No Reservations

Honestly, is there anything more enjoyable than a hearty, home-cooked meal? Unfortunately, in a world where we often find ourselves working longer days with less free time, cooking an entire meal can sound downright daunting. Whether you've had bariatric surgery or are still considering it, cooking even simple recipes from whole, even organic ingredients is a great way to reestablish a healthy and natural relationship with food. Besides, maintaining a healthy lifestyle means not being afraid to try something new.

So, one of these days, why not try making a pizza or an artisan salad from scratch? You may be surprised at how your creations compare with those served up at fast food or traditional restaurants. There are multitudes of food blogs, YouTube channels, and cook books available at the library to fuel your inspiration. Additionally, follow our Dr. Feiz & Associates page on Facebook or Google+, because we often share links to high-quality, low-calorie recipes from every corner of the Internet.

We believe that cooking your own meals, along with other health habits such as exercise is a great way to help control obesity. Of course, if you or a loved one is struggling with severe obesity, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at Dr. Feiz & Associates - it may be one of the most importance decisions you can make.

The Best Medicine?

It's definitely true that obesity and bariatric surgery are no laughing matters. On the other hand, since it is April Fools Day, it might be a good time to look at the benefits, including the health benefits, of a sense of humor.

Such sources as WebMD have referenced a number of studies which found that laughter appears to have some of the same benefits as exercise, including boosting the heart rate and burning some extra calories in a healthy manner. There may also be some benefits in terms of blood sugar and immune response. Since we all know that humor releases tension, it's not surprising that there may also be benefits in terms of relaxation and sleep.

These are not small matters for anyone -- particularly those of us struggling with obesity and it's many health impacts. At the same time, it's important to keep things in perspective. At least right now, the impacts of laughter can't be quantified in the same way that, say, a gastric sleeve can. Also, it can be easy to overstate these matters. The laughter and health connection was first seriously suggested in the 1980s by writer Norman Cousins, who was dealing with a seemingly incurable and very painful condition.  He found that laughing hard watching old Marx Brothers movies and "Candid Camera" TV shows seemed to reduce or even eliminate his pain for an hour or two, allowing him to sleep.

Cousins himself was careful not to exaggerate what he had noticed, but the results were frequently exaggerated -- to the point where many people seemed to believe that the writer had laughed his way out of cancer. In reality, while his condition did improve, taking time to laugh was just a small part of a detailed health regimen -- and the condition he suffered from wasn't actually cancer!

Nevertheless, there's no denying that, while we can't yet prove that laughter adds years to your life, we can be pretty sure that, as the old saying goes, it adds a lot of life to your years. We at Dr. Feiz & Associates heartily recommend it!

The Heart of Things

At Dr. Feiz & Associates, we are not only simply concerned about helping our patients meet their weight loss goals, we also want to help them improve their overall health and well-being. This is why, when taking into consideration the life-saving benefits of bariatric surgery, we cannot recommend it more to qualified patients who are struggling with severe obesity. Of course, we want you to look your best, and one of the ways to do this is to shed some excess body weight. But few people seem to realize that bariatric surgery can not only improve your life; it can extend it outright.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) notes that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States - even higher than that of cancer and respiratory illnesses. So anyone with severe obesity who has experienced heart failure - or at risk for it - would do well knowing that weight loss surgery procedures such as the gastric sleeve can not only reduce your weight, they can reduce your chances of an untimely end. We don't mean to sound grim by any means, we simply want people to know that living with severe obesity is more than an inconvenience - it's a bona fide way to shorten your life.

Weight loss surgery procedures are the most effective means for people with severe obesity to improve both the quality and length of their lives. If you or a loved one is struggling with severe obesity, don't hesitate to get in contact with us at Dr. Feiz & Associates. It may be one of the most importance decisions you can make.

Type 2 Diabetes: Your New Normal?

Here at Dr. Feiz & Associates, we have been keeping a close watch on the frequent waves of research showing a positive correlation between successful weight loss surgeries and the improvement, and in some cases complete remission, of type 2 diabetes. This is important because, as obesity rates continue to increase nationally, more and more people are dealing with this illness.

Now, doctors typically treat diabetes as a chronic condition which can be managed with reasonable success, and patients often take the news in stride. However, the costs of not managing diabetes properly can be extremely severe, and not all patients are able to handle it with equal success; as weight increases, so do diabetes-related problems. Indeed, even many patients are not fully aware of all the ramifications of this illness.

