The Elixir of Life

When dealing with either one's personal weight issues or the obesity epidemic as a whole, it was once sort of natural to focus mostly on high calorie foods people, particularly those high in fat and/or carbohydrates. More and more, however, attention has focused on the liquids we all drink.

That makes sense. There's no getting around the responsibility that sugary sodas and juices have for the added pounds that can lead to everything from social isolation and depression to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and much more.

At the same time, sometimes it seems as if we've gone a bit overboard in attacking flavored beverages, even the low calorie ones. Calorie-free diet sodas have come in for an enormous amount of criticism recently for supposedly contributing to weight gain in some fashion -- a notion that some of us, at least, find more than a little counter-intuitive.

Diet soda drinkers can take at least some comfort in a study that came out this week that showed the opposite of what some earlier studies had suggested. This time around, at least, diet sodas seemed to actually support weight loss. It's just one study, of course, but all we know for sure is that we'd rather people drink diet soft drinks than their calorie-laden cousins. As a top provider of weight loss surgery in Los Angeles, we've seen the damage consuming highly caloric beverages on a daily basis can do.

Even so, we do have to say that everyone's go-to drink really ought to be plain old water. Water really is the elixir of life. Drinking more of it makes us healthier and happier and it doesn't have the added chemicals that may or may not lead to health issues. It's good stuff.

The Good and the Perfect

Especially if you follow politics, you might be familiar with the adage to the effect that we should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. While people can (and do) argue over how this might apply to a particular issue, the general principle is hard to argue with; we've all seen what happens when we lose focus of the larger picture on solving a problem while focusing on getting some tiny aspect of it completely right.

When it comes to containing the obesity epidemic, patients often face this same issue on a very personal level. We've all known obese people who keep finding new excuses not to take action -- whether they're considering obesity surgery or simply making a serious attempt to eat a bit healthier and exercise more. Sometimes these are pretty much simply excuses for delaying the issue. "After the holidays" (there are always holidays coming up), "after my vacation," and so on.

This can also happen after people have made real progress with their weight, where they might harm their own chances at actually being happy by focusing on expectations that might not be practical for them. At Dr. Feiz and Associates, we try very hard to make sure that patients have realistic expectations for the results of a weight loss procedure and its effect on their health and appearance.

While it's pretty likely to improve both, the realism doesn't always take right away. We've seen patients temporarily lose site of the fact that they may have lost scores of pounds and greatly improved their blood sugar -- or even reversed type 2 diabetes -- while feeling like failures for not getting rid of the final 10 or 15 pounds or looking like a model or movie star.

This is part of the reason Dr. Feiz and Associates provides detailed follow-up and counseling to help patients adjust to their new bodies. While it's good to avoid becoming complacent, we should be able to be happy with ourselves when we've made significant improvements. The good is very often good enough. The perfect really can wait.

If you think you can do a lot of good for yourself with weight loss surgery with Dr. Feiz, right now may be the best possible time to get in touch. Please call 800-868-5946 to inquire about a free seminar.

Why is Lifting Weights Important for Weight Loss?

The popular notion is that weight loss is a matter of simple mathematics: calories in and calories out gives you the "net" calories you've had, and leads to weight loss, gain, or maintenance. However, renowned bariatric surgeon Dr. Michael Feiz knows that weight loss is more than a game of counting calories, and that it also takes more than just getting off the sofa to lose weight. Of course, Dr. Feiz would not discourage any form of physical activity that benefits the patient, but he would also like to encourage one oft-forgotten form of exercise that many may dismiss when it comes to losing weight: strength training. 

The fact of the matter is, our bodies are finely tuned to maintain our weight, and losing weight goes against the body's natural tendency to keep us from losing weight. To fight that, it's of course important to exercise, and to "trick" the bodies metabolism so it speeds up rather than slows down or stays the same. That can be achieved in part by lifting weights on a regular basis, and adding lean muscle mass. Many might think "wait, hold on, why do I need to get muscular? Don't I just want to lose fat?" Wrong! Dr. Feiz knows that after obesity surgery, lifting weight is just as important as regular cardiovascular exercises like walking, hiking, bicycling, jogging, and playing sports. Why? Because lifting weights makes you gain muscles, and muscle mass helps the body burn through calories more efficiently. It's a win-win, in that sense, and gaining strength is just as important as burning calories through cardio workouts!

If you're interested in learning more about weight loss surgery with Los Angeles Lap-Band and gastric sleeve surgeon Dr. Michael Feiz, contact us today at 310-855-8058 for a free consultation with a specialist!

Common Weight Loss Surgery Myths Can Be Hurtful

Here at Dr. Feiz & Associates, we are constantly reading about the latest online news when it comes to weight loss surgery. So, to our delight, we found a charming video from the eightWest program out of Michigan television station WOOD TV. In the video, they bring in an expert to dispel weight loss surgery myths.

The first thing the expert mentions is that many patients across all types of weight loss surgery will come in to a consultation feeling like many people in their lives are challenging their decision. They'll say things like "it's the easy way out" or that the patient can do it alone. The expert as well as the team here at Dr. Feiz & Associates have both seen that these are not the case. Weight loss surgery in Los Angeles with Dr. Feiz and Associates is just a tool to help patients finally overcome their obesity.

Some of the other myths covered relate to dietary changes following surgery. The expert states that patients don't live on protein shakes forever, bariatric patients don't have to eat an excessively high protein diet, and they don't have to buy special food. Watch the full video here if interested:

Dr. Feiz strives to make all realities of weight loss surgery known to his patients very early on in the process. He's a board-certified bariatric surgeon with years of experience helping patients experience dramatic and life-changing weight loss through surgery. He, above all, is an ally to his patients and helps them weather whatever criticisms they may be facing for choosing bariatric surgery. For a free consultation with a specialist at Dr. Feiz & Associates, give us a call at 310-817-6911.