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stiwa
Germany
16 Posts |
 Posted - 01/07/2012 : 13:32:15
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Hi everyone,
here is one thing which I have been wondering about lately. I am a long-time TMS sufferer myself. I discovered Dr. Sarno's books back when I was 21. I used it to treat my knee and elbow problems. I used to get pretty severe pain in the knees and elbows – to the point where the joints would lock in mid movement – from weight training. Today, I can lift weights without any elbow pain and I can run and squat with little knee pain (hooray for Dr Sarno!!!).
However, symptom imperative has had me a couple of times. I seem to be repressing a lot of rage since my symptoms include eczema, depression, insomnia and a host of other issues I have been less than successful in treating. They will go away for a while at times but it is like a constant battle. When I am free of symptoms I get pretty paranoid at times thinking about what ambush this f*** syndrome is planning.
Anyway, one of the substitutes I have been wondering about is obesity. This may sound a little odd (and I guess more than one of those who reads this thinks „repressed emotions, what a pathetic excuse for being a glutinous, lazy bum“). However, I do think that there is a point to this assumption. Let me explain:
I gained weight between my 25 and 34 birthday. First, it came on by a rate of about 1 kg per year but that accelerated to the point where after a failed diet I gained 15 kg in six months. I have tried all the traditional apporaches there are: cardio, fat-free diet and low-carb. However none had any influence on my body fat. It seemed as if my belly was impervious to all those supposedly successful weight-loss strategies.
Anyway, I started reading up on the current weight loss literature. Not just that actually. I got interested in endocrinology and exercise theory. The gist of it is: whether you are fat or thin seems to be intricately linked to what your body thinks is right for you. I owe much of this realization to author Jon Gabriel of the Gabriel method. He does a really good job at explaining the biochemical reactions that lead to weight gain and how they are linked to emotional states. One of his main conclusions is that your body wants you to be fat when you feel insecure. I must admit that his methods (visualization) did not work for me. However, one evening when I was particularly frustrated about being unattractive I looked into the mirror and said: I hate obsessing about this. That was the moment when something clicked in my head. Isn't TMS about obsessing, too? I thought.
Indeed, obesity in our society shares some important links with TMS theory:
1. It is a pretty good distraction. Just look at any newspaper stand and you will realize that you could spend your entire life on diet magazines. Also, the prevalence of mirrors in our surroundings makes it impossible to escape your own reflection.
2. It is painful. If you have ever been fat you know how much rejection and condescension fat people have to deal with in Western culture. Being a social outcast is a very powerful emotional stressor.
3. It is en vogue. Sarno writes that our minds will choose a repression that is en vogue. This explains the back pain epidemic, he says. What if it also explained the obesity epidemic? Newspapers are full of reports about our growing waistlines.
4. Scientific explanations lack a bit of coherence so far. Depending on who you talk to it is either the calories, the fat, the carbs, the lack of movement/exercise, the lack of vitamins and minerals or a lack of sleep which makes us fat. The problem is: for every culprit there is also an exception which makes the theory at least questionable. Yet, some findings point into the direction of the brain as a source of high body fat rates. For example, the brain governs the production of thyroid hormone which plays an important part in metabolism. The brain also governs appetite regulation. And it is closely linked to the parts of the body which produce cortisol (hypercortisolism can be a cause of obesity).
5. Placebo – there are countless weight loss methods out there and they do work for some. However, they do not work for everyone and the long-term results of many methods are not very convincing.
With all this in mind, I started asking myself whether it was sensible to regard obesity as a TMS equivalent. Can it be treated this way? Should I start focussing on repressed emotions when I feel sad about my reflection in the mirror? Or when I get cravings for certain „fattening“ foods?
I wonder what you guys think about it.
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Wodg
Australia
89 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2012 : 18:19:09
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I skipped through your post but diet and obesity are great distractions!
obesity is a great distraction from doing jobs, chores and living life.
Don't look in the mirror and keep busy. |
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maccafan
130 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2012 : 20:06:01
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Hi Stefan,
I read your post and it makes sense to me. I've thought about posting this subject myself. Obesity is not listed in Dr. Sarno's books as a symptom imperative but it wouldn't surprise me if he agreed with you.
