Americans continue to gain weight

Several striking news reports reflect that in the US, more adults who are obese outnumber those who are just overweight. The LA Times reported notes from published in JAMA Internal Medicine quoting “adults who are obese now outnumber those who are merely overweight.”

[Researchers] estimated that 67.6 million Americans over the age of 25 were obese as of 2012, and an additional 65.2 million were overweight.

• Washington Post remarks “"[this is] a startling shift from 20 years ago when 63 percent of men and 55 percent of women were overweight or obese and a depressing sign that campaigns to get Americans to eat healthier and exercise more may be failing.”
• CBS News (website) notes the ”analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2012 to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity.” including details on “15,208 men and women age 25 or older.”
• TIME magazine iterated “40% of men were overweight and 35% of men were obese” — “30% of women were overweight and 37% were obese.” Numbers “are similar to those estimated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which suggest that one third of American adults are obese.”
• and MedPage Today remarked “33% of Americans ages 25 to 54, and 28% of those 55 and older, fell into the normal weight category of having a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5-24.9.”

Am I obese? or just Overweight?

You can test your own body mass index at WeightLossNYC™ for free online now, and determine your health risk and obesity/overweight metric.

For more results, you can visit Dr. Aron of WeightLossNYC.com for a complete medical evaluation and treatment of your body weight, fat, metabolism and more.

Why aren’t you losing weight?

Slow Metabolism could be a culprit

Fast, slow or so-so, your metabolism controls your weight loss. No matter how quickly your body burns calories, there are other factors involved. These are just some things that can slow down your metabolism, but the good news is you can easily control them.

5 Factors that can Slow your Metabolism

1. Stress

   How much stress are you under? It could be the reason you can’t lose those last few nagging pounds. When your body’s under stress, it releases the hormone cortisol, which tells your body to hold onto weight. Try to avoid stressors as much as you can, while also seeking out ways in which you can manage your stress.

2. Not exercising

   If you don’t burn enough calories through exercise, then your unused calories turn into fat. Be sure to exercise a few times a week to control your weight. Also wear a pedometer or track how many calories you burn through your exercise so you can keep up with your progress.

3. Poor diet

   Eating too much? Not enough? You’re asking for trouble. Feed your body the fuel it needs to get through the day and keep your body at a healthy weight. Believe it or not, eating too little or skipping meals could lead to weight gain. Instead, nourish your body with healthy natural foods to stay in top shape.

4. Not snoozing enough

   When you don’t rest enough, you can gain weight by disrupting your metabolic patterns. Sleeping an ideal amount of hours each night, however, can boost your metabolism. For adults, get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night.

5. Medication

   If you’re on any medications such as anti-depressants, they could cause you to gain weight as well. Discuss it with your doctor if you believe that’s the case and find out if there are other options that won’t lead to weight gain.

How to Lose Weight

Improve your health, too

If you haven’t noticed, keeping your metabolism in check means simply taking care of your overall health. While it’s important to want to lose weight, you also have to do it in a healthy, informed way. Follow the above steps and you’ll be on your way to a fitter figure, and you’ll also be leading a healthier and more fulfilled life

We can help

Dr. Aron is able to test your metabolism to see if it is slow.

Whether you have a slow metabolism or not, let Dr. Oksana Aron help you find your weight gain triggers and develop a structured plan for weight loss success. Please call us at 718-491-5525 and make your first appointment with WeightLossNYC™.

Lose weight Easily

Is losing weight your number one goal? Setting a goal is great, however break it down into actionable steps so you can start seeing progress right away.

Today’s weight loss tip is so simple, yet most people don’t even consider it when trying to shed pounds. It’s one thing we can’t live without: sleep.

Get More Sleep, Lose Weight

Not getting enough sleep is linked to weight gain and obesity. When you’re tired, you reach for the wrong foods and wind up consuming extra calories. It also makes you hungrier, so you end up eating more than you need:

• A study published in the Wall Street Journal in 2012 found that inadequate sleep triggered increased levels of ghrelin, the hormone that causes hunger, in men.
• In women, it can lower their levels of the hormone GLP-1, which suppresses appetite.

Do Something About It

If you haven’t been getting enough shut eye (around 6-8 hours for adults), let’s change that. You’ll not only improve your weight loss success, you’ll also improve your quality of life and even live longer than those who are sleep deprived.

