Good News: The former half-ton man, Patrick Deuel, can feel his ribs for the first time in 25 years. And for Deuel, that’s huge.
However, such a breakthrough may be the last one he’ll ever get, for although the Nebraska man has lost more than 550 pounds, he still hangs onto some of the bad habits that desperately pushed him toward gastric bypass surgery.
A year ago, Deuel weighed 1,072 pounds. He was so massive that his bedroom wall had to be removed in order to get him out of the house; he couldn’t sit up, he couldn’t roll over on his own and he had heart troubles, diabetes and needed oxygen.
Bottom line: He was dying.
That’s when his doctor recommended gastric bypass surgery but was afraid Deuel was not healthy enough to survive it. The hospital staff developed an exercise, low-cal program for Deuel to follow that would not only help him lose weight, but would also control his health problems.
Deuel lost a considerable amount of weight on the program and became healthy enough for the operation. Unfortunately, he still opted to go under the knife.
Old Habits Die Hard
Twelve months after the surgery, Deuel is a shade less than 500 pounds--a weight he hasn’t been able to achieve in two decades. But the good news will stop there if he doesn’t drop his old habits, including:
And if his poor lifestyle doesn’t knock him down, chances are the repercussions of his surgery will. Gastric bypass is fraught with a host of complications including bone loss, immune system damage and liver failure that may not appear until 10 years after the surgery.
Even now, Deuel says he thinks he could have lost weight without surgery.
Someday, Deuel says he hopes to become a motivational speaker, after dropping at least another 250 pounds. And, among his other future plans: Stopping at a local McDonald's for an Egg McMuffin.
MSNBC June 26, 2005
One of the most important points to take home from this story is that even though gastric bypass surgery will be heralded as a major reason why Patrick lost over 500 pounds, it is clearly not the best choice for virtually anyone--it is fraught with complications and concerns.
Improving your diet and exercise habits are both necessary for realizing truly optimal health. However, addressing the invariable and significant emotional baggage that is negatively affecting your life is typically the most important step of all to take.
It is likely this is a major issue for Deuel and a key component to his continued poor diet choices. In all likelihood, anyone who still wants to eat at McDonald’s after losing over 500 pounds and getting gastric bypass surgery has some serious psychological issues that need to be addressed.
One of the best tools I’m aware of for treating addictive tendencies and other emotional issues such as fear, grief, anger, anxiety, helplessness and loneliness is the energy psychology tool Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). EFT uses a combination of kinetic energy input and positive affirmations to release you of your emotional "blocks."
You can view my EFT manual free of charge now; however, if you seek more in-depth knowledge of the EFT technique, I highly recommend getting my EFT series, available on DVD or VHS. The series will teach you how to relieve most emotional traumas, abolish phobias, overcome food cravings and eliminate or greatly reduce physical pain. You can also make an appointment with an expert to help you with the EFT process.
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