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Team Choreography for Weight Loss
By Gloria Hakkarainen, MD, FACOG, FASBP, FABAARM –
“I try everything and the weight just creeps back. It’s so frustrating.” If that comment sounds familiar, then I encourage you to read about breakthroughs in modern medicine.
Successful 21st century medical grade weight loss is becoming the hottest sensation to combating disease. Like any chronic medical condition (such as heart disease or diabetes), return to health needs a unified approach best completed by a coordinated team of professionals. I strongly believe that the components of a medical grade program include an in-depth body composition assessment, correction of hormone imbalance, detoxification of the body, intense fitness and nutrition counseling “in house” under supervision, and behavior modification performed in a positive reinforcing manner to promote health and wellness.
With a comprehensive assessment performed by a weight loss specialist there is help for virtually anyone with a weight problem. This is always best done in an office dedicated specifically for this purpose, aimed at wellness as the primary objective. With this tenet in mind, I would like to delve a little further into each aspect of care including body composition and laboratory assessment, as well as guided fitness and nutritional counseling.
Body Composition Assessment
Body Composition analysis is an absolute must-have for anyone serious about reducing their excess weight. A calculation of percentage of body fat and its distribution pattern in the body is an extremely powerful predictor of the future disease risk. Body fat is clearly correlated to the most common cancers. Body fat can be measured by several different methods including caliper testing, bio-impedance, volume displacement and DEXA (dual absorption X-ray). One of the most accurate of these measures is the DEXA, which looks at body fat distribution.
Healthy women should carry a body fat between 21 to 27 percent and men should fall in the 12 to 15 percent range. Most women are surprised to find that we are, on average, one quarter fat!
Body mass index (BMI), is height divided by meters squared, and only gives one type of assessment. A BMI of 30 is considered obese and > 25 is overweight. The most thorough weight loss practices start with body assessment as a first step on targeting goals to health.
Laboratory Assessment
If you plan on losing weight, it’s very important to see your doctor and plan on having your labs done before and after. Patients with a weight problem often have a myriad of abnormal test results ranging from markers of overt diabetes, heart disease and other abnormal findings on EKG, to the development of metabolic syndrome and are at high risk of developing depression, anxiety and other serious health problems. Correcting hormone imbalance is vital to successful weight loss. Leptin signaling is one of the body’s major cues to stop eating and the brain often becomes leptin resistant in the same way that we develop diabetes by becoming insulin resistant. Often the thyroid gland is overworked and patients show early imbalance of thyroid function.
Another important component of weight loss is assessing Cortisol levels (stress hormone), female and male sex hormones, along with growth hormone, which can greatly influence changes in body silhouette, as muscle is gained and excess fat is lost. Cortisone levels increase as we age which leads to elevated insulin and the development of future diabetes and weight gain around the middle.
In addition to lowering your risk of diabetes and heart disease, reducing your excess fat will greatly reduce your risk of developing cancer. As patients continue to improve, their lab markers always show a similar trend back to normal. One of my greatest feelings of accomplishment occurs when patients are able to come off their meds for high blood pressure and insulin.
Intense Guided Fitness And Nutrition Counseling
There is no substitute for exercise: Simply stated: regular routine exercise is invaluable to optimal health. For active weight loss however, exercise is only part of the equation.
Resistance training makes the body lose weight at a faster clip by using the thermogenesis of fat burning long after the daily work out was finished. Also there are specific training regimens that bring out normal hormone production (i.e. natural growth hormone release sculpts the body and keeps it lean).
Patients also need guidance for their food intake as this accounts for 80 percent of an individual’s active weight loss efforts. Close continual evaluation by a licensed dietitian is critical so the patient can learn to incorporate foods that naturally detoxify the body and don’t allow fat cells a chance to resurge.
A program using optimal nutrients composed of good proteins, fats, and carbs will enhance the biochemistry of weight loss. Replenishment of missing vital nutrients for fat, carbohydrates, and protein digestion is also key. Food allergy testing, brain chemistry evaluation and heavy metal testing can all be important hidden factors for successful weight loss. Calculation of resting metabolic rate (RMR) gives us a precise plan on daily caloric needs and prevents the patient from eating too little calories. This way the body will not fight with itself by slowing down metabolism.
Your WEIGHT is finally over!
What are you WAITING for?
Call today for a free consultation with our Registered Dietitian, Traci at 561-427-0900.
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