"Bread..I Need Bread..."

Okay, yesterday I did NOT do something I always tell my patients to do...and that is PLAN their meals in advance if a challenging day is expected. Okay..here is my story: Yesterday, after office hours, we drove up to New Jersey for a family member's surprise party. The first surprise was the traffic on the Jersey Turnpike. Bumper to bumper for the entire way. The trip, which should have lasted 3.5 hours turned into a 7 hour nightmare. None of us ate lunch, anticipating a relaxing stop for some small food enroute and then dinner at 8PM. Because of the excessive traffic, we would up not eating much of anything , and we were all starving by the time we had to throw our clothes on and get there in time for the surprise. As we had to get there 1/2 hour before the birthday guest of honor, a bar was open, but no food When the waiter brought over the first bread basket after the surprise and then we finally sat down for the meal, it was devoured in seconds. "Bring another please!!!"

We/I did not do the planning necessary to ensure that we would not resort to reaching immediately for the carbs. We should have brought snacks in the car anticipating a possible travel problem and then we would not have felt so hungry before dinner.

Plan your day in advance to ensure that you do not skip meals and wind up "starving" later. I need to follow my own advice!!!!

"I Have To..."

Yesterday I saw a patient who had a somewhat difficult weight loss week and apparently their family has a tradition where on the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas cookies are made...lots of them. The patient told be that "I have to make these cookies." Unfortunately, the patient not only made the cookies, but a number of them were ingested.

I want to touch on the mindset that somehow we are compelled or forced to do something that will damage our weight loss efforts. I have had patients who travel tell me that at business dinners "I have to have a glass of wine". Or, "they brought in lunch and I had to have sandwiches and chips."

If it is family tradition to bake cookies after Thanksgiving, by no means am I suggesting that you break tradition (unless most family members are overweight in whcih case I would ask you to consider changing traditions). I am suggesting that you take ownsership of your OWN actions. Whether it be baking, but not easting the cookies, or going to a business dinner and ordering a non-alcoholic beverage, these choices are under OUR control, not someone elses. Yes, being in the environment of baking cookies or being around people socially drinking willl tempt us to do the same, but we can all exert control of ourselves. It is a matter of changing the mindset that "I HAVE to.." to "I CHOOSE to..."

Have a great Saturday....and....any Skins fans wanna bet your doctor about tomorrow's outcome???? GO G-MEN!!!

Thanksgiving "Leftovers"

Oops...as Suzanne pointed out....next Friday is December 5th and that is most most definitely the day of our anniversary party...5pm till ??? Karioke....hear the staff sing!!! (and we get to hear YOU sing!!)

Lots of food left over from yesterday's feast/ Take stock of what you wrapped up and put in the fridge...if it is protein, great job and enjoy the remains of that turkey, ham, etc. If you put away the remnants of that apple pie, sweet potato casserole, etc., be very careful NOT to start snacking on these. Tendency is to take small little spoonfuls, thinking we cannot possibly damage our weight loss goals by just taking a little. But you and I know, that "little" turns into a lot.

As my son Brian aptly pointed out to me last night, lots of these blog subjects are being repeated, but I do think it is important to keep hammering home certain points. The next few weeks can be treacherous to your weight loss efforts...it would behoove you to not dig into the leftover high-carb foods.

Have a great time shopping!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to wish all of you a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your family, friends and loved ones.

I am off to the tennis courts (hey...burn some calories so I can eat a bit more and not damage the scale!).

Few hints: stay away from the alcohol, do only "sampling" tastes of the traditional high-caloric stuffings, breads, potatoes, etc, load up on those proteins, and really only taste that pumpkin /apple pie IF you feel hunger....

And please dont forget...next Friday..December 20 from 5-??? 20th anniversary patient appreciation nite......please stop by!!!!!!

