Obesity, Overweight is complex

It should be so simple; calories in, calories out. If you eat more than you burn, you gain weight, if you eat less than you burn, you lose weight. Right? Wrong.

Obesity and overweight are counterintuitive; So here are some facts about what they are NOT:

-Obesity and overweight hide in plain site: Most obesity is NOT recognized by physicians or the public.
-Most obesity is NOT in America.
-Overweight and Obesity did NOT start in the past 30 years.

-Most doctors do NOT know how to treat obese and overweight patients and are NOT trained to do this.
-It is NOT a problem of simply eating too much.
-it is NOT a single disorder:
there are possible 100 or more clinically meaningful subtypes
this recognition is essential to solving the problem
-Almost 100% of all obese and overweight patients fail when trying to lose weight on their own. Patients need to be in a weight loss program for accountability and guidance.

Obesity and Overweight are counterintuitive: So here are some facts about what they ARE:

The actual chemical combination of foods is vitally important to losing weight.
The time of day you eat your meals is important.

We do not all process food the same way.
You can lose weight at any age.

There are many factors that affect your weight besides your calorie intake.
Being overweight IS a chronic disease, much like asthma or hypertension; but it CAN be controlled and treated.

Losing weight on the right diet WILL give you many more years of healthy life, no matter how old you are when you start. It is never too late.

Eating the right diet and losing weight can improve and sometimes cure many chronic illnesses, including depression, chronic fatigue, and other diseases.

If you are ready to lose weight, we would be happy to help you; we would welcome you into our Balance Weight Management Program. Learn the art of clean eating while losing weight. Please give us a call when you are ready to begin.

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU

It’s 2016, time for New Years resolutions. As you might have guessed, one of the most common resolutions in America is, “this year I am really going to lose that weight.” As it turns out, this is actually a really good resolution. Because, just as the holidays from Thanksgiving to New Years is the hardest time of year to lose weight, there are unhealthy foods everywhere and in abundance, by January 1 most of us have had enough. We are ready to give up the egg-nog and desserts and start some “clean eating.” January to March is the best time of year to lose weight; there are very few holidays or distractions, our lives are in a predictable routine, it’s the dead of winter, so we can really focus on ourselves and what we are putting into our bodies (in the way of food.) We can get down to the business of slimming down.
But I would like you to rethink this resolution, to re-word your thought. Instead of deciding to lose weight, I would like you to decide to make a lifestyle change. Instead of choosing to exercising more, I would like you to decide to find a form of exercise you really enjoy. In other words, try not to aim for the temporary fix, go for the permanent change. Because in your heart, this is what you really want. When you work really hard, take off 10 pounds or more, and then go right back to your old habits of unhealthy eating, you regain every pound, and so this is a temporary fix; this is “doing a great big circle.” You have made this great effort, lost a lot of weight, but then regained it all and ended right back where you started. This is exactly what you do not want.
So how do you make a permanent life style change, get this weight off forever? It turns out, there are several stages needed to accomplish this. The first is you need to make the decision that you really want to lose weight. It does not mean just wanting it, it means deciding you are really ready to commit to doing it. Think about how much weight you want to lose, then think about how long you think it should take to lose this weight. For example, if you have about 50 pounds to lose, this would take most people about 4 to 6 months to lose. Are you ready to commit to working at this for the next 6 months?
Next you will need the correct information on how to lose the weight. What should I be eating? How much should I be exercising, and what form of exercise should I be doing? Everywhere in America there are self proclaimed experts on weight loss. People with no medical training whatsoever give talk shows and write books on how to lose weight, sometimes the information is incorrect, and sometimes it is partially correct. Some people who are exercise gurus think that if everyone just did what they do, ate what they ate, then that person would be slim. This is actually NOT true, because we are NOT all the same, we do NOT all process food the same way.
Overall, the information is confusing and contradictory. The reason is, that each one of us is a separate and specific individual, with a different metabolism. You need a program designed specifically to your body, your hormonal chemistry, and your metabolism.
I suggest you sign up with a program directed by someone with a medical background, who really understands the hormonal control of weight, and how your hunger hormones (leptins and ghrelins) as well as fat burning/creating hormones affect your weight. Here at Balance Medical Weight Loss, this is exactly what we do. We have patients here who need to lose 5 lbs, but just do not know what to eat, and we have patients who need to lose 400lbs, and we have people with every need in between this. We design programs specific to each person.
Finally, you need to be enrolled in a program. Much as it would be wonderful for each patient to simply obtain the right diet and go home and follow it, and then get to your goal weight on your own, all the studies show that this is not possible and this does not happen. Patients need accountability and they need guidance. You need to come for visits to the program at least every two weeks, weigh in, discuss your struggles, and get some instruction. What happens when you do this, is that you hit “goal posts.” You lose 4 lbs, and then we help you figure out how to lose the next 4 lbs. Here at Balance, we review your program, we make changes if necessary, we discuss how you are going to move forward, and we give teaching lessons on many relevant subjects. (such as how to handle stress eating, for example).
So it is the New Year. It is a great time for new starts. I encourage you to make that commitment and invest in yourself. Decide, not to lose weight, but to make that life style change. Call Balance Medical Weight loss for your first appointment and we will really set some goals, and by spring, you can be a whole new person. Its a New Year, you can become a new you.

