Monday, February 27, 2012

Easy Weight Loss Programs and Detox Foods

Easy weight loss programs have many benefits—obviously, you will lose weight, but in addition, you will learn to enjoy foods that can naturally help you become much healthier overall. At our weight loss clinics, we may recommend an overhaul of your dietary intake and evaluate your eating habits to help you see what you’re doing wrong so you can make changes. Sometimes we find that patients need assistance curbing their appetites and may prescribe FDA approved medical weight loss pills. While each patient may benefit from different recommendations, everyone we work with can get healthier with one of our standard suggestions: eat a diet rich in detoxifying foods.

While detox foods will assist your success with easy weight loss programs, they also help you look better in other ways. Antioxidant-rich, detox foods will help your body flush out metabolic waste and environmental toxins. It will improve the look of your skin and enhance its antiaging abilities. Foods that are packed with antioxidants help repair the oxidant damage caused by free radicals that leads to many diseases, such as cardiovascular illnesses, muscle and tissue degeneration, diabetes, and many types of cancer. We’re exposed to free radicals as a normal bi-product of regular bodily processes, like digestion, and through sun damage and the pollutants in the air. The antioxidants in detox foods help stop this oxidation by neutralizing the free radicals.

We recommend that patients of our weight loss clinics focus on detox foods such as artichokes, which are low calorie and can help lower cholesterol levels, and lemon, which provides pectin, a soluble fiber that helps keep you satiated. Adding lemon juice to water supplies your body with over 30 detox compounds and gives it zest. Grapefruit is another great natural detoxifier that helps reduce bloating and contains lycopene, an antioxidant that helps with clear skin and healthy hair. New studies also confirm that some of the compounds found in grapefruit assist with weight loss. Pineapple, celery and chili peppers are also great choices.

Papaya is a great food for fighting bloat—it contains special enzymes that help your stomach stays flatter while detoxing naturally and is rich in essential nutrients that help your skin glow. Ginger is another great natural detoxifier, as it assists with digestion and promotes blood circulation. Ginger is also anti-inflammatory and one of the best anti-bloating foods available.

Many of our delicious weight reduction specialties contain great antioxidant properties, but those alone should not be counted on for nutrition. It’s important to eat whole foods that round out your diet, and to always focus on the type of nutrients recommended in medical weight loss programs.

Even if you’re using FDA approved medical weight loss pills to shed pounds, it’s essential to work detox foods into your diet. The benefits to antiaging and beauty, coupled with their disease fighting benefits, make them critical to your health. Plus, they taste great and will help you maintain the weight you lose with one of our medical weight loss programs.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Weight Loss Clinics and Heart Health

Obesity is a killer—it can lead to heart disease as well as other fatal illnesses. If you have trouble losing weight, then a visit to one of our weight loss clinics can be the lifesaver you’re looking for. According to the American Heart Association, approximately eight million women in the United States are living with cardiovascular disease, and 90 percent of women possess one or more factors that put them at risk for developing it. This seems like the best reason of all to adopt one of our quick weight loss programs to overcome obesity.

February is Heart Health Month, so we’re focusing on the health benefits that our medical weight loss programs offer patients. By following our suggestions for eating nutritious foods, increasing activity and eliminating the patterns that trigger overeating and leads to obesity, patients can improve their heart health and achieve their weight loss goals.

The advantage about working with a medical weight loss staff is that you will learn how to change your lifestyle. If you have issues with curbing your appetite, our physicians are experienced in this arena and can determine if FDA approved medical weight loss pills are your best option, while ensuring that they’re safe for you. The staff at our medical weight loss centers also monitors your blood pressure to make sure it’s where it should be and ensure that you don’t lose weight too quickly.

In addition, the staff at our weight loss clinics will recommend the best foods for you to eat and which items to stay away from. These same suggestions are used by the American Heart Association to improve heart health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain cancers. These foods will help you ensure success with any quick weight loss programs, while making you healthier overall.