Particularly in combination with hypertension, another extremely common comorbidity, diabetes can be highly destructive to the health of a great many key organs, including the kidneys and the heart. This can result not only in a reduced lifespan, but a vastly lower quality of life in ways that patients don't often contemplate. For example, while many of us might worry about dying prematurely because of a heart attack, few of us take into account just how difficult it can be to have to go on dialysis due to kidneys that have failed because of diabetes and high blood pressure, or that diabetes can lead to the loss of limbs in a number of cases.

Of course, the good news is that bariatric surgery can make weight loss a great deal easier and, as has been proven through an ever-increasing number of studies, it really can make all the difference when it comes to either reducing blood sugar-related problems, or even eliminating diabetes entirely. For severely obese people, reaching a healthy weight can seem like an almost possible dream and, while bariatric procedures are far from magical, they make significant weight loss seem a lot more possible.

To find out whether a procedure such as a gastric sleeve or a Lap Band might be a key part of your the solution to your health issues, please feel free to give us a call.

No Quick Fixes

From meal subscription plans to bitter drink mixes, we've received a number of questions regarding consumer products which promise quick weight loss results. For one, because none of these products are regulated or even approved by the FDA, no one can say for sure whether they are effective, or even safe for people to try. Yet, it isn't surprising that many people struggling to lose weight are attracted to snake oil cures that are advertised on many television channels and Internet sites. What's more, because it can be so difficult to make progress in losing weight and keeping it off, we at Dr. Feiz & Associates understand the feeling of hope a new purchase, idea, or perspective can bring. 

But it's important to have a level-headed approach, especially when it comes to living with obesity and the health complications it can bring about. Procedures like the gastric sleeve, which are scientifically proven to be effective in combating obesity, are the best option at your disposal.

Unlike infomercial pitchmen and other dubious personalities, we at Dr. Feiz & Associates can safely say that bariatric surgery patients can expect to lose between 40 and 60 percent of their excess body weight within the first year after their procedure. What other weight loss product can promise that? If you're still struggling with yo-yo dieting or severe obesity, please don't hesitate to get in touch. 

Stop Reminding Me...or Not!

If you ever hear someone say that they obesity epidemic comes down to just one root cause, be very suspicious. The fact of the matter is that the reason that procedures like the gastric sleeve have become the gold standard for obesity treatment is that severe obesity, especially, is so complex, only by directly addressing the issue of appetite and by making it physically uncomfortable to overeat can real progress apparently be made.

Still, of all the usual culprits that people mention when they discuss obesity, the last one we would ever think of is that people are not being reminded enough of their weight problem. Yet, a Colorado study recently found that Spanish language text messages sent to type 2 diabetes patients seemed to support a healthy lifestyle to the extent of encouraging modest weight loss. While this is obviously no magic bullet for dealing with severe obesity especially, it is interesting that these reminders had any impact at all. After all, in a society as obsessed with weight issues as ours, it's not likely that people with weight issues ever forget about them for any length of time.

Perhaps it's the sense that someone cares enough to send these messages that's encouraging people to take positive steps towards weight control. Or maybe it's that the text messages disrupt our usual self-talk and jar us into taking real action to prevent overeating. Text messages are, of course, very far from a substitute for the right kind of bariatric surgery, but they are food for thought.

Nothing is Easy

It's human nature to want to look for easy ways out of tough problems, it's just a shame that they almost never exist. Here at Dr. Feiz & Associates, we're constantly advising the public that, while weight loss surgery can make significant, long-term weight loss a great deal more doable, it's far from an easy way out. The hard work of changing our entire relationship with food still requires effort and commitment, even if a weight loss surgery such as a gastric sleeve quiets the urges to overeat that sabotage the vast majority of weight loss efforts.

We were thinking about this when we encountered the story of a "detox" tea that was being touted on social media as something of a weight loss aid. Such questionable products are, obviously, nothing particularly new or out of the ordinary, though it's always good to remind ourselves to be skeptical about what we read online.

A different type of "easy" way out, one with a great deal more scientific backing, is offered by a spate of recent news stories suggesting that research is indicating that a very small weight loss might have relatively large health benefits. Clearly, any amount of sustained weight loss is a very good thing, but for an individual who might be as much as 110 pounds or more overweight, losing just ten pounds might be a great start, but it still leaves them with 100 pounds to lose and the probability of a great many very serious health problems associated with that remaining weight.

Clearly, no one gets a bariatric surgery to lose just five, ten, or 20 pounds. Even so, as we all know, losing even a few pounds can be difficult for anyone.So, yes, there simply is no such thing as an easy way out.