I AM GOING TO STOP DIETING UNTIL THE NEW YEAR

Many people who are struggling with their weight feel that there only two weeks left in December, and its the end of the holiday season. So why not just enjoy it, eat all you want, and start fresh on a new diet in early 2016. But here is the problem, you could take a major slide, and gain five, eight, even ten pounds in the next two weeks. There are many celebrations, Christmas for some, New Years for almost everyone, and countless holiday parties; not to mention cookies, fudge, and cake in almost every bank and grocery store. This is exactly NOT the time to walk away from all eating responsibility. It is the time to be sure and check in to your weight loss program, to make sure you do not take a big slide backwards in your weight. When you are doing well, you need guidance and help to keep moving forward, but when you have slid backwards, or are struggling, that is when you MOST need to come in. We will get you back on program, give you accountability, and help answer questions. I am not going to suggest that you should eat absolutely nothing of all the holiday foods. But you should eat with control, and some structure of how to handle the situations, and this is where we will help and guide you. So please, do not wait until the New Year to come in. Get “ahead of the ball” and if you maintain or even gain a pound or two, you will be starting the New Year from where you are now. You will be so happy, come January 1, that you have not gained weight. If you are planning to start as a new patient, this is a great time to come in. You can get all the information you need, get your blood work done, and then really be ready to go, now or in early January. Either way, dont give up all the hard work you have done. We invite you to come in during the last two weeks of 2015, so we can help you and keep you on track. And have a joyous and wonderful holiday season.

How do I handle the holidays?

During the holidays, no matter what your ethnic background or religion, there is unhealthy food everywhere. You go to cocktail and dinner parties, restaurants, work events, and rich unhealthy food is served; every grocery store is pushing their latest fudge, cookie, or holiday dip. So what to do, how to lose weight?
First, set your goals. I consider the most difficult time for weight loss to be from Thanksgiving to New Years. If you maintain, or even lose a few pounds during this time, this is a very successful month.
In terms of how to handle the endless events and parties, the best advice I can give you, is to NEVER arrive at a party or restaurant feeling hungry. At a restaurant there is usually a 30 to 45 minute time lag from when you order to when your meal arrives, with nothing to eat but bread and wine; at a party, there is frequently lots of melted cheese dishes, creamy sauces, rich desserts. So your strategy is to ALWAYS eat something five to ten minutes before you arrive. You will then not feel ravenously hungry and spin out of control, you will enjoy the time with loved ones, the beautiful ambiance, and just the joyous time of year. So stay focused, thinks about this, and you will have a wonderful season.

My friend eats five slices of pizza and never gains a pound.

I know it is not earth shattering news to anyone who has struggled with their weight, that some people can seemingly eat anything they want. You may go out for pizza, and your best friend may scarf down three slices, laden with melted cheese and sausage, as well as five beers, and never seem to gain a pound. It feels enormously unfair. But what is really going on, why does this happen?
It turns out that you can feed the exact same foods to five different people, and each person will absorb a different number of calories. The reason for this, interestingly, begins in the intestines, where we each have different “micro biomes” In translation, this means that every person has slightly different bacteria in his or her gut, and right at this level, our individual differences begin: we each absorb different amounts of food. Then, once in the body, we each process food differently. The best way to think about this is that a diabetic processes food entirely differently from a non diabetic; furthermore, there is a huge variation within non diabetics and pre diabetics in terms of how food is processed.
Food metabolism is enormously complex, and our understanding of this science, called bariatric medicine, is changing rapidly. As a physician trained in bariatric medicine, I spend hundreds of hours annually reading and attending lectures by leading scientists in this field; I am always thinking about what is new, and how I can further help my patients.
If you have tried and either failed at losing weight, or regained all the weight you lost, it is because you have been on a diet that is “one size fits all.” Everyone who needs to lose thirty pounds cannot be on the same program, because that would mean every person burns food exactly the same way; which I have explained above, is absolutely incorrect.
If you are ready to join a program where you will learn how to eat real food which you will purchase in your local grocery store,eat three meals a day plus two optional snacks, and most importantly, have a food program designed specifically for you, we invite you to enter our Balance Medical Weight Loss program.