Thanksgiving Eve

This is my favorite holiday of the year. Gathering with family,, friends, loved ones...watching football, eating the traditional foods, going outside and throwing the football around...all of these activities are incredibly fun. For me, as well as all of my patients out there that are "Type A's" that run around like crazy all the time, the day gives me time to take a pause and realize just how important family is and the incredible need to stay healthy to be able to enjoy, for years, your family. The stock market, politicians, business issues, etc....all of these are truly much less of a priority than being able to gather with your family on happy occasions.

Yes, we all want to lose weight so we can look great, look younger, have a higher aesthetic appeal to ourselves and others...but the very most important reason to lose weight is so that we can become healthier, avoid heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers that are linked to obesity. As you look around your Thanksgiving table tomorrow, think of how sad it would be for you if you could not be with your loved ones..and think how sad it would be for them if you were not here to enjoy the holiday. I do not mean to bring any morbid thoughts into a joyous holiday occasion...I just want you to embrace life and do whatever you can do to stay here longer.

Weight Loss Initiatives Before the Holidays

We have had several patients recently who came in for consultations to learn more about the program. All decided to start the program but in common, they voiced the feeling that they should start AFTER the holidays. Already knowing the true reason behind that decision, I asked each of them their rationale. Basically, it came down to not wanting to "mess up" their holidays. Although the intellectual part of our brain tells us that weight loss is a VERY GOOD thing...making us healthier, more confident, etc., there exists the almost universal feeling that "dieting" is basically sacrifice and deprivation. We will be giving up "fun" activities and substituting strict eating behaviors. If we go into a holiday season "dieting" we will have a much less fun holiday. Therefore, why not start January 1???

This is the mindset that we try very hard to change. Anything that makes us overweight, puts our health at risk, and makes us feel less confident is not a "good" thing. A concerted effort to lose those pounds, look younger, rid yourselves of medications, and live longer/healthier is a very good thing. Why wait one more minute to begin a new lifestyle? The holidays bring you and your loved ones together. This is what the important thing is. Ingesting thousands of needless calories should not make this family time any more special. Losing that weight will allow you to spend more Thanksgivings and Christmases with your family. Obesity will cut your life short.

The start of your new, healthier lifestyle should start NOW. There is no reason to delay this!

Cold, dark winter and weight loss

Before I begin talking weight control, I want to point out my football picks from yesterday.....not bad, huh????

If you will be asked asked by your spouse/family member/friend what you want as a present for the holidays, please think fitness. It has been a very cold November and it seems as if this winter will be indeed a very cold one (so goes the global warming thing). Getting outside to do your walks or runs will not happen as frequently as summer time. It is definitely not fun to be out there bundeled up trying to exercise in the dark.


A warm, well lit basement withan elliptical, treadmill, rower or some other machine in front of a tv set provides a much better climate-controlled environment to exercise. For long term weight loss purposes, routine exercise is a vital component, but if we take months off from this because of weather issues, then our goals will not be reached as readily.

A gift of health for you in the form of exercise equipment or $$ towards a purchase is a great gift. Perhaps the gift of life!

Matching Food intake to activity levels

Football Sunday...Giants play Arizona...Redskins Seattle.. Eagles--Ravens... Posner's Picks: Giants 33-27 Redskins 17-13, Ravens 20-10

We have put several ex-NFL players thru our program. All were morbidly obese. In their pkaying days, they were used to consumming a tremendlous number of calories, but at the same time, they were also practicing and working out extensively. When they stopped playing football, they did not curtail their eating habits, yet activity dropped off significantly. Moreover, the aging process slows down metabolism resulting in another reason for the marked weight gain.

The bottom line is that we all must pay attention to our slowing metabolism and decreasing activity levels if our current life situation does not allow for aggressive exercise. If we do not adjust our eating patterns accordingly, weight gain will ensue. In college and high school we all probably ate much more food than now as well as perhaps drinking more alcohol. But we were younger and were more active, (in most cases).

It does come down to a simple math equation: calories coming in vs. calories being burned off. Working on both ends of the equation is important for long term success.

