3 Tips for Weight Loss in 2015

Weight loss is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions, and for good reason. With such a high percentage of obesity in American, shedding pounds is not just a good for wanting to look better, it’s a great way to improve your health. Unfortunately, keeping resolutions and losing weight are both extremely difficult, and have high rates of failure. Still, here at Dr. Feiz and Associates, we don’t think that should stop you, so here are 3 tips for living a healthy lifestyle in 2015.

1) Start Small. One of the main reasons why New Year’s resolutions fail is that they’re simply too ambitious. While there’s nothing wrong with aiming high, taking a difficult task like weight loss and resolving to simply make it happen is almost impossible. You need to set small goals. Instead of deciding that you’ll lose a certain amount of weight for the year, resolve to lose a few pounds a few months at a time. 

2) Eat better. One of the keys to weight loss is healthy eating, but you shouldn’t expect to change your entire diet overnight. Start small here too. Use a smaller salad plate to eat a meal to control your portion size, or limit yourself to eating out to a certain number a week. Try swapping out at least one snack a day with something health like eating an apple instead of potato chips for example. 

3) Consider all options. Losing weight is difficult for anyone, but for the severely obese it can be nearly impossible to get down to a healthy weight and keep it down. Options like surgical weight loss like the procedures offered by Dr. Feiz and Associates are available to anyone who is eligible and needs the extra support. Don’t give up on your goals for a healthy and productive new year!

Enjoy Your Holidays

People who are concerned about their weight, particularly those dealing with severe obesity, sometimes make the mistake of letting their legitimate concern with healthy eating get in the way of their holiday celebrations. That's not to say we don't understand the basic issue facing people who need to make significant changes in their dietary habits.

So much of our concept of holidays and celebrations is tied up with food (and beverages), it's easy to see how those of us who need to be most mindful about consuming them might be tempted to try their best to ignore the holidays. However, depriving yourself of the fun and companionship involved in celebrating a holiday is not our idea of a healthy lifestyle. The trick, of course, is to find a way to focus on the aspects of holiday celebrations that don't involve high calorie foods and beverages...and  the good news is that love, friendship, and family have zero calories!

Of course, if you've recently embarked on the path towards surgical weightloss, or are considering doing so, it's possible you could benefit from a little extra support around holiday time. At Dr. Feiz and Associates, we're here to provide that support to our patients old and new. After all, just because it's holiday time doesn't mean you can give a weight loss doctor a call!

 

The Science of Weight Loss Surgery

At Dr. Feiz and Associates, we stand behind our bariatric procedures not because they're safe, not because they're viable, and not because they're a practical choice for patients suffering from severe obesity. All of these factors are true, of course, but the reason why we stand behind them--and why Dr. Feiz has dedicated himself toward having both the superior expertise and skill to perform them--is simply because they provide results. Simply put: they work, and they work well. 

Where other methods of weight loss for the severely obese fail, the medical consensus is that bariatric surgery is the only method of weight loss proven to provide positive, consistent, and long term results. Though regular exercise and healthy eating are always important, they have a shockingly small impact on putting a dent into severe obesity. There are many reasons for that. 

The human body is actually designed to gain weight. It was to our evolutionary advantage to want to pack on pounds because, for early humans, the next meal was never a sure thing. Losing weight is difficult for most people because it's actually against what the body wants you to do because it thinks it needs that weight. Are you familiar with the difficulty controlling food cravings while dieting to drop a few pounds? Now imagine you needed to drop 50, 70, or even 100 or more. 

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle may seem like the obvious solution, but for someone suffering from severe obesity, doing so is much more difficult. The food cravings someone with severe obesity experiences makes it nearly impossible for them to satisfy their sense of hunger from smaller portions. Since a much smaller food consumption is necessary for losing the significantly large amount of pounds needed, surgical weightloss proves itself to be an extremely effective solution by limiting the amount of food a patient is physically capable of consuming. At Dr. Feiz and Associates, we provide these solutions to give individuals trapped in severe obesity a clear path forward.

4 Strange Mental Tricks for Weight Loss

Weight loss is such a difficult endeavor for most people because the roadblocks are mostly mental. Because the brain is a powerful thing, overcoming them is no easy task. If you aren't getting the results you're looking for, there are actions you can take that, though small, can have a major impact on your routine. Consider the following mental tips to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

1. Use a smaller plate. This simple adjustment can go a long why in helping you with portion control. This is purely a psychological trick. At home, people tend to use large dinner plates when they serve a meal. Instead, try using something smaller like a salad plate. This will trick your eyes into making you think you're eating more by making the portion look larger. You'll find yourself getting fuller quicker, and eating less. 
2. Count your bites. You've likely heard that it takes twenty minutes for your brain to give the signal that you're full. That's why eating more slowly will cause you to eat less. Still, it's difficult to slow yourself down, especially if you're hungry. Try counting your bites. Keeping track of bites has been proven to cause people to slow down, and feel fuller quicker. It's a great trick for healthy eating.
3. Get good sleep. Poor sleeping habits have a negative effect on just about every aspect of your body. It will also contribute toward weight gain. When you're tired, you will be naturally drawn toward high-fat/high sugar food because they will give you a burst of energy. Also, pyschologically, you'll have a more difficult time stopping yourself from engaging in tempting, unhealthy behavior with a tired brain. 
4. Limit exercise. Here's an interesting one. We should all get at least a half an hour of exercise everyday, yet studies have shown that those who stick to a half an hour of strenuous work,VS those who do an hour, loss more weight. People who work out longer tend to have a higher desire to reward themselves with big portions of, or less healthy, food. Sticking to you recommended amount of exercise may keep you on your regiment more easily. 

At Dr. Feiz and Associates, we understand the challenge of weight loss. We also understand the importance of losing weight and the serious health risks associated with obesity. That's why we provide other options if diet and exercise don't give the results you need. Surgical weight loss is a proven and effective tool at your disposal that you should also investigate. To find out if it's right for you, contact us today for a consultation.

Healthy Diet Tips You Will Like

We know how hard healthy eating can be, that's why we wanted to share some tips you'd like!

#1.You need some fat in your diet; just get it from the right places.

Swap out saturated fats (butter, cheese and high-fat meat) in favor of healthy fats like olive oil, canola oil and the kind found in nuts and fatty fish. Try topping your salad with a few nuts instead of cheese, use peanut butter instead of cream cheese on a bagel, and replace mayonnaise with avocado on a sandwich.




#2. Fruit is naturally sweet, delicious, whole and unprocessed.


It is chock full of vitamins and fiber. Eat it fresh whenever possible. Frozen and canned fruit are other good options—just look for the kind with no added ingredients. Add fruit to protein drinks; eat it with peanut butter or yogurt for a snack.




#3. Salad Dressings for a healthy lifestyle that taste yummy.


In both the “regular” and “health food” sections of the market, we found that these brands of dressings didn’t contain any bad oils. BRIANNAS (all flavors), Cains Naturally Delicious All Natural Dressing (some flavors, including Asian Sesame Vinaigrette), Drew’s All Natural (all flavors)





#4 Pasta Sauce !

It was fairly easy to find pasta sauces that omitted the bad omega–6–rich oils. Still, many brands include these oils in some flavors but not others, so make sure to read ingredient lists. Bertolli (many flavors, including Marinara with Burgundy Wine), Classico (some flavors, including Tomato Basil), Dell’Amore (all flavors).



Dr. Feiz also knows that sometimes diets and exercise do not work. Luckily there is an option! To find out more about surgical weight loss and to see if you are a candidate, give Dr. Feiz a call anytime!