How to Actually Keep that New Year's Resolution for Weight Loss!

Weight loss is the most common New Year's resolutions, but many struggle and give up before reaching their target weight. Board-certified bariatric surgeon Dr. Michael Feiz has helped many adults reverse their obesity and finally get healthy, making their New Year's resolution to lose the pounds a reality.

Do you plan to lose weight in 2014? Contact the offices of Dr. Michael Feiz, M.D., F.A.C.S. to learn more about your surgical weight loss options.

Dr. Feiz & Associates have tips for how you can get down to a healthy weight, whether you plan to have obesity surgery or not. His main advice is to focus on small goals so you don't get overwhelmed and give up!

• Track your calories.  Dedicate yourself to healthy eating and logging what you eat either on paper of an online calorie tracking source like My Fitness Pal. This can open your eyes to what you're really eating!
• Work out 3 times a week or more. Start small and work from there when it comes to physical activity. Don't feel pressured to do too much too soon, you'll build up endurance sooner than you may think!
• Weigh yourself regularly.Your weight can easily spiral out of control is because you're simply unaware of your weight until clothes no longer fit. Hold yourself accountable and focus on weight maintenance at least, if you're not ready to lose some weight. 

Contact the offices of Dr. Feiz today to learn more about how you can lose weight starting today. Don't delay, call (310) 855-8058 today!

Have a Happy Holiday, Really!

We've been writing a fair amount in recent weeks about food and the holiday. It's only natural for those of us caught up in the obesity epidemic to focus on all the high calorie/low nutrition holiday treats we're supposed to avoid and think about more healthy alternatives. It's likely, however, that the real problem is that, whether we're overeating or trying our hardest not to overeat, we're still focusing far too much on food.

Here's the thing, the reason that weight loss surgery has been so successful in fighting obesity, type 2 diabetes, and all the other health issues that go with it, is that it it actually helps rewire our minds so that our focus moves off of food and onto other things.

Without surgery, it's often a lot easier said than done, but it really is worthwhile to do our best to focus on all the non-food oriented joys of the holiday. Believe it or not, there are plenty of wonderful things in the world that have zero calories. Whether your favorite non-caloric pleasure is playing Santa for the kids, spending time with your favorite people, going up to the mountains for your favorite snowbound activities, or simply checking out all the big new holiday movies, most of the best things in life are completely free of calories. Even if you slip a bit and end up consuming food more than you'd hoped to this Christmas, make sure you focus less on that and more on simply having a wonderful holiday.

Of course, you're weight is an important aspect of your overall health happiness. If you're unhappy with your present situation and are seriously interested in learning more about weight loss surgery in California, feel free to contact the office of Dr. Feiz & Associates at 310-855-8058.

Obesity can be Hard to Bear

As the resident expert in weight loss surgery in California, Dr. Feiz is increasingly in demand by a populace that is struggling with obesity in record numbers. The skill he brings when performing treatments like gastric sleeve surgery consistently go a long way towards helping patients to achieve their health and weight goals, and often lead to a significant increase in self-confidence. Incidentally, there are some in the medical field that are tackling the obesity issue from a distinctly fuzzier perspective.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Dr. Kevin Corbit, a scientist at drug maker Amgen Inc., is researching grizzly bears in order to glean new insights into obesity."When I thought about obesity, I thought about Yogi bear," says Dr. Corbit.

Bears can take in as much as 58,000 calories in a day, and weigh 1,000 lbs. In fact, in the weeks before hibernating, bears pack away enough apples, berries and salmon to put on 100 lbs or more - leading to a jump in their bad cholesterol and a spike in blood pressure. Intriguingly, though, this doesn't lead to a decline in health, a distinct contrast to their human counterparts.

The arteries of a bear won't clog from goring, and the animals don't battle heart attacks or become diabetic. Dr. Corbit and his team have found that the bears seem to adjust their sensitivity to the hormone insulin that controls how much fat and sugars in food are broken down and stored for energy. The bears are more sensitive to insulin while putting on the weight prior to hibernation, and after a few weeks of hibernating, their insulin responsiveness shuts down entirely.

The next step for Dr. Corbit is to explore what it is about the biology of bears that allows them to do this, which could lead to a breakthrough for those who suffer from obesity. Until then, though, sufferers of obesity are lucky to have the incomparable Dr. Feiz on hand to offer several types of weight loss surgery with truly life-changing results.