New Fast-Food Health Risk: Depression

Don’t let fast food super-size you

Is fast food your weight loss kryptonite? Do you let yourself splurge while on the go, telling yourself, “It‘s just this once,” and that you’ll eat healthier tomorrow to make up for it?

Well that doesn’t work because you’ll just do it again. And again. Before long, you’ve packed on a few extra pounds and you don’t even know why.

Why is fast food bad for you?

Sure, fast food is convenient and cheap, but its unnatural ingredients come with health risks. When consumed regularly, fast food fills you up on fat and empty calories, causes you to gain weight and puts you at risk for obesity. Even worse, you can increase your chance of heart attack, stroke and liver disease.

But that’s not all. New evidence shows that fast food lovers have a higher risk of depression. A Spanish study published in Public Health Nutrition found that people who ate fast food were 51 percent more likely to be depressed.

What’s more, the study authors discovered what’s called a “dose-response relationship,” which means that the more fast food subjects ate the higher their risk of developing depression. And in this case fast food was not limited to just hotdogs, hamburgers, and pizza, but also what the researchers refer to as “commercial baked goods,” meaning foods like doughnuts, croissants, and snack cakes.

The healthy alternative

Think twice before you grab a bite to eat. Instead of dining out, dine at home. Follow a delicious, healthy recipe and learn how to cook for yourself. Knowing what’s in your food and how it’s made will keep you on the road to a healthy weight. People who cook at home are said to live longer too, so it can benefit you in many ways!

Healthy Weight Loss

Get answers to your weight loss and dieting questions today: If you need real guidance from a licensed bariatric physician on how to lose weight, call us at 718-491-5525 for your first consultation with Dr. Aron. You’ll receive clinically proven weight loss treatment that will make you a success story.

How to Have a Happy Thanksgiving without Really Trying

We’ve prepared this Thanksgiving Survival Guide^* to give you ideas on how to best avoid overeating this Thursday, and keep yourself together on your weight loss program.

Abate Your Appetite; Trounce Temptation

The best way to battle any festival meal, where eating is the presumed focus, is to reduce your appetite thus obviously significantly lowering your temptation. You can follow these steps as guidelines to keep you on track with your diet plan.

Before You Go

• As always, eat an appropriate breakfast as Dr. Aron has provided for your plan.
• Be sure to include a real protein source to invoke satiety.
• Keep up on your hydration. Drinking water will also help keep you feeling full.
• Likewise, throughout the day, avoid alcoholic beverages for their dehydrating effects and of course insane caloric values.

Boots on the Ground

Once you’re there, keep it simple and safe:

• Salad is always your friend. Enjoy the simple greens, not salads overladen with extras you know aren’t helpful to your diet.
• Veggies, again mostly green, also round out your plate nicely and fill you up before looking further.
• 4 ounce skinless white meat turkey as your meal protein. Keeping to the lower fat cut is the obvious choice.
• Small samples of gravy or sauces for flavor are ok yet at a minimum. Avoid alcohol drinks entirely.
• Small portion of potatoes or stuffing are better than breads and rolls.
• Dessert? Only if you must, enjoy a small one. Better to enjoy a little more turkey, or better yet veggies/salad, we suggest.

“When facing the challenges of dieting during the holidays, remember to keep your focus on what’s really important — the people you’re spending the holidays with." - Oksana Aron, M.D.

Remember Why You Came

Truly, the holidays are about getting together with friends and loved ones. Open your mouth more for the laughs and conversation, and keep the focus on the fun not the food. Think ahead when you get back home how much happier you'll be knowing you spent the day in conversation not in consuming unneeded calories.

Leftovers are Left for Others

You’re on a diet plan. You can leave them for others and keep the holiday meal behind as you walk out the door. Weather-permitting, keep on walking … and enjoy more conversation and fresh air as you move your body after a festival meal. When you get home, get back on your regular plan and keep the fond memories of the friends you enjoyed your holiday with.

Happy Thanksgiving, from Dr. Aron and Staff of WeightLossNYC

For more information on safe and healthy weight loss diet plans, visit our website WeightLossNYC.com and start losing weight, today.