how to weight loss

Many people struggle with being overweight or even obese. It's a common topic during office visits. As a doctor, I know that being overweight is associated with potentially serious health conditions—high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol—not to mention sleep apnea, fatty liver, and back and knee problems, among others. Patients may also worry about their appearance. Whether the patient is at risk of health problems due to being overweight or it is a personal health goal, then my job is to provide advice. In my experience, most patients only take weight loss drugs or surgery as a last resort. "I want to lose weight naturally," they say. Once we identify (and treat) any health problems that could be causing weight gain (low thyroid function, polycystic ovary syndrome, prediabetes, among others) or psychological problems (bulimia, binge eating, depression, anxiety), support diet and lifestyle style for many reasons, including my own experience. A true weight loss story A few years ago I embarked on a personal weight loss journey. I had two pregnancies back to back and put on a lot of weight to the point where my own body mass index was over 30 (obese range). I was many months postpartum and realized that "baby weight" wasn't going anywhere. In fact, I've gained even more weight since my daughter was born. At the time, I had a problem that many people could relate to: I was one of two working parents with two children under the age of two. How on earth is he going to deal with weight loss when he's busy and distracted? What I did was pretty basic and there is research to support this approach: 1 Here's what worked for me: I accepted that hey, it took me 18+ months to gain the weight, so it would probably take 18+ months to lose the weight. Even though I knew about nutrition, I felt I needed guidance. So I researched a lot of popular diets and philosophies. I chose a well-rounded, nutritious diet plan consisting of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and healthy fats (and also very low in carbs). It was a popular commercial diet that I modified to suit my preferences (most diets out there are pretty similar). I never bought any of their ready meals and just used their menu as a guide, substituting what I liked or had in my pantry if needed. I got a little pocket notebook and started recording everything I ate. Each page represented the daily intake and I counted calories as best I could. I weighed myself once a week and wrote it down as well. Exercise in those early days consisted of just a few minutes of sit-ups, push-ups, and other exercises in place at night after the kids went to bed (and before they woke up again overnight). Yes, sometimes I had a piece of cake, a glass of wine, a piece of chocolate, a piece of baklava (big fall) or other treats. I forgave myself for those indiscretions, as well as any "holidays" after dieting, logging, and exercising. I would just pick up where I left off and move on. And go. There were stops and starts and the weight went up and down, but over time the pounds slowly, slowly came off. As the months went by, I was able to rejoin my gym and add exercise once or twice a week. As my muscle tone increased, so did my metabolism and the weight came off faster. It took over two years, but I lost 50 pounds. In the three years since then, I have maintained my weight loss to within five kilos. What does the science say about my approach? Let's look at it. Diet and weight loss Studies have shown that almost any diet will lead to weight loss if it's one that someone can follow.1,2 Distinguished physician and Yale nutritionist David Katz examined more than 58 popular diets and found that the most successful in terms of weight loss and nutrition consists of "real food". They mean plants, whole grains, nuts and seeds, as well as meat (ideally from animals that ate plants). Essentially food closer to nature. Another key is to minimize processed foods, including sugars and flour. 3 Without realizing it, I was following Katz's advice: eating mostly fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and dairy. Sometimes I had whole grains like quinoa or farro, even rice or cornflakes. And of course the occasional treat. But for the most part I swore off sugars and flours. Behavioral change and weight loss It's hard to keep track of how much we eat. But a lot of research shows that when we watch our intake, we eat less. This is called self-monitoring and why it helped me write down what I ate and weigh. 4,5,6 There are so many ways to do it these days: from the old school paper and pencil method to apps like MyFitnessPal, or the Weight Watchers points system .7 Another key approach: forgive your failures. Studies show that people who "mess up" their diet plan and then "give up" end up gaining weight, while people who forgive and move on continue to lose. It's called self-acceptance.8,9 Look, we're human. Birthdays, office parties, weddings, random movie nights: they happen and we celebrate by having an amazing chocolate cake or Bets' famous buffalo chicken dip, waaaay too much champagne or buttered popcorn. Expect it, enjoy it, and then move on. Exercise and weight loss Most major weight losses are followed by weight gain as people revert to their old habits. But some people manage to keep it up. How do they do it? Researchers have found that maintaining a healthy diet, constant self-monitoring, sufficient self-acceptance, and a high level of physical activity are associated with keeping off excess pounds.10