I have watched different documentaries about anorexia and it is believed to be a form of OCD. The Mindbody Prescription by Dr. Sarno lists OCD as a TMS equivalent. Check page 32. It says OCD is an anxiety equivalent which is a TMS equivalent. I've always thought that anorexia and bulemia are TMS which is the opposite of obesity but still it is obcessing about food. And either one is a distraction from what is really bothering you.
Over eating relieves stress and is a distraction (at least for a short time) from uncomfortable emotions. Then the quilt and bad feelings about yourself starts and you obcess over that and one of the best ways to distract yourself from these feelings is to eat some more food! And so it's a vicious circle and something I've batlled my whole life. This whole process is to keep worse feelings hidden in my unconcious mind.
I've never been hugely over weight but it doesn't take a lot of extra weight to be judged by others especially today.
Becoming a vegan 20 years ago has helped me keep my weight down more than anything else. I did it for ethical reasons but my health improved as a result and I've felt physically better than I ever did when I was younger and not a vegan. I still battle that extra 10 pounds sometimes though but this is a big difference from what I dealt with before.
I agree with your thinking. Also on page 32 a person with OCD applied TMS therapeutic principles and his OCD disappeared before his back pain did. |
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stiwa
Germany
16 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2012 : 12:55:05
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Thank you for commenting. I agree that a preoccupation with food could be an OCD and thus a TMS equivalent. What I have noticed so far from applying the TMS treatment principles is that my TMS symptoms got worse. Maybe overweight is part of the syndrome - just a little more severe. Sometimes this is what worries me about TMS. You never know how bad the symptoms will become.
quote:
Originally posted by maccafan
Hi Stefan,
I read your post and it makes sense to me. I've thought about posting this subject myself. Obesity is not listed in Dr. Sarno's books as a symptom imperative but it wouldn't surprise me if he agreed with you.
I have watched different documentaries about anorexia and it is believed to be a form of OCD. The Mindbody Prescription by Dr. Sarno lists OCD as a TMS equivalent. Check page 32. It says OCD is an anxiety equivalent which is a TMS equivalent. I've always thought that anorexia and bulemia are TMS which is the opposite of obesity but still it is obcessing about food. And either one is a distraction from what is really bothering you.
Over eating relieves stress and is a distraction (at least for a short time) from uncomfortable emotions. Then the quilt and bad feelings about yourself starts and you obcess over that and one of the best ways to distract yourself from these feelings is to eat some more food! And so it's a vicious circle and something I've batlled my whole life. This whole process is to keep worse feelings hidden in my unconcious mind.
I've never been hugely over weight but it doesn't take a lot of extra weight to be judged by others especially today.
Becoming a vegan 20 years ago has helped me keep my weight down more than anything else. I did it for ethical reasons but my health improved as a result and I've felt physically better than I ever did when I was younger and not a vegan. I still battle that extra 10 pounds sometimes though but this is a big difference from what I dealt with before.
I agree with your thinking. Also on page 32 a person with OCD applied TMS therapeutic principles and his OCD disappeared before his back pain did.
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stiwa
Germany
16 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2012 : 11:43:14
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I have been thinking about elaborating on the subject of TMS and obesity for a while now. As I stated in my OP I think that TMS plays a role in causing obesity and the hormonal imbalances that accompany metabolic syndrome. At the time, I did not write about my personal experience with it but I think I want to share it now and see what you guys think about it.
Let me start with my experience with TMS. I discovered „Healing Back Pain“ in 1999. It was a life saver to me. Nothing short of that. Within a year I could jog again, lift weights, and reduced my bouts of depression considerably. I had been battling with sometimes atrocious tendonitis in my knees and elbows – even wrists – before. It was so bad that my knees would lock anytime I tried jogging a little. The doctors I had seen up to that year had told me that I just had bad joints and that I should take it easy – basically stick to physiotherapy and that's it. That summer of 99 was one of the best summers in my life. I ran in the forest, I swam, I even got a tan – and I met my future husband.
The mistake I made that year was that I stopped working on the psychological issues as soon as the pain was gone. So TMS came back with a vengeance when I started working in 2003. I had inferiority complexes, couldn't stop thinking that I am not good enough, that I am ugly, that no one wants me (all the while getting nothing but excellent evaluations from my superiors). I know it's crazy but that's TMS. In 2006, I had a promotion which meant that for the first time in my life I carried considerable responsibility. Apart from the occasional bout of IBS, I did not experience any health problems – except for a steadily increasing waistline. Looking back, I should have known that this was the ghremlin at work. TMS will pick the most efficient diversion and what would be more suitable to cause obsession in a gay man than a growing belly and man boobs?
