Weight loss

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bee Varga on June 6, 2008 at 7:54am

I don't think you could get intrinsic satisfaction from this unless a patient is extremely dedicated. People believe in quick-fixes and are not going to put elbow grease into it. If I tell people that I do 45 miles of running a week, 3hours of cycling, I am a raw-foodist vegan and I am keeping off 3 stones which I would gain in a few weeks on an ordinary diet and decrease in my sport activities they book a liposection. For me diet makes no big difference. As long as it is healthy and supplies all the nutrients one needs and does not include much junk, it is fine. People have to activate themselves.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Clement Rhein on June 6, 2008 at 7:02pm

Damn! I might get a liposuction myself :-)

I definitively agree that calories output is key. Exercise is good for all body systems: musculoskeletal (healthy tone and support), neuro - to coordinate, respiratiory + cardio (acute demand), and endo - increase in metabolic rate - increase energy output.

However, the interesting bit is the "healthy" you mentioned regarding diet. Coz your healthy will most probably be different to someone else's healthy.

For me, i know that certain foods bring about imbalance in the body's physiology (therefore energy use/storage). Loads of patients/people I meet do not eat healthily in my opinion, but then i have more to learn in nutrition, much more, which is the aim of this little discussion i guess...

When I speak about diet to my patients its never ever quick fix, its life long, or so. I find that more often that not they are interested. i think that's simply because I make it always relates to health rather than just the looks.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mary on July 3, 2008 at 12:20pm

I have a different thought... why is this that people find it so hard to stick to a lower calorie intake, to exercise regimes? Is it because our biochemistry changes to protect us from starvation? Is it because we are out of shape and it's difficult to make those first steps with weak and poorly coordinated muscles? I think something is missing from this equation, and that is the psychology and psychosomatics (if I must give technical names) of the body.

Osteopathy teaches reciprocal structure and function, and the interrelatedness of the body through the nervous system, as far as I understand it. So, for example, you can get low back pain from food poisoning, or get stomach upset or low back pain from anxiety, or anxiety from an injury. I'm currently reading Bodymind by Ken Dychtwald, and from what I've read so far the size (and other characteristics) of the body is the individual's personality and personal history just as much as what they say and think is. Therefore, to reduce size it follows that there must be major attention to personality, psychological, psychosocial and psychosomatic factors. There should be psychotherapy, if necessary.

In fact, if I was being argumentative, I might go so far as to say that it is a waste of time (even damaging) to try and reduce size by the "energy in/energy out" model. What you are trying to do is change someone's personality without addressing any of the relevant factors therapeutically. It's like putting someone in prison to stop them vandalising the streets: as soon as they are let out they'll just go back to what they were doing before because you haven't addressed the root cause.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Clement Rhein on July 3, 2008 at 2:20pm

Yeah babe yeah!

i totally agree. i got that from "the secret" myself. Its a psychological thing in itself, so psychological help should probably not be needed, even though some people do need the extra help. I've also noticed what you said with certain experiences I've had:
A friend I truly respect told me he can feel people's emotions (which is well known in the osteopathy teaching (ESO at least) that this is possible). The fact that he opened my mind to that actually made it possible for me to do it, because I believed this skill actually was accessible to me (and didn't need 25 years experience...). I have since been able to play with this skill (with patients and others). I have more examples of this.
This made me realized that "if you think its possible, it is possible". This is a general rule and I don't know its limits. i don't think its possible to fly for example, but then, what do i know? The thing is that you have to believe in it.

Back to the weight thing, if you look at yourself in the morning and see someone fat, then you'll be that. If you see someone well toned bla bla, then you'll be that. I've experienced that myself with minor changes, its real interesting. Basically, what limits us is our mind. This is the same with osteopathy, and medicine. If you think you can only help people with back pain, then that is true. If you think you can help whoever comes through the door, then that's also true.

Osteopathy teaching gives us the reassurance we need in this world to understand the body and understand how osteopathy can work so that osteopathy does work. Some people help their patients even tho they didn't do any "medical/healing type" studies.

Losing weight, if you believe a method is gonna work then it probably will.

That's the psychological bit. But i think there definitively is a physiological bit, that is proven and makes sense. i.e. eat crapy food = ill and die; eat good food = live healthy! :-)

▶ Reply to This