Newsletter

June, 2009

Message from Dr. Clark:

Success!  It is attainable and it feels great!  One of the most rewarding moments for me and our professional staff at CMH is seeing our family of patients succeed.  It gives meaning to what we do and we are honored to help our patients meet or exceed their health goals.  This month we share the incredible commitment and success of John Backes.  On page 4, John shares his “pearls of wisdom” as he has lost more than 60 pounds since he joined the program in October, 2008 – thank you John and congratulations!

We also celebrate the launch of our new educational program called Weight Management University.  For those of you active in the program, you will begin to notice the integration of our new curriculum into your counseling sessions.  As you know, our program is founded on education and individualized counseling by experienced licensed professionals to help people overcome their barriers to weight loss and finally experience success.  It is the only medical weight loss program in the area that incorporates nutrition, lifestyle behavior modification and fitness in one location by an entire staff of licensed professionals.  The Weight Management University will further expand our education and provide an opportunity for some of our services to be provided online for those patients who are unable to visit us regularly on-site.  We welcome your feedback and hope you enjoy this enhancement to your program. 

If you haven’t already, the time will come at CMH when you reach your goal weight and begin the next phase of your program.  This transitional phase is called stabilization and takes anywhere between 4-8 weeks.  This transition allows your body to ease its way into maintenance by gradually increasing the carbohydrates in your diet.  You will discover your carbohydrate tolerance level (it is different for everyone) as you continue to eat an adequate amount of protein and healthy fats.  This is an exciting and yet scary time because patients fear weight gain.  Claire and I have identified below some helpful ways to transition successfully:

ü     Schedule an appointment with me so I can review updated laboratory tests with you and outline your stabilization and maintenance plan.  It is important for me to communicate this information with your Primary Care Physician as well.

ü     Continue to attend the Lifestyle Behavior Modification and Group Exercise classes.  Stay active in your daily living and continue to check your steps periodically.

ü     Continue to document your meals, snacks, fluid and dietary intake.  Research has shown that you will be four more times likely to succeed if you put everything in writing.

ü     Continue to take the supplements recommended for this phase of the program (at minimum multivitamin, EFA’s and B-Complex).

ü     Try to make your carbohydrate choices worthwhile by adding vegetables, fruits and whole grains.  Still try to distribute your carbohydrate content fairly evenly throughout the day and be mindful of any carbohydrate sensitivities you may have.

ü     Your protein requirement is the sum of your lean body pounds divided by 2.  Select a protein food to be the main part of your meal depending upon your protein requirement and talk to us if you require any protein supplementation – we have wonderful choices that work well with any lifestyle.

ü     Continue to drink 8 glasses of water daily, plan, plan, plan and continue a fitness regimen.

Expert Advice from CMH

Claire Behrens, LWMC – Interpreting Your Food Journal

As many of you know, keeping a food journal is a required part of our program.  Research has proven that people that keep a journal lose more than twice as much weight as those that don’t.  It is one of the best investments that you can make in your weight loss journey.  Awareness of daily intake leads to changed behavior.

What do we look for in a journal?  Obviously, what you eat and how much matters but the timing of meals and snacks can tell us a lot about your schedule and how your blood sugar is affected.  That in turn will determine your hunger and energy levels.  The amount of protein, carbohydrates and calories you consume will tell us how you balance your meals and snacks and to what extent you understand the eating plan that Dr. Clark determined was best for you.  Hunger rating is an important tool to help you understand how some foods keep you fuller and how skipping meals and/or snacks or leaving too many hours between them can set you up for repercussions.  It is important to write down your feelings and events that occur as this will give us insight into your coping skills with food.

Tracking your water intake is very important as water is responsible for every bodily process.  The body is not always able to distinguish the difference between hunger and thirst, so by monitoring our water intake we are better able to determine if we are really hungry or just thirsty.  Finally, tracking activity enables us to watch fitness progression and keep track of “energy in versus energy out”.  So as you can see, journaling is important for you and for us as your counselors.  This information guides our plan so you can understand your particular situation, barriers to success and ultimately how to overcome these obstacles so you can meet or exceed your goals!

Penny, RN, BSN – Organizing Your Refrigerator and Pantry for Weight Loss Success

You not only have to get mentally prepared for your new lifestyle of eating properly but just as important are the ways you prepare physically.  This usually means a drastic change as to what is in your panty and refrigerator.  Some tips to help you organize these areas include:

1. Remove all those items that are on Dr Clarks  “Simplified Diet”.   Remember, those are the chips, cookies, crackers, cereal, cake and candy.  Why not give them to a food pantry? 

2. Mark those items that belong to other members of the family with your children’s or spouse’s name.  You have now given those items to them.  They are not yours anymore and you should not touch them just like you wouldn’t want them to take items that belong to only you.

You may try placing them in opaque food containers or hard to reach places.  Make sure you instruct your family members to return these items to their proper places so you don’t have to see them out.

3.  Keep your healthy satisfying foods and snacks at your eye level in both the refrigerator and the pantry, while the not so good choices are deep in the not so easy seen places.  This way you are not looking at them every time you open the refrigerator or pantry door.

4.  Always keep your good choices of foods on hand.  Your vegetable drawer should be chuck full of choices as well as your meat and cheese drawer.  Plan ahead to make sure you do not run out of those items so you won’t be tempted to reach for the less desirable items.

5. Prepare some of your snack foods in pre-portioned packages.  Cut up those veggies or cheeses, measure out those nuts in 1 oz baggies and slice those meats in to the desired amount.    You will have a much better accounting of the amounts you ate. 

Just like most things in life, if you want to succeed, you must plan ahead and stay focused on the goal. 

If there are particular topics you would like to see addressed in our monthly newsletter, please submit them to support@centerformetabolichealth.com  We value your input, your ideas and your feedback!

Sybille Baumeler, LWMC – John Backes – His Success Story and “Words of Wisdom”

John Backes joined our program back in October and has since lost sixty pounds. His main motivation for weight loss was just for easier everyday living. Before the dieting and exercise regimen he began at CMH, John claimed that doing normal, simple activities took effort. Incorporating the CMH ideas into his life was different at first, but everything has started to fall into place.

Here are a few of John's "pearls of wisdom" for you:
1. Have a long term perspective. The weight didn't come on quickly, and it won't come off quickly. You really cannot just diet for a certain occasion; serious weight loss takes a changing of your lifestyle. Because you are making new changes for the long term, you can't expect yourself to be perfect all of the time.
2. Do what works for you. Pay attention to your patterns and habits and attune yourself to them. Notice things such as your hunger at specific times of the day or how insufficient sleep can affect you. I've noticed that eating lots of smaller meals daily works best for me. I usually eat seven to eight times a day to keep my hunger in check.
3. It will get easier! Your carbohydrate cravings might seem insatiable now, but they will subside. I used to love bread, but now sometimes out of habit I'll just skip it and have two sausages on my "sandwich" instead without feeling deprived.
4. Exercise. Moving around and being in shape is just as important as the healthy eating. More exercise will also make weight loss easier.

Once in class John mentioned that a lot of the foods he is now accustomed to eating are "not good, but good enough." This mentality has helped him to see that he could eat more delicious foods and weigh a certain amount or just eat slightly less delicious foods and weight much less. Next time you see John in group exercise or education class, be sure to give him a pat on the back!  Great job!

Upcoming Healthy Living and Fitness Classes…Don’t miss them!

Pre-registration is required – call 757.873.1880 or visit www.CenterForMetabolicHealth.com to register!