I should add here that I had never had weight problems until the onset of puberty which coincided with the divorce of my parents. Ugly divorce. Very painful. I got fat for the first time in my life and stayed fat until I was 14 and sick of being ridiculed in class for my body. At 14, I started my first diet. (Really stupid idea when you consider that I deprived my body of nutrition when it needed building material for a growth spurt.) I lost all the weight and then some more. I remember the pride I felt when one of my class mates remarked that my ribs were sticking out when we went to the pool in the summer when I was 16. I promised myself that I would never let myself get fat again and my weight pretty much stayed around 140 pounds until I started working.
Fast forward again to 2006: I started to get into nutrition and exercise theory and took up weight lifting. I experienced joint problems again but since I knew that this was TMS I just ignored them and after a couple of months they were gone. Funny thing is: despite being physically active more than at any time prior in my life I continued to get bigger. Sure, my muscles were growing, too. But so was my waist. That's when I panicked and got into the whole Paleo-carbs-are-the-cause-of-all-evil ideology. (At the time, my husband moved to another country to work there so the pain of being left alone surely added to the psychological dynamics.) At first, it was as if all of my physical problems were blown away. My eczema that I had acquired in 2007 was gone. I lost 8 pounds in two months. It felt great. Placebo great. Then I got gastroparesis. Apparently, this means that your stomache doesn't empty properly and the fermenting food inside causes considerable pain. A physical examination revealed nothing. One day, the pain got so bad that I decided that maybe my weird diet might be the cause. I ate a slice of bread and within minutes the pain was gone.
Looking back, I can only marvel at the easiness with which TMS insinuated that diet might cause my health problems. I tried every theory in the aftermath of my diet. Gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance, carb cycling, you name it I tried it. Nothing seemed to help. (Again, little wonder when one considers how enraging depriving myself of my favorite foods must have felt to my subconscious.) One day, I sat in front of the mirror in my bed room and crashed. I cried so hard because I felt unhappy with my body. I kept shouting at myself that I hate this body, this fat body of mine, this fat face. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind: you are torturing yourself. This is TMS.
That was in December of 2010. Since then I have been applying the Sarno approach continuously but with little success in terms of body composition changes. The only thing that has changed so far is my attitude towards my body in general. Whenever I look at myself in the mirror and start to feel depressed about the way I look I tell myself that this is TMS at work. Until 2011, I had major problems with feeling fat. Now I rarely have them. (Except for those days, when I walk a lot because this tends to irritate the skin on the inside of my thighs because they rub against each other when I walk.)
I made some major progress on the psychological front when I looked at a series of pictures taken of me from 2006 until 2011. I gained 40 pounds in this time. What I noticed is the following: I felt fat at 160 pounds, at 170 pounds, 180 pounds, 190 pounds, and 200 pounds which is my current weight. My feeling fat obviously wasn't related to the size of my body or body fat percentage. This feeling had all the characteristics of OCD – from which I incidentally suffer, too. ( I can't pee in a public restroom and I get all anxious when I think that I might have forgotten to turn off the iron or to lock the door.)
On the physical front, my life got worse. My eczema got really bad, I got insomnia, and out of control mood swings. It took me a year to hypothesize that maybe obesity might be – like cardiovascular disease and cancer – in a different TMS league. By taking away this major distraction my psyche had to use more physical distractions in order to achieve the same amount of repression.
In March 2012, my condition became really bad. My marriage had hit rock bottom, I couldn't sleep most nights. I rarely managed 6 hours of undisturbed sleep on the week-ends even though I hadn't slept more than 3 to 5 hours on school nights. That was when I finally went looking for a therapist. I found somebody trained in psychodynamic therapy and started treatment. Since then, I have been making slow progress. Things are not okay but they have definitely improved. I know that I still can't access many of my repressed feelings but I am confident that this will change.
So far, I have not made major changes in my life. I have started writing stories again which is what I wanted to do in my early 20s but lost the courage to do when I had to start paying my bills and took up a regular job. My marriage is still on the verge of failing but maybe we still have a chance to stay together. So far, many changes have been internal. I have started asking myself questions like: where do I find satisfaction in my life? Am I doing things because I want to do them? Or am I doing them to cope with my feelings of inferiortiy and unworthiness? This process is really weird because it brings up all kinds of questions.
