Tuesday, January 1, 2013

What's your resolution?

New Year, New You!


Ah, Horsepucky.

Here we go again.  Sweeping changes, improved behaviors, adamant resolutions.  It all lasts for about a week, if you're lucky; I made it to 10am  when the Ghirardelli chocolate called my name and I gave in to the siren's song.  This is nothing new.  According to everything written on the subject, it takes about 7 tries to change a behavior.  Quitting smoking, leaving an abusive spouse, stopping nail biting - no matter what, it's not easy.  That's why I'm here.

My plan is pretty simple.  I figure I spend all day at work reciting the same information over and over to patient after patient (and let's face it, sometimes to the same patient over and over! LOL)  So now I'm going to try putting it into writing for consumption by the general public. My first disclaimer (and I'm sure there will be many more) is that while I am a doctor, I cannot give advice to any specific individual or condition.  Any behavioral changes suggested on this blog may be dangerous when applied to individuals with certain medical conditions or taking certain medicines.  All changes should be undertaken in conjunction with the ongoing supervision of your own physician.  Whew, that was a mouthful... hope the lawyers are happy.

I hope to use this blog to help people understand why they may be struggling with their weight, why they feel like they can't make progress or maintain it when they do.  I understand all too well the frustration of being unable to get to your weight goal.  I spent my whole childhood fat and have been up and down the scale so many times, I can't keep count.  Thin for Life, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, Atkins, Zone, South Beach - you name it, they've gotten my money.  I've had great success with all of them! LOL  

My promise to you is that if you do exactly as all these diets say, you will, without a doubt, lose weight.  It is a sheer fact that ALL diets work.  The problem isn't the diet - it's us.  Who can stick with eating like this for months or years on end?  If a diet claims you'll lose about 2 lbs a week, then it would take you 6 months of deprived eating to lose 50lbs.  That's a lot of deprivation.  And in the case of prepared food diets, it's crazy expensive.

The truth is, in order to get to and stay at a healthy weight, it takes a ton of behavioral changes, combined with some serious dieting.  All these folks who say you shouldn't "diet" are wrong.  If you "eat healthy" and don't overeat, you'll likely maintain your current weight without difficulty.  But if you are 100 lbs overweight, are you really looking to maintain?  I hope not.  

The design of my posts will be simple.  I will post on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Monday will be general weight loss education topics. Wednesday will be dedicated to Myth Busting using actual SCIENCE! And Friday will be Baby Steps that you can take and continue to use to help you stop gaining weight and start losing.  

In the meantime (until Wednesday) the one thing you can start doing today is food journaling.  I know, everyone hates it.  But, studies have repeatedly shown that it makes a difference in losing and maintaining weight loss.  So get a small notebook, use your iphone or tablet and start keeping track of every morsel, droplet or crumb that enters your maw.  You may be astounded at the end of the day!  

See you Wednesday.  Oh, and Happy New Year!