by Dr. Rob on August 9, 2011
How many people do you know (including yourself) that have tried numerous “diets,” but were unable to keep the weight off? With most diets, the strategy is to intentionally reduce calories in order to lose weight only to find the weight barely creeps off and the cravings for “carbs” go through the roof.
Have you ever gone on a “diet” and lost weight but found shortly thereafter you gained the weight back? Perhaps you have tried fad-diets, calorie counting phone apps, or read diet books but still haven’t achieved your weight loss goals.
It is so frustrating to “eat right” and exercise, but see no change on the scale. This is because dieting and counting calories only sets you up for failure when it comes to long term weight loss. Reducing calories is a quick way to slow your metabolism. That is because our bodies are designed to go without food for extended periods of time. By cutting calories, you are telling your body that there must be some kind of famine. Your body will respond by automatically turning on hormones for weight gain and turning off hormones for weight loss. This change in hormones will make your appetite soar, make you tired and the weight scarcely comes off.
Sure, your willpower may hold out for a while. Eventually, your biology will overcome your willpower and you will start eating more. Well, guess what? Your fat-storing hormones are turned up because of this sense of ‘famine’. The moment you put something in your mouth, it goes right into fat storage. Fat storage on your body that is, hence all the work down the tubes and you gain the weight back.
Stop counting calories! Put the redundantly preached old advice of ‘eat less, exercise more’ in the garbage where it belongs. To lose weight you need to eat more food, which tells the body that there is a plentiful supply of food, so it does not need not go into “starvation-mode.” Focusing on protein is the important key. Refined and processed carbohydrates quickly turn into sugar in your body and turn on your fat-storing hormones. Protein and healthy fats on the other hand do not turn into sugar and will turn on your fat-burning hormones. Eat frequently, every 3 hours, focusing on protein, vegetables and healthy fats. If you do this, I promise that you will not have the sugar cravings you’ve had before. So stop counting calories and start eating your way towards a thin new body today!
by Dr. Rob on May 27, 2011
I know what it feels like to be overweight. I didn’t like how I looked or how I felt both physically or emotionally. I was tired all the time and I didn’t sleep very well. My confidence was low and I didn’t feel very attractive. I was frustrated, but changing was very difficult. Each time I tried, it would last for a few days and I would slip back into my old patterns and behaviors, only making me feel worse about myself.
Looking back on that time in my life, one thing that is very surprising is how insidious the change was. I looked in the mirror everyday, but didn’t see myself changing. Then one day I happen to look at some pictures a friend of mine took and I was shocked at what I saw. I couldn’t believe it was me in the picture. Who is that person? That can’t be me? How did this happen? How did I let this happen to myself? These were the questions racing through my mind. I am not sure why I didn’t notice the weight I had put on before. Maybe I wasn’t ready to see the change. Maybe I was in denial and didn’t want to deal with the situation. Without even realizing it, I had gained about 50 lbs since graduating from high school. So much for the freshman 15. I gained the sophomore, junior and senior 15 as well. Regardless, seeing those pictures of my round, bloated face was a depressing, but at the same time, it was a turning point in my life. I finally committed to making some positive changes. click to continue…
by Dr. Rob on May 23, 2011
I think there has been a huge disservice against overweight people in this country. The answer we most often hear is to just “eat less and exercise more.” That sounds easy enough in theory, but weight loss is much more complicated than just reducing calories and jumping on a treadmill. Besides, the “eating less and exercise more” advice is always being touted by a “skinny” person that has never struggled with their weight in the first place. We desperately need to change our mindset around the “calories in / calories out” approach to weight loss because it certainly is not working.
We are also constantly being inundated with advertising and information about “healthy foods,” which in reality only contribute to the problem. We hear “low fat” and “vegan” is good and “low carb” is bad. How do you make sense of all the different information?
You go to your doctor for a yearly physical and he tells you to lose weight, which you already knew, but then sends you on your way without any help or advice. The question I ask is, why doesn’t your doctor help you lose weight?
The weight gain and obesity epidemic is a major medical problem in this country, but the professionals (doctors) who should be helping solve this complex hormonal problem, either provide limited and outdated information if any, or recommend surgery as the only other solution.
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How many people do you know (including yourself) that have tried numerous “diets,” but were unable to keep the weight off? With most diets, the strategy is to intentionally reduce calories in order to lose weight only to find the weight barely creeps off and the cravings for “carbs” go through the roof.
