Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals With a Bariatric Physician

You want to lose weight, look better, and feel healthier, but you are not sure exactly how to begin. You know you need to exercise and eat a healthy diet but you still have many questions: Exactly what is an appropriate diet? What is an appropriate daily calorie intake for me? Should I take a weight loss supplement and if so what should I take? What are the best exercises to help me achieve my weight loss goals? What is a safe weight loss rate? What else should I be doing to maximize my weight losing program and reach my goals?

A Bariatric physician can help you answer these questions and put you on a path to success.
A Board Certified Bariatric Physician is specifically trained in weight loss treatment and management and in the treatment and management of related medical conditions in overweight and obese patients. Bariatric physicians know that a successful weight losing program with sustainable results relies not only on proper diet and exercise but also must take into account an individual's age, metabolism, genetics, medical conditions, lifestyle factors, and more. A program that does not address all of these factors for an individual will often have limited or unsustainable results. That is why weight loss attempts are often frustrating roller coaster rides for so many people; yet, it doesn't have to be that way. Consulting a Bariatric physician can help you determine the approaches you should take to weight losing and weight management. With professional medical help you can finally achieve your individual weight losing goals and keep the weight off for good.
A weight loss program with a Bariatric physician will often begin with a private consultation and a review of your medical history including any conditions or concerns such as diabetes, hypertension, or high cholesterol. A trusted Bariatric physician will provide a weight loss program that is both safe for patients with these conditions as well as helps to control any further complications that can result from these medical conditions. Initial testing such as body composition analysis (BCA) and metabolism analysis (MA) may be provided by your physician. These tests will help your physician determine how much of your body weight is fat mass and your individual calorie expenditure, respectively. These measurements are important for developing a safe rate of weight loss that is individualized to you as well as to ensure that you are losing fat mass and not lean muscle mass. Rapid weight losing can result in the loss of too much lean muscle mass along with fat mass, which is undesirable. As part of your individualized weight losing program your physician will monitor your weight loss and your body composition to ensure that you are safely reaching your weight management goals. Nutritional counseling, dietary supplements, exercise plans, and recommendations for lifestyle modifications will also be an important part of your Bariatric weight loss and weight management program. For optimal success, be sure to follow your physician's instructions and always keep an open line of communication.

Setting Realistic Goals to Lose Weight for Good

If you ask most successful people what they did to get there, you will quickly see a pattern; they set a goal, wrote it down and did everything they could to achieve that goal. It really doesn't matter where you apply this principle because once you have a goal set, it gives you the ability to create a plan of action to get to that goal. Without a goal, you are just a blind person going with the wind having no direction and that is not how you get results. To get to where you want to be, you need to answer two questions: what is my final destination (goal)? And how do I get to that destination? (plan of action). I used this same thought process to lose over 70lbs 3 years ago, so with that said here are the steps that can help make your weight loss "dream" a reality.

1. Define as specifically as possible what your long term weight loss goal is.
2. Write it down and put it somewhere you can see daily as a reminder.
3. Next, visualize yourself at that weight.
4. Now work backwards by focusing on how you will be able to reach your goal. Brainstorm and use your resources e.g. your previous diet experiences, the internet, weight loss forums etc to come up with realistic ways to get to this goal. Make sure you write them down.
5. Set small attainable goals which will help you get closer to your long term goal e.g. 1- 2lbs/week as opposed to 5lbs/week.
6. Have milestones and reward yourself each time you achieve one of them. For example, when I lost 20lbs I splurged on a high end foundation I always wanted to have, when I was down another 20lbs I treated myself to a day at the spa etc you get the idea. This will help you stay focused and motivated.
7. You have to handle your weight loss strategically and to do that you have to be aware, observant and write everything down. Journaling is not my thing but I quickly realized that I couldn't rely solely on my memory when it came to healthy eating. It is important to keep track of your progress, to see why you did well one month as opposed to another, that way you can quickly see what doesn't work or what works, and adjust accordingly.
8. Set a check-in date on your calendar to see how you are doing. For me, I weighed myself every Monday usually in the morning before I ate anything, I also set a date each month when I would go through my journal and check-in on my progress. (That is actually how I noticed spiking up your metabolism is one of the best kept secrets in weight loss... check it out on my blog). It is all about finding the formula that will work best for YOU.
9. Once you've made your decision and set your goal, GET ON WITH IT & TAKE ACTION, NOW!.