weight loss and being there

This morning I am asking all of you to think through this hypothetical question:

If you were not here, how many people would be adversely affected? Children? Spouses? Siblings? friends? business associates?

How many people's lives do you positively impact on and your absence would negatively impact on?

As you are making your decision to become healthier by losing weight, then think about the high-caloric dessert food, the glasses of wine and other ingestable items that are putting your health in jeopardy. Are they really worth it?

weight loss and your visits

Last week I saw a very active chat room on our site with entries discussing the utility of the weekly visits. Apparently, one of our patients was seen by a physician stand-in for me while I was in New York and the encounter was not favorable for the patient. A slight weight gain occurred and the patient was made to feel defensive about the change and the advice was not perceived as positive or acceptable.

We have a number of providers seeing our followup patients and we are all different people, we all have slightly different approaches.

The techniques we train EVERY professional here who sees patients include always: SUPPORT, NO NEGATIVITY , A NON-JUDGEMENTAL APPROACH, POSITIVE ATTITUDE, MOITVATIONAL SUPPORT

The last thing a person trying to lose weight needs is discouragement and a sense they "disappointed" the person involved in heloping them lose weights.

I do find that some of my patients welcome a more "honest/tough" approach as opposed to a completely "you did great" approach when in fact old behaviors were reverted to the week before. But you have to know your patients and know who benefits better from which type of approach.

We do know that everyone of our patients loses lots of weight in our program but we also realize that at times, there may be some patients who feel that their visit was not "worth the money". We obviously try very hard to eliminate that completely as we would love a l00% satisfaction rate. Toward that end, if you ever feel that your weekly visit was unsatisfactory to you, please call ME at 703-866-4l44 and I will ensure that you get another visit, at no charge of course, with the provider of your choice...Donna, Keri, me, or whoever you feel best helps your efforts.

We have the largest medically supervised weight loss program in the area for many reasons, one of which is that the overwhelming majority of our patients are thrilled with their results. However, if anyone feels that they have beel let down, we need to make it "right" and we will.

weight loss and weather

Good morning...

During the warm summer months we tend to spend much more time outside. Activities such as gardening, walks, and other "nice weather"associated activities will be helpful in your weight loss efforts.

When the wetaher turns poor (such as today) we will find ourselves home many more hours and perhaps the "indoor" activities would more involve kitchen time.

Try as best you can to avoid translating cabin fever to eating behaviors that will derail you weight loss efforts. If you have home gym equipment, use it...take the time to plkan your meals for thew week in advance. Turn the downtime to productive thought time as to how to make your efforts more effective. You are choosing to be healthier and thereby happier. Do not let a rainy, stormy day hurt your efforts.

weight loss and longevity

Good morning.... a study came out yesterday demonstrating that markedly obese people have a 3-12 year decreased life expectancy compared to people who are not obese. This is not earth-shattering news and I think we all inherently knew that being overweight with the associated co-morbidities, will decrease life span.

However, I think it is MUCH more important to focus on QUALITY of life. Let's forget about the mortality issue and focus on quality of life issues. Having diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, breathing difficulties etc are all associated with being overweight. Depression, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, feeling public humilation....all of these can be associated with being overweight and lessen the "quality of life".

Losing weight will make you healthier AND happier.....your choice of focusing on your weight issues is a great choice indeed.

weeight loss and dessert

Good morning....I am looking forward to coming back today....and Suzanne....I hope your travels are safe and you are not beating yourself up over the scale results upon your return....

Last night I was invited to a dinner cruise as part of the business meetings and it was really cool sailing by the bridges, Statue of Liberty, etc. The dinn er portion consisted of a crabcake appetizer, the main course a large steak, potatos and vegetables and bread was served. SHORTLY thereafter a desserrt cart arrived with ice cream, sauces for the ice cream, cakes and other high-caloric stuff.

EVERYONE on the cruise ate dessert....there is no way in the world that anyone felt even the slightest bit of "hunger" yet we all did went ahead and ate it.