Whether or not you lose weight with the help of FDA approved medical weight loss pills, we will help you learn how to adopt a healthy new lifestyle so that you can maintain your weight loss in a safe, effective way. We help patients make smart choices about nutrition that improve their overall health and quality of life.

Other ways to improve heart health while reducing the risk of various diseases include: stop smoking, keep blood sugar at healthy levels, monitor blood pressure and manage cholesterol levels. Other great ways include cutting down on sodium and processed foods, eat more fruits and vegetables, swap refined flour for whole wheat grains, and eliminate sugar as much as possible. These behaviors contribute to the success of medical weight loss programs while helping you get heart healthy.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Work with our medical weight loss clinics to overcome yo-yo dieting

Many people come to our medical weight loss clinics to overcome the damage caused by years of yo-yo dieting, which is the repeated loss and regain of weight. This cycle, which can range from small (five lbs.) to large (50 lbs. and up) losses and gains, is associated with potential health risks, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and gallbladder disease. In addition, yo-yo dieting can lead to a sluggish metabolism—this is a common reason that patients are prescribed FDA approved medical weight loss pills.

Studies show that people are more likely to yo-yo in weight due to strict diets that aren’t are unsafe and unrealistic—this is exactly why we strive to create quick weight loss programs that are completely safe and effective. By simply focusing on the principles of healthy eating and regular physical activity, the clients at our weight loss clinics experience consistent, long term results.

The difference between strict diets that serve as an easy fix and our efficient weight loss process is that we strive to determine the underlying patterns that cause weight gain and break them, while a strict diet pushes you to change too much at once. When your goals are too unrealistic, you can quickly fall off track and do more damage than if you weren’t even dieting at all. Once you experience a dietary slip, it’s easy to lose motivation—before you know it, old habits resume, the weight goes back up and the cycle begins again.

What we’ve noticed at our weight loss clinics is that when people yo-yo, this can have a negative psychological effect as it’s easy to become discouraged and even depressed. That’s why working with a medical weight loss program can be critical to an individual’s overall health and wellness—we can help you break the cycle and find ways to make long-term changes in your diet and workout habits so that you can actually maintain a normal, healthy weight.

Rather than adopting a weight loss regimen, at our medical weight loss center, we design programs that patients can stick with for the long haul. We aim to transform their behavior and change their lifestyle in its entirety. Whether we need to provide nutritional counseling on a regular basis or prescribe FDA approved medical weight loss pills, we’re committed to helping patients achieve their goals in the safest, most effective manner possible, so that permanent results are within reach.

At our weight loss clinics, we strive to help patients end the yo-yo cycle by helping them change their behavior. We teach them to eat smaller, more frequent meals that incorporate protein and vegetables. We encourage them to get moving and engage in a regular workout regimen. Our doctors help them to identify triggers that cause overeating and find ways to overcome them. It’s the easiest and most realistic way to put an end to this destructive cycle.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Lifestyle changes for medical weight loss

A key component of all medical weight loss programs is to assess the reasons why you’ve gained weight or been unable to lose it. There can be all sorts of reasons for weight and obesity issues, from emotional eating patterns to a sluggish metabolism caused by thyroid dysfunction. That’s why the doctors at our weight loss clinics don’t just throw patients on a diet; we ask questions and analyze eating behaviors to determine what can be at the root of the problem.

By getting to the bottom of weight gain or the inability to lose weight, we’re able to recommend the best easy eight loss programs for our patients. Whether we suggest exercise plans, changes in diet or FDA approved weight loss pills, what we’re hoping to achieve is a change in lifestyle that will result in long term weight loss and healthier patients.

Changing habits play a major role in medical weight loss. This is why we suggest keeping a food diary to log every single item consumed, from entrees to snacks and condiments. We ask clients bring a food diary to our weight loss clinics when they first sign up, so we can help them analyze the eating patterns and habits that contributed to their weight gain.

