On August 20, 2009 at 8:26 PM Pacific Time, BrandiDaryl wrote: A"lso surgeries like the VSG and the DS take out the left side of the stomach completely that overproduces ghrelin.. and helps contribute to your higher testosterone levels.. which leads to your increase in belly fat..

The higher testosterone levels make you crave carbs more.. and changes how your body digests those carbs.."

Brandi:

This is the first time I've heard of a grhelin connection with testosterone. Would you happen to be able to point me to some research on it? Thanks!

to the OP:

Well, like most members here I too have tried the diet route. The only one that worked for me was a 1200 cal/day low carb diet + ultrameal for breakfast under the supervision of a nutritionist, but I was only able to loose 40lbs when I hit a 5 month wall/plateu. It is very difficult to stick to a diet when you're battling hunger all the time, and you don't have the weight loss to motivate you. I've also tried caloric restriction with tenuate (under doctor's supervision) and byetta to help regulate the insulin response a bit better, but I only had a 15lb loss and the byetta made me feel sick every time I ate. Not fun!

I'd imagine surgery makea caloric restriction easier since it addresses hunger and you don't need perscription meds to keep the appetitie in check which means no nasty side effects from medication. Also the DS works well to reverse type II diabetes in most, and that indicaties there's something about the small intestine that contributes to insulin regulation- something medical science hasn't figured out yet. There's a great deal about metabolism, weight gain and weight loss that medical science just doesn't know yet, it would be nice if doctors weren't so quick to blame the patients.