If you are in a weight losing mode, you must pay attention to the body hunger signals and not the pleasure brain signals. This is difficult but yet important in your quest. When it comes to dessert, please ask yourself whether there is any hunger whatsover, and if the answer is "no" then you just say "no thanks".

weight loss and nuuuu yooooork

Hi....sorry for the late posting today...in new york meeting with the company that represents that great body analyzer that we have in the office....

New York is my home town....grew up in queens..medical school in Brooklyn...

very crowded, kind of dirty and I would not want to move back here but really fun to see,

However, I find myself succumbing to what I am constantly writing about in this blog...hot pretzels on the corner, delis with potato knishes and huge sandwiches, Carnegie cheesecake...I am finding myself reaching for these food sources that will definitely add some weight,

It is important to match exercise/activity with food intake so I picked up my exercise....also, I am most definitely planning on a phase 1 type of intake upon my return tomorrow...

Trips to places where the food is really a p;art of the landscape can be treacherous for weight loss efforts....I am living this right now...better go read my own blog yesterday about focus!

weight loss and focus

The gaining of weight requires no thought processes, concentration or focus. Basically, do what is fun, do not think about caloric content and place your thoughts on everything else in your life without regard to your dietary intake. This will result in weight gain. Easy, simple and basically a "no-brainer".

However, to lose weight, one must place lots of thought into this and focus. Moreover, the actions required to lose weight, such as planning meals, foregoing high-caloric food sources, giving up that glass of wine at night...all of these are not "fun".

Focus is required to lose weight and when that focus is lost, we start losing the weekly battles. Try to maintain your focus and remember at all times why it is so important for you to lose weight.

weight loss and needing help

I have written previously about this subject but last week we had a number of patients who expressed self-loathing about "needing help" in their weight loss efforts. Yheir lament was something to this effect: I should be able to do this on my own".

Well, if llosing weight was easy, then why is 65% of Americans overweight? I do believe that everyone who is overweight wants to lose that weight. Therrefore, if it was relatively easy to do this, the percentage of overweight americans would be much smaller.

Genetic, environment, physical issues and psychological components all play major roles in the weight gaining (or losing) provess. Unfortunately, we, as humans are designed to be more of a weight gaining specie as opposed to weight losing. We battle some pretty difficult forces.

Needing help in your weight loss effrots does not make you a "weak" person...it is the normal. Do not ever feel bad abouit asking for help in ypur weight loss efforts.

weight and the end of the summer

As a youngster, the summers seemed endless...long days of warmth, playing stickball, nights chasing fireflies...

Now, as I am certain many of you agree, the summers fly by as briskly as a Acelor train..

Fall means football sundays and the impending Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years period which is the most treacherous from a weigth loss standpoint. There will be no more challenging time awaiting you than this period. Use these weeks to really position yourself well, meaning that you shoudl put extra effort into your weight loss pursuits now in anticipation of the challenging time up ahead.

Start today...get out there and get some good exercise and take some time to plan your meals for the upcoming week.

weight loss and regional differences

Last night I enjoyed dinner with Dr. Max Rogers, a highly respected OB/GYN physician in Mobile Alabama who is licesning our program and will start in September. Dr. Rogers and his great staff were explaining how many overweight people reside in Alabama. Apparently, this state has the second highest rate of obesity. Earlier this week, I had lunch with my nephew Ruchard who is pursuing his MBA in an international program in Barcelona Spain. Rich was telling me that he hardly sees overweight people there. They drink wine and eat good foods there he informed me, but the portions are way smaller than here.

To a large extent, obesity problems are regionally influenced. If we grow up on fried foods, fat laden meals and such, we will tend to be overweight and obviously, if we grow up with smaller portions, less "bad" foods, we will tend to not have the weight difficulties.

We are all a product of our genetics and environment. As we are raising our children and influencing others eating behaviors,, we need to reassess how we prepare our meals, what portions we decide on and what types of restaurants we frequent.

weight and BMI

"Body Mass Index" ("BMI") is a measure based strictly on height and weight. On our website you can imput your heright and weight and get your BMI. A BMI below 25 is normal, 25-30 is overweight and above 30, obese.

