obesity | Neuromuscular Spine & Joint Center

Starting a Weight Loss Plan: Care Instructions

June 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

If you are thinking about losing weight, it can be hard to know where to start. Your doctor can help you set up a weight loss plan that best meets your needs. You may want to take a class on nutrition or exercise, or join a weight loss support group. If you have questions about how to make changes to your eating or exercise habits, ask your doctor about seeing a registered dietitian or an exercise specialist.

It can be a big challenge to lose weight. But you do not have to make huge changes at once. Make small changes, and stick with them. When those changes become habit, add a few more changes.

If you do not think you are ready to make changes right now, try to pick a date in the future. Make an appointment to see your doctor to discuss whether the time is right for you to start a plan.

Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor if you are having problems. It s also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.

How can you care for yourself at home?

Set realistic goals. Many people expect to lose much more weight than is likely. A weight loss of 5% to 10% of your body weight may be enough to improve your health.
Get family and friends involved to provide support. Talk to them about why you are trying to lose weight, and ask them to help. They can help by participating in exercise and having meals with you, even if they may be eating something different.
Find what works best for you. If you do not have time or do not like to cook, a program that offers meal replacement bars or shakes may be better for you. Or if you like to prepare meals, finding a plan that includes daily menus and recipes may be best.
Ask your doctor about other health professionals who can help you achieve your weight loss goals.
- A dietitian can help you make healthy changes in your diet.
- An exercise specialist or personal trainer can help you develop a safe and effective exercise program.
- A counselor or psychiatrist can help you cope with issues such as depression, anxiety, or family problems that can make it hard to focus on weight loss.
Consider joining a support group for people who are trying to lose weight. Your doctor can suggest groups in your area.

Care instructions adapted under license by Neuromuscular Spine & Joint Center. This care instruction is for use with your licensed healthcare professional. If you have questions about a medical condition or this instruction, always ask your healthcare professional. Kopp Medical LLC, DBA Neurmomuscular Spine & Joint Center disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.

Learning About Healthy Weight

June 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

What is a healthy weight?

A healthy weight is the weight at which you feel good about yourself and have energy for work and play. It’s also one that lowers your risk for health problems.

What can you do to stay at a healthy weight?

It can be hard to stay at a healthy weight, especially when fast food, vending-machine snacks, and processed foods are so easy to find. And with your busy lifestyle, activity may be low on your list of things to do. But staying at a healthy weight may be easier than you think.

Here are some dos and don’ts for staying at a healthy weight:

Do eat healthy foods

The kinds of foods you eat have a big impact on both your weight and your health. Reaching and staying at a healthy weight is not about going on a diet. It’s about making healthier food choices every day and changing your diet for good.

Healthy eating means eating a variety of foods so that you get all the nutrients you need. Your body needs protein, carbohydrate, and fats for energy. They keep your heart beating, your brain active, and your muscles working.

On most days, try to eat from each food group. This means eating a variety of:

Whole grains, such as whole wheat breads and pastas.
Fruits and vegetables.
Dairy products, such as low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.
Lean proteins, such as all types of fish, chicken without the skin, and beans.

Don’t have too much or too little of one thing. All foods, if eaten in moderation, can be part of healthy eating. Even sweets can be okay.

If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt, sugar, or calories, limit how often you eat them. Eat smaller servings, or look for healthy substitutes.

Do watch what you eat

Many people eat more than their bodies need. Part of staying at a healthy weight means learning how much food you really need from day to day and not eating more than that. Even with healthy foods, eating too much can make you gain weight.

Having a well-balanced diet means that you eat enough, but not too much, and that your food gives you the nutrients you need to stay healthy. So listen to your body. Eat when you’re hungry. Stop when you feel satisfied.

It’s a good idea to have healthy snacks ready for when you get hungry. Keep healthy snacks with you at work, in your car, and at home. If you have a healthy snack easily available, you’ll be less likely to pick a candy bar or bag of chips from a vending machine instead.

Some healthy snacks you might want to keep on hand are fruit, low-fat yogurt, string cheese, low-fat microwave popcorn, raisins and other dried fruit, nuts, whole wheat crackers, pretzels, carrots, celery sticks, and broccoli.

Do some physical activity

A big part of reaching and staying at a healthy weight is being active.

When you’re active, you burn calories. This makes it easier to reach and stay at a healthy weight. When you’re active on a regular basis, your body burns more calories, even when you’re at rest. Being active helps you lose fat and build lean muscle.

