So, it’s kind of funny that rumors about this are coming out now, and maybe they’re being pushed by the very scared Romney campaign, but I think it’s something the media should pursue. It should be pretty easy to find out. I mean, if the former governor comes to your hospital and gets his stomach operated on then professes that it was all due to a diet… well, you’re kind of in Star Jones territory there, no?
Speaking from my many years of expertise as a fat guy I find Huckabee’s weight loss tale somewhat unconvincing, especially if you compare his dramatic weight loss and what he looks like now (and I think he’s been gaining weight since a few months ago) to Bill Clinton’s weight loss in a similar period and I think President Clinton’s loss looks much more natural (and it would be much harder for Clinton to hide weight loss surgery).
Maybe the evil mormon devil jesus made him do it? Or the gays? Or… the demonic AIDS patients.
I don’t find his experience atypical. I’ve lost 50# in the past two months on a calorie restricted diet. I also see nothing wrong with bariatric surgery. The only difference between bariatric surgery and diet/exercise is that surgery forces you into a low calorie diet because you don’t have a stomach that can handle the intake. Kudos to Huckleby for losing the weight, no matter how he did it. It takes some strength to admit you have a problem and deal with it.
but I think it’s something the media should pursue.
For somebody that bitches and moans about what the media covers, this seems to be a pretty hypocritical statement. Who cares if he had gastric bypass surgery?
EL, be careful with those calorie restricted diets. 50lbs lost is great, but you can lose too much too fast and if your body should be getting say, 3000 calories a day and you’re only giving it 1200, your body will think it’s starving and look for any fat it can to satisfy itself. A reduction is good, but too much too fast can be harmful.
Not sure what method you’re using but the Harris-Benedict formula is great for determining what your caloric intake should be:
66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
This gives you your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Now that you know your BMR, multiply your BMR by your activity multiplier from below:
Activity Multiplier
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job
Your BMR X Activity Level = Calories Needed for maintenance : what you need to sustain your body at status quo. If you want to lose weight, subtract 500 calories a day to lose 1 pound per week. Subtract 1000 to lose 2 pounds per week. It is not recommended to go below a 1000 calorie deficit. It is also not recommended to go below 2000 calories a day if you are trying to maintain / build muscle mass. I recommend you start out a fat loss program at a 500 calorie deficit, try that for a couple of weeks, then, if you arent getting the results you want, cut 250 off, try that for a couple of weeks, and repeat until you find the level that works for your body. After a few months, change it; your body will become accustomed to a caloric level and needs it to be altered once in a while.
Honesty helps, but if he’s a gastric bypass success story, so be it. He’s right in noting it’s better than being near 300lbs. at his age - that’s just asking for trouble.
The only reason the media should get involved is if his book makes fraudulent claims. If it’s all pulling one’s self up by one’s bootstraps, etc. (which I’d have to suspect it is…) and the reality is far from that, well, it’s fair game. Not due to gastric surgery though - that’s just fraud. If true, he should send his royalties back.
Great post, Jay. I mean it, thank you for that.