I do not like this parameter as a measure of weight issues because this does not take into account muscle mass. For example, an NFL running back, 5 feet 10 inches , 220 pounds will have the same BMI as a 53 year old doctor 5 feet 10 inches 220 pounds. Obviously, the former example is a sculpted athlete who would not be seen as "overweight" and the latter an obiously obese man. (Hey...I am NOT that example)

Our new Inbody device definitely provides much more detailed information about muscle mass, fat composition etc and is a better tool to provide valuable information. If you are not currently in the program, stop by for a free evaluation with the Inbody device

Eating and Mood

You may notice that your tendency to reach for high-caloric foods is dependent on your mood. Some people tend to overeat when very happy, others when very sad and certainly, many when they feel stressed. Why is food used as a "treatment" or reaction to mood issues?

Some of this is chemical, meaning that under certain conditions, neurochemicals such as serotonin become unbalanced and this results in cravings and the complusion to eat.

A part of this is a learned response as well...lets go back to infancy when the baby starts to cry...the first thing the parent does is put the bottle in the mouth.

Food is an immediate gratification and there is noi denying that it may produce an immediate mollification of the emotional issue/change. However, the weight gain or the derailing of the weight loss effort that occurs results in self-loathing. Try your best to not give in to the compulsion to eat the harmful food sources when your mood turns or stress hits hard.

weight loss and primary care physicians

Yesterday on the front page of the USA Today was an article about the impending shoprtage of primary care physicians in America. Primary care doctors include internal medicine, family practice and pediatric physicians. OB/GYN docs are also under this category.

Residency programs are having major difficulty filling their primary care positions and there is currently a shortage of primary care docs and the projections for the future are dire. When the bulk of the baby boomer generation (those born from 1948-1964) start reaching 65 years old and greater, there will be a major shortage of promary care physicians to meet their needs.

Why is this happening? The answer is simple: $$$$$$. The average income for a primary care doctor is 120-190K (hey, that is still lots of money) compared to a neurosurgeon, whose average salary is above 500K. When in medical school, accumulating lots of loan money to pay off, the decision for a residency program is pretty simple: work your ass off as a primary care doctor for much lower wages or choose a procedure-oriented specialty and make lots more $$$. Throw on top of this health care reform initiatives that will further erode the income of promary care physicians and the problem will only worsen.

What does this have to do with America's obesity epidemic? Well, the less primary care doctors the less preventative services. People will have difficulty finding a primary care physician to address their immediate medical problems no less find a doctor willing to take the time to discuss preventative issues such as weight loss. This all adds up to major problems ahead.

If you remember the name "Marcus Welby, M.D.", you are old enough to remember the days in which your family doctor was someone who was an important part of your family's total health picture. Now this generation only knows from Greys Anatomy and House....

Yes, my friends, I guess good old doctor Posner is going to be a dinosaur soon...a gray haired primary care doctor.....but....I still love what I do so you are stuck with me for a long time!

weight and accountability

One of the features of any weight loss program is the "accountability" that accompanies weekly visits and weigh-ins. There is a certain psychological aspect to going in to a physician's office and getting on a scale in front of the medical staff member. Often, people feel not only diappointment in themselves but also a sensation of disappointing the staff when that week's results are suboptimal. Of course we do not get upset/angry or in any other way "judgement", as we clearly know our role is support and encouragement.

How can you keep the sense of "accountability" when you are no coming for formal visits? I am not certain there is a defined answer to this but setting goals and timeframes and then rewards (non caloric of course!) to recognize reaching these milestones can be helpful. Set your reasonable goals for weight loss and at every 5 pounds or so, reward yourself...a massage, an accessory for you car or some other noncaloric reward may help motivate you and keep you accountable to yourself!

Inbody Scanner

Good morning..hope your weekend was fun....and healthy!

