Archive for the ‘Weight Loss’ Category

WHAT CONSTITUTES AN IDEAL WEIGHT-MANAGEMENT CLINIC?

The ideal clinic should be able to:
- Deliver a weight-loss programme that is tailored to the individual.
- Offer regular and ongoing support.
- Embrace treatment modalities ranging from patient self-help groups and publications to commercial weight loss programmes.
- Offer lifestyle change support from specialist nurses, dieticians and physicians.
- Provide access to specialist dietetic advice.
- Offer specialist advice on increasing physical activity levels.
- Prescribe modern weight-loss pharmaceutical agents.
- Advise on the application of bariatric surgery techniques.
Such weight-loss programmes can be delivered in either primary or secondary care. The correct approach to individual patient management varies depending on the level of expertise and the facilities available.
An ideal clinic would be at a dedicated and specific time when obese patients would be able to make an appointment to see their clinician. Some patients, often for reasons of embarrassment, prefer not to attend surgery during normal routine clinic times because they think they would look out of place in the company of much leaner patients in the waiting room setting. However, this might not be practical and many clinics that are already delivering weight management services are ‘rolling clinics’ that obese patients are invited to attend during normal general medical clinic times.
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Posted in Weight Loss |

THE SELF-POISONER: PATTERNS OF SELF-INDUCED TOXICITY – THE TOXICITY OF SHAME

The ability to cope with failure is necessary to emotional well-being. The nourishing person sees his “failures” as experiences that he considers part of a learning process.
For the N person, the experience of failure is focused on the act itself: “Yes, I made a mistake, and it won’t be my last!”
The N person avoids poisoning himself because he does not believe that his self-esteem is at stake every time he ventures forth in some new endeavor. The T person, on the other hand, perceives failure as a reflection of his worth as a person. For him, failure is a blow to his idealized self and his acceptability as a human being.
TM NEVER GOOD ENOUGH
Those who poison themselves with embarrassment over their failures tend to fantasize that if they can perform well enough they will finally achieve an adequate sense of self-esteem. Their quest is futile, though, since the standards they arbitrarily select are almost invariably unreasonable, overdemanding, or perfectionistic. Ironically, any outstanding achievement they do experience tends to be viewed as a fluke. Similarly, any real acceptance by another is met with the attitude “He doesn’t know what I’m really like, or he’d feel differently.” Or the approving person is held in contempt for his low standards.
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Posted in Weight Loss |