And I have changed my attitude towards food. I tend to question my needs less. Yes, I do eat more „junk“ as they call it. Yet, I pay attention to what it feels like when I eat those „forbidden“ foods. Funny thing is: now that I tell myself that I can have them and that they will not make me fat and ugly I don't crave them as much. I just listen to my body when I eat and when it tells me I am full I stop. (A couple of days ago, I had Tiramisu for desert and can you believe it? Right in the middle, I got the signal that I had had enough and I stopped. A couple of months ago, I would have cleaned that plate as if there were no tomorrow but now there were leftovers.)
The sessions with my therapist make me anxious most of the time but I am also excited to go there because I actually learn to feel something. I mean it is not only insights into the mechanisms of my soul. I can really access some of my rage in there.
I know that this has been a rather longwinded story but if you have stayed with me I would be happy if you'd comment it. One thing I would be interested in is the question: do you think that there are different degrees of TMS? For example, 1st degree being your ordinary „my back hurts badly wants in a while but it doesn't impair me severely“ and 2nd degree being „I am almost disabled by the pain“. 3rd degree would be cancer, a heart attack or stroke.
My question is: if there are different degrees can you address all of them with Sarno's techniques? Or is there a point where you really need to make a change in your life in order to get better (I mean not only internal changes but also changes that other people will notice like changing your job).
I would also appreciate comments regarding my interpretation of my health problems. |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2012 : 15:59:19
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| I do think obesity is a TMS equivalent. I do think there are different degrees that you have stated. I think dr Sarno books are enough in one of three scenarios 1 you have a easily suggestible mind (prone to hypnosis) or your symptoms are mild or the original thing that caused you to develop symptoms is now gone and now the only thing keeping you in the syndrome is the fear of the symptoms themselves, otherwise I think the symptom imperative usually comes into play or little or no improvement happens. This is especially true if your basic personality is he problem (you are too intense). The best way to fix this is by the use of mind power to reprogram your mind and decondition yourself. Read my previous posts to understand this. Good luck |
Edited by - Ace1 on 08/30/2012 18:31:09 |
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drh7900
USA
194 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2012 : 08:28:53
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I am having a hard time deciding how I feel about this one. On the one hand, I firmly believe that the repressed emotions can manifest in eating as a comfort, or eating the wrong things as a comfort, etc. However, I have a hard time buying that you could treat obesity as TMS and treat nothing else (don't change diet or exercise) and see the pounds shed away.
That said, I also firmly believe that TMS treatment and a proper diet should go hand in hand. There is mounting evidence that there is a two-way correlation between the mind and the gut. The health of your gut can affect the health of your mind. Books like "Wheat Belly" and "Gut And Psychology Syndrome" and such get into this. My personal lay opinion on it is that if you don't fuel your body right, then you don't fuel your mind right and it's not as well equipped to handle the stresses that come along with a TMS personality type. As far as obesity being "en vogue" - I firmly believe this has to do with how we are told we should eat (grains EVERYWHERE - eat lots and lots of whole grains...which turn to glucose in your system which stores as fat when it can't be stored as glycogen) and people following the dietary advice of doctors who know little of nutrition.
As for experience in the matter...at 6 ft tall, I have been as heavy as 315 lbs. I am currently 238 lbs and working toward my first goal of 190 (my weight when I graduated Army Basic Training). For me, I have found that a primal/paleo eating style is ideal. I know everyone is different, but that's what's working best for me. And as far as "primal" goes, it's also a lifestyle (if you read "The Primal Blueprint" by Mark Sisson) in which you play more (TMS healing anyone?), rest more (TMS healing anyone?), get physical (TMS healing anyone?) and enjoy life more. From the perspective of treating your body right, I would recommend the book to anyone, even if you're not interested in the diet aspects alone.
But this thread is not about diet. 
So - I guess to summarize my view...I think obesity can be a symptom of TMS in the regard that paying attention and focusing on eating the right things can be especially hard when you just want to comfort yourself (or punish yourself by making yourself fat). I know for a long time my diet was whatever the h**l I wanted just because my parents could no longer control what I ate and I was, in a sense, rebelling against their control. I would get VERY angry if anyone tried to tell me I should not eat something or should eat something I didn't want to. I figured out that food had control over me...I've taken control back. But I don't think it's the obesity itself that's the true symptom...it's the actions we take and the lifestyles we live that lead to obesity that are the symptoms, in my opinion.