For those of you who have not been in the office recently, we have our new GE Inbody scanner now set up and functional. This is a really cool device...it measures your weight, body fat, segmental lean muscle mass, etc. It produces a great printout. Now, we are scanning everyone upon entry, 6 weeks and then the 12 week mark.

If you want to stop by for a free scan and printout feel free to come on by.

Weight/health management is more than the number of pounds. Many of you tell us that even though the scale weight may not show too much of a drop in one week, "clothes are fitting better." Watching the body fat composition change and improve is just as important as the weight in pounds changing. This new device will allow us to provide much more comprehensive information to you.

Weight Loss....stopping the "yo-yo"

This week we saw many people who came back to us...people who lost lots of weight several years ago and then, over time, put almost all the weight back on. A few thoughts on this: 1- this is the NORMAL.....most people will not/cannot maintain their weight loss and 2- we understand this aspect of the human condition and do NOT "judge" or in any other way make people feel poorly about these lapses. We are here to help people get back on track and become healthier and happier.

I do implore you (and this has been a blog topic of mine repeatedly) to STOP the gain at 5 pounds...that is when you should pick up the phone and call us for a ONE TIME visit. This is not a 12-week program, a thousand bucks or anything like it...it is a one-time visit to help you refocus , get back on track and NOT let the situation get out of hand. PLEASE keep that clipboard next to your scale at home and record the weight weekly. Make your move at 5 pounds...do NOT allow the weight to go up, 20, 30, 40 etc.

Hope the rest of your weekend goes well!

weight loss and football

Yes Ladies....your gents are about ready to disappear from you on Sundays for lots of hours...if you men out there are anything like me, Sunday means football....and football means being fixated at an HD tv from 12 noon (although the diehards start at 11am witht he NFL channel pregame show) and lasts until the highlights ending midnite....a true couch potato day

Inherent to the football season is the food...chips, beers, and sundry other sources of high-caloric foods. Especially people who attend the games and "tailgate", the intake of the alcohol and high-carb foods wioll derail your weight loss efforts.

Enjoy the games, root for your team (Go Giants!) but do NOT fall prey to the eating and drinking behaviors that will make you less healthy and less happy.

weight loss and frustration

I strongly advise my patients NOT to weigh themselves everyday. Due to fluid changes, salt intake the day before, etc., you may see the weight go up despite following a very aggressive dietary intake. Once a week, when we weigh our patients, sometimes the patient will experiecne a minimal weight loss, no weight loss and even a weight gain without any reason for this. The affected person usually gets a very defeated, frustrated look on his/her face and I try very hard to pump the person up, explain how this can happen, and implore the affected individual to NOT get frustrated.

After frustration comes the "give up"mentality and that affectively ends the person's efforts to lolse weight. Psychologically, the attitude becomes: "why even bother?" and then the efforts to become healthier cease.

As mentioned previously, each week will be its own battle and sometimes the battle will not be won. That is okay. the next week(s) will be big "wins". Do not let frustration set in!

weight loss and approaching loved ones

It is a very sensitive issue when a loved one, whether it be a spouse, child or close friend is overweight and you are concerned about their health/wellness and are not sure whether you have a "responsibility" to become involved.

If you are overweight as well, it becomes easier because then the approach cab be something like.."I am very concerned about my weight and I am going to become very proactive in losing this weight and making myself healthier and happier. How about we both do this together?"

If you do not have a weight issue, this becomes a much more sensitive arena, espeially when it is a spouse, because you fear hurting his/her feelings if you bring up the weight problem.

Please remember that in many cases, overweight people do not see themselves as being overweight. As weird as that sounds, there are many of my patients who tell me that the weight increase "sneaks up on them" and it takes seeing a picture of themselves to make them aware of the weight problem.

Approaching a loved one and intervening with their weight problem can be a life-saving intervention. If you saw a loved one about ready to accidentally get hit by a car, would you not shout and try your very hardest to keep them out of harms way? Why is being silent about a loved one's life-threatening weight problem be any different?