Have a great Sunday!!!!

weight loss and confidence

This morning I was seeing a wonderful husband/wife couple that have been very successful in our program. They have lost lots of weight and one of the great byproducts that occurred has been a marvelous increase in confidence for both...personally and professionally. Concernign professionally, going into meetings has been with a higher level of confidence and people around them can "feel" this. This will translate into a more compelling presence at meetings which may result in a better outcome. Having a higher level of confidence and self esteem is a wonderful byproduct of weight loss. When we feel better about our personal appearance, it is easier to be around people. Yet another great reason to keep your weight loss goals aggressive!

Shopping for Thanksgiving

This weekend many of you will be shopping for the food that you will prepare for Thanksgiving. The traditional foods such as turkey, ham, etc provide lots of protein, but the "peripherals"...i.e. the stuffing, potatoes, breads, desserts etc will be the challenge. As I tell anyone that enters our program, we do not expect anyone to NOT partake of some of the tradtional food sources a holiday brings. However, try very hard to not "over-indulge" on these sources. Perhaps make a list of the 10 food or drink items that would be detrimental to your weight loss efforts and only buy/have around the house 5 of them. When you shop, try to make sure you have choices that will be tempting, yet less caloric. Perhaps one of the dessert choices can be a sugar free jello with a low caloric whip on top. This is surfe to bring in 600 less calories than apple pie and ice cream.

Following this holiday in the next weeks will bring even more opportunities to sabotage your weight loss efforts, so please consider starting now by reconciling your desire to have a great loving holiday with your family, friends, and loved ones and stil maintain your quest to live longer and be healtheir and happier.

The Big Apple

Good morning from Manhatten! The city has an energy unmatched by any other I have been in. I couldn't help but notice that there seemingly is a higher % of people here overweight than in the D.C. area. Not that I was counting overweught people but my generalized impression was at the restaurant I was in that I was seeing more overweight people that I do at the D.C. restaurants I frequent.

Perhaps it is the stress and "rushing" that are endemic to a very large crowded city. The more time someone commutes to work, drive in traffic, etc., the less time to plan meals and more likely to make quick easy food choices....slice of pizza...pretzel at the stands etc.

We all only have a certain amount of time per day to focus on a number of issues that confront us everyday...children issues, other family maters, work commute, issues at work, etc. The more time we need to attend to the essential daily activities, the less time we have to focus on our own issues. Planning our meals, not making fast choices, finding exercise time...all of these are important for long term weight loss.

New York Trip and Potholes

I am leaving this afternoon for a very brief business trip to New York and I will be facing lots of potholes. I am not referring to the ones in the road. I am talking about the dietary potholes that get us into a weight issue. New York is the land , for me, of pretzel stands, delis with those huge corned beef sandwhiches and knishes, and incredible restaurants. Everywhere you turn there is an opportunity to devour thousands of calories.

Posner's plan for not doing too much damage? First, eat something before I drive lest I am tempted to stop at one of those rest stops on 95 that offer the very healthy choices of Roy Rogers burgers, Sbarros pizza or hot dogs and fries. Make sure i do wake up early in the morning for a workout at the hotel gym. When I do venture into the Carnegie deli, allow myself that corned beef sandwich but NO side dishes such as their potatoe pancakes or potatoe knish. Absloutely NO cheesecake right after that meal, but later at nite, if I am in a cheesecake frenzy, allow myself two forkfulls. NO stopping for a pretzel at that stand with the hot chestnuts UNLESS I only had protein and vegatables for dinner. Also, if it is not too cold, walk to the places I need to get to instead of a cab.

Please feel free to share your ideas as to how NOT to gain weight when you enter the land of dietary potholes.

An Inspirational Story

Yesterday I saw one of our patients who has lost a total of 85 pounds. She informed me that she is now training for a half-marathon. This half marathon is for people who are wheelchair bound.

