Blog for Friday, March 4, 2016

Good evening, everybody! Hope it's been a lovely week for you, and that spring will arrive and stick around soon! On to today's stories.......First, , this article discusses a study that found that obesity was a cause in approximately 11 million Dr. visits in 2012. While there are obviously health reasons to try to maintain a healthy weight, this shows one of the economic ramifications of widespread obesity. Imagine how much it would lower health care costs if that 11 million was reduced by half, or more! Waiting times at the Dr.'s office would be reduced as well. Another somewhat disturbing note in the article was the infrequency with which Dr.'s would provide dietary or exercise education. Only in a third of these visits did the Dr. provide the patient with diet and nutrition education! It's not like obesity is some "hidden" disease or syndrome. Today's next article tells us 3 of the biggest reasons your diet isn't working. 1. You've picked a diet you can't follow forever. 2. You're eating too few calories. 3. You're not exercising. These are all pretty well-explained, as 1. results in a "rebound" weight gain once you resume your prior eating habits. 2. Results in your body thinking you're starving and slowing your metabolism to a crawl, and 3. As you do lose weight(without exercising), you're also losing muscle, which is crucial to your metabolism's pace, and reach a point where this metabolic slowdown results in weight gain. Pretty straightforward stuff. The third article of the day suggests that reducing your protein intake might actually be a bad idea if weight loss is your goal. While many diets have advocated protein reduction, the increased satiety it provides might actually cause you to consume fewer calories. Of course, it's also important to stop eating when you feel full. If you ignore feeling sated, you have no one but yourself to blame. The last article for today is an interview with Dr. Mark Hyman, author of the book "Eat Fat, Get Thin". In it, he discusses his reasons for writing the book, as well as the disconnect between nutrition science and government-issued dietary recommendations. Dr. Hyman himself began eating more fat after following a vegetarian, minimal-fat diet for years, and beginning to notice his own weight increasing. After his change, his love handles disappeared, and he had more energy. He now advocates to his patients and readers that they, too, eat this type of diet. I'll conclude with a quote from Dr. Hyman that I found interesting, " The truth is that you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet. Metabolism is not a math problem. It’s a hormonal problem. Food is not just energy. It’s information. It’s instructions that turn on or off different switches in your body that regulate hunger and metabolism. Obesity is not about how much you eat. It’s about what you eat. If you just focus on quality, not calories, then the quantity takes care of itself." Chew on that, pun intended. Be healthy, my friends!