Dr. Posner's Blog
weight loss a numbers game
September 18, 2010 - 0 Comments »
Although we are not having you count calories in our Transitional Dietary Plan, it does make sense to pay attention sometimes to the “numbers”. 3500 calories to a pound. This sounds like alot but as I was doing the ellipitcal machine yesterday, I started thinking about calorie count hit me: I do this exercise pretty much every day and the following thought hit me: I burn off about 600 calories a day doing this…this comes out to over 4000 calories a week which means in a one year period, this keeps about 50 pounds off of me. Then I thought: “wow…if I stopped exercising and ate the things I do, I would weight about 217 pounds and on my 5 foot nine inch frame, by anyones standards I would be obese.
The points small things can make a huge difference….finding calories to cut out of your daily dietary intake is not rreally hard to find….it is the implementation that is difficult…yet, on a broad basis, if you can cut out 500 caloiies a day (a little over 3 cokes) you can lose 50 pounds in a years time.
The small things can make a big difference over time. Think about every calorie entering your system and always ask yourself the question as to whether this is a needed caloric source. Is it worth it?
weigtht loss and needing help
September 17, 2010 - 0 Comments »
First, I want to thank you for the very kind comments yesterday.
Today's subject: Feeling like a “weak” person for having to pay a doctor to help you lose weight. We often have people who enter our program who feel a certain level of defeat for having to resort to a formal medical weight loss program to help them lose weight. In their minds, they should be able to do this on their own, yet their efforts have failed time and time again. The only option left is to seek medical help, but their is a sensation of self=loathing for needing this help.
I want to reiterate the statistics: 68% of Americans are overweight. If losing weight on your own was easy, there would be 0% of Americans overweight. Not being able to lose weight on your own does not make you a bad, weak or inept person…it is the “normal”. There are many chemical, hormonal and psychological factors that make this very difficult and this is indepenedent of intelligence and strength of character. Do not confuse these issues.
We are here to help you and NEVER feel a hesitation in calling on us.
weight loss and exercise
September 16, 2010 - 0 Comments »
First, I want to thanl the people who take the time to post comments to this blog. I know everyone is very busy and it is difficult to takin the e the time to read these entries. Engaging the subject matter, thinking about the issues and making your opinion known is a very cool thing.
When we think really nice meal out at a great restaurant, we think=====fun
When we think waking up early, going to the gym and pounding on a treadmill, we think—–NO fun.
This is the major reason most people do not schedule regular exercise. For most people exercise is NOT fun, it is kind of grueling and we do not think of this as a trreat but rather as some sort of punishment.
Try to find someone to join you in your exercise efforts. This helps make it more fun. Also, the right personal trainer can really be a motivating factor for you…Once you get into the routine, it becomes easier and part of your schedule. Admittedly it takes awhile to get that as a routine but you have to start somewhere. With the colder weather coming soon it will be important to find some kind of indoor exercise that you like.
Long term weight loss efforrts should include regular exercise….this does not mean you have to run marathons….but it also means that no exercise at all will derail your efforts.
weight loss and success
September 15, 2010 - 0 Comments »
Yesterday I saw a 62 year old female patient who was finishing her 12 weeks and she lost more than expected…31.2 pounds. She was thrilled and told me (which made me feel great) that nothing has ever worked for her before…and she has tried many different programs and “diets”. She went on to say that she is the lightest she has been in obver 15 years. She signed up for another 12 weeks as her goal has not been reached as yet. Her initial 12 week success has propelled her to dig down even further to attain her “perfect” weight.
Sucess breeds success as this relates to many issues, including weight loss efforts. A very common human tendency is to cancel appoinments if a person knows he/she gained weight that week. There is an embarrassment factor. Missing appointments will lead to less aggressive weight loss and the negative cycle begins. When someone is successful, he/;she is proud to get on that bscale and show off their success.
Set yourself up for success but always remember that each weeks battle will not always be won. A successful week of weight loss will give you impetus to continue your efforts and a less-than successful week may discourage you. Do not let that discouragement turn into frustration…turn it into resolve.
weight loss “I can’t” versus “I won’t”
September 14, 2010 - 0 Comments »
I saw a patient yesterday who was very frustrated with his 2 pounds of weight loss in three weeks. At the weight he started, the average weight loss in a male would have been about 15 pounds in 3 weeks. When queried, the patient was not following our dietary plan at all. He insisted on following some previous gram counting diet he was on in the past, he was eating nuts, beef jerkies, Atkins bars and a number of other itemes that are not part of our plan. When I made the strong recommendation that he follow our plan, I was told: “I can't do that”. I then heard about not enough time to count exchanges and have enough time to plan the meals and snacks we recommend.
His occupation was no more stressful or time consuming than many of our other patients. This is Washington, D.C., not Mayberry RFD and my suspicion is that the overwhelming majority of our patients have precious little time to prepare meals count portions etc. However, they prioritize their weight loss efforts realizing that if they do not lose weight, bad things will happen. A person can find the time to do what is important. If you have a really messed up knee you truly cannot exercise. If I hear that because of work and home issues, a person cannot exercise I will gently try to convnce the patient that tperhaps waking up 1/2 hour earlier, or somehow finding time at lunchtime, etc may be ways around this.
Examine the things that you truly cannot do vs what you choose not to do. As this relates to weight loss, there may be some issues that can be crossed over to help your efforts.
By the way, I know I will not offend this gentleman with this blog entry cause there is very very little chance he is taking the time to read this blog.