Tip: Be sure to shut off your computers, cell phones and TV at least one hour before bedtime to drift off to sleep easily.

If there’s one simple step to take right now to lose weight, sleeping enough is it. Try it and watch how quickly things will change!

Big Changes, Small Steps

Is it time for a change? Take the first step by calling us at 718-491-5525 to set your first appointment with Dr. Oksana Aron of WeightLossNYC™. We’re here to help you every step of the way to your healthiest weight ever.

The Facts on Fat

Are you trying to eat right? You're probably overwhelmed with dieting tips and information--some good and some downright incorrect. Just when you thought you knew what you were doing, another new study comes out and changes everything.

The Fat and Skinny on Fat

Doctors and dieting gurus have been harping on staying away from saturated fats, but the latest news challenges all that. Surprisingly, new evidence from a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine questions popular advice to cut out saturated fats and to eat polyunsaturated fats to prevent heart disease (and weight gain).

In the University of Cambridge study, researchers found no evidence supporting dietary guidelines of avoiding saturated fats to reduce heart disease risk. They also found that omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid supplements didn't have any significant effect on reducing cardiovascular disease either. Rather than focusing on macronutrients, we should consider the food groups our meals are based on.

Fat is still… fat

So, what do you do now? Should you start eating saturated fats with abandon? Not exactly. Until further research proves saturated fats are completely harmless, the secret to staying healthy, losing weight and lessening your chances of heart disease is still the same advice: eat a healthy diet, stay active and don’t smoke.

Lose Weight Fast without surgery

Want to fit into that little black dress or slimmer wedding gown? You can start making progress on your weight loss today. Call WeightLossNYC at 718-491-5525 and make your first appointment with Dr Aron, Bariatric Physician.

Taste with Your Brain?

Over recent years many people have been reaching for artificial sweeteners, thinking that it’s healthier than the real thing. It turns out that your tastebuds don’t know the difference between sugar and sweetener — but your brain does.

A new study out of the Netherlands used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain responses in people sipping two different orangeade drinks — one mixed with sugar and another mixed with four artificial sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K, cyclamate and saccharin).

The sugar and sweeteners were found to stimulate the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that detects pleasure. Only the sugared drink stimulated the caudate in the brain, showing that the human brain can tell the difference between a caloric drink and a noncaloric one.

Other research on artificially sweetened beverages include:

• They can activate parts of the brain that create appetite, but do not satiate it.
• Increased appetite has been found to occur in people who don’t consume artificially sweetened beverages often.
• People who drink artificially sweetened beverages regularly tend to weigh more than those who don’t.
• For those who consume a lot of artificially sweetened beverages, however, their brains, can become used to the sweeteners and may not necessarily cause them to eat more.

Sweet Opportunity

Visit WeightLossNYC.com to learn more about medical weight loss and how you can lose weight fast under physician supervision. Dr. Aron is a leading bariatric physician in Brooklyn.

Colorful Weight Loss Ideas

There’s a lot more science to how much we eat than we think. According to a new study called “Plate Size and Color Suggestibility” published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the color of your plate affects how much food you eat.

When there is a low contrast of color between your plate and food, you will serve yourself and eat more food—as much as 22 percent more—than when there's a high contrast of color between your plate and food. Over time, this can cause extra pounds and an expanded waistline.

The study also found that reducing the contrast of color between your dinnerware and background (tablecloth, place mat) can reduce over-serving by up to 10 percent.

Takeaway: Don't just vary the color of healthy foods such as veggies and fruits on your plate--also work on dining with plates in a sharp contrast to what you're eating so you pay more attention to portions. Choosing a dining "background" with a low contrast to your plate will enhance the effect.

Another tip: Serve on small plates for smaller portions. The larger the plate, the larger the portions!

Winning Tip: Make a weight loss diet plan that gets results quickly and safely. Schedule an appointment with WeightLossNYC® today by calling 718-491-5525

6 Ways You Overeat (that you can easily overcome)

You know what’s good for you to eat and you know what’s bad. You may not be the strictest dieter, but you generally follow the rules. Why is it then that you still gain weight? Are you sabotaging yourself or is there something else going on that you aren't aware of? The answers to these questions are surprising facts you need to know to help you stop gaining extra pounds.

