Know Your BMI

Your BMI (body mass index) expresses the relationship between a person’s height and weight. It is considered a good indicator of normal or excess weight, and of the links between overweight and disease. Generally, a BMI of 19-25 is considered normal. BMI’s below 19 are considered underweight, and BMI’s over 25 are considered overweight. A BMI over 40 is referred to as morbid obesity, and carries with it serious medical risks. Use the calculator on the right hand column to get your BMI.

Weight loss is a full time job

When it comes to weight loss, there is no magic bullet. There are no foods that melt your fat away. No 10-minute-a-day exercises will melt inches from your waist in one week, and no creams will massage the weight away. So what is there? And what's the right thing for you?

You can't fight basic physics. Ultimately, your weight loss will be determined by the amount of calories your body absorbs, and the total amount of calories your body burns at rest and during physical activity.

No matter what weight loss program you choose, the bottom line will be a combination of portion control and an increase in physical activity. As much as we like to recommend an increase in exercise, both for weight loss and other medical benefits, emphasis on portion control is usually more important (note that in order to walk off a hearty sandwich you may have to walk more than five miles…).

So what's the right portion control method for you? Here are some choices:

Do It Yourself (DIY) portion control. Do it if you have the will power to do so. Keep a balanced diet loaded with vegetables. 1200-1400 calories a day will suffice in most cases.

Meal replacement. Replace 7-10 meals a week with a good quality meal replacement product. It helps keep your daily calorie count down. We recommend HMR (Health Management Resources) products because of their quality. We have used these products for over 20 years in our weight loss practice.

Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). We use Medifast for our VLCD. You eat five mini-meals during the day, and your own protein dinner, for a total of approximately 900 calories a day.

Appetite suppressants. Several are available, individually or in combination. We prescribe them when appropriate, especially when you have a large amount of weight to lose.

What should you expect? For every 500 calories that you eat less or exercise more every day, expect to lose one pound a week.

When watching your weight, it's very easy to lose focus and get off the track. You must think weight loss every time you're hungry, every time you're in a restaurant, and every time you think that exercise is not for you. It's a full time job, and the pay is high. So do it!

Weight loss – Why the low carbs?

A lot has been said, and rightfully so, about how decreasing carbohydrate consumption helps you lose weight.

I'll give you a personal anecdote. You draw your own conclusions.

I was 6-7 years old in Israel (that's a little while back…), and underweight. My mother just had to have me gain weight. She took me to one doctor after another, but I stayed skinny. Finally, she found enough money to take me to the "Big European Professor," who came up with the solution. He instructed my mother to give me tea with six (not less) teaspoonfuls of sugar about an hour before dinner. She did, and I did, and I gained a significant amount of weight.

What the Big European Professor didn't know then, but we do know now, is why I gained the weight, and why I gained it quickly.

Eating sugar raises your insulin level, and the high insulin level drives your appetite, which only fuels the vicious weight gain cycle. The same holds true when you consume other carb rich foods, especially the highly processed ones such as white flour and starch; they rapidly turn into sugar in your blood, and have the same effect as if you ate sugar.

The conclusion is inescapable: turn the weight gain cycle off by decreasing your consumption of refined sugars and other carbs. While this may not solve all of your overweight issues, it's a necessary step.