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Dustin |
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tennis tom
USA
4746 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2012 : 13:59:16
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| My short road-trip answer is food and alcohol are great ways of self-medicating to soothe TMS tension. The downside is, the next day you wake up a pound heavier with a hang-over and haven't done anything to face TMS symptom creating emotional issues head-on. |
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Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2012 : 19:17:17
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Fascinating. I love this Forum!
I have long believed that obesity - whether from overt food addiction or even just the gaining of weight for no apparent reason - is similar to TMS. In fact, in the healthiest period of my life (when I was in a monastic liiestyle in my 20s), I was 50# heavier. As I lost the weight (not through dieting btw) I started having my TMS symptoms.
I have noticed that my clients occasionally do a kind of symptom imperative Whack-A-Mole game which includes their weight, their "knee thing," their allergies, etc. Obsessing about weight is a wonderful distraction from deep rage, and also the increased weight is, in a sense, an expression of a repression of energy.
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2012 : 05:36:43
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I tend to think like Dustin above. I don't think obesity is tms, I think it is as a by-product of anxiety or depression. Tms can create many symptoms but I think it still have to conform to the law of physic, it can not make calories out of thin air, those extra calories that make us gain weigh were put in our mouth by us.
When we are suffering from tms/anxiety we often look for a safe zone, comfort zone. Many tmsers can not leave their house, or flying , going over high bridge..., Many find comfort and a safe feeling in drug, alcohol, ciggarette, or food, lots of food. Many find comfort in sex, in unstable relationships. And when we're in our comfort zone for too long, it became an addiction. We addicted to food, drug, alcohol. We addicted to toxic relationships even when we know that it is unhealthy for us.
You have to desensitise yourself to the fear of the "outside" world. You can use what Ace1 recommended, practice will power technique, use positive affirmation. You need to prepare yourself, gather some emotional support from someone you've trust then get on that plane, drive over that brige, stop eating those foods and exercise, don't drink that whisky, stop smoke those weeds.... break out of your comfort zone and be free.
It take practice, it take sometime and it would be easier if you have the support of loveones and peole you trust. I had overcame my fear of flying, my fear of wearing short in public. Overcame agoraphobia, overcame fear of eating dairy products, fear of public speaking, I no longer care about what other people think about my look.
You need to set a goal, you need to know exactly what your goals are then use will power and positive affirmation to achieve your goals. Gather support from people around you. Get active, get involve, face your fear with a smile and peace in your heart. Don't get discourage, eventually you will be back to your optimal self.
goodluck Stiwa.
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No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
Edited by - balto on 09/01/2012 05:42:03 |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2012 : 09:40:40
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| Hi as a dr I have seen it all. People who eat everything and thin as a rail. Very obese people that hardly eat anything. I have seen obese people with thin children and vise versa. Although the tendency is if you parents are obese you tend to be too. Its very complicated on why I think the way I do, but the only think that makes logical sense, just like the structural abnormalities is tms. Is kind of like every time you eat something you think is bad for you, you tend to have a negative thought about your self image which I think leads to the obesity. I haven't worked it out perfectly yet but just some preliminary ideas |
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Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
Posted - 09/02/2012 : 23:11:33
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Yeah - I definitely don't think calories and weight are correlated in any absolute sense, just as MRI's and back pain are not necessarily cause/effect based. Not in my experience.
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
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stiwa
Germany
16 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 15:33:59
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Thanks everyone for the replies.
Ace1 and Wavy Soul: Your comments resonated a lot with me and I will definitely look into your older posts Ace1.
The reason why I am convinced that obesity (or just plain being fat if you want) is TMS is that so much of what happens to food once we have eaten is beyond our control. Think about it: You have control over your food until you have swallowed it. Once it is down there in your stomache you can no longer do anything about it. Will it go and feed your muscles or organs? Will it be turned into lean mass? Will it be burned off because the body simply raises its temperature for a while? Or will it go into your fat cells? This is decided by your hormonal set-up. Some people overeat but don't get fat. Others never overeat and get fat. I read somewhere that apparently insulin resistance is caused by high intracellular cortisol levels - cortisol is one of the stress hormones.