1. Don’t Let Your Senses Fool You

   If you’ve ever told someone you can't smell fast food without gaining weight, you know what this is all about — and there is some truth to that. The sight or smell of food can trigger your hunger and make you crave it and want more of it. Keeping bad foods out of sight, out of reach and far from your olfactory senses can prevent that desire to overeat.

2. Pay Attention to What You Eat

   Watching what you eat takes on a whole new meaning when you learn that eating while distracted can cause you to overeat. If your mind is elsewhere, it may not register that you are filling your stomach. Be sure to drop the multitasking and turn off the TV while you eat so that your body knows when it is truly satisfied.

3. Make It Exciting

   Variety in what you eat can lessen your chances of overstuffing yourself. It’s a fact that we make room for dessert, even after having a huge meal because we haven’t satisfied our sweet tooth yet. The solution? Include a bit of fruit in your meal (or try as a dessert alternative) to get that fix.

4. Portion Control

   The larger your plate or take-out container, the more you could potentially eat. When eating out of a larger container, you could eat 25 to 50 percent more than someone else eating from a smaller one. The trick is to use smaller utensils, bowls, plates, etc. so it doesn't appear that you are depriving yourself.

5. Avoid Alcohol

   Not only can alcoholic beverages add unnecessary calories to your diet, it can stimulate your appetite. Too much of it can impair your judgement — and cause you to overeat. Limiting your intake or steering clear of it keeps those unwanted calories away.

6. Keep warm

   Colder temperatures make you want to eat more and your metabolism drops (just think how cool restaurants are kept). Regulate your hunger by keeping the temps in your own home warm and not too cool.

Looking for More Ways to Lose Weight Fast

Visit WeightLossNYC.com and learn about our successful medical weight loss program. You can lose up to 20 pounds per month or more under the supervision and expert care of Dr Aron.

Call WeightLossNYC today 718-491-5525

Weight Loss Nutrition

Maintaining a healthy weight and/or losing unhealthy weight is a science. What does it all boil down to? Calories, plain and simple.

Figure out how many calories you need

Here’s a quick formula to estimate calorie needs on a daily basis:

Your Weight X 12 = Number of calories needed for weight maintenance

To lose about 1 pound per week: Reduce intake by 500 calories/day

Weight Loss Tip:

Need help coming up with a healthy diet program you can actually stick to?

Call Dr. Aron 718-491-5525 today and get started

Weight Loss Heroes

Who are Your Heroes?

“Who are the heroes in your world -- the people who've got your back no matter what?”

— Oksana Aron, M.D.

Start losing weight today

Looking to lose weight the fast and easy way? Well, aren’t we all… In addition to a healthy diet and exercise plan, try these weight losstips and tricks to shed some pounds and stay on track with your weight loss goals. Better yet, these helpful hints require almost no effort at all.

1. Rest up.

   Did you know? People who only get 5 hours of sleep can gain as many as 2 lbs. in 5 days. They also consume 6% more calories, according to a new study from the University of Colorado, Boulder. So be sure to catch some Z’s in addition to eating right throughout the day.

2. Start with a hearty breakfast.

   Curb those carbs in the morning and opt for a healthy egg-and-veggie scramble or omelette instead. Eating eggs in the morning instead of a bagel equals 264 less calories consumed the rest of the day, says a Saint Louis University study. Its protein can also help you stay fuller.

3. Don’t hold off on eating lunch.

   Some people let their hectic schedule dictate when they eat lunch, but that can affect your weight loss goals. Eating lunch late (after 3 p.m.) can cause you to lose less weight and have a lower insulin sensitivity. Even when eating healthfully, waiting too long to eat can undermine your diet’s effectiveness.

4. Think small.

   People eat 35% less when eating from a small, individual plate rather than serving themselves from a large platter in the middle of the table.

5. Remember what you ate.

   Thinking back on what you ate for your last meal and how satisfied you were can help you consume 30% less calories at snack time.

6. Ditch TV watching while eating.

   People who eat while watching TV consume 288 more calories per meal on average compared to those who don’t. This is an easy, no-brainer way to eat less.

Want to lose 10 to 20 lbs. in a month, possibly more?

Dr. Aron is here to help: Get your own structured medical diet plan that will get you in shape for spring. Call 718-491-5525 today for your first appointment.