Be supportive, caring , non-judgemental, but do become involved.

weight loss and group meetings

People are often very different as this relates to the value of discussing their issues in front of a group. Whether it be parenting issues, substance abuse or weight issues, some people are very "private" about receiving help and others thrive with a group support. Specifically focusing on weight loss efforts, Weight Watchers has done a great job in having members come together for group meetings and shared support.

We are offering group meetings now as part of our program, and these groups will be facilitated by Kymberly Posner. Yeah, same last name as the old doctor guy. Kymberly is currently enrolled in the graduate program at George Mason University in the psychology/counseling department and she has just received an invitation, by virtue of her 4.0 performance, to be a member of the Counciling Honor Society. Kym will bring with her much passion and enthusiasm in helping our patients reach their weight loss goals via the added services of group meetings.

Space in these meetings is limited and if you are interested in this wonderful, FREE service we are offering , please contact Kym at: kposner@spdiet.com.

new scale

Our new inbody scale from GE is now all set up and we are now able to provide you with information about your percentage body fat, lean muscle mass in the 4 extremities and other really great data about your body composition. We plan on scanning everyone on their first, sixth and final visits. If you have been in the program previously and want a scan please feel free to come in for one. No charge!!!

The changing of your body with weight loss is more than just a number on the scale. Changing fat and muscle composition are also vital pieces of information and now we can deliver these results to you.

The machine is quick to ujse, easy and there is absolutely no pain involved. The information we get is MUCH more sensitive than many other fat-measuring devices. We are very proud to offer this new state of the art piece of equipment to our program!

weight loss and America

At ballparks, race tracks, concerts and other public events, the food served at these places are contibuting to the obesity epidemic. From the chili dogs to the beers to the ice cream...the owners of these venues know full well what we cannot resist. The dilemma is that these are profit-driven facilities that are not focring these foods down our throats...we can opt to eat before we get to the event and drink diet sodas or water. However, for most of us , (including me) part of the fun of these events are consumming those great looking food sources. The response to these challenges should include planning your day before you go to include eating BEFORE the event. Most places do not allow you to bring food in..therefore eat before. Moreover, limit yourself to one "indulgence" and not 5 or 6. Once again, this is not easy to do, but always remember you are making the choice to be healthier, happier, look younger etc. Your choice is a good one.

weight loss and health

There are special times in everyone's lives when you feel that you want to live forever...watching your child involved in a graduation ceremony picking up a diploma, holding your first grandchild, standing on a beach watching the sunset on a secluded beach....these times and many others amplify just how great life can be and you would pretty much do anything to allow youself to live as long as possible to partake of all of these times.

Then there are other times in which you may go through stresses such as job unhappiness, financial deterioration, relationships gone sour, negative world events etc, and you feel that "what the heck, who cares whether I am around to see/be involved with this s--t?

What does this have to do with weight control? The answer is that when we focus on the "good times" we will be more apt to work out to stay healthy, and part of this most certainly is being aggressive in your weight loss efforts. Reducing caloric intake, exercising, etc will ne more likely to occur. Conversely, during negative times/thoughts we really do not care how many double stuffed oreos we eat..it just doesnt matter.

I ask my patients to think about the loved ones in their lives...spouses, children, other extended family, friends, etc, and think how they would feel if you were not around to be involved in their lives. Sometimes this type of thinking will motivate the person to rise up and allow the intellectual part of the brain win out over the instincyual part of tbe brain. The choices then will be the healthy ones and you will, in fact, have a much higher chance to be here to see those grandchildren grow and more peaceful sunsets on the beach.

weight loss and immediate gratification

Eating a good food source provides an immediate gratification. Losing weight, feeling more energy, looking younger, fitting into your clothes, coming off medications: all of these are delayed gratification. What makes weight loss so difficult is that we to a large extent are an immediate gratification specie. It is difficult for us to delay the things we like to do/feel. We are battling lots of internal instinctual behaviors when we say "no" to a highcaloric food source.

I had a patient tell me yesterday : No food tastes as good as losing weight feels.