I believe in the law of physics, Balto. The thing is: our bodies are not ovens. I once read a story about a Polish woman who gained an incredible amount of fat (400 pounds) and lived on 1200 calories a day. She should have lost weight on that diet but instead her weight was climbing continuously. I do thin you are right when you say ultimately it's your life that makes you fat. My life is called TMS and I can't believe I have been battling it for so long now.
What your body does with the food you eat is determined by your brain. I am not even sure that the food itself plays such a big role. I have read Sisson - that was the start of my misery. I have since read a lot on nutrition and I must say that wondering whether gluten, dairy or histamine intolerance is the cause of your misery is a great distraction from your repressed emotions. (I am an intense person - the problem is I can't feel it. At least not all the time.)
I don't think that grains cause any problems to be honest. I once found the idea convincing but then I read about two scientific discoveries that made me question it: 1. Some archeologists found out that Europeans have eaten flour as far as 30,000 years back. 2. Biologists found out that Tibetans have genetically adapted to lower oxygen in their air in the past 3,000 years. If Tibetans could adapt that fast, then why should we have any problems with carbs or wheat after more than 10 times the amount of time?
Balto: Thanks for mentioning support. That really hit home because the person I love most is gone.
Oh and ACE1: I think it is no surprise that obesity runs in families. "You don't want to eat that candy, darling. We gain fat quickly in this family. Eat it and you'll turn out just like your dad." (Nocebos are everywhere.)
I think I will stick to therapy and the recommendation from Geneen Roth, author of "Breaking free from emotional eating". It's a great book by the way. Even if you have never had a weight problem or eating disorder she can teach you a lot. Her first recommendation: eat when you are hungry. Eat what you want. Don't feel guilty or freaked out. It will only make you binge.
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stiwa
Germany
16 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2012 : 03:02:18
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Gosh, my last posting was a bit my smart pants side showing. Sorry. 
Anyway, what I wanted to say was this:
Anxiety is at the root of gaining fat. If TMS is at work and fear of fat is a suitable diversion then you will gain fat no matter how much or what you eat.
The placebo principle applies for diets. Diets substitute physical control (i.e. what and how much you eat) for mental work (TMS work). If the diet works you will be afraid of the moments when you don't adhere to it. And if it doesn't work you will be trying to figure out why. (You can substitute the word "exercise" for "diet" here, when you do exercise for weight loss and not for fun. If you don't understand the difference watch small kids. You will see pure joy of movement - nothing else.)
If you focus on trying not to want sugar or fat or whatever else the current pet peeve of the media is you turn food into a fetish. You endow it with a magical force it doesn't possess. And you give yourself the licence to obsess with something irrelevant instead of thinking about the things you truly want: love, patience, and peace. The only way to get those is by going to the dark place inside of your soul. They are frightening and lonely so don't beat yourself up if you lack the courage for the moment. Courage will grow once you pay attention to the fact that a life full of TMS pain is worse than facing the wicked witch/the ghremlin or whatever fear you have. |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2012 : 07:22:24
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| I agree with everything said above about weight. These thoughts are so engrained in our society that it is hard to change but still doable |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2012 : 15:37:55
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I'm still struggling to accept that obesity is tms. If someone told me that tms made him nervous and anxious so he would try to comfort himself with food and end up gaining lots of weigh, I would agree right away. But if you tell me that if you eat 2000 calories a day and burn 3000 calories through physical activities and still gain weight because tms caused the gain in weight, I find it very difficult to accept or understand. Well, let agree to disagree on this one.
I still don't see how tms could produce mass out of nothing. Althought tms is very powerful I still think it got to comply with the law of physic. If you burn more than you take in, no amount of tms can make you heavier. I have to research more on this one, because I do trust Ace1 on this, but at the moment, I'm going to disagree. 
