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Weight loss? How is it done?

In my last post, I discussed how to begin a weight loss journey.  Today I will dig deeper on this topic.  Most patients come to me  with the desire to loose weight, but they barely eat.  Skipping meals, eating sweets or consuming high calorie beverages are very common.  These same patients  tell me that they exercise  consistently or are getting back into it .

In my experience , there are two primary reasons patients fail to lose weight.

Scenario #1:  A woman eats balanced meals including clean fuel three times daily , and yet weight loss remains elusive.   She eats oatmeal with eggs and sausage in the  morning, and  yogurt and a chicken sandwich for lunch.  Dinner consists of beans, rice, and a chicken breast.    She is not eating poorly, but I see why the weight remains.  Quite simply, clean fuel intake has increased, but dirty fuel intake remains unchanged.  You cannot do both.  It is not enough to simply eat more clean fuel and lose weight.  Dirty fuel intake must severely decrease for effective, sustained weight loss with or without exercise.  Moreover, decreased dirty fuel means more clean fuel is necessary.  Otherwise, you will get hungry.

Scenario #2:

A man weighing 300-400 lbs experiences steady weight gain yearly, but only eats 1-2 meals daily.    He walks 30-60 minutes daily and still the weight remains.  When a person skips a meal, the body’s metabolism will go in to “emergency mode” and seek to burn as few calories as possible because it physiologically does not know if and when it will get its next meal.  Hence, failing to eat slows down the body’s metabolism (the ability to burn calories).

Not only is his metabolism slower, but he is very hungry by the end of the day,  and stops for  takeout  where he eats a  dirty fuel meal consisting of a  fried chicken breast sandwich, large fries and a milk shake, thereby consuming 2000 calories  in one meal.   Of course, by eating dirty fuel, the body has no choice but to absorb this meal directly as fat rather than burn it.  Again, clean fuel stimulates fat burning.  The absence of any food at breakfast and lunch with dirty fuel for his last  meal means that his body holds on to every calorie,   and he has unopposed fat absorption over the entire day.   This scenario leads to excessive weight gain and is very common.

In all,  eating three meals  daily containing fruits/vegetables and clean fuel will lead to long term fat burning and  weight loss success as long as dirty fuel intake is eliminated or severely reduced.  My goal  is to eat meat or dirty fuel no more than once daily three days weekly.   Exercise is helpful, but weight loss is not substantial without profound dietary changes.

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Weight Loss Foods

At least twice weekly, I have a patient who is interested in taking a weight loss drug such as  phentermine, a commonly used cheap weight loss drug  that suppresses the appetite.  It can  increase your calorie burn with the risk of an elevated heart rate.  It is not a safe drug.  I once had a phentermine patient with a heart rate of 200 in the emergency department (ED).  Phentermine works better in combination with a healthy lifestyle.  Most patients do well when eating at least three healthy meals daily and drinking plenty of water.

However, I say why take phentermine once daily when you can do a weight loss food three times daily and achieve a similar result with less health risk.   All of the clean fuels (oatmeal, whole grain rice, whole grain or vegetable pasta, white and sweet potatoes, beans/peas, and corn) are associated with smaller waist lines.  I frequently prescribe drugs that require you to take a medication three times daily so it is not a big stretch to eat a certain food three times daily.

I feel the best way to begin this journey is to start one meal at a time.  For example, I took several months mastering breakfast before working on other meals.  Breakfast is easier to change because most people eat the same breakfast food daily.  I eat oatmeal 3-4 days weekly, and will have Special K Cinnamon Pecan Cereal with almond milk the other days of the week.  This first step led to early weight loss.

From there, I cooked a vegan dish every weekend  until I found something good enough eat.  Early on, I combined these dishes with whatever my wife cooked.  Then, I started putting together meals once I developed a working list of foods my family would eat.  I lost 30 lbs by the time I mastered breakfast and lunch meals.

Of course the other way to start the journey is to abruptly alter your entire diet.  While many have success doing this, most patients are unwilling to take that plunge so readily, and have entire pantries or refrigerators solely responsible for housing the most vile of foods, dirty fuel.   Many will find it difficult to dispose of so much food. It is quite a feat to confront and give up foods you may have consumed your entire lifetime.

In conclusion, the best way to start out strong is to get in the habit of consistently preparing  and eating clean fuel foods and treating it as a medication you should take three times daily.

