Weight Loss

Some of our medical weight loss clients report a certain pattern to us: They feel that it’s relatively easy to follow their eating plan during the week, but then on the weekend they decide to reward themselves with a little treat. But then one treat turns into another, and then another… And by the end of the weekend, they feel as though they’ve thrown away two days’ worth of progress toward their goals. Read more

For many of our medical weight loss clients, social gatherings present a challenge to their healthy eating plans. It’s hard to turn down the delicious treats offered at parties, and social pressure is a very real thing even many years after high school. These tips can help you enjoy barbecues this summer, while staying true to your health and fitness goals. Read more

You probably know by now that the key to a successful medical weight loss plan is to simply burn more calories than you consume, but it’s that “consuming” part that can be so tricky! Between busy schedules, numerous distractions, and various emotional factors, sticking to a lower calorie diet isn’t easy.

Therefore, it’s important to learn how to be mindful of each bite. When we’re paying attention to our meals, our body’s cues, and our emotions, we’re less likely to overeat. These four tips can help you to eat more mindfully.

Reduce distractions. Turn off the TV and set aside your smartphone. Many people overeat when they’re distracted, so paying attention to your meals can actually prevent you from eating more than you intended.

Stop to rate your hunger. Before you dive into a meal, first rate your hunger on a scale from 1 to 10. Try not to wait until you’re at a 1 (ravenous) to begin a meal, because you’re more likely to overeat. Eating when you’re a 2 or 3 is usually better. You also want to stop before you hit a 10 (completely stuffed), because it takes time for your brain to signal satiety after your stomach is full. Stop when you’re at a 6 or 7 (comfortable, but not hungry and not stuffed).

Schedule your meals. Set an alarm on your phone that reminds you to eat scheduled meals and snacks every few hours. If the alarm goes off and you’re not hungry yet, that might be a sign that you ate too much at the last meal. Practicing this habit for a few weeks can teach you scheduling and portion control.

Eat balanced meals. Remember to base your meals on a mix of protein, healthy fats, and fiber. These nutrients are the most satisfying, and help you to feel more full.

Mindful eating is half of the battle, but you still need to know how to balance your nutrients and determine a target number of calories for each day. To discuss that aspect of a medical weight loss plan, call our office to schedule a personal appointment.

Your medical weight loss plan will revolve around two key components. Because you must burn more calories than you consume, we will first design an eating plan to lower your caloric intake. Then we must organize your workout schedule so that you’re burning a significant number of calories through exercise.

That second part can feel challenging for people with a busy schedule. After all, you don’t have 2 hours per day to go hiking. If you need to burn a lot of calories in a shorter period of time, try these five workouts to bump up your metabolism. Read more

Fiber is filling and aids digestion, plus it can keep blood sugar levels level and prevent cravings. It’s no wonder we try to focus on adequate fiber intake with our medical weight loss clients. But many find it difficult to get enough fiber in their diets. If that sounds familiar, try these seven sneaky tricks to add more fiber to your snacks and meals throughout the day. Read more

For many women pursuing a medical weight loss program, PMS can sometimes derail their exercise regimen and healthy meal plan. If you find yourself struggling with frustrating weight gain, cravings, lack of energy, or a general low mood, these tips can help you stick to your plans at that inconvenient time of month. Read more

For most of our clients following a medical weight loss plan, counting calories and learning the ropes at the gym can be the “easy” part. The harder part is addressing the reasons that so many of us overeat in the first place. Often those habits are rooted in emotions, and can be much more difficult to change.

If you feel that you frequently engage in “emotional eating”, or craving certain foods for emotional reasons, learning to separate emotions from physical hunger cues will be key to your medical weight loss success. These three strategies can help. Read more

You might think the first step to eating a healthier diet would be to consume more vegetables or increase your protein intake. But actually, the very first thing you should do is something fairly simple yet surprisingly important: Learn to read nutrition labels! Read more

We always hope to support our medical weight loss clients in any way possible, and that can include steering them toward the fitness apps and devices that help them. But if you’ve tried apps, trackers, and even exercise equipment that includes calorie counters, you might have noticed wide discrepancies in their numbers. So are those calorie counters even accurate? And should you bother with them? Read more

It’s a tale as old as time: Every January, we make resolutions to improve our health, such as exercising daily or even following a medical weight loss plan. But by mid-March, and sometimes even sooner, 95 percent of us have dropped our goals and returned to old habits. If you want to avoid sabotaging your own New Year’s resolutions, watch out for these following six mistakes. Read more