Also, in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao, before they achieved economic success, there are no over weight or obese people in those country, accept maybe for chairman Mao and his gang. If obese is tms then this tell me it only happen to people in rich countries. Tms somehow can't produce the symptom of obesity in poor country. I have tried and failed to find any picture of an obese person in North Korea and somalia, and I googled all over the internet and youtube. (accept for Kim Jung-un). I'm sure with the horrible living condition there, they must have some people with tms there.
and talking about dieting, My thought is when they failed, they failed for the same reason. Their calories intake is higher than the calories they burned and more than needed to maintain their weight. (you can check the calories needed to maintain current weight or to loose weight at http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm )
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No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2012 : 16:19:34
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| Ok balto in response to you. Did you know that tms usually occurs in epidemics. So did you know multiple sclerosis is not common in Africa even though there is obviously tms there. Did you know when then move to the us they start to get it. Well same with the Asian countries when they move here they can get fat. You mention calories in vs activity. Well the secret link is the metabolism. This is what is affected. I know it's hard to believe. But don't take our words on it, just do your own research observing the world and you will see. |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2012 : 20:36:41
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Ace1, I don't know much about multiple sclerosis, but I believe many of our illnesses are tms/anxiety. When you wrote that cancer is tms, I agreed with you right away. I have read much about the connection between cancers and the mind, and many of my teachers also told me the same thing. But I am really struggle to believe obesity is one of them. There is currently a big obesity problem in China. The economic expansion reward China's population with lot of foods. They also watch more television. They switched their bicycle for motorized transportations. "Fast foods" are much more available there now. The same thing is happening in Vietnam. In the 80's I have never seen any obese or over weight Vietnamese. I came back for a visit in 2004 and there are lots of obese people there.
I really think obesity is the product of our modern world. Processed foods, fast foods, food are much more available. Add to that we are much more sedentary now than ever. We drive instead of walk or bike. We use remote controls instead of having to get up and walk to the television to change the channels. Kids spend more time with their ipod and gameboys than playing outdoor with their friends... That got to make us fat, we don't need any help from tms to be obese here.
There is a study done in Britain. During the whole 20th century, there is a close relationship between obesity and modern affluent lifestyles characterised by abundant food and increasingly sedentary habits. Except during the 1940's during the war. With food rationing and food control, obesity disappear in England. With the stress of war and the lost of loveones, we would have expect there be more tms cases during the war right? then they should have more cases of obesity if obesity is tms equivalent, but that is not the case there.
At the moment I am not convince yet, but I will try to learn more, search more for answer.
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No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
Edited by - balto on 09/08/2012 20:43:13 |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2012 : 06:50:07
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| Ok believe it or not extreme thinness and obesity are both TMS related. It kind of comes down to mind power and what you truly believe in your unconscience mind. If fast food comes to you country and you see everyone else eating this stuff and getting fat, what do you think the first thought conscience or unconscience that your going to get? You going to feel that this is not good for me but I'm going eat it anyway. Now let's say you eat a diet of lettuce, how do you feel about that, you feel that this has no ability to make you gain weight and what happens? If these thoughts happen enough whala, you loose weight, but you then don't want to eat lettuce all your life you see a nice steak and you binge, you have already trained your mind to associate this with fat, so what happens, you gain all the weight you have lost. Now obviously there is a thing called calories and your body does use this for energy that is a law of nature. The way you absorb these calories and how they are burned off is what is controlled by the mind. Balto you can tell by your posts that your belief is so, so deep on what you are saying that I would not be surprised one bit if what you are saying applies to you exactly. It does take new thinking, mind power techniques and time to change this. Let's say tomorrow you decided to change your belief and you ate everything, you would still gain weight bc you haven't given it enough time to change the unconscience process which can take months to years depending on how engrained the original thought is. One last point, a deep believe that causes a negative result is not necessary a process that is trying to distract you (TMS). Is just your reality based on your belief. I think in obesity it can be both bc of just the belief and also as the syndrome related to a revved up mind. Like I said just observe, and you will see. |
Edited by - Ace1 on 09/09/2012 06:53:19 |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2012 : 06:59:32
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| One more thing, TMS can present itself in any manner, so just bc something doesn't happen in a stressful time, doesn't mean it's not TMS In one person it's pain, another autoimmune another need for glasses and these things can add up. Did we hear of an increase in chronic pain in Britain during the war? I didn't hear of that. I remember you said your family all went thru hard times but none had chronic pain, right? That does not make chronic pain not TMS. |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2012 : 07:41:22
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Ok Ace1, I'm going to go back and ask my teachers what they think about this one.
I'm sure as an MD you have seen tons of tms at your work place and know much more than I do. I'm going to trust you on this one. I'm just struggling to accept that tms can create mass out of nothing. I'm going to read up on metabolize. Thanks.
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No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
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Obesity as a Tms equivalent?