When she first entered our program, the patient was still able to transport herself without any aid whatsover from her chair to her automobile. However, it did seem quite difficult becasuse of her weight problem. Yesterday after her visit, I observed her do the car transfer steps, and it was amazing just how much easier it seemed for her.

She now smiles lots during here visits, looks about 10 years younger than when she started, and clearly, is able to do many more things with less effort. Her fortitude, determination and accomplishments before our program were amazing. Brilliant, successful at work, etc. She brought those same traits in her quest to lose weight, and although she cannot walk, she is one of our most successful weight loss patients. A true inspiration!

the Big Push...

11 days till Thanksgiving and then weeks of holiday parties, family gatherings, gift exchanges etc.

Now is the time to be very very vigilant in your weight loss efforts. This is a perfect week to go to Phase 1 for one week and not allow any fruits or carbs in. We all will be challenged in many ways over the next 6 weeks, so use this next 1 1/2 weeks to be especially diligant.

You know the feeling of looking in the mirror in January and feeling remorse that you allowed yourself to put much weight on the previous year. Do not wait until January to start doing the work necessary to make you happier and healthier. Start doing it NOW!

Reminder: We hope you can attend our 20th Anniversary Patient Appreciation Nite on Friday, December 5, 2008 5-730. We will of course have lots of healthy snacks!

Serotonin-Plus in Rhode Island and Mass.!!!!

Good morning...tennis match over..Giants at 1 PM.... GO G-MEN!!!!!

We have finalized the terms of helping a group in Rhode Island and Massachusetts open up the Serotonin-Plus Weight Loss Program to their patients. I am very happy to see that our program, which has been helping lots of people in the D.C. area can now be brought to people outside of our area. The Agape Medspa owners, Paul and Mona have done some weight control programs before, but they felt that our program could produce superior safety and efficacy reuslts to their patients. It was very important to us that if we did expand our program outside of our area, that we worked with groups that truly had theiur patients' best interests in mind. There are so many weight programs out there that are all about "making money". Buying meals, supplements, etc....so many programs are geared to basically get people to spend lots of money. After our meetings with Paul, Mona and their very fine staff, we are convinced that their group will in every way live up to the high standards we set for ourselves here in our clinic.

Melissa Gosselin will be training their staff so I want to reassure everyone that Linda and I have our commitment right here in our clinics. As a matter of fact, I know that on a daily basis Linda answers your e-mail questions, and even when you stop your formal visits here, we want to be your support and resource to help you achieve and maintain your weight loss goals.

I am very proud of the Serotonin-Plus team for developing a program that now is heading north!!! Paul and Mona met a number of patients yesterday and it was really great to hear all the wonderful stories our patients were telling them. Thank you so very much for allowing us to help you in your quest for weight loss.

Identifying your "Potholes"

Potholes are things are cars drive over ruining wheels or rims. When it comes to weight loss potholes, I am referring to the behavior patterns that we fall into that get us into weight problems. Some of these potholes are obvious.."Doc, at nite when I watch television I always get some ice cream from the fridge.." "I miss breakfast and get really hungry at lunch..." " I have no time to exercise..." Lots and lots of potholes, and as we step into each of them , our chances for achieving and maintaining our weight loss goals are diminished.

I encourage all of you to get out a piece of paper and pen and jot down your "pothole" list. Try to think of each and every behavior pattern that leads to unwanted weight gain. Then, on the other side of the sheet, write down potential solutions. If you identify your potholes, there is less chance of stepping into one!.

As an aside, switching from pothole lists to "Bucket Lists" (good movie), here is one thing on my bucket list (something I want to do before i kick the bucket): I want to see the sunset on a tropical island in the pacific.

The Economy and Weight Loss

Yesterday I had a patient who was laid off from work, and he experienced a significant weight gain in 1 week. Due to stress of thinking through his financial issues and quest for new employment, he was at his computer constantly, and unfortunately, had at his side high-caloric food sources. His intake of these snack foods was a reaction to stress and although he immediately recognized that this eating behavior wasn't helping any of the reality issues, it seemed that he could not stop this.

