. Some people have to avoid certain foods, like sugar, fats or salt. Look up "health at every size." If you can't stand being told to lose weight, then gaining on purpose is not for you.

I have known a lot of people who have had WLS, unfortunately some died from it. But those who did not, regained the weight. There is no long term method to lose weight and keep it off. Of course, everyone is free to try if they want. And everyone if free to believe that WLS works. But I have yet to see it.

Don't be FORCED by doctors. They are there to assist you live your life. Obviously they are going to advocate health, they are doctors.

You need to accept a fact that being obese will reduce your health, activity and lifespan.

How much it badly affects you physically is controlled by a number of factors, some of which you can control.

As a fat person you need to work out a compromise or trade with yourself between your health and your enjoyment of being fat.

Some people want to live the healthiest possible life at the healthiest possible size. We're not those people. Some people want to keep growing as fat as possible until it kills them, that's some of us.

If you like being fat you're going to be dealing with doctors giving you a hard time about weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. Even if you are very healthy and fat they will nag you about your BMI.

Ultimately you are responsible for how you live your life, you don't have to please other people unless you need their support.

The medical profession has it backwards with blood pressure. High blood pressure is a symptom of a problem not a cause. A fire engine attending a fire is a symptom of the fire not the cause.

If blood pressure is high then it needs to be. Perhaps blood is not reaching important parts of the body and the body increases pressure to compensate. Clearly reducing blood pressure would be like pulling the fire engines from a fire.

Your body needs plenty of salt. If you have more than you need then you just wee and sweat it out. If you have less than you need then your body chemistry goes wrong and you get inflammation and high blood pressure and many other problems. In order to digest food your body needs the chlorine from salt to form stomach acid. Without strong acid you get acid indigestion and undigested food in the gut making you fart.

Part of the problem with obesity is the life threatening but well meaning advice from people who tell you that salt is bad. If you have health problems and you're not even obese then you probably eat plant fats rather than animal fats. You probably drink skimmed milk rather than whole milk. You probably think soy products are healthy.

A good way to reduce the need for high blood pressure is to put a lot of epsom salts in your bath water and soak for an hour. If you only have a shower then get a spay bottle of magnesium salt and spry it on your skin.

If you use a blood pressure meter you should be able to bring your blood pressure down first by calming yourself and secondly using the magnesium salt. What you must not do is take drugs to force down your blood pressure, that's worse than using leaches to drain blood. That is unless your blood pressure is so high it's actually causing blood vessels to burst.

Do some wide reaching research. Get to actually know your own body. Don't let doctors dictate to you, it's amazing how stupid most of them are (I know from bitter experience). Be in charge of yourself.

Amaretta,

You advised her to cut down on salt. I disagree.
You advised her to do what her doctors advise, I disagree.
Dairy fat and meat fat is better than vegetable fat. Olive Oil and Avacados are OK but the biggest source of vegetable fat are cooking oil and margarine type spreads which are terrible.

I advised her to do her own deep research where as you advise her to do what her doctor says. Your advice could get you into trouble since you're not advising her to make up her own mind.

When there are doctors maiming and killing people all over the place and their oath of do no harm has gone out the window it would be terrible for someone to simply do as their doctor said.

Someone advised a friend to get surgery for her carpel tunnel syndrome. Then the advisory said, "sorry I can't write anymore my hands still have not recovered from my carpel tunnel surgery".

Seriously the best advice is to listen to what people say, research it then take responsibility for your own decision.

For example I am saying doctors are idiots and maim and kill people all the time. Research that, see if there is any validity to that. What do people on forums say about blood pressure medicine or statins?

The opinion of a layperson (regardless of any "deep research" they do, whatever the hell that means) is not equal to that of a doctor who has devoted many years to just learning enough to be able to legally practice at all. I love this fetish, but I'm not anti-science. People are not obligated to make the healthy choice or listen to their doc, but they should at least know what they're doing.

I've also seen "health at every size" mentioned in this thread, and that upsets me. That's crossing the line from fat positivity to anti-science and bullcrap. It's no different from the anti-vax crowd. We have to accept that health risks are just something that comes with this choice in lifestyle, and that's okay!

My opinion beats my doctors opinion on me.
This should be true for anyone.
People should not believe doctors without doing research. Believing people gives them the power to lie to you, which they will.

It is not anti-science to demand scientific proof of science. You are wrong if you suggest that science is something we should all believe. No one should believe a scientist since that's the total opposite of science.

Health is always a compromise since we all die in the end. The idea is to optimise your life to get the most of what you want from it. This is not always what the doctor thinks you should want.

The healthy at any size is relative. You can be fat and healthy but perhaps not as healthy as you'd be if smaller.

George,

You almost get me but accuse me of things which are not true. I am not anti-science as a source of knowledge, I am anti-science as a religion. People here seem to be advocating belief over reason and research.

I am not giving you my research for a very good reason, that you should do your own. I am not advocating my anecdotes but stating that I have my own knowledge on the subject rather than just second hand knowledge that I am expected to believe.

When I give advice I always say go and research it yourself.

I am not giving you reasons why I think doctors are idiots since those are private and personal. If you are honest and have had serious contact with the medical profession you would agree they are idiots. You say fallible which is a half hearted way of saying they f-up.

So for the 3rd time don't call me anti-science just because I don't simply *believe* those people who I am supposed to consider better than me.

If you think science should be done by trained scientists only then you are a brainwashed sheep.