That is a great mantra and one to all incorporate to help us say "no" to food sources that will sabotage our efforts to lose weight and keep that weight off.

weight loss and matching exercise to intake

This morning Suzanne (yes, the famed Suzanne of blog-commentators) presented for her followup visit and she related to me that a medical issue this week precluded aggressive exercise. She still lost weight however and she told me that she adjusted her food intake (lowering) to account for the less exercise this week.

This is an important point and one we have covered before. Definitely worth mentioning again: Whether it be the metabolism slowdown as we get older or times in which exercise is less, we must adjust caloric intake to account for these changes or weight will increase. To some extent, this is a numbers game: 3500 calories to a pound....lets say you ate just 35 calories less a day for 100 days....this would account for losing 3.5 pounds a year. If you did this for 20 years, you would have lost 70 pounds! 35 calories a day is minimal....but these calories add up! So, if you are burning 200 calories less a day because of an injury, you MUST lessen that food intake to match this.

Small changes (either positive or negative) over a long period of time can result in incredible differences. I urge you to be cognizant of your exertion levels and match that food intake so as to not gain that weight back!

weight loss and staying fit

I am in Colorado today and Breckenridge is ata very high altitiude. Aside from having some altitude sickness headaches (i am a doctor,..i should have known better and come prepared!) I tried running this morning and lasted all of 1.75 miles and that is way off my usual 5. I was huffing and puffing....felt like I had asthma.

I used to think of myself as being in pretty decent shape for an old doctor guy, but the experience was humbling for me this morning. I started imagining now as to how a person who does not exercise at all will handle this type of environment with simple exertion such as walking.

Exercising does not only help your weight loss efforts but also helps your cardiopulmonary conditioning which could help prevent heart attacks and other life threatening situations when your body is stressed such as being at a high altitude.

I look forward to coming back and seeing you tomorrow! (huffing and puffing as he is writing this)

Supporting Our Patients

Weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight is complex and individual ...

As we continue to grow and expand both our medical practice and weight loss program we understand, especially for my patients who have been with me for years (some twenty!), that there are and will be many changes to our practice which for some people can be unsettling. Our goal with these changes are to offer you more and more support in many different areas and would like to discuss these changes and services with you. For more information please check out our "event tab" and "chat room" on the website www.spdiet.com

We want to assure everyone that we are constantly thinking about how to meet everyone's individual needs and address all possible aspects of meeting and maintaining your weight loss goals. We had a patient who felt like the follow up visits, although they said worked to help her continue to lose weight, were a bit "impersonal" as she saw many new faces each week. I want everyone to know that for those of you who need and want more time and attention we offer that service to each of you as an extended "free" visit with our Regisitered Dietation. This extended visit is offered to you as often as weekly in addition to your weekly follow up visits. Our follow up visits will be about 5 - 10 minutes focusing on specific aspects of the program, we will check your bp, weight, answer any questions you have and help keep you motiviated.

Other services we offer include (we try to continually evaluate and add new services to support our patients so please let us know if there is a service you would like to see offered as part of our program):

*weekly follow up visits on site and now virtual to make sure you are able to stay focused on vacation, when you're out of town, and/or if you are out of the area
*extended one-on-one visits with our Registered Dietition (RD)
*monthly health and wellness seminars run by our Fitness consultant and RD
*free exercise classes Tuesday & Thursday evenings (meet at the office) from 6pm - 7:30pm
*Once a month group walk at Burke Lake Park
*Group walks NOW on Monday & Wednesdays at 6:00am (for early birds)
*Starting in September group counseling sessions!!!
**Giving Back** In February 2010 we are offering a Free Community Program based on financial need and health criteria - We are working now to partner with community businesses so that 5 individuals a month may participate in our "Weight Loss & Work Ready" program. We hope to have businesses offer job training and internships for those individuals in the program who are out of work.

In order to offer and support these services, continue to offer new services, and keep your in office wait time to a minium we must continue to hire train, and cross-train our staff. We appreciate your patience as new staff members are being trained and feel free to always request to see myself, Donna, our PA, or the acting PA/NP or MD on site when you are in the office.

