The basics of a successful weight reduction and management program are that you either use or wear what you eat. If you exercise more or burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight. Understanding a healthy diet and good nutrition is just as important as practicing a regular fitness regimen. We believe that joining a program that helps provide daily or frequent guidance will improve the success of maintaining healthy weight goals.
At Swor Women’s Care, we will help get you started and recommend joining programs such as Weight Watchers, Nutrisystems or similar non-gimmick regimens. We offer our patients inexpensive guidance through our VIP special medical service program, Privia. Visit www.priviahealth.com and learn about the programs available. The service includes a personalized nutritionist and fitness evaluation and ongoing guidance from nurses at the Mayo Clinic. As a patient of Swor Women’s Care, you get a personal health advisor and 24/7 access to the professional staff. It’s a great value and makes a lot more sense than spending hundreds of dollars on fad diets and the latest weight loss gimmicks.
Another critical part of a medical weight loss program is a physical and lab testing to rule out other causes of slow metabolism or sugar imbalances, such as diabetes or low thyroid.
We have put together a short list of other tips for weight loss and weight management below:
Metabolism and appetite – you can try non-prescription formulas with “fat burners” Chromium Picolinate or Pyruvate, which are available at many retail and health food stores. These are two relatively safe appetite and metabolism modifiers. We recommend avoiding herbs such as Ephedra and Mahwong which are contained in some appetite suppressants commonly available. They can help people lose weight, but have more side effects and risks, especially in people who have medical issues. Green Tea is a natural appetite suppressor used effectively by many people. We have some supplement formulas available in our office that you can try for appetite suppression.
For patients who are significantly overweight (BMI > 30), there are prescription drugs available, if medical supervision is desired. If we prescribe an appetite suppressant, then we will require weigh in and BP check office visits.
Water – eight, 8 ounce glasses of water daily is a typical appropriate intake for active women in Florida. Inadequate water intake leads to constipation, decreased kidney function, and many other potential problems. Extra fiber can also help with weight loss, especially guar fiber, as in Benefiber. Recent research has indicated that adequate Calcium intake is also critical to weight management. Overweight people are typically calcium deficient. If diet intake of calcium is insufficient, try Osteoguard mineral supplement available at Swor Women’s Care or online.
Exercise and Fitness- the missing ingredient is often exercise, and a moderate aerobic program, such as walking, biking, swimming or classes should be done 3-5 times a week. Exercise resets the natural “thermostat” of the body and allows more efficient fat-burning even when not exercising. Muscle building also increases fat-burning efficiency, so weight lifting can also be beneficial. People who practice stretching, yoga, aerobic exercise and some weight-lifting on a daily basis, rarely have significant weight issues.
Foods to AVOID: All fried foods, bread, red meat, butter, cream, animal fat, most snack foods and processed/ prepackaged foods, regular and diet soft drinks, beer, ice cream, creamy salad dressings, fruit juices. Try avoiding simple carbohydrates like sugar, white rice, white bread, pasta and potatoes. Refined sugar, caffeine, and alcohol in excess can impair healthy bodily function.
Diet: Diets should generally be high in protein and complex carbohydrates such as whole grain breads, wild rice, low fat milk, yogurt, lean meats, egg whites, beans, legumes and fish. Adequate intake of fruits and five daily servings of vegetables are also important. One should avoid sweets and fatty foods such as many types of snack foods, fried foods, fast foods, bakery goods, etc. Don’t be fooled by misleading names and labels. Low fat or “Adkins” is not always a good choice. Simple sugars and starches such as white rice, bread and pasta are high glycemic index foods and should only be taken in small quantities. Learn how to read nutrition labels, understand fat grams and calories. The typical calorie intake for the average adult woman is about 1800 per day. Large salad with creamy dressing or a serving of fettuccini alfredo can contain 1200 calories easily. A large blueberry muffin, order of French fries or large soft drink can have 600 calories.
Snack suggestions: Pretzels, cereal, raisins, dried fruit, oatmeal, raw vegetables, fresh fruit, yogurt, air-popped popcorn, low-fat bran muffins, whole grain crackers, graham crackers, fig bars. Lots of water.
Serving Sizes- get the small size, order a small plate, don’t go for seconds, drink water with meals, take home part of your meal and make it another meal. Your main dish should be the size of a deck of cards and the rest of the plate should be veggies and salad (with a dab of low-fat dressing).
Restaurant recommendations: Grilled food, salads, vegetable side dishes, “heart healthy” choices. Avoid regular soft drinks, creamy dressings, fried foods, most desserts. Steer clear from the bread. Also avoid “All you can eat” specials, open buffets, and salad bars. Don’t be afraid to share with a friend, take home leftovers or make one meal work as two.
In general, when eating, eat slowly with lots of fluid in between bites. Chew food thoroughly. Stop eating before you feel full. Eating on the run is a source of many problems with diets such as choosing fast foods, inadequate chewing, inadequate fluids, and over eating. Don’t eat late at night. These bad habits can lead to poor weight management, gas problems, and other digestive disorders.
Properly done, a weight management program should achieve slow and steady results averaging 2-8 pounds reduced per month. At times this may plateau and then resume again. As far as Atkin’s type programs, they may offer a significant weight loss initially, but are considered unhealthy long term diets. The principles of the South Beach or Mediterranean Diet seem to be very effective and we suggest this as a reasonable basis.
