Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Wild and Wacky Weight Loss

The other day I was watching a show (I Lost It!) I had tivoed on Discovery. There were two stories of weight loss that were intriguing. They reminded me of one of my own weird weight-loss ploys from a few years back.

One woman had her jaw wired shut. I'd heard about this being done to people who were overweight but thought it was just some sort of joke (not funny to me, but I'm just reporting). This woman actually found a dentist who would wire her jaws shut. She kept them wired for several months and was only able to eat (well, drink to be more accurate) through a straw. If it didn't go through the straw, it didn't get in the system. She said that she carried wire cutters with her in case she had to get it cut quickly for some reason (I guess if she was choking or had a medical emergency--yikes!). She did, in fact, lose a lot of weight but gained it all back--and then some--after the wires were removed. :(



Another woman tried a weight loss system where she wore some pants that she had to connect to her vacuum. She was supposed to wear them and jog in place while the vacuum was running. I'd never heard of that one before.

Both of these women wound up losing the weight with more natural methods later, but they are not the first to try unusual methods to shed some pounds. Please see my post about women's weight loss methods from the 1800's and early 1900's (namely, the tactics of rolling and melting): http://mybandita.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-get-thin-historical-perspective.html.

I have also tried a few of my own uncoventional approaches to get rid of my excess pounds. The one that springs to mind at the moment is an ab belt thing I bought. You may have heard of it--or owned one. It shocks your stomach during intervals to help your abs become stronger and more defined. Now, maybe it is only to help with toning and that instead of actual weight loss (though the ads told and visually depicted a different story, of course), but, either way, it really scared me after I started using it because I was thinking that all those volts to the body couldn't be good for a person. I traded it to a friend for a book after using it without results (other than the feeling that I was slowly electrocuting myself to death).



So have you all used untraditional methods to affect weight loss? Devices, pills, hypnosis (by the way, right before I was banded, I read some posts from a woman on LBT whose band did not work for her--she only lost 10 pounds total over a year and developed major reflux issues--and she had it removed and was going to try hypnosis; that scared me a little pre-banding), etc.? If you tried unconventional weight loss, what were your results?

3 comments:

  1. Can't say I've tried anything but the old fashioned way - except maybe slimming pills and they were horrible. As if I'm not hyper enough already!!
    You asked when my fill is. The 30th of this month - the Monday - so cool, we are getting fills the same time. Let's cross our fingers they do the job!!
    I was thinking about the cash finance thing and your fiance's birthday coming up. How about some super private time? If you get a chance before you see him - do the whole bath oils and sexy clothes thing - and cook him a special meal, low lighting, muzak in the background and the rest, well, you might get some exercise in too! (oops soz lol couldn't resist!!) Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
  2. When I was 15 I tried bulimia, thinking it might be "just the ticket". I guess I figured, hey, I've got the bingeing part down pat....

    Well, I was a failed bulimic. I must have a very strong gag reflex because I did not and could not throw up my food. Scarily enough, I enlisted the help of my then BFF, who was a self appointed pro of bulimia and she used all her tricks (hairbrush, tampon, finger of course,) and nothing worked.

    Thank god.

    But I was so desperate back then to fit in via weight loss I really, really thought bulimia was a pretty good option, all things considered. I knew about the teeth erosion, the resulting heart issues- all of it, but I still felt envious of bulimics.

    Unfortunately, that freind is still actively bulimic. Though much less so than when we were teenagers, she still falls back on it at least once a week.

    I hope our daughters have a better shot than we all had.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I didn't try anything TOO serious or odd b/c I'm a scardey cat and stuff like that terrifies me. I've heard of a dude trying perform liposuction on himself by cooking up clear rubber tubing to a vacuum and inserting it into his skin. He almost died. He was ICU for wks. I can't remember what he DID to himself, but it was horrible.


    That lady on LBT is a poor example. I see those post every so often and they make me SOOOO pissed. I know it's public and they have the right to share but if you couldn't make it work, how about keeping your mouth shut? ya know? B/c the only reason a band won't work for someone is if they do not face and accept their psychological issues and they sabatoge themselves. We all know how to do it, we all know the ways "around" the band. So if you're going to do that junk, then of course you're not going to lose.

    Again, let me say, I know she has the right to share her story. But it makes me mad b/c she's scarring people out there into thinking they can't do it. Grrrr!

    Oh, p.s. I did try being anorexic for 4 days in hs w/ my moms jacked up encouragement to get into a dress for homecoming. Only gave in and ate starbursts on day 3. By the end of day 4, I was a ravenous bitch and my moms said "eat something you bitch, before I slap you up side the head. You're getting on my nerves." May sound jacked up but she was actually being nice.

    Also tried bulemia, good thing it didn't work for me or I could've kept it up sine I'm a binge eater to begin with. I HATE throwing up. And when I do, even once, all the blood vessels pop in my face and I have red spots ALL over my face. VERY noticable! I only tried it 2-3 times on seperate occasions.

    ReplyDelete