EATING RULES FOR WEIGHT LOSS: EAT FIVE SERVINGS OF VEGETABLES OR MORE EACH DAY

Eat at least five servings of vegetables or more each day. A serving of vegetables is equivalent to one cup, cut up, and is between 35 and 50 calories per serving. This requirement is easy to meet if for lunch or dinner you have a meal of a large salad with some protein on top. Or include a healthy portion of steamed or lightly stir-fried vegetables with each meal. You can even scramble some egg whites for breakfast and include some chopped tomato, steamed spinach, broccoli, onions, or mushrooms. Vegetables are the key to weight loss, as they are high in fiber, high in water, and packed with vitamins. They also fill you up with minimal caloric damage.
In addition, scientists are learning to trick the stomach into feeling full. How? By consuming vegetables that are rich in fiber and water.
“Eat Your Vegetables”: Why and How
I have had numerous people tell me over the years that they just don’t like vegetables. If this is the case, give them a second try. It is possible that the first vegetables you were introduced to as a child were canned or overcooked (sorry, Mom). I had a girlfriend whose Mom, Betty, was a great cook (I still dream about her chili) with one exception: On Thanksgiving Day, she would put the turkey and the broccoli in at approximately the same time. The broccoli came out of the boiling water limp and a somewhat pathetic shade of light green. All of us begged her to wait until just before dinner was served to cook the veggies. We rarely won.
You may now find that fresh or frozen vegetables, properly prepared, are just delicious. If you have to, doctor them up. Here are a few ideas:
- Dip baby carrots or celery in salsa instead of high-calorie, high-fat, high-sodium chips.
- Steam spinach with garlic.
- Squeeze lemon or lime on everything. You can’t go wrong when you take fresh or frozen vegetables and squeeze lots of fresh lemon or lime on top. Then take the leftover pieces of lemon or lime and toss them into a big pitcher of ice water. Everything tastes better and more refreshing.
- Dip green or red peppers in low-calorie ranch dressing (I like the Kraft Free brand), or make your own dip with fat-free sour cream, a little horseradish, and some chopped onion or garlic. Season with great herbs such as tarragon, thyme, sage, or cumin. Experiment.
- Take a big head of cauliflower, place two pieces of low-calorie, low-fat cheese on the top, and wrap it in clear plastic wrap or a microwave-safe plastic bag. Microwave it until the cheese melts and the cauliflower is heated through. It is just delicious.
- Try different salad dressings. Avoid buying a whole bottle of dressing that you may not like by trying low-calorie dressings in individual packets available at most salad bars. (Don’t be fooled by the words fat-free. Some of these dressings are still very high in calories, so read the labels.)
- Invest in a salad spinner so that with minimal dressing, you get maximum coverage. After you dry the salad greens in the spinner, add a small amount of dressing and spin again. You’ll be amazed at how a little dressing goes a long way in the spinner.
- For lunch, take two pieces of low-calorie bread or pita bread (about 190 calories for the big pocket) and dress with Dijon mustard. Then add three to four ounces of turkey, white meat chicken, or tuna. Pile on sliced tomato, lettuce, cucumber, sprouts, or any veggies you choose. You won’t believe it, but you could get two to three servings of your vegetables on your sandwich.
Eat Right: “Bright and Dark”
The brighter the color of the fruit or vegetable, the higher the amount of disease-fighting phytonutrients. It’s the “orange” in oranges that may prevent heart disease and the “red” in strawberries that is packed with vitamins. So when you do pick your favorite fruits and vegetables, think bright. In addition to thinking bright, think dark. It’s the dark “blue” in blueberries that may enhance brain function. Deep green spinach is packed with nutrients and vitamins; light green iceberg lettuce is basically water and fiber.
According to research at the University of Scranton, the cranberry is the food with the highest number of disease-fighting substances. “Gram for gram, cranberries appear to be the absolute best food for fighting cancer, heart disease, and stroke,” says Joe Vinson, Ph.D. Fresh and dried cranberries have the greatest protective powers, followed by cranberry sauce. Please avoid bottled cranberry juice, or drink it in very small quantities, since it is usually loaded with calories.
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Posted in Weight Loss |

CRITICAL PERIODS FOR FAT GAIN: IMPLICATIONS

1. Ensure that physical activity (i.e. play) is maintained at a sufficient level during early adolescence to prevent fat cell hyperplasia.

2. Recognise the types and importance of critical stages in fat gain in individuals and possible means of preventing this.

3. Recognise the various stages in life at which critical periods for fat gain can occur and be prepared to act on these.

4. Encourage breast-feeding for nursing mothers.

5. Encourage appropriate activity and eating patterns during pregnancy and the immediate post partum period.

6. Learn to recognise up-coming periods that are likely to be highly stressful and develop stress reduction techniques for coping with these.

7. Develop modified physical activity programs for women moving into the post-menopausal stage along the lines of those characteristically used for men.

8. Provide compensatory activities for individuals who significantly reduce their involvement in organised sport.

9. Encourage more physical activity and decreased fat intake in middle-aged men.

10. Try to maintain body fat levels during festive periods and work on fat reduction after these periods have passed.

11. Seek professional help or deal with issues arising from bereavement or separation before attempting to deal with body fat levels.

12. Check medications and any contra-indications with fat loss, and if necessary, consult with a patient’s medical practitioner to see if alternative medications are available.

13. Where medication which affects fat loss is necessary, it is important to be aware that fat loss may therefore be more difficult despite positive changes in eating and exercise habits.

14. Suggest that clients discuss with their doctor the implications of prescribed drugs on fat loss.

15. Plateaus in fat loss should be recognised as inevitable but not necessarily permanent forms of physiological adaptation.

16. Clients should be taught to be encouraged by a lack of fat gain during plateauing periods, in contrast to a continuing loss.

17. Prescription for breaking through plateaus may include change of exercise or eating patterns in order to overcome physiological adaptations.

18. There needs to be increased awareness of the consequences of periods of disillusionment, particularly where these correspond with plateaus in fat loss.

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