One of the fundamental elements to all easy weight loss programs is for patients to move more. Whether you’re currently working out or haven’t in years, it’s important to increase overall activity. If you are exercising regularly, it’s time to up the ante of your workouts and simply work more activity into your day. Take the stairs, park your car as far away from your destination as possible, and do your errands on your bike or by walking.

Another area that can lead to rapid weight gain is liquid calories. Try to drink as much water and calorie-free liquid as possible. The sugars and sodium in many juices and smoothies are very detrimental to your waistline, so make sure you get most of your calories from foods. Even if you’re not hungry, perhaps due to the effects of FDA approved medical weight loss pills, don’t replace a meal with a drink that’s high in caloric value—calories are calories!

For easy weight loss programs to work, it’s important to include protein in your diet. Protein satisfies hunger better than carbs and fatty foods. It’s also important to have a fruit or vegetable with every meal, as they provide the most nutritional value for the least amount of calories. They also have a high content of water and fiber which keeps you full longer.

Strength training is also extremely helpful for weight loss. It burns calories, strengthens your bones, tones and boosts your moods. Resistance workouts help you build muscle mass to make you stronger and increase your resting metabolic rate.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Foods to help you lose the belly fat


If you’ve tried everything to lose the belly fat but the dream of a six-pack continues to elude you, then it’s time to dial into the foods that best facilitate easy weight loss programs—and stay away from those that don’t. For starters, some of the biggest detriments to medical weight loss plans and the like are white bread and rice, so clear those two items out of your pantry asap!

Whole grains. Swap processed grains and food made with white flour for whole grains including brown rice, lentils and whole wheat bread. Always make sure that the first ingredient on the label is “whole wheat grains,” as marketing copy on the packaging can be very misleading. You need grains of some sort for easy weight loss programs to work, as they help to fill you up and burn fat, as opposed to refined carbohydrates.

Greek yogurt. We always recommend that patients of our weight loss clinics acquire a taste for Greek yogurt, which contain probiotic bacteria. This type of bacteria helps keep your digestive tract healthy and reduces bloating. This results in a flatter looking tummy and the need for less weight loss products in your diet. Plus, the combination of protein and carbs contained in Greek yogurt helps to stabilize the insulin in your system.


Cruciferous vegetables. We always recommend that patients from our weight loss clinics load up on cruciferous veggies like broccoli, brussel sprouts, peppers, asparagus and yellow beans, which are all very nutrient rich and packed with vitamins A, C, and K. In addition, they’re loaded with fiber, folate, beta-carotene, calcium, magnesium.

Vinegar. Medical weight loss studies in Japan show that the same substance that makes vinegar taste sour may fight fat. Try versions with healing properties, like Balsamic vinegar, for an extra healthy boost.

Monounsaturated fats. Studies show that monounsaturated fats can help eliminate belly fat as well as some of the most effective weight reduction products on the market. Good sources include olive oil, avocado, and nuts and seeds including cashews, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. In addition, foods that are rich in monounsaturated fats help our bodies to absorb carotenoids, the cancer-fighting compounds found in tomatoes, carrots, spinach and winter squash.

Berries. Blueberries, blackberries and raspberries are all very antioxidant-rich, which means they help to fight free radicals and can improve blood flow, which delivers more oxygen to muscles. This increases your energy so that your cardio workout can be more effective and efficient—and cardio is key to achieving a flatter stomach and that six pack you’ve always dreamt about.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Benefits of Keeping a Food Journal for Weight Loss

Many studies show that one of the best ways to achieve success with easy weight loss programs is by keeping a food journal. Weight loss is very dependent on the reduction of your daily caloric intake, so keeping a record is the first step in lowering it. The physicians at our weight loss clinics also find it very helpful as it gives them a quick way to check your progress and see which habits are blocking your success. They can provide insight and information on what you can do to be healthier and see how the foods you eat are impacting your health in other ways.