Remember at all times that stress-eating does not solve anything...it only adds to some negative feelings and low self-esteem. When interviewing for new employment, looking your best will only help your chances. Taking ownership of what you are ingesting is difficult, yet looking in the mirror and telling yourself "I Control what I put into my mouth" is an important step. If there is extra time in your schedule because of a down employment cycle, convert some of that time to aggressive exercise. Sweating and getting the heart rate up help dissipate stress and the bonus is that you will look healthier. Additionally, as I have mentioned previously, due to the stock market collapse, we will all need to work for more years than expected, so being healthier is important to keep us at work and not, god forbid, hospitalized or otherwise physically unable not to work.

Additionally, as we all are at a computer daily, make it a rule that you never will eat any food sources while at your computer. Distracted eating will only worsen a weight problem.

Support and weight loss

We had a physician visitor in last week from Arizona who is contemplating bringing our program to his very busy primary care practice. He shadowed me and Linda on a few patient visits and I was gratified greatly to hear our patients voice some very positive comments about our program. Universally, everyone he spoke to said that they felt positive support from all of us...nurses, front staff, Linda, and me. Even if there was a difficult week, they still felt there was no "value judgement" or negative attitude given to them.

Positive encouragement is a very important aspect to helping someone lose weight. Whether it be your spouse, your friend, child...maintaining the positive environment is a vital component to long-term success. We have a number of people to this day who feel comelled to cancel their weekly appointment if they gained weight. They know inherently that no one here will admonish them or make them feel bad about this. However, there is some psychological desire to be successful in front of others, most notably the doctor they are paying. These are the exact weeks we need to see the patient and help them through the issues that are making their weight loss efforts difficult.

Stay positive and realize that not every week will show aggressive weight loss. In every war, there are battles that are lost, but if we maintain the energy and positive support, we will have many more successful weeks than we will less than successful!

The Recession and Weight Loss

I read the Washington Post every morning and over the past number of months, there had not been one issue that doesnt hold doom and gloom. From the stock market swoon to reading stories about how companies that have received bailout aid from US (remember...it is our taxes) continue to hold retreats, lavish their CEOs and waste money. I believe I talk for most of you reading this blog that no one comes to our "aid", meaning that we all work hard, earn our money, and we all find the necessity to not spend more than we earn. And if we did, there would be no one handing us money to "bail us out".

So, what does this have to do with weight loss? The answer is two fold: first, when under stressful situations such as the current economic times, the tendency is to start doing stress eating. This of course solves nothing, other than making us less healthy. It sure doesn't change the state of affairs. Secondly, it is clear that you and I will have to work longer than expected (laughing...perhaps I meant "you", not me, cause I will only stop working when they have to cart me outta here horizontal..I love this place) and we better make sure that we do not have a heart attack stroke or some other serious illness that will prerclude us from working those extra years. Putting weight on because of stress eating will lower our life expectancy and certainly put at risk our years of work futuristically.

Check out Linda's blog at: www.stresseaterdiet.com It has some excellent insights that may help you ward off the compunction to stress eat.

Sorry for the pessimistic entry this morning but I was just reading about another AIG issue. If I had a donut here I would eat it, but I don't so off to the treadmill I go.

cookie diets

I was talking yesterday to a medspa owner in Massachusetts who has previously run a weight loss program based around a franchised "cookie diet". At the risk of having a lawyer contact me about defamation, I will not name the cookie diet involved (there are several out there) but for this medspa owner, the diet plan failed miserably. I started internet researching "cookie diets" and found lots of diffeent ones.

I am laughing because once again, marketing hype is a huge part of the weight loss market. Things that sound eccentric, unique, etc. tend to get lots of press. One of the "Cookie Diet" companies was featured on the Today Show, national magazine covers, etc.

