Weight Loss and Gallstones
A bit off the beaten path, this post doesn't deal with politics or anything similar.
Rather, I wanted to share a bit of a cautionary tale for those, like myself, who are either trying to lose, or in the process of losing, extra weight.
Some years ago (around 1999-2000 or so), I felt that I had gotten a little beyond a reasonable weight, so I embarked on the Atkins diet at the encouragement of a co-worker (who later moved on to The Zone, and did very well on it), and lost around 30 pounds or so. I mostly didn't mind the restrictions of the diet, and all was going reasonably well until my wife and I bought our first house, at which point the craziness of moving, unpacking, etc., made cooking at home regularly unrealistic for a period of a few weeks.
This being before many restaurants carried low-carb options, this effectively meant dumping Atkins. Of course, I promised myself to start back up once we were settled in the house, and of course, I failed to do so. The upshot of which was that I gained the weight back, and then some (remember, kiddies, Atkins requires a change in your dietary habits for life...it's not something you do short-term).
Flash forward several years. Around August of last year, I realized (again) that I really needed to do something about my weight. I was carrying far more than I should have been, and not only felt terrible, but looked bad, too. So I resolved to make a change.
I took a look at my dietary habits and realized that I was eating foods that didn't make sense (buttered toast with cinnamon sugar, for example) and eating much larger portions than I needed. Rather than take on a major shift in the foods that I eat (as with Atkins), or severely restrict my caloric intake, I decided to try an approach whereby I mostly removed some items from my diet (particularly high-calorie or high-fat items), and scaled back the portions of others. There wouldn't be any foods that I would cut out 100%, necessarily, but I'd be more cognizant of the impact of eating them, and limit how often they graced my plate.
The good news is that it's working. From August through the end of 2006, I lost nearly 40 pounds, and feel and look much better.
The bad news is that it appears that in part because I lost the weight so quickly, I may have exacerbated a problem that most of us have...gallstones. According to the folks at WebMD.com, gallstones are very common, though many people who have them have no symptoms. WebMD also notes that the risk of gallstones can be increased by rapid weight loss, and also by subsequent unintentional weight gain.
So while I can't prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that my diet was responsible, it seems likely that due to my earlier Atkins experience, and subsequent weight gain, followed by my recent weight loss, was responsible for a gallbladder attack I experienced on New Year's Day of 2007. If you've never experienced such an attack, it's hard to adequately describe. Just imagine a sharp pain so intense that it's hard to breathe, and that no position (sitting up, prone, etc.) will relieve. I ended up taking an ambulance ride to the local ER in the middle of the night. Thankfully, with the administration of oxygen, the pain resolved on the way.
After a series of tests confirmed both the presence of gallstones, and problems with gallbladder function, my doctor recommended, and I proceeded with, laparoscopic surgery to remove the gallbladder. Thankfully, the gallbladder is not a critical organ, and the surgery went well, so I should be back to normal as soon as the incisions heal completely.
I hope that folks reading this who are attempting to lose weight will take to heart the caution about keeping to a reasonable pace, and consult your doctor about your weight loss plans. I am fortunate, both that the option exists to have the surgery laparoscopically (using several small incisions, rather than one large one), which dramatically reduces the recovery time, and that I only had one attack.
I certainly don't regret for a minute losing the weight, and I hope that this time, because of the approach of making more moderate changes to my diet, I'll be able to keep the weight off. But I hope that others can avoid going through the pain I experienced, since it's not really a necessary part of the weight loss process.
Rather, I wanted to share a bit of a cautionary tale for those, like myself, who are either trying to lose, or in the process of losing, extra weight.
Some years ago (around 1999-2000 or so), I felt that I had gotten a little beyond a reasonable weight, so I embarked on the Atkins diet at the encouragement of a co-worker (who later moved on to The Zone, and did very well on it), and lost around 30 pounds or so. I mostly didn't mind the restrictions of the diet, and all was going reasonably well until my wife and I bought our first house, at which point the craziness of moving, unpacking, etc., made cooking at home regularly unrealistic for a period of a few weeks.
This being before many restaurants carried low-carb options, this effectively meant dumping Atkins. Of course, I promised myself to start back up once we were settled in the house, and of course, I failed to do so. The upshot of which was that I gained the weight back, and then some (remember, kiddies, Atkins requires a change in your dietary habits for life...it's not something you do short-term).
Flash forward several years. Around August of last year, I realized (again) that I really needed to do something about my weight. I was carrying far more than I should have been, and not only felt terrible, but looked bad, too. So I resolved to make a change.
I took a look at my dietary habits and realized that I was eating foods that didn't make sense (buttered toast with cinnamon sugar, for example) and eating much larger portions than I needed. Rather than take on a major shift in the foods that I eat (as with Atkins), or severely restrict my caloric intake, I decided to try an approach whereby I mostly removed some items from my diet (particularly high-calorie or high-fat items), and scaled back the portions of others. There wouldn't be any foods that I would cut out 100%, necessarily, but I'd be more cognizant of the impact of eating them, and limit how often they graced my plate.
The good news is that it's working. From August through the end of 2006, I lost nearly 40 pounds, and feel and look much better.
The bad news is that it appears that in part because I lost the weight so quickly, I may have exacerbated a problem that most of us have...gallstones. According to the folks at WebMD.com, gallstones are very common, though many people who have them have no symptoms. WebMD also notes that the risk of gallstones can be increased by rapid weight loss, and also by subsequent unintentional weight gain.
So while I can't prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that my diet was responsible, it seems likely that due to my earlier Atkins experience, and subsequent weight gain, followed by my recent weight loss, was responsible for a gallbladder attack I experienced on New Year's Day of 2007. If you've never experienced such an attack, it's hard to adequately describe. Just imagine a sharp pain so intense that it's hard to breathe, and that no position (sitting up, prone, etc.) will relieve. I ended up taking an ambulance ride to the local ER in the middle of the night. Thankfully, with the administration of oxygen, the pain resolved on the way.
After a series of tests confirmed both the presence of gallstones, and problems with gallbladder function, my doctor recommended, and I proceeded with, laparoscopic surgery to remove the gallbladder. Thankfully, the gallbladder is not a critical organ, and the surgery went well, so I should be back to normal as soon as the incisions heal completely.
I hope that folks reading this who are attempting to lose weight will take to heart the caution about keeping to a reasonable pace, and consult your doctor about your weight loss plans. I am fortunate, both that the option exists to have the surgery laparoscopically (using several small incisions, rather than one large one), which dramatically reduces the recovery time, and that I only had one attack.
I certainly don't regret for a minute losing the weight, and I hope that this time, because of the approach of making more moderate changes to my diet, I'll be able to keep the weight off. But I hope that others can avoid going through the pain I experienced, since it's not really a necessary part of the weight loss process.