Also if you or any of your family members are looking for new opportunities please contact us as we have a few open positions in our office to include front desk support, nursing, and field sales.

Lastly, I want to thank each and everyone of you for helping us fine-tune our program to esnure that we are providing the very best weight loss program in the entire area. Your feedback/suggestions etc are VERY important to us. Please e-mail us or call us at 703-866-4144.

Am I Hungry?

As you are eating your meals do you ever take pause to ask yourself the question: "Am I hungry?" Seems like a very simple querstion that makes sense, but I doubt that many of us think about it often. Clearly, after a full meal at a restaurant when that dessert tray arrives and the waiter asks "Did you save room for dessert?" I would think that no one at that table feels "hunger" at that point.

We are very used to finishing the portions that have been put in front of us and much of this was learned when we were children.

I would recommend taht at all times during your meals you take a step back and ask yourself whether you still feel hungry and if the answer is "no", then it is time to stop!

weight loss and getting help

I have had many patients enter our program who told me they agonized somewhat about their decision to enter a program for weight loss because they were "embarassed" that they could not do this on their own. Clearly, if losing weight was relatively easy to do without help, 65% of Americans would not be overweight. Everyone tells themselves to "eat less and exercise more", and with the best of intents, "diets" are then employed and for a short period of time the "routine" is changed but then we always seem to fall back to old habits.

The need for help in losing weight transcends all racial, cultural and socioeconomic factors. The overwhelming majority of overweight people, regardless of income, need some type of help/support in their efforts. From family support, to reading books about weight loss to attending a non-medical program such as Weight-Watchers to paying for an aggressive medically supervised weight loss program such as ours, help is very much needed.

A person should not feel "weak" or embarrassed about seeking help in his/her weight loss efforts. Getting a jump-start in your efforts can be very helpful in making significant progress towards the goal of losing siginicant weight and keeping the weight off. No reason to ever feel embarrassed about seeking help!

Healthcare reform and obesity

Some problems may not have good solutions. I am being asked frequently by my patients about my thoughts about healthcare reform. From limiting choices to rationing of healthcare, many of my patients are very concerned about the future as this relates to the access/quality of care.

Here is some of my take: With the aging baby boomer population that is living much longer than their parent's generation, the demand for healthcare will continue to soar. The generation under the boomers are far less in numbers and cannot possibly pay enough into the system to fund the healtcare needed for the boomers. Throw into the mix the millions of "uninsured" and the entire system cannot be funded.

First and foremost is the need for tort reform. Physicians will continue to order test upon test so as to be able to defend their positions in the event of a malpractice suit. The way the current system exists, plaintiffs and their "have you been injured?" lawyers have a free shot at doctors and hosipitals. They know full well that the cost of defending a suit is much more than offering some type of settlement, so why not sue, sue and sue some more and hope that the malpractic e companies will offer a settlement? Simple solution to this: Make plaintiffs and their attornies cover the cost of the attornies/court fees/lost time at work IF they lose their case. This makes it simple: if you have a good case, take your shot. However, if it is frivilous or weak and you lose, then the plaintiff and their lawyers will pay out lots. This will save BILLIONS of dollars in testing ordered by physicians.

Second: Lets focus on preventative care. As mentioned earlier this week, America is spending 147 BILLION dollars a year on obesity related health issues. Let's add on smoking, drugs, and other issues that make us less healthy as a nation. Place some of thoise stimulus bucks on programs to help people PREVENT medical illnesses. As healthcare providers, we are so focused on the treatment of disease states and not emphasizing the prevention enough.

Third: Insurance companies...(to quote Billy Crystal from Mr. Saturday Night.."Don't get me started..") Much more regulation of their predatory practices are needed.

There are fourth thru thousandths of issues that could be discussed.

Our focus here is to prevent illnesses associated with obesity. We can all do our part by assessing our own health risks and taking the steps necessary to prevent health problems.