Pardon my New York vernacular, but here are my thoughts on "fad" diets and programs...BULLSH__. Marketing experts know exactly how to get people to take out their wallets when it comes spending money on weight loss....make something sound easy, simple, no-brainer and fun. Eat cookies!!! Or..in the casse of the prepackaged foods, their tv commercials show brownies, lasagna etc. I love seeing the ex-football players in the tv commericals that show how much weight they lost and then on Sunday, you see these same guys on the sidelines looking more obese than ever.

Recurrent theme, but here goes again: There is no easy shortcut to losing weight and maintainign that weight loss. You cannot eat cookies as the cornerstone of your weight loss program. You need to maximize proteins, minimize carbs and alcohol. You need to bump up your activity levels. This is the hard truth It is not cookie BS.

Football and Food

Okay...sorry Eagles fans but my G-Men sure looked great last nite...

During the football games yesterday we had some backed pastry puffs that contained some meat, potatoes and other high-caloric items. As I was watching the games, I could not stop eating these things one after another after another. I was intently watching the games, completely distracted in my eating pattern, and wound up eating much more of these things than i should have.

Point here again: NO DISTRACTED EATING!!! I should never have puth those things up nor ate them during a game. Posner did the thing that he rants and raves about to you in this blog!!!

How do I make up for it? Today I will be incredibly strict in my food intake and Mondays I usually do not exercise but today I may go down to the treadmill during Monday nite football....laughing....and not bring down pastries as I watch!

Vacations and weight loss

I had a patient visit yesterday with a gentleman who was in Hawaii for over a week, had not been to the office in 2 weeks, and before he stepped on the sclae, i was expecting a weight gain. He is a very good and fun guy and previously informed me that on vacations he liked to have some good drinks and fun food. To my surprise he lost 4 pounds since his last visit. I asked him to advise anyone going on vacation how to lose weight and still have a great time and this was his advice:
1- Drink alcohol perhaps heavily the first day or 2, then stop or signficantly reduce the alcohol consumption you normally would have done

2-keep portions underr control

3- step up your exercise...most places have great gyms or spas...use it!

4- Limit the high caloric desserts, fruits etc...do not eliminate them..just watch the portions.

Vacations are challenging..no doubt, but if we do not go into it with the mindset that you are "being let out of jail", right choices wil be made to maintain steadfast in ytour weight loss progression,

Excuses

On a daily basis, there will be reasons why your weight loss efforts can be derailed...travel where significant time is in the airport, conferences were meals are provided by the sponsor, family trips to visit relatives, holidays and birthday celebrations, stressful times at work....

You have two choices: 1-Let the environment contol you and have a "give up" mentality i.e. "it is not my fault, I had no choice" or 2- YOU CONTROL THE ENVIRONMENT, i.e. despite adversity, you make the right food choices and do not succumb to the natural forces that make us eat and drink high-caloric foods.

For long term weight loss success, you need to adopt the latter attitude, not the former. The environment will not adapt to you...you need to adapt to the environment. If you know you will be at a conference where all there is are sandwiches and chips, bring your own lunch to the event...when you are under stress, convert that time to more exercise to dissipate the stress, not turn to glasses of wine.

This is not easy...I never said it is....but taking control of your actions and environment can be done successfully.

How does your life change with weight loss?

Although everyone are unique and different individuals, there is some commonality to the reasons why people want to lose weight. The obvious long-term goals are to be healthier, take less medications, avoid significant medical problems such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, etc. From the "aesthetic" standpoint, looking younger, being more attractive to ourselves and others, finding renewed confidence and heightened self-esteem are also motivating factors. Getting back into clothes that did not fit anymore and being able to shop for more stylish outfits are also a benefit of losing weight. Regaining energy is yet another clear result of losing weight.

Your life does change significantly when you lose weight but sometimes we forget about the major positive effects. When we think "dieting" we equate that with sacrifice and deprivation...giving up "goodies and treats" and basically punishing ourselves. We fret that we will not be able to enjoy family gatherings, vacations, birthday celebrtaions etc. We cannot wait for the diet to "be over" so we can with glee, start going back to the old, "fun" behaviors.

