Weight Loss

Let’s Talk About (NOT) Drinking Calories! Perhaps you’ve seen the ad below in your travels around the internet. It’s the fall after all and one must have the proper beverage at all times! Hate to be the guy who rains on the parade, but you definitely want to avoid all these types of beverages. If you want to see what you will be subjecting your body to if you drink one of these follow this link: https://www.starbucks.ie/nutrition and then click on the “Download Beverage Nutritional PDF” and then go to page 7 of that PDF: the “Autumn 22 Promo Beverages”.

Anytime is a good time to establish new habits but in our culture, January seems to be the most popular time to do so. So let's talk about the ‘R word’ (Resolutation). Since our beat around here is health, nutrition and diet I will confine my remarks to those topics. We all know most ‘diets’ don’t work whether you start it in January or any other time of year. Why is that? Might I suggest it’s because most diets are impossible to maintain. Anyone remember the cabbage soup diet? Are you really going to eat cabbage soup for your entire

I want to talk about changes the food industry has made that will support both of those efforts. As of 2020, nutritional labels on purchased foods have new requirements. There are several changes on these new nutritional labels. Three of which I want to bring to your attention: Portion sizes are more realistic and reflect the amount that people actually eat. In the past, food companies would often have artificially small portion sizes which made the food seem like it had less calories than it really did. However, be careful not to let these larger portion sizes be an excuse

Before considering this question, let’s start by acknowledging that “Diet” is a 4-letter word! The answer is “it depends.” They do and they don’t. One thing I can say with certainty… a ‘diet’ that does NOT work is SAD….the Standard American Diet. So, anything that moves you away from SAD will be beneficial. Here are some past blogs where I’ve discussed SAD: Taste Buds Rehab The Micro…What? There are no shortage of diets out there: Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, Keto, Mediterranean, Pescatarian, South Beach, Atkins... you get the idea. These fit the definition of "the kinds of food that a person,

If you are reading this and have already had bariatric surgery, then hopefully you are engaging in some form of exercise that is appropriate for your age and degree of mobility. One thing people find after losing some weight is that they can do more…walk more (and further), spend more time on an exercise bike, or elliptical or rowing machine etc. One standard piece of advice I have for all my patients is…as you feel you can do more, you should. What is the reason for that advice? As we get more fit there will be a tendency to hit

I want to discuss something that should be on your ‘never to do’ list. If you have had bariatric surgery, and frankly even if you haven’t, you should never ‘drink’ calories. I mean that in the very literal sense, btw. You should never consume calories in liquid form. So, first off, like all rules there are exceptions. The one exception to this rule, if you have recently had bariatric surgery you have been advised to consume your protein drink. This is obviously a liquid with calories (it has protein after all)… but other than that exception I would strongly suggest

Did I get your attention with my little teaser about the “Best” diet? Spoiler alert there really is no “best” diet for everyone. On the other hand, there is likely a best diet for you. What are the clues that what you are doing is really optimum for you? First off, we must acknowledge that diet is a loaded term, mostly because virtually everyone who has struggled with their weight has been on one and for most people the experience is frustrating. Instead of the word ‘diet’ let’s use the term ‘nutritional strategy’ or perhaps ‘eating plan’. There are only

Imagine if there were a pill that eliminated diabetes for half (or two thirds) of all diabetics. What if there were a pill that cured 90% of all the patients who have sleep apnea? If you have high blood pressure, would you want a pill that cured your high blood pressure (not just treated high blood pressure but cured it) 40-50% of the time? What if you could dramatically reduce your lifetime risk of developing cancer by taking a pill? Would you be interested in that? Imagine for a moment that one pill could do all those things! If such

Weight loss resolutions fail. Here’s why. If losing weight is your New Year’s resolution for yet another year, you may want to consider an alternative to relying solely on diet and exercise to reach your goal weight. The low success rate from diet and exercise alone typically has nothing to do with a lack of willpower. Rather, it’s a simple fact of human biology. In 2013, the American Medical Association recognized that obesity is a chronic, progressive disease resulting from a combination of strong genetic factors and environmental factors, just like any other disease. One of the most effective ways

Weight loss is a challenge many individuals struggle to overcome. Some individuals simply are not able to implement the right amount of exercise and healthy eating to shed unnecessary pounds. In those cases, weight loss surgery may be an option. Dr. Michael Bilof, a general surgeon specializing in bariatric surgery and founder of Garden State Bariatrics and Wellness, describes approaching this decision from both a medical perspective and a goal-orientated one. “From a purely medical perspective, we look at body mass index, or BMI,” he notes. “Whether or not it’s truly right for you depends on what your goals are