YOUR HEALTH: Weight loss: Managing behavior is crucial

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Ivanhoe Newswire) - Losing a huge amount of weight is next to impossible. So, some people have turned to Ozempic and Wegovy. However weight loss specialists know that managing the behavior that led to obesity is a critical piece to losing weight. One woman shared her journey of losing over 400 pounds.

“When my brother called me and told me he had a dream of me dying, that was my turning point,” said Sidney Bynum.

By then, Bynum weighed 745 pounds and had given up.

“Obesity is a chronic disease, it’s not a willpower, it’s not as simple as eat less, move more,” explained Dr. Sahar Takkouche, with bariatric medicine at Vanderbilt University.

Research shows 650 million adults worldwide are obese, meaning a BMI of 30 or higher. This leads to fatty liver disease, diabetes, and metabolic disorders. Thirty-seven percent of overweight women are also depressed and suffer from self-blame and loathing.

“I struggled a lot because one I didn’t love myself, and I really didn’t just care about life,” Bynum said.

In 2020, she got down to 527 pounds to undergo bariatric surgery followed by anti-obesity medications. Vanderbilt’s doctors addressed the mental issues through both in-person visits and telemedicine because at that time she was not ambulatory.

“It’s important to have a multi-disciplinary approach – somebody who can see this patient holistically and not necessarily just treating the weight or the number on the scale,” explained Dr. Takkouche.

It clicked for Bynum.

“She came in and once we met, I saw a spark in her. We connected, and I thought, ‘I have to help this person’,” said Dr. Takkouche.

“She saw something in me when she first met me. And she saw how I just wanted to give up on myself, but she wouldn’t let me give up,” said Bynum.

Did it work? Bynum now weighs 312 pounds, is able to walk, and inside her body is much, much healthier.

Obesity creates low-grade chronic inflammation and metabolic disease. Adipose, or fat tissue, also leads to diabetes. If you suffer from chronic obesity, Dr. Takkouche says to seek out a multi-disciplinary program that addresses the behavioral causes behind the weight gain. That’s your best chance to lose it and keep it off.

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