Concentrating on the reasons as to how your life will significantly change for the better as you lose weight is an important mental exercise that you must go through to help you sustain your motivational forces. Are those 2 glasses of wine a night really worth risking the development of premature atherosclerotic hearts disease or diabetes? Is it really worth feeling that you have to hide your body from others by avoiding summer swimwear? Is it really worth feeling lower confidence and self-esteem?

Try to focus on all of the positive outcomes that will accompany your weight loss and this may help allowing you to stay "in the zone".

Three weeks till thanksgiving...

This is a very important time to get very "strict" in following your plans to lose the weight you would like to lose, because three weeks from today we enter the most difficult time of the year to achieve weight loss...thanksgiving thru new years.

Realizing that in several weeks, you will on a weekly basis be going to parties, gatherings, exchanging gifts, etc., it will be almost impossible to remain very regimented during this time.

NOW is the period to be especially focused and NOT take in food/drink sources that will hinder your weight loss efforts.

Remember: December 5, 5-730 pm at our office...2oth Annual Patient Appreciation Nite!!!! Much fun, HEALTHY foods and Karioke!!!!

Maintaining your weight loss

I Had a woman return to our program yesterday after she gained 5 pounds in one month. She had originally entered our profgram in anticipation of her daughter's wedding, and proceeded to lose over 30 pounds before the wedding date. She reached her goal and felt/looked fabulous. After the wedding, she started slowly going back to some old behavior patterns, and when tracking the weight, decided that at 5 pounds, it was time to come back in for a "tune up".

The story above illustrates two things here: First, the concept of a psychological "finish line". When someone is striving to lose weight for an event whether it be a reunion or a wedding, after that date comes and goes, the person will mentally cross that finish line, and feel that he/she can now "take a break" and start returning to some old eating/drinking behaviors. Secondly, the monitoring of weight allowed this person to stop the gain at 5 pounds and not the entire 30 she had worked so hard to lose.

To maintain weight loss, one needs to try as best as possible to maintain your newly found patterns of planning and eating, and the monitoring of your weight is crucial to know at what point you may need a jumpstart help for a few weeks. If the above mechanisms are followed, there is no way that a person can gain back all the weight they have lost.

Stress eating

No matter what the outcome of the election is today, remember that ingesting lots of calories will not: 1) change the outcome if you are not happy with the results 2) make you feel better tomorrow morning about the outcome 3) positively effect your long term goals

Stress eating is a constant theme that we have discussed previously, but there is much angst that surrounds a presidential election and today will not be an exception. Some people are more "into" the election than others, and will tend to be hanging on every word tonight uttered by the numerous news anchors and talking heads/pundits. If you are in a weight losing mode, please do not starta distracted eating pattern, meaning ingesting popcorn, nuts, chips and other small, high-caloric repetitive food sources as you watch. You will consume far too many calories without even knowing it.

Linda writes a great blog at: www.stresseaterdiet.com and I would strongly encourage you to read this daily, especially today.

Whether your candidate wins or loses, please remember that at all times your health is the most important issue, because no matter what happens politically, if you fall ill to a devastating illness, you will not care for one minute who is President.

