Without being too mean, I find that when a person gets to the point of obesity that they can barely move that I can't help but look down at them a bit. I get that there are certain disorders that lead to weight gain but seriously, how does someone get to 5 or 600 pounds and not ever consider doing something about it along the way?
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Just for the record the above image is a royalty free stock photo, not my friend. I promised I would not put images of him in here.
Now as someone that has tried to have some level of balance in his own life, I do recognize that at one point in my own life the irresponsible nature of my own actions lead to me getting nearly to the point of no return. However, even during that extreme time in my life where I was really irresponsible, I was still aware of it and at one point realized that something had to be done or I was going to head down a dark path. At one point I weighed just over 250 lbs and then made gradual changes to my lifestyle that resulted in me losing more than 50 lbs and keeping it off.
I don't want to sound like I am being too preachy but my friend in question likely weighed more than my max weight when he was 19 years old. When he finally went in for the bypass surgery he was over 500 lbs, would get winded just from crossing the street, and would need assistance to get off of the sofa. It was a very embarrassing life for him and I pitied him. When he brought up the fact that he was considering bypass or "sleeve" surgery, all of us in attendance said that we would help him pay for it if he needed it.
Here is one thing to realize when you are that fat. It isn't just a question of the fact that you are a nuisance everywhere that you go, that you can't really do normal things with people because simply walking puts your heart rate and near cardiac arrest levels, but your internal organs are working overtime and you are doing damage to literally everything in your body.
Our fear with our friend is that we feel that he may have waited too long to get this done as he is in his early 40's.
I will say this though. That bypass stuff, it friggin works. My friend, in just a few weeks has lost around 30 lbs and because he is so huge he isn't doing any exercise yet. The doctors advised that he not do that. They also have him slowly weening himself off of really fatty and carb heavy foods and his diet is really complicated. I wish I could say that he has been extremely dedicated to it but he has not been, he still mostly eats the same horrible crap that got him in this position in the first place over the course of 30 years.
This is probably common knowledge but I always thought that maybe it was just a marketing point where they say that a person with bypass surgery simply isn't capable of over-eating. If my friend is in any way an example of the norm, this is absolutely the case. Recently we had a pizza and a movie night and after just a single slice, he said he didn't want any more. Since we have known this guy for 15 years we said to "cut the shit" and take another slice if he wants one. He went on to explain to us that after eating just a small amount of food he feels bloated and full and eating more actually feels uncomfortable. I'm sure most people out there have experience a "food coma" from going to a buffet and not realizing they were overeating until it was too late. Well this is what my friend feels like all the time.
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As someone that never got close to needing something like this I never bothered to investigate or find out that there are actually many different kinds of this type of surgery. Just looking at the photos though, it looks as though a significant portion of the stomach is eliminated and this is why my friend can barely eat 1 piece of pizza.
Now at the risk of sounding like a jerk, I am disappointed in my friend for allowing himself to get to this point in the first place. It is particularly alarming to me because most of the people in my "crew" that includes him are pretty heavily involved in fitness. I guess that just goes to show that we actually are not jerks and accepted him as he is.
If you or someone you know is in the situation where they are awesomely fat the only safe option they may have is to get this surgery and I feel as though it has been around long enough that it is relatively safe. It certainly is a lot safer than continuing down a path that is almost certainly going to lead to heart disease, diabetes, bone problems, circulation problems, gout, and also an increased risk of cancer.
Ideally, my friend and others like him would have noticed this problem a lot earlier and done something about it before it got to the point where surgery was necessary. The bad news for him is that once he does drop weight, and especially because he is already in his 40's, that he is going to have a ton of loose and gross-looking skin flaps that are going to remain afterwards.
Here's to hoping that the drop in weight for this guy will result in him getting a new lease on life and having a renewed sense of vigor towards things in life that are not food and drinks. I do know that when he is around he says that he is very much looking forward to doing some active things with us... things that he was never capable of doing before.
We will be more than happy to oblige.