Even when you’re getting help from FDA approved medical weight loss pills or the like, it’s important to eat healthy. Beyond monitoring the number of servings you eat, a food journal provides a direct link to knowing what you should eat and what you are eating. Writing down what you eat every day makes your grow more aware of your food choices, identify your overeating triggers and recognize when you are eating too much or too little.

Whether you’re trying out one of our easy weight loss programs or simply trying to maintain results, recording your intake provides a way to evaluate the connection between what you eat and how you feel, not to mention the fact that researchers from Kaiser have concluded that keeping a food diary can actually double your weight loss. Why is this so?

Food journaling gives you a chance to examine what emotions and circumstances trigger overeating and lets you see the reality of how much you eat. Once you can identify the causes of the triggers that make you overeat, you can do something about them. If you share these factors with a doctor from one of our weight loss clinics, they can give you suggestions of other ways to reduce those factors without heading straight to the refrigerator or pantry—or even worse, the fast food restaurant around the corner.

To make the most out of your food journal, make sure to record everything you eat and drink immediately after consuming it. If you wait too long, you may forget exactly what you had. Be sure to include condiments and any other little extras, as they can quickly add up and derail the success of even the premiere quick weight loss plans.

Make sure to record your portion sizes and how the meal was prepared. It helps to write the time of day at which you eat each meal or snack. It’s also helpful to include your daily water intake—many people simply don’t drink enough water to facilitate weight loss. Water intake is especially important if you’re using FDA approved medical weight loss pills.

Whether you’re enrolled in one of our quick weight loss programs or if you think you may be heading down the road to weight gain, remember that keeping a food journal is one of the most effective tools for losing weight. Each time you make an entry in your food diary, it reinforces your commitment to reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. The thought that you are going to write down everything you ate will help you control the urge to binge and remind you that you need to incorporate healthy foods in your diet every single day.

Find a weight loss clinic near you at the American Weight Loss Center.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Progressing With Easy Weight Loss Programs

If you’re working towards a healthier 2012, whether by trying easy weight loss programs or a new exercise regime, a key factor to your success is to adopt a practical, healthy mindset. Since the New Year just passed and many resolutions are in effect, it helps to change your mindset so that you only make promises to yourself that you can keep and so that you don’t fall off completely whenever you hit an obstacle.

At our weight loss clinics, we urge our patients to think about making behavioral and lifestyle changes, rather than making resolutions that only focus on the end result. So if saying something like, ‘I will lose 10 pounds by February,” doesn’t work for you, then try “I’m going to see results from easy weight loss programs by eating smaller portions,” or “I will eat healthy snacks like fruits, vegetables and physician approved weight loss products.” These are easy adjustments that will reap significant rewards and lead to an ultimately healthier lifestyle.

Choose behaviors that you think will be easy to change and start with those. If going to the gym five times a week is a little crazy for you, start by working out at the gym three times a week and then adding in a walk or jog around the block on another day as the weeks progress. A favorite among patients at our weight loss clinics is to increase the amount of water they drink every day. This is a pretty painless change that can be made in increments—an extra bottle per day for a week is a great way to begin.

If you have a sweet tooth, you may want to try some weight loss products that are safe, healthy and delicious. At our quick weight loss centers, we offer some great tasting snacks, such as Drizzles, Control Crisps, our nutritionally designed pudding and shakes mixes, and many more items. If you add a few of those per week instead of that candy bar from the vending machine, you’ll be sure to decrease your calorie intake and will feel like working with quick weight loss programs is easier than you originally thought it would be.

Ultimately, you’ll want to measure your progress not with the scale, but by the changes in your behavior, lifestyle and overall health and fitness. Making these little changes feel great and will, over time, significantly contribute to your success with quick weight loss programs. You’ll see the benefits on the scale as well, but it’s better to think about the big picture.

Stat focused on the positive transformation you’re affecting. When you need support or more tips for staying on track, visit one of our quick weight loss centers and speak to the staff about other ways to create a more positive, healthy you.