Election and weight issues

Please do not expect an endorsement in this entry. I very very much try to stay away from political discussions with patients. What I feel about politicians, my political beliefs, etc. are not pertinent to my wonderful job of keeping you and your families healthy. Quite frankly, what Oprah Winfrey, Sean Penn or Chuck Norris believe is of no interest or swaying factor to me either. What I will admit is that I am neither "Democrat" or "Republican". I believe that every election has candidates that need to be evaluated on a number of issues and I will not vote one way or the other becuase some "party" tells me to vote a certain way. I also believe the "system" is very flawed in that hundreds of millions of dollars need to be raised to run a successful campaign. How much does either candidate "owe" to special interest groups and others based on their donations? Okay...now to weight loss....what does this all have to do with the election? As we all read about the financial meltdown, the rapidly growing deficit, etc., the question comes is to how we will "pay" for healthcare in the future? With the growing obesity epidemic, espeically in children, the futuristic health of America will continue to deteriorate with morbidity due to diabetes, heart disease, cancers, etc. increasing. The resultant strain on our financial system will be enormous. We are now already seeing a higher and higher percenatge of America's expenditures going to healthcare and this will worsen over time. Whichever candidate is elected, it is incumbent upon our elected officials to make preventative healthcare a priority. As all of the war news, financial news, election news is taking center stage, the looming devastation financially and otherwise due to the obesity epidemic is not going away. Who will pay for all of this needed healthcare associated with obesity? Our children? They are the very ones that are going to be suffering from unchecked childhood obesity. As physicians keep seeing their income eroded by managed care rates, how easy will it to find a doctor who cares and is competent? We are heading for some very difficult times on a number of fronts in this country, but we will all be better as a nation if we are healthier and can keep working. Sorry for the doom and gloom note here today, but we all need to think abouit these issues, especially the people we elect.

"I Wish I Could Go Back To College..."

There is a hilarious Broadway musical called "Avenue Q" and in this show, the actors all walk around with puppets that are the main characters. One of the show songs is called "I wish I could go back to college" and in this number, the chatacters (most of whom are in their mid 20s-30) lament that life was easier and more fun when they were all in college and their parents were paying for eveything.

One of the lines from this song was:

" But if I were to go back to college...

I would sit in the quad

And say "Oh my God!"

All the kids are so much younger than me..."

What the heck does this have to do with blogging about weight loss? Okay..here goes: I am in Williamsburg VA this weekend with my family and last night after dinner at a pizza/sub place we went to a bar near the college of William and Mary. The kids were so much fun to watch...lots and lots of beer, wings, other drinks etc being imbibed, and yet, most of the students appeared thin. I started thinking that at that age, most of us ate pizza, subs, drank beer after beer, and yet we had no difficulties controlling our weight. Over time, we started eating and drinking less, yet weight became more of a struggle.

The slowing of metabolism is subtle, yet over time, we find ourselves putting pounds on because we do not initially adjust our eating/drinking to the slowing metabolism. If I ate and drank what I saw these kids doing in a consistent manner, I would be over 220 pounds for sure. Adjusting our eating and alcohol usage as we age is a very important part of not developing a signifcant weight issue over time.

I went back to my alma mata Binghamton State University several years ago and gave a lecture about serotonin and weight loss to their biochemistry department. It was so cool to see the college campus again...memories drifted in like a breeze on a balmy summer day. I wish I could go back to college...I would sit in the quad....and say "Oh my God"...The kids are so much younger and thinner than me"

socially responsible acts for helping obesity

Suzanne posted a comment yesterday in response to my rant about Halloween candy. She said there was a Fairfax dentist who was "buying" back Halloween candy from kids, and then the kids could use that money to buy toys or something else of value to them (hopefully not equity stocks or REITS from their new york brokers).

I loved that act...the dentist had a plan to do his part to lessen the risk of the high-sugar candy on the children's teeth, but at the same time, was lessening their caloric intake.

What can we all do to be socially responsible as this relates to helping the nations largest health concern, obesity? At the Thanksgiving table, we should ensure there are tempting, NOT high-caloric choices that allow any overweight children and adults to still partake of the bountiful buffet of food, but it is not all mashed potatoes and apple pie. Christmas and New Years, do NOT give to overweight relatives and friends gifts of high-caloric candies, cookies, cakes, etc. as a show of love and caring. You can think of creative gifts that will not make them less healthy and increase their chances of an earlier death. Actively discuss your or your loved-ones's weight problems and bring the entire family in to discuss what actions may be taken to help reduce the risk of great harm to the affected person(s).

If we all thought of socially-responsible acts to help the problem of the obesity epidemic, perhaps it would not be an epidemic anymore!