Try to be active for at least 1 hour every day. This may sound like a lot, but it’s okay to be active in smaller blocks of time that add up to 1 hour a day. Any activity that makes your heart beat faster and keeps it there for a while counts. A brisk walk, run, or swim will get your heart beating faster. So will climbing stairs, shooting baskets, or cycling. Even some household chores like vacuuming and mowing the lawn will get your heart rate up.

Pick activities that you enjoy ones that make your heart beat faster, your muscles stronger, and your muscles and joints more flexible. If you find more than one thing you like doing, do them all. You don’t have to do the same thing every day.

Don’t diet

Diets don’t work.

Diets are temporary. Because you give up so much when you diet, you may be hungry and think about food all the time. And after you stop dieting, you also may overeat to make up for what you missed. Most people who diet end up gaining back the pounds they lost and more.

Remember that healthy bodies come in lots of shapes and sizes. Everyone can get healthier by eating better and being more active.

Learning About Obesity

June 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

What is obesity?

Obesity means having so much body fat that your health is in danger. Having too much body fat can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, sleep apnea, and stroke.

Even if you don’t feel bad now, think about these health risks. Do they seem like a good reason to start on a new path toward a healthier weight? Or do you have another personal, powerful reason for wanting to lose weight? Whatever it is, keep it in mind. It can be hard to change eating habits and exercise habits. But with your own reason and plan, you can do it.

How do you know if your weight is in the obesity range?

To know if your weight is in the obesity range, your doctor looks at your body mass index (BMI) and waist size.

Your BMI is a number that is calculated from your weight and your height. To figure your BMI for yourself, get a BMI table from your doctor or use an online tool, such as the Body Mass Index calculator on the National Institutes of Health website.

What causes obesity?

When you take in more calories than you burn off, you gain weight. How you eat, how active you are, and other things affect how your body uses calories and whether you gain weight.

If you have family members who have too much body fat, you may have inherited a tendency to gain weight. And your family also helps form your eating and lifestyle habits, which can lead to obesity.

Also, our busy lives make it harder to plan and cook healthy meals. For many of us, it’s easier to reach for prepared foods, go out to eat, or go to the drive-through. But these foods are often high in saturated fat and calories. Portions are often too large.

What can you do to reach a healthy weight?

Focus on health, not diets. Diets are hard to stay on and don’t work in the long run. It is very hard to stay with a diet that includes lots of big changes in your eating habits.

Instead of a diet, focus on lifestyle changes that will improve your health and achieve the right balance of energy and calories. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. You can do it by eating healthy foods in reasonable amounts and becoming more active, even a little bit every day. Making small changes over time can add up to a lot.

Make a plan for change. Many people have found that naming their reasons for change and staying focused on their plan can make a big difference. Work with your doctor to create a plan that is right for you.

Ask yourself: “What are my personal, most powerful reasons for wanting this change? What will my life look like when I’ve made the change?”
Set your long-term goal. Make it specific, such as “I will lose x pounds.”
Break your long-term goal into smaller, short-term goals. Make these small steps specific and within your reach, things you know you can do. These steps are what keep you going from day to day.

How can you stay on your plan for change?

Be ready. Choose to start during a time when there are few events that might trigger slip-ups, like holidays, social events, and high-stress periods.

Decide on your first few steps. Most people have more success when they make small changes, one step at a time. For example, you might switch a daily candy bar to a piece of fruit, walk 10 minutes more, or add more vegetables to a meal.

Line up your support people. Make sure you’re not going to be alone as you make this change. Connect with people who understand how important it is to you. Ask family members and friends for help in keeping with your plan. And think about who could make it harder for you, and how to handle them.

Try tracking. People who keep track of what they eat, feel, and do are better at losing weight. Try writing down things like:

What and how much you eat.
How you feel before and after each meal.
Details about each meal (like eating out or at home, eating alone, or with friends or family).
What you do to be active.

Look and plan. As you track, look for patterns that you may want to change. Take note of:

When you eat and whether you skip meals.
How often you eat out.
How many fruits and vegetables you eat.
When you eat beyond feeling full.
When and why you eat for reasons other than being hungry.

When you stray from your plan, don’t get upset. Figure out what made you slip up and how you can fix it.

Can you take medicines or have surgery to lose weight?

Before your doctor will prescribe medicines or surgery, he or she will probably want you to be more active and follow your healthy eating plan for a period of time. These habits are key lifelong changes for managing your weight, with or without other medical treatment. And these changes can help you avoid weight-related health problems.

Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor if you are having problems. It’s also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.