 

 

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Carter’s Perfect Black-Eyed Peas

My wife simply loves my very own black-eyed peas.  So I have decided to share it with you all.  I figure this is the perfect compliment to my post from last week.  I love to prepare these beans before church on Sunday and have them waiting for me when I get home.

1 lb of dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

6 cups of chicken broth

1 onion quartered

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon of thyme

1 tablespoon of sage

3 teaspoons of Lawry’s Season Salt

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and stir.  Cook the beans on high for 3-4 hours until soft.

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Beer Belly, Sugar Belly…Bean Belly

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A common complaint I encounter in the office is the expanding waist line. Most patients come in with this complaint. It is especially common in men, but occurs pretty frequently in women.  I can usually drill down the reason for the potbelly or expanding waist line after a short conversation.

Dirty fuels are the true reason for this issue, but the most frequently cited foods that cause this problem include: beer, soda, sugar (desserts), ice cream, and bread.   Quite simply,  dirty fuel causes fat absorption leading to an expanding waist line.   Examples of dirty fuel include: processed food, oils, dairy,  eggs, and meat.

However, just as dirty fuels cause expanding waist lines, clean fuels cause  smaller waist lines.  Indeed, bean consumption is highly associated with smaller waist lines throughout the  world.    There is no identifiable reason for this; however, it does occur.  One can imagine that these foods somehow enhance genetic expression of genes that govern or regulate fat metabolism.  So essentially, clean fuel and beans, in particular, are foods that burn fat and slim the waist line.   Beans are filling, remarkably low calorie, and are full of fiber.

Unfortunately, beans are also associated with  increased gas.  They are an example of a clean fuel that you must eat in small amounts and increase gradually over time.  The gas can be an issue.  I recommend lentils, hummus, refried beans, or very small amounts of beans until you become accustomed to them.  You can also choose to take Beano with them, but you need to take four tabs to get good benefit (my experience).  On the other hand, bean consumption essentially promotes growth of your good intestinal bacteria thereby improving your general health.  The more gas you have, the more benefit you achieve.    If you eat them long enough, then the gas will abate, but it may take awhile-at least 1-2 years.

So the next time you hear about a beer belly, consider trying to achieve a BEAN BELLY.

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Got Milk? Got disease?

I just read an interesting article on souring milk sales and the strategies employed to  address the problem.  The writer of the article addresses several issues.  Milk sales are down by 11% for the year and dairy producers are selling to a more narrow customer base.  Moreover, producers feel that innovation is their method for improving sales.  For example, one producer is trying a pureed fruit and milk drink product.  Another is formulating genetically altered milk that will reduce the symptoms of lactose intolerance and indigestion.  Nevertheless, the article fails to address some of the real health implications of dairy.

Consider this, I will unpack these more in the future, but dairy is associated with prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer and even lymphoma/leukemia.  Moreover, more dairy consumption is associated with brittle bones, not strong bones.  Likewise, increase consumption seems to even increase risk of heart attacks and kidney stones.

Now that I have warned you, what can be done about it?  I still like cereal, and I use almond milk daily.  Soymilk is a decent option.  Cashew milk, hazelnut milk and banana milk are newer additions to American stones as well.

 


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Clean Fuel and Dirty Fuel

I am writing this blog to address the health education gap that exists between physicians and patients.  The first thing I will introduce with this post is a synthesized concept I call  clean fuel dirty fuel.

Clean fuel consists of food that your body burns completely without any residue.  Examples of clean fuel include: oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat pasta or vegetable pasta, sweet or white potatoes, peas and beans, and corn.  These are foods your body largely burns and converts into pure energy.  There is no portion control with these foods; therefore, you can eat as much as you desire as long as the foods are prepared in a certain way.

Meanwhile, dirty fuel presents a bit more of a problem.  These are foods that your body largely turns into fat; they do not burn cleanly.  Fat is the remaining residue, and animal protein lead to a host of medical problems.  Examples of dirty fuel include:  processed food (bread, potato chips, french fries, juice, sweetened tea, soda, alcohol dessert that is not fruit, anything from a fast food restaurant including pizza, nuts (eat no more than 10-20 nuts in a day, oil of any type), eggs, dairy of any type, and meat including beef, chicken, pork, liver, veal, goat, lamb, or any internal organ, and seafood (any of it).  Consume dirty fuel in limited quantities.  Portion control is a must.

Arming Patients with Knowledge